Facts you MUST know : 10 Completely False Facts Everyone
knows From geography to physiology, there are many
examples of people collectively doing it wrong by
learning fiction as truth. Here are 10 of the biggest
errors walking around masquerading as well-
known facts. 1. Mount Everest Is The Tallest Mountain in the
World.
Above sea level, Mauna Kea (in Hawaii) is only
13,799 feet (4,206 meters). But when you count
the crazy enormous portion of it that's
underwater, it's 33,465 feet tall (10,200 meters). Everest, that snobby little upstart, is only 29,029
feet (8,848 meters) above sea level, with none of it
below sea level [source: Mitchinson and Lloyd]. 2. Body Heat Dissipates Mainly Through the Head.
the sad truth is, you lose just as much heat per
square inch through your head as you do through
the rest of the body. 3. The Great Wall of China Is the Only Man-made
Object Visible from Space.
It cannot, in fact, be seen from the space, at least
not with the naked eye. At some lower altitudes it
might be visible from outer space, especially with
the use of binoculars, but it's hardly the most visible manmade object. While the wall is long, it is
only a few meters wide, and it's not very different
in color from its surroundings. 4. Glass Is a Slow-moving Liquid.
Contrary to what some science teachers and tour
guides may say, glass is NOT a "slow-moving
liquid. That's an urban legend. Many years ago, the
method of making glass panes involved spinning a
glob of glass on a flat disk until the glass flattened, which caused the outside edge to be thicker than
the center. When the disk of glass was cut into
panes, one edge was always slightly thicker. 5. Mother Birds Will Abandon Babies if You Touch
Them. While this is wrong on several levels, it's not
because you touched the bird.
Baby birds usually don't leave the nest until they're
ready (or at least readyish) to fly. But, just like how
well you drove during your very first driving
lesson, they typically stink at flying at first. So needless to say, they suffer a few false starts and
end up on the ground, whining like a teenager
who wants the keys but hasn't completely got the
hang of which is the gas and which is the brake.
But that doesn't mean the fledgling's parents aren't
supervising their offspring. They're probably in a nearby tree, shuddering as their little dunce forgets
all the lessons they taught it. And if you leave the
baby bird alone, chances are they'll be there soon
to smack it upside the head and tell it to pay more
attention during the next round of flying lessons. 6. Different Parts of Your Tongue Detect Different
Tastes.
Most people are familiar with the tongue map from
grade school. The tongue map is a picture of the
tongue displaying areas of taste sensitivities.
But most scientists now believe that taste buds can detect all tastes, and the sensitivity differences
along the perimeter of the tongue are of probably
no significance. 7. People Thought the World Was Flat Before
Columbus.
If you learned in school that Christopher Columbus
sailed from Spain in 1492 and crossed the Atlantic
Ocean, disproving a common belief in those days
that the Earth was flat, then the lesson was wrong. Historians say there is no doubt that the educated
in Columbus’s day knew quite well that the Earth
was not flat but round. In fact, this was known
many centuries earlier.
As early as the sixth century B.C., Pythagoras —
and later Aristotle and Euclid — wrote about the Earth as a sphere. Ptolemy wrote “Geography” at
the height of the Roman Empire, 1,300 years before
Columbus sailed, and considered the idea of a
round planet as fact.
“Geography” became a standard reference, and
Columbus himself owned a copy. For him, the big question was not the shape of the Earth but the
size of the ocean he wanted to cross. 8. Deoxygenated Blood Is Blue.
No! Once your blood has stopped by the bank
(your lungs) and picked up a withdrawal of cash
monies (oxygen) it's flush with greenbacks (bright
red blood). Once it's spent a night on the town
(circulated through your body), it returns with a massive hangover (the blood has turned dark red)
and it goes to curl up on the couch (take another
pass through the heart). 9. Chameleons Change Color to Blend in with
Surroundings.
Chameleon color-changing is triggered by physical,
physiological and emotional changes. If they're
feeling fussy, say angry or afraid or combative,
they'll change colors using theirchromatophores. They'll also change colors as a way of
communicating in various manners (insert
romantic music here) and to pick a fight with a
competitor. Light and temperature play a big part,
too, in how these little fancy pantses look. 10. Humans Have Five Senses.
