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The family pet went to live on the farm - The truth may be difficult to explain to a child, but this is not only one of the biggest lies parents tell their children, it can actually be damaging to the development of their emotional resiliency.

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We only use 10% of our brain - This common misconception is far from the truth. While you may not be using every bit of the brain at any given time, you do use your entire brain over the course of the day.

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Eating carrots improves night vision - Carrots contain vitamin A, which is an important vitamin for eye health, but they will not actual increase visual acuity.

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Dogs see in black and white - Dogs can see color, just not to the same extent as humans.

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Sugar causes hyperactivity - The sugar rush is simply not a thing. Although not the healthiest food to give children, sugar has not actually been proven to alter behavior.

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Sitting too close to the television damages your eyes - Sitting too close to the television is not known to harm eyesight. The myth most likely comes from the color TV-sets in the 1960s that emitted unsafe amounts of radiation.

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If you drop a penny from the top of the Empire State Building, it will kill someone - A penny traveling around 60 mph (about the top speed at which a penny reaches when dropped from the top of the building) will only mildly sting someone if it hits them.

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If you make a silly face, it will freeze like that -

Your facial muscles are elastic and will always return to their normal state.

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You need less sleep as you get older - Developing children do need more sleep than adults, however, after reaching adulthood, the amount of sleep people need does not continue to decrease as they age.

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Reading in the dark damages your eyes - The eyestrain from insufficient light may cause a headache, but it will not cause any damage to your actual eyes or eyesight.

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If you touch a baby bird, its mother will abandon it - Mother birds will not simply abandon their babies because of a "human scent." In fact, birds have a very poor sense of smell and are unable to differentiate scents.

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Drinking coffee stunts growth - While excess caffeine is not the healthiest thing for a child, drinking coffee has no link to growth. Stature and height are determined by genes.

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Shaving causes the hair to grow back thicker - After shaving, the naturally thicker base of the hair follicle starts to grow back first, giving the illusion of thicker hair. However, the hair is not actually thicker.

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A full moon alters behavior - The most research has ever been able to do is prove correlations between a full moon and abnormal or altered behavior, which as we all (should) know, does not equal causation.

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You must wait an hour after eating to go swimming or you'll get cramps and/or die - This myth may stem from the belief that developing cramps while swimming paralyzes a person and can lead to drowning. While you are more likely to suffer from stomach cramps after eating and then physically exerting yourself, this has never been known to result in a drowning.

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A dog year is equivalent to seven human years - Depending on the breed, a dog year is closer to the equivalent of 15 human years.

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If you pee in a pool, it will turn red - Obviously told to children to prevent them from urinating in a shared swimming pool, studies show that nearly half of all Americans continue to believe that there is a special "urine-detecting dye" that will turn pee red when it mixes with the pool chemicals.

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Eating candy causes acne - Candy and greasy food does not actually cause acne per se. It can have an inflammatory effect on the body that may be linked to breakouts.

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We lose most of our body heat through our head - If your parents ever told you that you needed to wear a hat every time you went outside in the winter to prevent excess body heat from escaping, they were misinformed.

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Milk builds strong bones - Studies that have attempted to back up this claim have either had inconclusive results or have shown the exact opposite.

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Vitamin C will fight off the common cold - Vitamin C is important for healthy immune function but there is no evidence to show that it can actually prevent or treat colds.

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If you swallow your gum, it will take seven years to digest - Gum passes through the digestive tract just like anything else. While there are no nutrients to be absorbed, it will definitely not get stuck anywhere along the way.

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Salt makes water boil faster - Not only is this one completely false, it actually accomplishes the complete opposite. Salt increases the boiling point of water, actually making it take longer to boil.

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If you sneeze with your eyes open, they will fall out - We naturally close our eyes when we sneeze, but if we force them to stay open, there is no way they will fall out. There is a slight elevation in blood pressure behind the eyes, but not nearly enough to cause anything resembling them popping out of their sockets.

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It is impossible for someone to lick their own elbow - While rare, a very flexible and hypermobile person is capable of this feat.

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If you go outside with wet hair, you'll get sick - Colds are caused by viruses, not from being physically cold. Often times, cold or flu viruses are more common in the winter, increasing the overall likelihood of getting sick, which may have resulted in this myth.

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A watermelon tree will grow in your stomach if you swallow the seeds - This one shouldn't need further explanation...right?

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If you cross your eyes, they will get stuck - Eye muscles can tire after remaining crossed for too long, but they will never freeze in that position.

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If you touch a toad, you'll get warts - Warts are contracted from a virus, which has zero connection to the texture of this amphibian's skin.

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Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis -

There is no scientific evidence to back up this claim, even if it does sound disgusting to many people.

See also: 30 lies you have always believed

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