Debunking 31 of The Most Popular Myths

MYTH #1:

It's a little unknown fact  that there is an increased probability of death from an infant snake bite. As the tall tale goes, infant snakes can't control how much venom they release into their pray. Whereas adult snakes have learned how much venom to release in order to kill their prey.

FACT #1:

Snakes do not have the ability to control how much venom they release. Here's a fun fact for you; snakes are not immune to their own venom.

MYTH #2:

Dogs sweat through their tongues.

FACT #2:

Dogs pant with their tongues but do not actually sweat through them.,but panting is not the same as sweating. Dogs only have a few sweat glands located on their feet. They do keep cool by panting and breathing, however, using the moist lining of their lungs as an evaporative surface.

MYTH #3:

A mother bird will abandon her babies if you touch them.

FACT #3:

A mother bird will not abandon her young if you touch them.

MYTH #4:

Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis.

FACT #4:

Cracking your knuckles will not cause arthritis. It could however lower your grip strength over time.

MYTH #5:

You loose most of your body heat through your head.

FACT #5:

You actually loose the same amount of body heat everywhere but your head is most likely not covered.

MYTH #6:

 Restroom doors are dangerously infected.

FACT #6:

According to a study by the University of Arizona, door handles have the least bacteria in the room. This is because door handles are to dry and hard for bacteria to survive.

MYTH #7:

Fish are stupid.

FACT #7:

According to the institute of technology in Israel; fish are smart and can actually be trained to do things.  

MYTH #8:

Nails and hair continue to grow after death.

FACT #8:

Not true. After you die your skin recedes from the body making fingernails and hair appear longer.

MYTH #9:

 Gum stays in the body for 7 years after you swallow it.

FACT #9:

Scientific American debunked this myth when gastroenterologist, David Milov of Nemours Children's Clinic in Florida stated that no colonoscopy has ever revealed abnormally old pieces of gum in the gastric system.

MYTH #10:

Throwing a Penny off the Empire State Building could kill someone.

FACT #10:

A penny only weighs a gram and it would meet air resistance so it may hurt a bit but it couldn't kill you.

 MYTH #11t:

The 5 second rule. You have 5 seconds to pick up food off the floor and eat it before it becomes infected with bacteria.

FACT #11:

This is not true.  It only takes  a fourth of a second for your food to become infected with bacteria.

MYTH #12:

Children will get a sugar rush from consuming too much sugar.

FACT #12:

This is untrue.  According to Yale Scientific,sugar doesn't really make kids hyper.

MYTH #13:

The color orange was named after the fruit and not the other way around.

FACT #13:

Before the late 15th century, the color orange was just lumped in with red.

MYTH #14:

Penguins mate for life.

FACT #14:

Some stay monogamous throughout a mating season, but not many stay monogamous for their entire life.

MYTH #15:

The forbidden fruit that Eve ate in Eden is an apple.

FACT #15:

The bible never says that the fruit is an apple.  It most likely stemmed from a play on the Latin word "evil" which sounds similar to "apple".

MYTH #16:

Napoleon Bonaparte was short.

FACT #16:

At 5'7 he was actually taller than the average man of his time. His nickname was "Le petite corporal" which means the little corporal.  This term of affection was likely the cause of the belief that he was short.

MYTH #17:

The earth revolves around the sun

FACT #17:

The center of mass in the solar system is called the Barycenter. Usually it is contained within the mass of the sun but not always. When it is outside the mass of the sun, the earth is just orbiting around empty space.

MYTH #18:

Mars is a red planet.

FACT #18:

Mars is actually a butterscotch color.

MYTH #19:

Goldfish have a 3 second memory.

FACT #19:

This is not true.  Goldfish can actually remember things for months.

MYTH #20:

Lightening cannot strike twice in the same spot.

FACT #20:

This is a false statement.  In fact, the empire state building is struck up to 100 times a year.

MYTH #21:

Shaving your hair makes it grow back thicker.

FACT #21:

It does not grow back thicker.  If it happens to feel coarser it is probably just because the ends are more blunt after a fresh shave.

MYTH #22:

Coffee is made from beans.

FACT #22:

Coffee is actually made from seeds. The seeds come from coffee cherries off the coffee tree. People just refer to them as coffee beans rather than coffee seeds.

MYTH #23:

Microwave radiation causes cancer.

FACT #23:

Only a few kinds of radiation can cause cancer and microwave is not one of them.

MYTH #24:

420 is the police code for marijuana use.

FACT #24:

420 is not the police code for marijuana use.

MYTH #25:

George Washington had wooden teeth.

FACT #25:

His dentures were actually made out of hippo ivory, gold, lead, and human teeth.

MYTH #26:

A flashback is the result of leftover drugs in your body.

FACT #27:

Flashbacks are a physiological l response not the result of leftover drugs stored in the fat cells of the body.

MYTH #28:

Carrots improve vision.

FACT #28:

This was WWII propaganda. The British army claimed its soldiers had great night vision from eating carrots. When they were actually just diverting from the fact that the fighter pilots had radar in their aircraft's to make detection easy.

MYTH #29:

If you touch a toad it will give you warts.

FACT #29:

Toads do not have actual warts, it is just their skin.

MYTH #30:

Swimming too soon after eating will cause cramps.

FACT #30:

This is just overprotective parenting.  You might get a little sick to your stomach if you exert yourself too much, but it has nothing to do with the water.

MYTH #31:

Wet hair will cause you to catch cold.

FACT #31:

Numerous studies have debunked this myth, and proven that exposure to viruses causes you to catch cold, not wet hair.

MYTH #32:

Watching TV too close will cause poor vision.

FACT #32:

It may cause eyestrain but will not do permanent damage to your vision.