# Ever been shocked at what some people believe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369 "2012-05-18T22:14:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/41 "2012-05-20T04:43:05Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > A cow-orker didn’t know that meat was animals’ muscle tissue. He just thought that “meat” was something that animals had inside them that had no other function than to eat. Wow. What surprises me about that one is they believed it into adulthood. I had a classmate in high school (both of us were in Honors level classes) who believed the same thing. We grew up in the same rural area so it wasn’t a matter of being unfamiliar with animals. Me: Meat is just the muscle if an animal (or something like that. I don’t remember how it came up). Her: Eww! No it’s not! Me: Yes it is. Her: Mommy! (yes, she really still called her that) Sodalite says meat is animal muscle! Her Mom: Of course it is. Her: EEEEEEEEEWWWW!!! Me: What did you think it was, then? Her: I dunno. I thought there was skin and muscle and somewhere down in there was meat. I wish I could say it was the most bizarre conversation I ever had with her. She was also quite certain that women had three “buttholes” and that was what they were supposed to be called. All those other words were dirty. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/42 "2012-05-20T05:00:49Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > A cow-orker didn’t know that meat was animals’ muscle tissue. He just thought that “meat” was something that animals had inside them that had no other function than to eat. Just let them catch you orking one cow… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/43 "2012-05-20T05:15:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > But then “shocked” doesn’t mean much to me anymore. More “bemused” nowadays. I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused. [Actually I’ve been wondering about that phrase – off to start a CS thread.] ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/44 "2012-05-20T06:22:56Z")
> [@jbarro](#): > > Also, a friend once told me that she had a slightly crooked mouth because her grandfather was shot in the face during the war. Obviously that can be passed on genetically. :smack: Probably lives in utter terror of threats like “I’ll slap you so hard your grandkids will be born dizzy”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![benbo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@benbo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benbo1)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/45 "2012-05-20T09:47:14Z")
For me, nothing beats the 9-11 Truthers. The deluxe version is particularly entertaining: the Jesse Ventura spin, that years before the attack, painting contractors actually covered the walls with thermite-laden paint, thus prepping the WTC for the future implosion. And that it was impossible for building 7 WTC to have been brought down by falling debris, conveniently ignoring the diesel storage tanx in the building. And that there were smoky trails in the sky right before the attax, which ‘could only have been’ missiles. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/46 "2012-05-20T13:23:57Z")
> [@benbo1](#): > > For me, nothing beats the 9-11 Truthers. Yeah, that takes the cake. The same type of people with different political beliefs are who makes up the “birther” crowd. I have to admit that I wondered why Obama wouldn’t just show people his birth certificate and end the matter, although I never believed he wasn’t a citizen. But since he finally did, the issue is settled. I don’t understand how some people are still pursuing this non issue. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/47 "2012-05-20T13:49:20Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I have to admit that I wondered why Obama wouldn’t just show people his birth certificate and end the matter, although I never believed he wasn’t a citizen. But since he finally did, the issue is settled. I don’t understand how some people are still pursuing this non issue. Your third sentence answers your first, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![happycamper\_5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@happycamper\_5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happycamper_5)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/48 "2012-05-20T15:05:32Z")
I had a friend in high school who believed that all dogs were male and all cats were female and when they mated, half of the litter were puppies & the other half kittens. One of the most bizarre things I’ve ever heard, though, came from my aunt after my nephew was born. She was actually my great aunt, my grandmother’s sister, so this must have been some kind of old wives’ tale - when you clip an infant’s nails for the first time, the mother has to eat the clippings or…something will happen. This was about 20 years ago and I can’t remember the penalty now. I do remember the entire room staying uncomfortably quiet for while after she dropped that pearl of wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/49 "2012-05-20T15:25:58Z")
I had a conversation with an adult woman once who stated quite soberly and certainly that planes stay in air solely because of passengers belief that they will do so. . ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/50 "2012-05-20T16:44:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Your third sentence answers your first, doesn’t it? To me the way to make it go away would have been to just get it out and show it as soon as it was brought up. That would have put it to rest quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/51 "2012-05-20T17:06:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > People tell me all the time that their mother/brother/sister/cousin has diabetes because they eat too much sugar. Yeah, I hate it when someone says that to my 12 year old type 1 daughter. We fight that crap about once a week. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/52 "2012-05-20T19:07:14Z")
