What I mean is like for example, a person having “gravitational pull” or someone making a “quantum leap” makes no sense to anyone who knows about physics. Gravity is extremely weak and quantum leaps are tiny.

Or “David versus Goliath” to describe a huge underdoge makes no sense to anyone who knows about history, because nobody bringing a gun to a sword fight is going to be the underdog but that’s essentially what David did.

I’m looking for more examples like that.

  • Squorlple@lemmy.worldEnglish
    381·
    15 hours ago

    There are a number of idioms that MythBusters tested, some of which were disproven and some of which were confirmed/plausible.

    It is easy to punch out of a paper bag.

    10 pounds of poop will not fit in a 5-pound bag.

    People can easily recognize the backs of their own hands.

    Taking candy from a baby is not as easy as it sounds.

    People may literally get cold feet when they are scared/timid.

    If poop hits a fan it can indeed create a large mess.

    You can teach an old dog new tricks.

    With an enormous amount of force, it is possible to literally knock someone’s socks off.

    In a race, it is not literally better to hit the ground running.

    You can polish poop.

    Shooting fish in a barrel is fairly easy; the shock wave from a bullet can be enough to kill the fish.

    A bull in a china shop will actively avoid hitting the shelves.

    A rolling stone truly gathers no moss.

    Finding a needle in a haystack is difficult, even with modern technology.

    [EDIT: a couple of other idioms not in the idiom section of the link.

    It is possible to make a balloon out of lead.

    It is not possible to herd cats.

    A goldfish’s memory is not limited to three seconds.

    ]

    • Freshparsnip@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      5 minutes ago

      They also tested the thing about toast landing butter side up

      And also whether exotic meats taste like chicken

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
      20·
      17 hours ago

      if a poop hits the fan it can indeed create a large mess.

      😭 thanks for testing that, Mythbusters, never would’ve known. what was that quote of theirs? the difference between screwing around and science is writing it down?

        • palordrolap@fedia.io
          6·
          11 hours ago

          He attributes it to someone else, but saw its potential where its originator didn’t.

          Source: A quick web search turns up the originator’s name as Alex Jason. Savage has talked about it numerous times in YouTube videos and livestreams, which are somewhat harder to dig through.