Where the Three-Second Myth Came From
No one has traced the three-second claim to a single origin point, because there isn't one. It circulated through playground conversations, television comedy, and eventually the internet, where repetition functions as proof. The myth is plausible in a satisfying way: the goldfish, open-mouthed and apparently blank, loops its tank as if perpetually surprised by the same four walls. The image confirms the idea before any evidence is considered.
