From the time you were old enough to be in a pool with other people (and were potty trained), they warned you not to pee in the pool.

If you did, everyone would know because the water around you would react with your pee turn a different color.

Well, it turns out that was just a scare tactic.

le gasp!

Okay, listen, You’ve probably figured this out already because you’ve never seen such a thing happen – and we’re all smart enough to know that there are people who pee in the pool.

The myth is global and has served its purpose quite well. In fact, according to the National Swimming Pool Foundation, the urine indicator dye is “the most common pool myth of all time.”

In fact, a whopping 50% of people who responded to the survey believed it.

The truth is that creating a chemical compound that would react with urine but not with all of the other chemicals in pool water would be pretty tough.

If this deterred people from peeing in the pool, the benefits were only a drop in the proverbial bucket. Biological warfare experts have weighed in on just how filthy pool water is, and chlorine was no match for the ick.

In fact, when you get reddened eyes from the pool, it’s from the urine in the water, not the chlorine.

So, you might not be instantly embarrassed by a cloud of purple water if you let loose in the pool.

But you should still be ashamed of yourself.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.