IT ISN'T MARVELOUSLY WELL-MANNERED TO MISLEAD OTHERS.

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Unacceptable.  Maybe it is the lawyer in me.  Or maybe it is the fact that I really do try to be marvelously well-mannered, which means, among other things, to be kind to others. 
I find it unacceptable, and, frankly, mean, when people pass off non-facts as facts.  Especially when it comes to manners and etiquette.  Some people already feel a bit overwhelmed with the whole subject matter to begin with and and it makes matters infinitely worse when those who profess to be "experts" in the area of etiquette mislead those who seek out their wise counsel.

Case in point, I love etiquette books.  I have a small library full of them.   And I read them.  Over the weekend I read the latest addition to my collection and spotted more than one wrong passage.  For example, the book stated that, "[n]apkins are laid, unfolded, to the right of the plate when you excuse yourself from the table momentarily" and to "place the napkin so that the soiled portion is facing down on the table."  What horrid advice.  Let's set things straight.  Napkins are to be laid, unfolded, on the seat of your chair when you excuse yourself from the table mid meal.  If you use your napkin properly the soiled part is always in between the folds and never in threat of being in view by anyone.

It is not marvelously well-mannered to mislead people on the rules of etiquette.  What are some of the stranger "rules" you have been told, that turn out to be incorrect? Let's nip them in the bud one at a time.