00:01If three women enter the sea, a shark can tell which one is on her period, but that doesn't mean
00:07she will be its target.
00:09Sharks have an amazing sense of smell, and they can detect prey from hundreds of feet away.
00:14So yes, they can sense menstrual blood, just like they can sense urine or other body fluids in the water,
00:20but it doesn't make them more aggressive.
00:23So far, there's no strong evidence that being on your period raises the risk of a shark bite.
00:30Same goes for bears. This myth really took off in 1967.
00:35That year, two women were sleeping in Glacier National Park when grizzly bears suddenly attacked them.
00:42Some said it happened because one of them was on that time of the month.
00:46Soon after, people started handing out brochures, warning women on their period to stay out of bear territory.
00:53But a 1991 study showed this idea doesn't hold up.
00:58They proved bears don't show any special interest in menstrual smells.
01:02Good for you girls, but stay away from bears just in case.
01:07And please, keep taking baths.
01:09Yep, for some reason, there are a lot of myths about baths and periods that have been passed down for
01:14generations.
01:16One myth says hot water makes bleeding heavier, but that's not really a thing.
01:21Another myth says being in the water can stop a period.
01:24Okay, this one is kind of true, but it doesn't stop the cycle.
01:28What can happen is that the flow may slow down a bit because of water pressure.
01:33But the period is still happening.
01:36It's just not leaving the body as quickly.
01:38So, hot baths are safe.
01:42But the wildest period and water myth comes from ancient Rome.
01:47Pliny the Elder wrote in his book, Natural History, that menstruating women could control storms.
01:53He truly thought they had the power to scare away hailstorms, whirlwinds, and lightning.
01:59All they had to do was, well, take their clothes off.
02:05And that's not all.
02:06He also claimed menstrual blood had dangerous, almost magical powers.
02:12According to him, women could even get rid of plagues like caterpillars, worms, beetles, and other insects.
02:18And the method?
02:19That's right, clothes off again.
02:22Oh, and then walk around the fields a few times.
02:25The Middle Ages had some of the craziest myths, like saying menstrual blood was poisonous or impure.
02:32But they also thought it was leftover blood.
02:36They believed women didn't burn it off because they didn't move around enough.
02:40So the body had to get rid of the leftover blood every month.
02:44But if a period was late, they assumed it was still stuck inside.
02:49So their solution was to draw blood directly from a woman's veins.
02:53Oh boy.
02:54And as women got older, things got even more bizarre.
02:58They thought those close to menopause had stored up a lifetime of excess blood.
03:03And because of that, they could release poisonous vapors into the air through their eyes and nose.
03:10These ideas sound absurd now, but we still believe in a lot of myths.
03:15Like, periods reduce the ability to think straight, making women forgetful, slow, and unable to function the way they normally
03:22would.
03:23People call it period brain, but it's not really a thing.
03:26A 2017 study found no proof that menstrual cycles reduce cognitive performance.
03:32Then, in 2025, new research looked at almost 4,000 women and asked them to do the same set of
03:39tasks at different points in their cycles.
03:42Scientists tested things like attention, creativity, intelligence, and motor skills.
03:47But they didn't find any real difference.
03:49The participants performed about the same before, during, and after their periods.
03:56Now, you've probably heard people say that best friends' periods line up.
04:00This idea is so popular that it even has a name.
04:05Menstrual synchrony.
04:06But is it actually real?
04:08This idea goes back to a small study from the 1970s.
04:13Researchers followed a group of girls living together in a college dorm and suggested their cycles started to match up
04:19over time.
04:20But later studies couldn't really confirm it or explain how it would even work.
04:25Because there's no biological mechanism that makes one person's cycle pull another one along.
04:32Women might feel like their periods sync for a really simple reason.
04:36They're more likely to know and remember when their close friends get to their periods.
04:41So when the dates happen to overlap, they notice it right away.
04:45It feels like syncing, but it's just coincidence.
04:49Another thing people still believe is that ladies can't get pregnant during their periods.
04:55The chances are low, sure, but they're not zero.
04:59Male reproductive cells can stay alive inside a woman's body for up to 72 hours.
05:04So, if a menstrual cycle is short, an egg can be released soon after the period ends.
05:11And if those male cells are still around at that moment, pregnancy can happen.
05:17In ancient times, people also had some awful ideas about what kind of baby would be born in those cases.
05:24In France, there was an old belief that a child conceived during a woman's period would come out weak from
05:30day one.
05:31Low energy, fragile, and more likely to have health problems.
05:35As if they were doomed from the start.
05:38It's a creepy thought.
05:40And not scientific at all.
05:42Now, let's travel from France to the Taurus Strait Islands.
05:47Old legends say that women on their period had a special ability.
05:51They could steal men's power.
05:53So men were supposed to keep their distance.
05:55Like, really keep their distance.
05:57Because getting too close could leave them feeling weak.
06:01As if they'd lose their masculinity.
06:04In New Guinea, the Mayenga people took it even further.
06:08Saying that if a man touched a woman on her period, he could lose his life.
06:13If that already sounded creepy, wait.
06:16In some cultures, women bury used menstrual cloths.
06:20So bad spirits can't use them.
06:23In others, people say you need to wash your pads before throwing them away.
06:26If you don't, they say ghosts will haunt you.
06:33Now, let's talk about the smell myth.
06:36Many women notice the smell down there can change a bit during their cycles.
06:40And that part is true.
06:42Menstrual blood does have an odor.
06:44A period is when your body sheds the lining of your uterus, along with blood and tissue.
06:49So it's totally normal for it to smell a little different.
06:52But most people won't notice it.
06:54Online, you might see people mention a rotten or fishy smell.
06:58But that's probably not just menstruation.
07:01A rotten smell can happen if a tampon is left in too long.
07:05And a fishy smell can be a sign of a health problem.
07:08So if that happens, it's a good idea to see a doctor.
07:13Some cultures forbid menstruating women from entering the kitchen or cooking for anyone else.
07:18As if they could ruin food just by touching it.
07:21People say bread won't rise.
07:23Canned food will spoil.
07:25And my personal favorite, if they touch vegetables before you pickle them, the vegetables won't turn into pickles.
07:32Basically, menstrual blood turns women into the worst cooks on the planet.
07:37It sounds so strange.
07:39You'd think it was an old myth, but not really.
07:41A study from 2011 found that many Indian women still believe the body gives off a certain smell or some
07:48kind of ray during periods.
07:50And that it can spoil food.
07:52But nope.
07:53That's not true at all.
07:56Women are also often told not to touch plants when they're on their period.
08:00Or worse, they're not even allowed to water them.
08:03The idea is that menstruation is impure.
08:06So if they get near a plant, it'll dry out.
08:09But here's a positive twist.
08:11Some cultures believed the opposite.
08:13They thought a woman on her period had regenerative powers.
08:17So if she touched a plant, it would bloom and grow even better.
08:21Either way, let's be real.
08:24Plants probably don't care who's watering them.
08:26Men won't collapse if a woman is on her period touches them.
08:30And ghosts won't use dirty pads.
08:33Or at least, let's hope not.
08:34In the end, period blood is just period blood.
08:38Not mystical or dirty.
08:40It's just biology.
08:45That's it for today.
08:46So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:51Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.
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