Over the millennia of its existence, humanity has accumulated a huge amount of so-called “folk wisdom” – sayings, proverbs and various allegedly wise quotes. These are words that are intended – often in rhymed form – to reflect some kind of rule of conduct, or simply to calm an upset person.
They are passed down from generation to generation, remain in our subconscious, and we continue to pronounce them without even thinking – but how much do they even make sense? Well, some are simply outdated, not keeping up with the rapid development of mankind in recent decades, some are even harmful, because public morality has changed significantly, and some are just one big lie.
Do you want an example? Voila! You may have heard Thomas Edison’s famous saying, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Beautiful and impressive, isn’t it? On the other hand, this statement is true, perhaps, only to one person – Edison himself.
The fact is that the great inventor did not receive a fundamental education, but rather he had simply phenomenal perseverance and working capacity. As a result, where it was enough to simply make some scientific calculation, Edison compensated for everything with a banal enumeration of options manually. It worked for him, but it’s far from a fact that it works for others.
Well, there is a very popular thread in the AskReddit community where the topic starter wonders “Which old saying is actually nonsense?” During the few months of its existence, the thread has been upvoted more than 35.4K times, and today it consists of nearly 16.6K comments, many of which hide a complete deconstruction of some element of that notorious “folk wisdom”.
Bored Panda has made a list for you with the most popular comments of the original thread. Some of them we have heard hundreds of times in our lives, some you will first meet in this post – in any case, feel free now to scroll to the very end and if you do not find something that seems like complete nonsense to you, please write it in the comments.
More info: Reddit
#1 “Money Can’t Buy Happiness”
“Money can’t buy happiness.”
Poverty can’t buy anything.
Image source: Difficult-Tap-3277, David Baron
#2 “It’s Always In The Last Place You Look”
“It’s always in the last place you look”
Well of course it is. Why would you continue looking once you’ve found it
Image source: callytoad, Qetesh
#3 “Good Things Happen To Good People”
Good things happen to good people. Crock of s**t that is.
Image source: Bhuygv-123, Daniel Thornton
#4 “Looks Don’t Matter”
“looks don’t matter”
I’ve noticed that this is usually said by people who are attractive themselves. That’s like someone born rich saying that money doesn’t matter.
Image source: RadiantHC, kitschkitten
#5 “Age Brings Wisdom”
“Age brings wisdom”
We have an congress, senate, and a bunch of aging baby boomers that prove that wrong.
Image source: CLWho83, Csaba Török
#6 “Money Is The Root Of All Evil”
“Money is the root of all evil” is probably one of the most misquoted sayings out there. The actual quote is “for the love of money is the root of all evil” that changes the meaning behind the quote completely imo
Image source: Jmclay681, 401(K) 2012
#7 “Winners Never Cheat And Cheaters Never Win”
“Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.”
Yeah, b******t. Cheaters almost always win.
Image source: Reloaded9mm, J Yochem
#8 “Go Big Or Go Home”
Go big or go home. You have no idea how bad I just want to go home.
Image source: Best_Detective_2533, Justin Clements
#9 “Lions Are Kings Of The Jungle”
“Lions are king of the jungle” They don’t live in the damn jungle.
Image source: turbo2thousand406, S.Brickman
#10 “Slept Like A Baby”
Slept like a baby. Babies actually don’t sleep well
Image source: Bigbird_Elephant, Donnie Ray Jones
#11 “Everything Happens For A Reason”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
No. It. F*****g. Doesn’t.
Image source: Crazy_Fun_3455, sylvar
#12 “If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try And Try Again”
If at first you don’t succeed try, try and try again.
Don’t follow that advice when dating. You will be branded as a stalker/creep.
Image source: i-need-blinker-fluid, Jeremy Segrott
#13 “Do Something You Love, And You’ll Never Work A Day In Your Life”
Do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. B******t, now what used to bring my joy is misrable and I dont have a backup career.
Image source: Suremayb, Susan Fitzgerald
#14 “Early To Bed, Early To Rise, Makes A Man Healthy, Wealthy, And Wise”
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
I did that for years, and I’m morbidly obese, lower middle class, and stupid as hell.
Image source: stonesthrowaway24601, chispita_666
#15 “You Won’t Always Have A Calculator On You”
“You won’t always have a calculator on you”
Image source: IsakTS, Bill Smith
#16 “An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away”
“An Apple a day keeps the doctor away.” No matter how many I shoved up my butt I still had to get a colonoscopy
Image source: bluntrauma420, Conall
#17 “The Customer Is Always Right”
The customer is always right
Image source: Shutup_England, Green Mamba :)–
#18 “You Can Be Anything You Want”
You can be anything you want.
Image source: Madhammer99, Jennifer C.
#19 “Blood Is Thicker Than Water”
Blood is thicker then water.. Always hated it , s***ty family members.
Image source: BasicallyThatGuy1015, Greg Walters
#20 “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger”
What doesn’t kill you make you stronger
Image source: giggles________, Michael Coghlan
#21 “There’s No Such Thing As A Stupid Question”
There’s no such thing as a stupid question.
Image source: Simon_Jester88, Scott McLeod
#22 “Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps”
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”
– it’s meant as an ironic/satirical phrase, because it refers to an act which is literally impossible
Image source: ChimpskyBRC, Eric.Ray
#23 “A Jack Of All Trades Is A Master Of None”
“A jack of all trades is a master of none”. Only because no one ever user uses the full quote, so it’s useless in this form.
Image source: nLedd, Jonny Hunter
#24 “This Too Shall Pass”
“This too shall pass”
Uhh not if it’s herpes? Unless you mean pass it on
Image source: LeftOnDead, Tom Shockey
#25 “Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, But Words Will Never Hurt Me”
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me
Image source: Fi11a, Kaarina Dillabough
#26 “Good Things Come To Those Who Wait”
Good things come to those who wait….
Image source: AllBadForYou, seabamirum
#27 “Slow And Steady Wins The Race”
Slow and steady wins the race… yet I always lose the kahoot
#28 “That Man Is As Worthless As A One Legged Man At An A*s Kickin'”
My grandmother used to say, “That man is as worthless as a one legged man at an a*s kickin’.”
Well, I worked at a mental facility. One day I saw a one legged man absolutely destroy another dude. Popped him in the head with his crutch, then pitched forward and just stomped on him with his one leg.
Image source: Spodson
#29 “Boys Pick On You Because They Love You”
Boys pick on you because they love you.
This hurts me more then you (when a parent is spanking a child)
Don’t play the victim.
All bad for many reasons.
Image source: Myattet
#30 “Feed A Cold, Starve A Fever”
Feed a cold, starve a fever.
Just eat nutritious, easy to digest foods when you’re sick (and stay hydrated)..
edit: Holy cow this comment blew up! Thanks for the awards!
As for the people who are telling me my version is incorrect, I can tell you that its the one I heard growing up, and the internet seems to confirm that it is indeed a saying (though starve a cold, feed a fever also seems to be a thing)
Image source: hyren82, DC Central Kitchen
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