Myths, Facts & Misconceptions

[Allee]

First player posts a common or uncommon myth.
The next player explains why it's a fact or a misconception.

Example:
1st player: Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.

2nd player: Myth- No reason lightning wouldn't strike the same place. The Statue of Liberty has been struck so often there's no accurate count.

A dash of salt will cause fresh water to boil faster.

 

[Anansi]

Myth! A dash of salt will not cause fresh water to boil faster. An understandable myth, however, as salt water does indeed boil faster than fresh water since salt has a lower heat capacity than water. But a dash of salt is nowhere near enough to make a measurable difference.

Fact or myth: Shaving hair from the head or body causes it to grow back thicker.

 

[Allee]

Myth: Shaving hair doesn't make it grow back darker, coarser or thicker, it just appears to be because it's no longer tapered.

Fact or myth: Napoleon was short.

 

[Phoenixjay]

Myth: Napoleon was actually average size. The Napoleon was short myth was made up by one of his enemies to mock him (unsure which one actually). But he was about 5'7 by modern standards.

Fact or myth: Southern hemisphere toilet water rotates in the opposite direction of northern hemisphere toilets.

 

[Anansi]

Myth! The direction of toilet water rotation is determined solely by the shape and design of the bowl. The myth comes from the mistaken belief that the coriolis force effect would have the same effect on bath drains and toilet flushings that it does on cyclonic weather systems. Fact is, drains and such are far too small for that phenomenon to have any effect.

Fact or myth: The faster an object travels, the slower time moves for that object.

 

[Phoenixjay]

Myth and Fact: Time is weird because it is a cultural construct in itself. So it doesn't have scientific rules--we made all the rules up. So time wouldn't abide by physics--in this case velocity. An exception would be the theory that if an object goes into a black hole, time slows down the further and faster down it gets into the black hole. But that is just a theory; we have no way to really prove it. (Black holes mess with everything). Actually, I looked it up and there are many exceptions to this, but you have to go VERY fast, and going fast could theoretically slow down aging. Theory of Relativity shenanigans. It would only be apparent to the observer.


Fact or myth: Being in the cold without a coat makes you sick.

 

[Teknogeddon]

Fact AND Myth (circumstantial): If that was the case, every person in russia, sweden, germany, and other European countries as well as the northern US would be sick almost constantly. Some people just have weaker immune systems, or intolerance to cold. However, anyone can become critically ill in extreme climates, hot or cold. Besides "cold" is rather relative to what you are used to. Some people think 70 is cold, whereas some people aren't cold until below 0.

It has to be 40F for it to snow, which is cold to me! Obviously not bothering these two.


Fact or Myth: Fish can survive better in a tank of human blood than water.

 

[Phoenixjay]

Myth: (I laughed at this pretty hard actually. I'm a horror writer, not a serial killer. Pinky swear.). Blood is thick and would probably clog gills. But other than that the pH is totally different. Fish would not be able survive in pure blood, though if it was heavily diluted, they would be irritated at the very least.

Fact or myth: Your fingerprints are unique.

 

[ToMang07]

Myth: (I laughed at this pretty hard actually. I'm a horror writer, not a serial killer. Pinky swear.). Blood is thick and would probably clog gills. But other than that the pH is totally different. Fish would not be able survive in pure blood, though if it was heavily diluted, they would be irritated at the very least.

Fact or myth: Your fingerprints are unique.

Fact. Even identical twins have different finger prints.

Fact of myth: bats are blind.

 

[Terry57]

Myth: Bats are not blind. Bigger bats "can see three times better than humans" according to National Geographic.

Fact or Myth: Do Lemmings commit mass suicide?

 

[Scott]

Fact or Myth: Do Lemmings commit mass suicide?

Myth: "It's a complete urban legend," said (Alaska) state wildlife biologist Thomas McDonough. "I think it blew out of proportion based on a Disney documentary in the '50s, and that brought it to the mainstream."

"According to a 1983 investigation by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer Brian Vallee, the lemming scenes were faked. The lemmings supposedly committing mass suicide by leaping into the ocean were actually thrown off a cliff by the Disney filmmakers. The epic "lemming migration" was staged using careful editing, tight camera angles and a few dozen lemmings running on snow covered lazy-Susan style turntable.:"

Fact or Myth: Dogs are color blind?

