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29 Trivia Tidbits That Bust Pernicious Myths

You won’t need to join a cult for this fresh new set of beliefs

29 Trivia Tidbits That Bust Pernicious Myths

April 28, 2024

Still believing things that ought not to be believed? It’s probably because you haven’t downloaded the most recent fact operating system. For the updates in this list, you don’t need too much free space, it’s easy to adapt to the new functions, and best of all, it won’t slow down that old brain of yours.

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29

SONAR SCREENS LOOK LIKE THIS. POR #0555-7 +36-73 Longs trode +02-73 .. STATUS OK 025 des Mode TOY 323 22:07-01 FPA-0 I I W-4-7658 - Survey Smith Sport Course 1481 C-0-9702 detecting screws - Chemistry Presenting - - - . - F Democracy presented 80% People mostly use passive screens (right) that involve listening to highly sensitive microphones and complex calculations. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Margarine is more healthy than butter, right? Actually, neither is healthier than the other. We switched to margarine hoping to avoid heart disease, but it's been attributed to high consumption of both: butter is high in saturated fat, and while it's gotten better in recent years, margarine has a high level of trans fat. GRACKED.COM — Source

27

Diamonds From Coal CRACKED.COM If you compress coal for a very long time under high pressure, eventually, you will waste an incredible amount of time. Diamonds form from a separate process that has nothing to do with coal, much deeper below ground. — Source

26

MYTH: IF YOU CRAVE A FOOD, YOUR BODY PROBABLY neeDS IT. SUPER FACT: CRAVINGS HAVE moRe TO DO WITH STRESS. If you're craving a specific food, it probably has more to do with your culture and upbringing than anything else. In times of stress, you tend to crave food that you think of as a comforting treat or reward. There is no sign that hormones have a direct impact of making us crave certain foods-the cravings just get released in times of stress. CRACKED.COM http://www.wsj. com/articles/SB10000872396390443995604578002253859884598 — Source

25

Oh, Canada, where medical treatment is provided by public hospitals and paid for by the government. EMERGE MF anada Unless that treatment involves medication. You're expected pay FOR for medication. to CRACKED.COM — Source

24

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Chloroform can knock you out in seconds. REALITY: Nope, try five minutes. While chloroform has been used in murder cases, it doesn't have an immediate effect on a damp cloth over one's face. It will take around five minutes to kick in, and there will be a lot of kicking from the victim. In real murder cases, victims were usually tricked into taking the anaesthetic, or giving drugs prior to getting chloroformed. — Source

23

Picture Isaac Newton, and you see a guy with an apple falling on his head. That never happened. Newton never mentioned anything about an apple, and in fact it was another guy named John Conduitt who first told the story some 60 years after it supposedly happened. Even then, there's no mention of it hitting Newton on the head. The story is even vague about whether Newton actually saw an apple fall, or whether he-or Conduitt, for that matter - used the metaphor of an apple falling from a tree as a way to explain his epiphany about gravity. CRACKED.COM http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Sgravity.htm — Source

22

MYTH Roadrunners can outrun those pesky coyotes. TRUTH Roadrunners can run up to 20 mph, but coyotes can run twice as fast. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

NEANDERTHALS WERE NOT DIM-WITTED. They were capable of complex thought, communication, and sophisticated technology. And they bred with modern humans. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Ancient Flat Earth Beliefs CRACKED.COM We like to think that people have only known the earth was round since Columbus didn't fall off. But the Greeks not only knew it, they even calculated its circumference. Which means flat-earthers could travel to 500 BC and still be considered dumb. — Source

19

MYTH: CHAMELEONS CHANGE COLOR TO BE CAMOUFLAGE. CRACKED.COM Unlike an octopus or cuttlefish that will use the ability to change color to hide from predators or sneak up on prey, the chameleon does not use this ability to blend into the environment. Chameleons instead use color changing to regulate their heat or to communicate to other chameleons. — Source

18

WHEN YOU TRAVEL TO LONDON, DON'T EVER CALL THIS TOWER BIG BEN.THE TOWER ITSELF IS CALLED ELIZABETH TOWER. NOW THIS IS BIG BEN. BIG BEN IS THE NAME GIVEN TO THE BELL INSIDE THE ELIZABETH TOWER. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Bonnie and Clyde: The Legendary Bank Robbers. REALITY: They mostly robbed small grocery stores and gas stations. In the four years the Barrow gang targeted banks, they hit less than 15, didn't get away with much money, and a lot of times Bonnie stayed home and wasn't even involved. It was also easier to rob places with lower risk and quicker getaways. — Source

