Top 13+ School Lessons Boomers Learned That Turned Out to Be Totally Wrong

You won’t believe how many of these ‘facts’ were completely made up.

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

They taught us a lot in school, but not all of it holds up under the harsh light of reality. Turns out, some of what we memorized, recited, and even aced tests on was about as accurate as a weather forecast for three weeks out.

The stuff they swore was “scientific” or “absolute truth” has since been debunked, leaving us scratching our heads and wondering what else they got wrong. Buckle up—this is going to blow your mind (and maybe your nostalgia).

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

Ah, the sanitized tale of Christopher Columbus, the fearless explorer. What they didn’t teach us? The darker chapters, like his treatment of Indigenous people or that he didn’t actually “discover” a land already inhabited. Modern historians have been busy rewriting this story, and let’s just say Columbus Day parades hit a little differently now. Maybe we should’ve been celebrating the people who were here first instead of a guy who got wildly lost.

5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

Knuckle crackers everywhere lived in fear of their joints turning into gnarled claws, thanks to this myth. Turns out, the worst thing cracking your knuckles does is annoy the person sitting next to you. Studies show no connection between cracking and arthritis—just a satisfying pop and possibly a judgmental glare from your grandma. So, crack away if you must, but maybe not during movie night.

6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

Sure, it sounds dramatic and reassuring, but it’s also completely false. Lightning doesn’t have memory; it strikes where it wants, as often as it pleases. Tall buildings like the Empire State Building get hit dozens of times a year. So, if you’re thinking you’re safe because lightning “already struck here,” think again. Nature doesn’t play by your rules, my friend.

7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

We were all told we had untapped super-genius potential waiting to be unlocked. Unfortunately, it’s a myth. Neuroscientists confirm we use pretty much all of our brains, just not all at once. So, no, you’re not secretly Einstein waiting to emerge. But hey, using your brain for naps, snacks, and Netflix counts too, right? Let’s just call it efficient multitasking.

8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

This one scared every kid into spitting out gum like it was toxic waste. But here’s the truth: gum doesn’t stick around in your stomach. It passes through your system like everything else—quickly and uneventfully. Sure, it’s not exactly nutritious, but it’s not camping out in your intestines either. The real lesson? Don’t believe everything you hear on the playground.

9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

The idea of a falling penny turning into a deadly projectile is pure urban legend. Physics says a penny’s too light to gain enough speed to do real harm. If anything, it’ll just sting a bit—unless you’re unlucky enough to get hit in the eye. So, rest easy; you’re not a threat to humanity if you accidentally drop your spare change from the Empire State Building.

10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

Boomers were practically glued to their TVs, but they were warned against sitting too close. Turns out, the biggest danger wasn’t eye damage but possibly missing your mom’s call to dinner. Modern science says proximity doesn’t hurt your vision—though binge-watching for hours might make your eyes a little tired. So go ahead and lean in—just don’t forget to blink.

11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

This creepy factoid haunted many of us, conjuring images of zombies with manicures. In reality, it’s just an optical illusion. After death, the skin dries out and pulls back, making nails and hair appear longer. So no, the dearly departed aren’t in need of a trim—they’re just victims of dehydration. Science: ruining spooky myths since forever.

12. Bats Are Blind

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

“Blind as a bat” might be a catchy phrase, but it’s also a total lie. Bats can see just fine, thank you very much. They also use echolocation to navigate like tiny, furry sonar machines. It’s like having GPS and night vision rolled into one. So, if anything, bats are overachievers in the vision department. Take that, clichés!

13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

4. Columbus Discovered America, and He Was a Hero, 5. Cracking Your Knuckles Will Definitely Give You Arthritis, 6. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice, 7. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains, 8. Swallowing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest, 9. Dropping a Penny from a Tall Building Can Kill Someone, 10. Sitting Too Close to the TV Will Ruin Your Eyes, 11. Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die, 12. Bats Are Blind, 13. Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Oxygen

Remember those diagrams in science class showing blue veins and red arteries? They made us believe our blood was blue inside our bodies. Nope! Blood is always red—just darker in your veins due to less oxygen. Those blue veins? That’s just light playing tricks under your skin. So much for feeling like royalty with “blue blood.”

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