You know when someone points out something that you just KNOW is wrong?
Doesn't it get under your skin. No need to point it out. Simply send them this and let our words do the talking.
Here are eight simple misconceptions in everyday life that are just plain WRONG.
8. YOU CAN GET ARTHRITIS FROM CRACKING YOUR KNUCKLES
URR. Wrong. You can't get arthritis from this. When you pop your fingers back, you're releasing air pockets in the joints of your fingers and loosening them up. In fact, Dr. Donald Unger actually spent his entire life cracking one of his hands and leaving the other one without to see if he'd get arthritis in later life. And what happened? He didn't get arthritis. Simple as that.
7. IRREGARDLESS ISN'T A WORD
Tough shit, Samuel Johnson. It actually is. (Samuel Johnson wrote the first workable dictionary, by the way) Because so many people have used the word, it's passed in to what's known as common lexicon. In other words, it's every day speech. So yes, it is a word. Look it up in a dictionary and you'll find irregardless.
6. GOLDFISH HAVE A MEMORY OF FIVE TO TEN SECONDS
Nope. Wrong. Goldfish have a memory-span of at least a month, if not more.
5. REDHEADS WILL SOON BE EXTINCT
No. They won't. The gene is what's known as recessive, meaning it's becoming rare, but it's not going anywhere. Some news outlets even claimed redheads would be extinct by 2060.
4. MSG CAN GIVE YOU HEADACHES / CANCER / IS BAD FOR YOU / IS THE DEVIL
Monosodium glutamate is a naturally-occurring amino acid. It's found in Chinese food quite a lot, particularly soy sauces, kelp, green tea - even cured ham has naturally-occuring MSG. It's used as a flavour enhancer, but some dumbasses think it's basically pure chemicals being poured into your food. It isn't. Numerous studies have been done to test the safety of MSG and its effects - yet all have concluded it's totally fine. Many placebo studies have taken place and found that some people simply think MSG affects them negatively. It's true, there's a very small percentage of people who are unable to take MSG, but it's EXTREMELY rare.
3. YOU SHOULDN'T WAKE SOMEONE THAT'S SLEEPWALKING
Unless they're making a fool of themselves and you've videoing it, it's fine to wake someone sleepwalking. They might be initially confused and shaken up, but no - you're not going to give them a heart attack or send them into a coma.
2. WATER FLOWS THE WRONG WAY IN AUSTRALIA
No, it doesn't. It really doesn't. They do not have machines in US embassies to correct the Coriolis effect. It's only noticeable in very large bodies of water, say for example an ocean current or a weather vortex.
1. GARDAI CAN'T ARREST YOU IF THEY DON'T HAVE THEIR HAT ON AND THEY MUST GIVE YOU THEIR HAT TO PEE IN
No. No. No. No. A guard can arrest you in plain clothes, if he or she is so inclined. They can even arrest you without a hat. And no, they don't have to give you their hat to pee or poop in. There's a long-held belief that an English policeman would have to give up his Bobby hat to a "gentleman" to relieve himself in, but that's just not true.