What did you get wrong?
Myths, lies, and things your teachers believed too.
Your Personal Report Card
What this is
An encyclopaedia of things humanity got spectacularly wrong. Myths your teachers taught with confidence. Medical advice your doctor used to swear by. Playground rumours that ran the schoolyard for a decade. Mandela effects most of the country shares. Conspiracy theories that fall apart on the third question. Australian tall tales we still half-believe ourselves.
Every entry has the wrong claim, why it sounded right, what's actually going on, and at least two real sources. We're not here to make anyone feel stupid. We believed most of these too. The whole point is that knowledge moves forward, sometimes embarrassingly, and noticing the moments it does is more interesting than pretending it doesn't.
Think you know better?
10 questions. True or false. No Googling. Find out if you're smarter than your Year 10 textbook.
Take the QuizBrowse by Subject
Pick a topic. Prepare to be disappointed in your education.
Most Believed (and Most Wrong)
The greatest hits of human gullibility. You believed at least half of these.
Stepping on a Crack Will Break Your Mother's Back
A superstition with no magical consequences whatsoever
If You Shave, Your Hair Grows Back Thicker and Darker
Shaving creates the appearance of thicker hair, but doesn't change growth
The MMR Vaccine Causes Autism
Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 Lancet paper was retracted after fabrication was exposed
Darth Vader Says 'Luke, I Am Your Father'
The actual line is 'No, I am your father' without using Luke's name
The Berenstein Bears Are Spelled 'Berenstein'
The author always spelled it 'Berenstain' (rhyming with 'stain,' not 'steen')
Browse by Type
From playground myths to conspiracy theories. We've sorted the rubbish so you don't have to.
Curated Collections
Handpicked sets of wrong facts for specific moods and occasions.