24 Lies and Falsehoods We All Have Been Told

Nathan Johnson Published 12/22/2023 in wtf

There have been many lies told throughout history, but these 25 are some of the biggest and most impactful. Whether specific events, or harmful propaganda, these 25 falsehoods are some of the most fantastic fibs ever flubbed.

List View
Player View
Grid View

1.
There have been many lies told throughout history, but these 25 are some of the biggest and most impactful. Whether specific events, or harmful propaganda, these 25 falsehoods are some of the most fantastic fibs ever flubbed.
2.
If we give tax breaks to the wealthy, the wealth will trickle down!
3.
Climate change is YOUR fault. YOU need to change the way YOU do things. Not the corporate conglomerate that's pumping a billion tons a year.
4.
You can achieve anything you want in your life if you work hard enough.
5.
Plastic is easily recyclable so long as the public does their duty to sort it and bring it to its designated waste area.
6.
Nestle — The Baby Killer Scandal. They deliberately lied to mothers in developing countries to sell their baby formula, telling them that their own milk was nutritionally insufficient and their babies would be unhealthy if they continued to breastfeed them. The result of this marketing campaign was approximately 66,000 infant mortalities.
7.
There is a God and you should kill all those who don’t believe in your God.
8.
Climate change isn't real Vaccines cause Autism Trickle down economics Take your pick, the top is the end of the world as we know it, the second is keeping many diseases around and literally killing millions of people, and the last is what enables the wealthy to continue to exploit the rest of the world.
9.
I have read and agree to the terms of use.
10.
That the Trojan Horse was just a wooden horse.
11.
Vaccines cause autism.
12.
The 1964 Surgeon General’s report concluded that smoking cigarettes causes death and disease. However, in a 1971 television interview, the president of Philip Morris denied the health risks that pregnant women and their babies face.
13.
Corporations should have the same rights as people.
14.
Getting good grades secures you an easy life.
15.
“Everyone’s a winner” or “Everyone is special and gets a gold star” mentality. I understand the goal to build up kids, but it makes adult life and real loss so much tougher on them when they’ve always been told they should get everything they ever want and will always win. There’s barely any resilience built with this mentality. Might be explaining this poorly but it’s hard to word without sounding like I want to smash the happiness of children into the ground because I don’t think everyone is a winner and should get a gold star
16.
That fat is more of the problem than sugar.
17.
Nuclear is more dangerous than continued reliance on fossil fuels.
18.
The first few days of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
19.
The idea we need to keep purchasing new clothes to stay in style.
20.
“Radium paint isn’t poisonous.” Thousands of watch-dial workers in the US used to apply radium brushes on their tongues to paint numbers on watch dials, and almost all of these workers were women. As these workers were dying due to radiation poising, the companies brought in fake doctors and convinced the victims and their families that they have venereal diseases like Syphilis. As this was mostly affecting women, most were scared to share it with their families for fear of retaliation and abandonment. The suffering endured by these women was extremely awful, their jaws fell off, their bones fractured, their hair was lost, and most lost eyesight until their eventual painful death. These women were called “Radium Girls”. Eventually many fought back settled lawsuits and brought the entire Radium production industry down, unfortunately, many innocent women lost their lives before this evil industry was brought down.

$“Radium paint isn’t poisonous.” Thousands of watch-dial workers in the US used to apply radium brushes on their tongues to paint numbers on watch dials, and almost all of these workers were women. As these workers were dying due to radiation poising, the companies brought in fake doctors and convinced the victims and their families that they have venereal diseases like Syphilis. As this was mostly affecting women, most were scared to share it with their families for fear of retaliation and abandonment. The suffering endured by these women was extremely awful, their jaws fell off, their bones fractured, their hair was lost, and most lost eyesight until their eventual painful death. These women were called “Radium Girls”. Eventually many fought back settled lawsuits and brought the entire Radium production industry down, unfortunately, many innocent women lost their lives before this evil industry was brought down.$
21.
That humans have dominion over everything on the planet.
22.
The idea that we are separate and disconnected from each other and our environment.
23.
The government works for your best interest.
24.
"They" are not "us"
25.
Asbestos Is good!
26.
NFTs are the next big thing!
27.
Oxycontin isn't addictive.
28.
A specific historical example: In 1843, a man called Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. This led to him starting the Taiping Rebellion, which caused the deaths of between 20 million and 70 million people. Then again, he probably believed it, so it might not count as a lie.
29.
That babies need to 'cry it out' instead of getting attention.
30.
That vape pens help you quit smoking.
31.
The lead in this gasoline is perfectly safe!
32.
Your work will set you free.
33.
Thomas Midgley and General Motors lying that exposure to tetra-ethyl lead is harmless. Tetra-ethyl lead was a gasoline additive present in all gasoline sold in the US until it was banned in the 70s. Almost every child growing up from 1920 to 1970 had lead poisoning to some degree. Entire generations grew up with their minds being poisoned, unable to reach their potentials because of him. Not to mention the secondary effects, lead exposure is associated with criminal behaviors.

