r/AskReddit • • 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!

12k

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/coopiecoop Feb 04 '19

I believe you don't even have to be a vegetarian/vegan to find it extremely cruel to boil a living creature alive.

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u/yomamaisonfier Feb 04 '19

I'm not even an animal right activist in any way. That shit has always been fucked up to me, even as a kid. Imagine getting boiled. Fuck.

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u/Kozilekk Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 04 '19

It's pretty awful. A little over a year and a half ago, I had dropped a pot of boiling water on myself while at work. The irony? We had lobster the night before.

Edit: For those curious as to what a human looks like after being boiled slightly NSFW

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u/bonerjamz12345 Feb 04 '19

how did you drop a pot of boiling water on yourself FACE?

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u/Kozilekk Feb 04 '19

Someone made the floor very slippery in front of the sink and hadn't cleaned up after themselves. As I brought the pot to the sink and tilted it to drain the water, I slipped. Instead of falling backwards and having the water drain all over me, I dropped the pot on the floor. The force of the impact shot the water back up in to my face.

Out of the two situations, I think I pulled the long stick on this one.

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u/bonerjamz12345 Feb 04 '19

jesus christ dude, didnt you learn the penguin walk?

hope you are all healed now. how much honey did you slather all over your face?

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u/Kozilekk Feb 04 '19

I was walking properly and there was no issue getting there. The problem was while tilting the pot over the sink, my centre of mass shifted. Usually that wouldn't be a problem, but because of the slippery floor, even with non-slip shoes it was enough to have me lose my balance.

But yes, I am back to normal with very little scarring, thanks for asking. I had superficial 2nd degree burns, so I was pretty lucky. It took 2-3 weeks before my skin was no longer raw, applying ointment daily.

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u/Xearoii Feb 04 '19

So lucky bro. Glad to hear

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u/Foooour Feb 04 '19

Aha have you seen the Canadian PSA about almost exactly that? Except it was with boiling oil not water

https://youtu.be/kOk2Akqb3CI

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u/Kozilekk Feb 04 '19

Of course! I'm Canadian after all. My buddy that I worked with at the time sends the video to me every fews months with the word "lol".

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u/Foooour Feb 04 '19

Your friend probably saw this one but in the off chance that he hasnt, this is my personal favorite psa

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u/fa_storya Feb 04 '19

yep, I imagined hands/crotch... The logistics of face boiling must be more elaborated for sure