# Lies teachers told you in school **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 8, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163 "2016-08-08T18:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/21 "2016-08-09T01:01:45Z")
That you could survive a nuclear strike if you hid under your desk. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/22 "2016-08-09T01:16:07Z")
not so much a “lie” as just inaccurate understanding, but I went through school being told the dinosaurs all went extinct. now we see that the theropods survived and became birds. Though if you look at a vulture or most raptors, the resemblance should have been obvious 😉 > [@naita](#): > > That’s not a lie, it’s an opinion. I dunno, it’s more or less situationally-dependent. there are some of us who are not cut out for art, music, and other such endeavors. we just lack the talent, and trying to “teach” it to us is a waste of time. For those who have the talent, it can be very rewarding. > [@buddha\_david](#): > > A driving school instructor once told me that it was perfectly legal to skip a red light by taking a shortcut through a gas station on the corner. Years later, a different instructor said that such an action was NOT legal. I still don’t know what the truth is. in Michigan that’s traffic offense code 2500, “Use of private property to avoid traffic control device” and _will_ get you a ticket if the police see you do it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/23 "2016-08-09T01:19:43Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > A driving school instructor once told me that it was perfectly legal to skip a red light by taking a shortcut through a gas station on the corner. Years later, a different instructor said that such an action was NOT legal. I still don’t know what the truth is. In Virginia, VA Code § 46.2-833.1 provides that: > [@](#): > > It shall be unlawful for the driver of any motor vehicle to drive off the roadway and onto or across any public or private property in order to evade any stop sign, yield sign, traffic light, or other traffic control device. Your state may vary. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/24 "2016-08-09T01:26:32Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > “I’m sure that the guilt you feel is far worse than any punishment you might receive. Now, don’t you feel terrible?” “Adults loved to say things like that but kids knew better.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/25 "2016-08-09T01:28:38Z")
That’s not evasion, strictly speaking. You still have to stop at the exit of the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/26 "2016-08-09T01:30:47Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > A driving school instructor once told me that it was perfectly legal to skip a red light by taking a shortcut through a gas station on the corner. Years later, a different instructor said that such an action was NOT legal. I still don’t know what the truth is. I believe that cutting corners like that you are subject to a “Avoiding a traffic control device” charge if they catch you; or maybe that is an Urban Legend also. Bob ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/27 "2016-08-09T01:44:34Z")
The reason the Panama canal has locks is because if it didn’t, the Atlantic and Pacific would collide into each other, causing great chaos and catastrophes. “Compare” means only to tell similarities (hey- read the dictionary!). Teachers still spew out “compare and contrast” questions. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/28 "2016-08-09T01:50:56Z")
That “AD” in “the year AD 2016,” stands for “After Death.” That teacher ended up quitting teaching after like, 2 years, and becoming a clothing buyer for some department store. I had her as a student teacher in the 5th grade and got into a protracted argument with her, and no amount of logic or Latin would convince her. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/29 "2016-08-09T01:54:16Z")
The US debt would never reach a trillion dollars. I distinctly remember my teacher saying that would be impossible. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/30 "2016-08-09T02:08:31Z")
M&M’s were 95 percent sterilized dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/31 "2016-08-09T02:17:52Z")
Don’t fan yourself, because it will actually make you hotter because it causes the perspiration to evaporate. The United States was second largest country in the world after the Soviet Union. One of the contributions of the ancient Phoenicians, in addition to the alphabet, was: Phoenician blinds :eek: (Different teachers.) ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/32 "2016-08-09T02:26:42Z")
> [@](#): > > That you could survive a nuclear strike if you hid under your desk. This. We actually had drills several times a month where we hid under our desks. Even as a young child I thought it was idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/33 "2016-08-09T03:58:50Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > A driving school instructor once told me that it was perfectly legal to skip a red light by taking a shortcut through a gas station on the corner. Years later, a different instructor said that such an action was NOT legal. I still don’t know what the truth is. Not legal in Florida. SS 316.074 “No person shall drive any vehicle from a roadway to another roadway to avoid obeying the indicated traffic control indicated by such traffic control device.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/34 "2016-08-09T04:10:46Z")
My eighth grade geography teacher told us that the capital of Brazil is Rio de Janeiro. Even when I told her that no, it’s Brasilia, she wouldn’t believe me until I went home, got our atlas, and took it to school to show her. ---
**Author:** ![yesanything](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yesanything](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yesanything)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/35 "2016-08-09T04:15:07Z")
I a movie course in college, some jerk of a TA insisted the Dr. Strangelove character was based on Henry Kissinger. Of course it was the early seventies, so to the academic types Nixon and his Crew were to blame for everything. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/36 "2016-08-09T04:45:37Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Not direct lies so much as anecdotes as truth - years after I was out and the Internet came along, Snopes blew away several things I was told. Some I still recall: > > [ul]The Chevy Nova didn’t sell in Mexico because it means “it doesn’t go” > > [li]Catfish the size of cars live at the bottom of the dam at \ lake[/li] > [li]Guy gets flat outside Insane Asylum, inmate suggests using one lug nut from the other tires[/li] > [li]\ College library is sinking because the architect forgot to take into account the weight of the books[/li] > [li]Golf means “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden”[/li] > [li]You can’t swim for an hour after eating[/li] > [li]Swallowing gum takes 7 years to digest[/li][/ul] Not all the same teacher, I hope. > [@wolfman](#): > > In many places(every one I have lived in) it is illegal, usually under some vague language like “Improper travel to avoid a traffic control device or officer” This is correct. Or at least it was in Texas in the late 90s when I got a ticket for it. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/37 "2016-08-09T05:07:34Z")
That various behaviors (eg, bad spelling) “won’t be tolerated in the real world (or) workforce”. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/38 "2016-08-09T05:12:28Z")
[quote=“Morbo, post:14, topic:762163”] [ul] [li]You can’t swim for an hour after eating[/li][li]Swallowing gum takes 7 years to digest[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I need some clarification on this from your teacher. If you swallow gum, does that mean that you shouldn’t go swimming for seven years? ---
**Author:** ![yesanything](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yesanything](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yesanything)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/39 "2016-08-09T06:40:22Z")
[quote=“Morbo, post:14, topic:762163”] ege library is sinking because the architect forgot to take into account the weight of the books Love the library one:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163/40 "2016-08-09T07:05:50Z")
“Spain was unified in 1492”. Not even a personal union, at that point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-teachers-told-you-in-school/762163.md?page=3)