In addition to the classical 5 senses we can sense
temperature, pain and equilibrium (balance). We
also have countless other senses which work
subconsciously to keep us alive (water, sugar, salt
balance).
knows From geography to physiology, there are many
examples of people collectively doing it wrong by
learning fiction as truth. Here are 10 of the biggest
errors walking around masquerading as well-
known facts. 1. Mount Everest Is The Tallest Mountain in the
World.
Above sea level, Mauna Kea (in Hawaii) is only
13,799 feet (4,206 meters). But when you count
the crazy enormous portion of it that's
underwater, it's 33,465 feet tall (10,200 meters). Everest, that snobby little upstart, is only 29,029
feet (8,848 meters) above sea level, with none of it
below sea level [source: Mitchinson and Lloyd]. 2. Body Heat Dissipates Mainly Through the Head.
the sad truth is, you lose just as much heat per
square inch through your head as you do through
the rest of the body. 3. The Great Wall of China Is the Only Man-made
Object Visible from Space.
It cannot, in fact, be seen from the space, at least
not with the naked eye. At some lower altitudes it
might be visible from outer space, especially with
the use of binoculars, but it's hardly the most visible manmade object. While the wall is long, it is
only a few meters wide, and it's not very different
in color from its surroundings. 4. Glass Is a Slow-moving Liquid.
Contrary to what some science teachers and tour
guides may say, glass is NOT a "slow-moving
liquid. That's an urban legend. Many years ago, the
method of making glass panes involved spinning a
glob of glass on a flat disk until the glass flattened, which caused the outside edge to be thicker than
the center. When the disk of glass was cut into
panes, one edge was always slightly thicker. 5. Mother Birds Will Abandon Babies if You Touch
Them. While this is wrong on several levels, it's not
because you touched the bird.
Baby birds usually don't leave the nest until they're
ready (or at least readyish) to fly. But, just like how
well you drove during your very first driving
lesson, they typically stink at flying at first. So needless to say, they suffer a few false starts and
end up on the ground, whining like a teenager
who wants the keys but hasn't completely got the
hang of which is the gas and which is the brake.
But that doesn't mean the fledgling's parents aren't
supervising their offspring. They're probably in a nearby tree, shuddering as their little dunce forgets
all the lessons they taught it. And if you leave the
baby bird alone, chances are they'll be there soon
to smack it upside the head and tell it to pay more
attention during the next round of flying lessons. 6. Different Parts of Your Tongue Detect Different
Tastes.
Most people are familiar with the tongue map from
grade school. The tongue map is a picture of the
tongue displaying areas of taste sensitivities.
But most scientists now believe that taste buds can detect all tastes, and the sensitivity differences
along the perimeter of the tongue are of probably
no significance. 7. People Thought the World Was Flat Before
Columbus.
If you learned in school that Christopher Columbus
sailed from Spain in 1492 and crossed the Atlantic
Ocean, disproving a common belief in those days
that the Earth was flat, then the lesson was wrong. Historians say there is no doubt that the educated
in Columbus’s day knew quite well that the Earth
was not flat but round. In fact, this was known
many centuries earlier.
As early as the sixth century B.C., Pythagoras —
and later Aristotle and Euclid — wrote about the Earth as a sphere. Ptolemy wrote “Geography” at
the height of the Roman Empire, 1,300 years before
Columbus sailed, and considered the idea of a
round planet as fact.
“Geography” became a standard reference, and
Columbus himself owned a copy. For him, the big question was not the shape of the Earth but the
size of the ocean he wanted to cross. 8. Deoxygenated Blood Is Blue.
No! Once your blood has stopped by the bank
(your lungs) and picked up a withdrawal of cash
monies (oxygen) it's flush with greenbacks (bright
red blood). Once it's spent a night on the town
(circulated through your body), it returns with a massive hangover (the blood has turned dark red)
and it goes to curl up on the couch (take another
pass through the heart). 9. Chameleons Change Color to Blend in with
Surroundings.
Chameleon color-changing is triggered by physical,
physiological and emotional changes. If they're
feeling fussy, say angry or afraid or combative,
they'll change colors using theirchromatophores. They'll also change colors as a way of
communicating in various manners (insert
romantic music here) and to pick a fight with a
competitor. Light and temperature play a big part,
too, in how these little fancy pantses look. 10. Humans Have Five Senses.
In addition to the classical 5 senses we can sense
temperature, pain and equilibrium (balance). We
also have countless other senses which work
subconsciously to keep us alive (water, sugar, salt
balance).
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