The 1990s
52 entries on file
Things people believed and taught during the 1990s.
Wakefield's MMR-autism paper landed in 1998. The fat-free craze was at peak. The food pyramid had us eating eleven serves of bread a day. Y2K was supposed to crash civilisation. Australia was confident drop bears were a useful prank on Japanese tourists. The 90s also produced the first large internet hoaxes, the Bonsai Kitten, the Bill Gates email forward, the original 'this fact has been verified by Snopes' meme. The decade where misinformation went digital and our defences hadn't caught up yet.
The MMR Vaccine Causes Autism
Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 Lancet paper was retracted after fabrication was exposed
Mr. Rogers Was a Navy SEAL
Fred Rogers was a children's entertainer, not a military operative
Vaccines cause autism
Fraudulent study retracted; millions of studies confirm vaccine safety
Sinbad Starred in a Movie Called 'Shazaam' About a Genie
No such film exists; 'Kazaam' (1996) featured Shaquille O'Neal, not Sinbad
Organ Thieves Steal Kidneys from Tourists
A widespread myth with no verified cases
There Was a Sinbad Genie Movie Called 'Shazaam'
No such movie exists; this is likely a false memory conflating multiple films
Pikachu's Tail Has a Black Tip
Pikachu's tail is entirely yellow with a brown base; no black tip
Marilyn Manson Had Ribs Surgically Removed
False rumour; Manson has never had ribs removed
Chemtrails are secret chemical spraying for population control
Contrails are water vapour; chemical spraying would be impractical and visible
Cell phones cause brain tumors from radiation
Mobile phone radiation is non-ionizing; large studies show no reliable link
You Eat Eight Spiders While Sleeping Every Year
You eat virtually no spiders; they avoid sleeping humans
T. rex couldn't see you if you stood still
T. rex had excellent vision, including movement detection
Jurassic Park's DNA-from-amber premise is biologically possible
While mosquitoes preserve in amber, dinosaur DNA recovery remains impossible
Vaccines Contain Dangerous Levels of Mercury (Thimerosal)
Thimerosal was removed from most vaccines, but remaining traces pose no health risk
The Mozart Effect: Listening to Mozart Makes You Smarter
Original study involved brief spatial reasoning improvement; broader 'smarter' claims were misinterpretations
Macs Don't Get Viruses
macOS systems are vulnerable; they've had fewer historical attacks due to market dominance of Windows, not superior architecture
Always Fully Drain Your Battery Before Recharging
Lithium-ion batteries suffer from deep discharge cycles; partial charges extend lifespan
Hannibal Lecter Says 'Hello, Clarice'
The iconic line is 'Good evening, Clarice' in The Silence of the Lambs
Mister Rogers Was a Navy SEAL Sniper With Tattooed Arms
Fred Rogers never served in the military. The cardigans hid nothing but a kind man.
'420' Was the Police Code for Marijuana
No such code exists; it came from five California teenagers in 1971
Pocahontas and John Smith Were in Love
She was a child when they met, and the rescue story is doubtful too
JFK Accidentally Called Himself a Jelly Donut in Berlin
'Ich bin ein Berliner' was correct German, and the crowd understood it
You Should Pee on a Jellyfish Sting
Urine can make it worse; rinse and treat it properly instead
The Food Pyramid Is the Ideal Nutrition Guide
Replaced by MyPlate; pyramid design promoted excess grains
The Largest Organism Is a Fungus
Armillaria ostoyae fungus covers 2,384 acres in Oregon
High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Uniquely Unhealthy
HFCS is metabolically similar to other sugars
All carbohydrates are unhealthy and cause weight gain
Refined carbs differ from whole carbs; carbs are essential for brain and body function
Organic food is always healthier than conventional
Nutrition similar; main benefit is reduced pesticide residues
All plastic containers leach dangerous chemicals
Food-grade plastics are safe at room temperature
Peanut allergies are caused by early over-introduction to children
Early introduction may actually reduce allergy risk
Vaccines Cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Timing creates false correlation; SIDS actually decreased after vaccine schedules were introduced
Australian Tap Water Is Unsafe to Drink
Australian tap water is among the cleanest and safest in the world
Waving a Magnet Near Your Hard Drive Wipes It
Modern HDDs are magnetically shielded; SSDs have no magnetic storage and are immune
More RAM Always Makes Your Computer Faster
RAM helps only when you're hitting capacity limits; excess RAM provides minimal benefit
You Need Antivirus Software on Every Device
Modern OSes include built-in security; third-party antivirus adds little for most users and sometimes introduces vulnerabilities
Typing Your PIN Backwards at an ATM Alerts Police
Urban legend with no technical basis; ATMs have no mechanism to detect reverse PINs or trigger alerts
Y2K Was Overblown; Nothing Would Have Happened Without Fixes
Billions spent on preventive fixes averted genuine infrastructure failures and data corruption
Febreze Spelled 'Febreeze' with Two E's
The brand is 'Febreze' with one 'e', not 'Febreeze'
The Word 'Picnic' Has a Racist Lynching Origin
It is 17th-century French for a shared meal, with no link to violence
A Duck's Quack Doesn't Echo
It does; the echo is just hard to pick out, and acousticians tested it
Coffee Dehydrates You
The water in the cup more than offsets caffeine's mild diuretic effect
Tourette's Syndrome Means Shouting Swear Words
Most people with Tourette's never have the swearing symptom at all
Alkaline water is healthier than regular water
Body pH is tightly regulated; alkaline water has no proven health benefits
Dinosaur extinction was caused by volcanism, not an asteroid
Evidence supports both factors working together, not volcanism alone
Ego Depletion: Willpower Depletes Like a Muscle
The theory failed to replicate in large, well-controlled studies; effect size is likely zero
Facilitated Communication Allows Non-Speaking Autistic People to Communicate
Controlled studies proved the facilitator, not the client, was controlling the communication
Guarana Gives Supernatural Energy (Brazil)
Guarana contains caffeine and other stimulants but doesn't provide magical energy; marketing mythology exceeded facts
Cell Phones Interfere with Airplane Instrument Systems
Modern aircraft avionics are shielded; the ban reflects frequency allocation conflicts and congestion, not equipment interference
Celery Has Negative Calories Because Chewing Burns More Than It Contains
Celery is very low in calories, but digesting it costs only a fraction of them
Forrest Gump Said 'Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates'
The actual line is accurate; this is correctly remembered
Your stomach lining is completely replaced every three days
Stomach epithelium is replaced every 3-5 days; claims vary by source
Diederik Stapel's Social Psychology Research Was Entirely Fabricated
58 papers retracted; one of the largest fraud cases in scientific history