Yeah: > [@](#): > > [Home - Jezebel](http://jezebel.com/5903524/getting-measles-trendy-among-babies-whose-asshole-parents-didnt-vaccinate-them) > > Getting Measles Trendy Among Babies Whose Asshole Parents Didn’t Vaccinate Them ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/53 "2012-05-20T19:40:37Z")
> [@Sodalite](#): > > I wish I could say it was the most bizarre conversation I ever had with her. She was also quite certain that women had three “buttholes” and that was what they were supposed to be called. All those other words were dirty. I guess she gets credit for knowing there are three holes, not just two. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/54 "2012-05-20T20:26:27Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > To me the way to make it go away would have been to just get it out and show it as soon as it was brought up. That would have put it to rest quickly. 😕 That’s what he did. He released his birth certificate in June of 2008, which was right about when the controversy started. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/55 "2012-05-20T20:44:58Z")
I just wonder why Obama released his birth certificate at all. He had to have known that the birthers wouldn’t have been satisfied, since nothing would, and birthers are already a bunch fringe conspiracy theorists so I really don’t get why he bothered. Everyone that mattered knew he was eligible to be President. Hell, even if he was somehow proven to be ineligible to be POTUS, I don’t see what the birthers could do about it. It’s not like Congress is going to impeach him over it now. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/56 "2012-05-20T20:53:08Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > A good friend in college, while we were discussing the Dead Kennedys, opined that it’s too bad that nobody was willing to put _Kill the Poor_ into practice. I’m still not sure if he was kidding or not, I like to think he was. This was probably the closest I’ve come to being truly shocked. That’s what I love about the DKs. Other political punk bands us ridiculously over the top song titles and lyrics. They layer it in a whole bunch of sarcasm. That song is told from the perspective of a government official or similar, not Jello. And _Police Truck_ isn’t saying that cops are awesome for beating people. > [@AaronX](#): > > Harold Camping. He is from my hometown. I didn’t hear about him until several years after I moved away, and he hit the news with his last prediction. I’m thankful for that. Oops, my contribution. It’s a little too recent to say much, let’s just say that I encountered someone previously seemingly normal who went on about the pharmaceutical companies, cancer cures being held back, etc. The real doozy was that depression and bipolar can be cured by purely environmental means like exercise and forcing socialness, but the drug companies don’t want you to do that. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/57 "2012-05-20T23:39:21Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > 😕 That’s what he did. He released his birth certificate in June of 2008, which was right about when the controversy started. But it wasn’t the _long form_ birth certificate. And then last year, when he finally released the long form, it didn’t have a picture of his mom in the stirrups, with the governor of Hawaii standing next to her. So what are people supposed to think? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/58 "2012-05-20T23:46:04Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Sometimes the really shocking thing is who believes it, i.e., it doesn’t shock me that some people believe in astrology and base life decisions on it, but it DOES shock me that a former coworker, who I regard as very intelligent and who seems to have a good grasp on reality in most things, actually believes in it and (for instance) won’t date Leo males because it’s not a good match for her. Same here, with my sister. She has a degree in engineering, and there was nothing in our environment growing up that hinted of any tendency toward mysticism, so I was really shocked when we were having a conversation one day, and she gently “corrected” me after I had lumped astrology in with other forms of pseudoscience. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/59 "2012-05-21T01:57:11Z")
My father believes he can, and has, cured cancer. ALL cancer. All you need to do is follow his dietary guidelines, which involve an ever-changing series of supplements. It started with shark cartilage, but he’s now on something like 50 capsules a day with various substances, including selenium and cayenne pepper. Oh, and some magic activated water he buys for a fortune from some back-blocks crank. For himself I don’t care so much, but he peddles this crap to everyone he meets, including his fellow retirement home residents, and his older sister (now dead). This shocked me when it first happened, because he was a perfectly level-headed, science-based guy. A chemical engineer in his youth. He’s still a flight and space enthusiast, but on the subject of health and cancer in particular went completely off the deep end. He also believes that, if we were to sequester carbon dioxide effectively, we would also sequester enough oxygen in it to alter the amount in the atmosphere and make it hard to breathe. > [@PlainJain](#): > > I had a conversation with an adult woman once who stated quite soberly and certainly that planes stay in air solely because of passengers belief that they will do so. … and model planes? Paper planes? Drones? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369/60 "2012-05-21T03:05:49Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > his dietary guidelines, which involve an ever-changing series of supplements. It started with shark cartilage, but he’s now on something like 50 capsules a day with various substances, including selenium and cayenne pepper. I have a friend who takes at least 30 different suppliments at least once a day [he arrives for dinner with a pillbottle with the pills he slams down before, during and after dinner in what I guess is some particular order. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-shocked-at-what-some-people-believe/622369.md?page=4)