Car Explosions

Cars explode in movies ALL THE TIME cuz it looks so damn cool.

The Reality: Obviously, gasoline is flammable but that doesn’t mean cars are prone to so many explosions. Fire needs oxygen to burn and the tank in a car has very little oxygen to trigger an explosion. Plus, the core materials of a car aren’t flammable. So, no. Cars do’t explode and burn that easily.

Defibrillators Bringing People Back to Life

Ah the famous, “clear!” paddles that magically bring anyone back to life.

In Reality: Defibrillators aren’t mean to restart a stopped heart. Defibrillators are designed to jolt the heart back to a regular rhythm, not bring someone back from the dead.

Grenade Explosions

In movies, grenades are massive explosions, great for moving the plot forward. And characters can pull out grenade pins with their teeth. Again, looks cool.

In Reality: Forget trying to pull grenade pins out with your choppers. If they were designed to be that easy to pull, it’d be pretty dumb. Grenades are still dangerous, yes, but don’t detonate in explosions and fireballs. It’s more smoke and shrapnel in real life.

Poison Can Be Sucked Out

Sorry Hollywood, you can’t suck snake venom out of a wound.

In Reality: Venom doesn’t remain in one place, it spreads through the body — and fast. Plus, someone putting their mouth on a poison/venom wound would just increase the risk of infection. If you’re bit by something poisonous/venemous, try to remember what the animal looked like and get medical assistance ASAP.

Waiting to Report a Missing Person

Movies have this trope that you have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person.

In Reality: That’s insane. If you suspect someone is actually missing, report them to authorities right away.

Morning Sickness = Pregnant

In movies, it’s easier for the plot to move forward by having a woman find out she is pregnant the next day, by being sick.

In Reality: Most women don’t experience morning sickness during early stages of pregnancy. The much more reliable indicator of pregnancy is a missed period.

Cool Guys Don’t Look At Exposions

The idea you can walk away from a nearby explosion looks cool AF, but it’s not possible.

In Reality: Shock waves flow outward from the middle of an explosion. So, if the blast is large enough, the shock wave

would easily knock down everyone within its radius.

Chloroform Immediately Knocks People Out

A bottle of chloroform is like a super power in movies, instantly knocking someone out for hours.

In Reality: Chloroform takes about 5 minutes to kick in, and only lasts a short while.

Forensics Are Instant Crime Solvers

It’s like having all the answers in a few cotton swabs…

In Reality: The process of forensics only helps to gather evidence.

Drowning Victims Are Loud & Visible

People who drown in movies are often screaming, throw their arms in the air, and are easy to spot.

In Reality: Unfortunetly, people who drown are very difficult to see and hear. Stay vigilant out there!

Silencers Make Guns Completely Quiet

It works great for shooting people quietly in movies. But it’s not how it works.

In Reality: A silencer only dampens the noise, but the gunshot itself is still audible.

Skydiving Is A Great Place For A Chat

Need to have that conversation? Do it while skydiving.

In Reality: The wind travelling past you at that speed makes you deaf to all sounds. Sorry.

Twinkies Can Survive The Apocalypse

Where did this one start? That Twinkies are immortal?

In Reality: They have a shelf life of 45 days.

That People Only Use 10% Of Their Brain Power

Essentially, humans haven’t reached their full brain capacity power.

In Reality: Scientists have used PET and fMRI machines and brain mapping to prove that every part of the brain has a distinct function and even simple tasks use far more than 10% of its capacity.

Quicksand Can Quickly Swallow You Whole

I always thought this would be the death of me. Probably Indiana Jones’ fault or something…

In Reality: Humans are mostly water, so we float in quicksand. And quicksand tends to be puddle-size. You could get stuck, sure. But not swallowed.

Absinthe Can Make You See Wild Sh#t

Let’s go for a trip, man.

In Reality: Absinthe is not a hallucinogenic and does not cause hallucinations. Like any other high-proof boozer, absinthe can simply get you real drunk, real fast.

Piranhas Are Exclusively Carnivorous

Another childhood fear: getting devoured by a school of carnivorous piranhas.

In Reality: It would take about 300 to 500 piranhas to eat a human. There is some evidence that piranhas eat human

flesh, it’s only been documented where the person is already deceased — not alive.

The post 17 Myths That Show Just How Much Hollywood Shapes What We Think Is True appeared first on Barnorama.