16

MYTH: TURKEY MAKES YOU SLEEPY. FACT: IT'S THE BIG meAL THAT Does IT. Science-y types will claim that turkey makes you sleepy because it contains tryptophan, which eventually becomes seratonin and melatonin, the sleep neurochemicals. But turkey doesn't contain enough to affect your tiredness level. The reason you're sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner is because your very full body needs to focus on digestion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/11/ CRACKED.COM 24/no-turkey-doesnt-make-you-sleepy-the-science-of-thanksgiving-feasts/ — Source

15

Everyone pictures Kenya as a wild or impoverished land But in reality Kenya is a modern state with bustling cities and a capital home to over three million people. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

MYTH: If a cop doesn't read you your Miranda rights, you can walk. FACT: Those rights apply to interrogation, not arrest. Despite what you see on every cop show ever, failing to advise a suspect of his or her Miranda rights doesn't mean the arrest doesn't count. And even if you're interrogated without being told your rights, all it means is that your testimony can't be used in court against you. CRACKED.COM http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/drunk_driving/miranda_warning.htm — Source

13

Coffee does NOT dehydrate you. The reason you might see an increase in urination is because it's mostly water. It actually helps hydrate you and you can count it toward your water intake. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Fat does not cause weight gain. Healthy fats-such as eggs, avocados, and nuts-actually help people consume fewer calories, possibly due to the satiating effects of fat. CRACKED COM — Source

11

won't ruin your cast iron pans. With repeated use and proper care, cast iron cookware will build up a non-stick finish that won't require soap to clean. But until it forms, using a CRACKED.COM little soap won't hurt it. — Source

10

Everyone honors St. Patrick by wearing green. But St. Patrick's official color is blue. The earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him clothed entirely in blue, not green, and when George III created a new order of chivalry for the Kingdom of Ireland, the Order of St. Patrick, its official color was a sky blue, known as St. Patrick's Blue. Blue was originally the color of Ireland, and a gold harp on a blue background still appears on the Irish constitution and presidential flag. The color green represents the divide between Ireland and Great Britain. CRACKED.COM http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/ — Source

9

CRACKED.COM MYTH: State with the most serial killers? Must be Florida, or California. REALITY: It's Alaska. Proportional to its population, Alaska wins this one with around 15.65 serial killings per one million inhabitants. It's followed by Nevada, then Florida. Criminologists speculate that it might be due to the cover of darkness during those long Alaskan winter nights. The isolation of the state's remote locations might also play a part. — Source

8

MOVIE SWORD FIGHTS WOULD END WITH BROKEN BLADES. Edge-on-edge parry would damage the swords, resulting in dull and damaged blades. Most sword fighting involves the swords not making contact. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

MYTH: TONGUES HAVE ZONES FOR BITTER, SALTY, SOUR, AND SWEET. 1 2 3 4 GRACKED.COM The famous taste map is an artistic interpretation of 120-year-old data showing which parts of the tongue are more sensitive to what taste. While taste buds do have a larger concentration on the outer edges of the tongue, they are not so rigidly segregated as to make up specific taste zones for different flavors. — Source

6

MYTH: CHOCOLATE IS An APHRODISIAC. FACT: THE FDA SAYS APHRODISIACS Don'T eXIST. We've got drugs (and possibly natural cures) that treat sexual dysfunction. But when it comes to spurring sexual desire, we have nothing. There's no bodily mechanism for that. Chocolate doesn't even work as a particularly good placebo. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Serial killers are geniuses. REALITY It's mostly just the ones they make shows about. The latest studies put the average intelligence of serial killers barely above what's considered below average. One study puts it more clearly, saying that there is almost zero correlation between intelligence and psychopathy. — Source

4

BULLETS GO STRAIGHT THROUGH CAR DOORS. AMERICA to protect and to serve POLICE 24785 You can't use a car door as a shield. They are made to be light-weight, not bulletproof. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Goldfish Memories i i saw everything officer CRACKED.COM You'll hear that someone has the memory of a goldfish, the most common number being 3 seconds. But studies found that goldfish could learn and identify two different songs, which a 3-second memory would make impossible. Keep that in mind, crime bosses installing huge fish tanks. — Source

2

Gum Takes Years To Digest GRACKED.COM According to your mom, that stick of Big Red you swallowed during your AP test might still be in your stomach come college graduation. But the human body is a highly evolved system that has failsafes in place: namely, you'll just @#$# it out. — Source

1

MYTH: MILK BUILDS STRONG BE BONES. CRACKED.COM This myth started when schools were provided nutritional material that boasted the importance of dairy in your diet, when studies cannot link milk consumption with healthy living and especially stronger bones. Who gave them this material? The National Dairy Council. — Source

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