 

[Anansi]

Strictly speaking, dogs are not colorblind in the sense that they perceive things solely in terms of black and white. But they cannot perceive as many colors as a human with normal sight can due to only having 2 kinds of color detecting cones in their retinas rather than 3.

Their eyesight is generally superior to ours, however, when it comes to detecting movement... especially in low light conditions.

Fact or myth: Cutting off the moldy part makes it okay to eat the rest of the food.

(Btw: Great thread topic, Allee!!!)

 

[Phoenixjay]

Myth: Actually, when you see mold on food, it means the spores have embedded deep in the food. You're only seeing the top. The toxins are in the food. Mold technically won't kill you, but you could get respiratory issues from eating moldy food. So best to play it safe.

Fact or myth: Shakespeare didn't write his plays

 

[Allee]

Fact or myth: Shakespeare didn't write his plays.

Currently considered a myth: According to an article by Sarah Pruett, documentation of Shakespeare's life is pitifully scarce. Nothing has been found documenting the composition of the 37 plays and 154 sonnets attributed to him. In the absence of such "proof", some skeptics have posed the question, "How could a man of such humble origins and education come by such a wealth of insight, wide ranging understanding of complex legal and political matters and intimate knowledge of life in the English court.

But until hard evidence surfaces linking his plays to someone else, the man with the strongest claim to the plays of William Shakespeare seems to be... William Shakespeare.

Fact or myth: A penny dropped from the Empire State Building can kill a pedestrian.

 

[Flboy]

Fact or myth: A penny dropped from the Empire State Building can kill a pedestrian.

Myth!
A penny will tend to float, but- if it lands in the street and said pedestrian bends over to pick it up, well!

Fact or myth: You are 10 times more apt to have an accident at home vs away.

 

[Allee]

Fact or myth: You are 10 times more apt to have an accident at home vs away.

Good one! It's tough to pin down the statistics but I'd say it's closer to fact than myth. It's interesting to note that according to Kimberly Alt as of May 16, 2016, 18,000 Americans die every year from injuries that occur in their homes. Makes you wonder what they're doing.

Fact or myth: The Great Wall of China could be seen from space.

 

[Puck]

Fact or myth: You are 10 times more apt to have an accident at home vs away.

Good one! It's tough to pin down the statistics but I'd say it's closer to fact than myth. It's interesting to note that according to Kimberly Alt as of May 16, 2016, 18,000 Americans die every year from injuries that occur in their homes. Makes you wonder what they're doing.

Fact or myth: The Great Wall of China could be seen from space.

Technically mostly a myth with a little bit of truth. It is VERY difficult to see the Great Wall from space and it is something you have to be looking for at a certain level with certain equipment--you aren't going to see it even in low orbit with your bare eyes. But considering you can see practically EVERYTHING on Earth from space if you have the right equipment, I guess it's a tiny bit true in a technical sense!

Fact or myth: Eating poinsettias will kill your toddler and/or your puppy dog.

 

[Scott]

Fact or myth: Eating poinsettias will kill your toddler and/or your puppy dog.
__________________

Poinsettia leaves are "less toxic than once believed" according to WebMD:
"A mild stomachache, vomiting or diarrhea. This can happen after eating part of a poinsettia plant. Severe signs and symptoms are unlikely. If you find a child eating a poinsettia plant, clear and rinse his or her mouth."

Much the same for dogs, per PedMd:
"A lot of people have been led to believe that the poinsettia plant is deadly for pets and children, but this is actually an unlikely occurrence. The poinsettia plant’s brightly colored leaves contain a sap that is irritating to the tissues of the mouth and esophagus. If the leaves are ingested, they will often cause nausea and vomiting, but it would take a large amount of the plant’s material to cause poisoning, and most animals and children will not eat such a large enough amount because of the irritating taste and feel from the sap."


Fact or Myth?: Can the 3 or 5 second safety rule for food dropped to the floor be trusted?

 

[Allee]

Fact or Myth?: Can the 3 or 5 second safety rule for food dropped to the floor be trusted?

Absolutely not! Once the food hits the floor, it's contaminated, bacteria doesn't care how long it stays on the floor.

Fact or Myth? If a human touches wild baby birds, the parents will abandon the chicks.

 

[pizuPDN]

Myth: Mama birds do not recognize their babies by scent!; this is highly interpreted because of the, 'Don't touch the babies or else the mama cat will eat them or stop feeding them"