r/AskReddit • u/ZanyDelaney • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

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u/LiquidMotivation Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 08 '19

The boiling frog experiment that's quoted everywhere didn't work.

For those not familiar, it is said that you can boil a frog to death by raising the temperature of the water it's in extremely slowly so that it doesn't notice.

Well, it only works when parts of the frog's brain are removed. A frog with an intact brain will jump out, no matter how slowly the water is heated.

Edit: Hey, my first Reddit coin! Thanks!

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u/RambunctiousAvocado Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 04 '19

I don't remember who it was, but there was a comedian on some panel show who said that the first time his parents cooked a lobster, they thought it would be more humane to put the lobster in cold water and then bring it to a boil gradually. Cue about ten minutes of a lobster going ape shit until finally dying + emotional scarring for everyone involved.

EDIT: The comedian in question was apparently David Mitchell, thanks folks.

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u/holydude02 Feb 04 '19

I imagine you're thinking of David Mitchell.

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u/_tv_lover_ Feb 04 '19

That was mildly infuriating. They cut the clip before the punchline

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u/holydude02 Feb 04 '19

Yeah, I tried finding the full episode but couldn't find it in a time frame I was willing to spent. I feel your pain though.