1.
There have been many lies told throughout history, but these 25 are some of the biggest and most impactful. Whether specific events, or harmful propaganda, these 25 falsehoods are some of the most fantastic fibs ever flubbed.
2.
If we give tax breaks to the wealthy, the wealth will trickle down!
3.
Climate change is YOUR fault. YOU need to change the way YOU do things. Not the corporate conglomerate that's pumping a billion tons a year.
4.
You can achieve anything you want in your life if you work hard enough.
5.
Plastic is easily recyclable so long as the public does their duty to sort it and bring it to its designated waste area.
6.
Nestle — The Baby Killer Scandal. They deliberately lied to mothers in developing countries to sell their baby formula, telling them that their own milk was nutritionally insufficient and their babies would be unhealthy if they continued to breastfeed them. The result of this marketing campaign was approximately 66,000 infant mortalities.
7.
There is a God and you should kill all those who don’t believe in your God.
8.
Climate change isn't real Vaccines cause Autism Trickle down economics Take your pick, the top is the end of the world as we know it, the second is keeping many diseases around and literally killing millions of people, and the last is what enables the wealthy to continue to exploit the rest of the world.
9.
I have read and agree to the terms of use.
10.
That the Trojan Horse was just a wooden horse.
11.
Vaccines cause autism.
12.
The 1964 Surgeon General’s report concluded that smoking cigarettes causes death and disease. However, in a 1971 television interview, the president of Philip Morris denied the health risks that pregnant women and their babies face.
13.
Corporations should have the same rights as people.
14.
Getting good grades secures you an easy life.
15.
“Everyone’s a winner” or “Everyone is special and gets a gold star” mentality. I understand the goal to build up kids, but it makes adult life and real loss so much tougher on them when they’ve always been told they should get everything they ever want and will always win. There’s barely any resilience built with this mentality. Might be explaining this poorly but it’s hard to word without sounding like I want to smash the happiness of children into the ground because I don’t think everyone is a winner and should get a gold star
16.
That fat is more of the problem than sugar.
17.
Nuclear is more dangerous than continued reliance on fossil fuels.
18.
The first few days of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
19.
The idea we need to keep purchasing new clothes to stay in style.
20.
“Radium paint isn’t poisonous.” Thousands of watch-dial workers in the US used to apply radium brushes on their tongues to paint numbers on watch dials, and almost all of these workers were women. As these workers were dying due to radiation poising, the companies brought in fake doctors and convinced the victims and their families that they have venereal diseases like Syphilis. As this was mostly affecting women, most were scared to share it with their families for fear of retaliation and abandonment. The suffering endured by these women was extremely awful, their jaws fell off, their bones fractured, their hair was lost, and most lost eyesight until their eventual painful death. These women were called “Radium Girls”. Eventually many fought back settled lawsuits and brought the entire Radium production industry down, unfortunately, many innocent women lost their lives before this evil industry was brought down.
21.
That humans have dominion over everything on the planet.
22.
The idea that we are separate and disconnected from each other and our environment.
23.
The government works for your best interest.
24.
"They" are not "us"
25.
Asbestos Is good!
26.
NFTs are the next big thing!
27.
Oxycontin isn't addictive.
28.
A specific historical example: In 1843, a man called Hong Xiuquan claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. This led to him starting the Taiping Rebellion, which caused the deaths of between 20 million and 70 million people. Then again, he probably believed it, so it might not count as a lie.
29.
That babies need to 'cry it out' instead of getting attention.
30.
That vape pens help you quit smoking.
31.
The lead in this gasoline is perfectly safe!
32.
Your work will set you free.
33.
Thomas Midgley and General Motors lying that exposure to tetra-ethyl lead is harmless. Tetra-ethyl lead was a gasoline additive present in all gasoline sold in the US until it was banned in the 70s. Almost every child growing up from 1920 to 1970 had lead poisoning to some degree. Entire generations grew up with their minds being poisoned, unable to reach their potentials because of him. Not to mention the secondary effects, lead exposure is associated with criminal behaviors.