Known misconceptions. Myth: Salieri was an enemy of Mozart
If a person is thrown into outer space without a spacesuit, he will explode. Meteorites fall to Earth hot. The color red irritates bulls. A coin thrown from a skyscraper can kill a person. These and other misconceptions are very popular and even have “scientific” explanations.
Biology
Human body in space explodes
Science fiction films often feature a scene when one of the characters finds himself in outer space without a spacesuit. In this case, the victim certainly bursts (always with a characteristic pop, although sound waves do not propagate in a vacuum, since there are no particles there that could transmit vibrations), and its insides beautifully scatter in different directions. This outcome seems logical: in order to withstand the weight of many kilometers of air, the pressure inside our body is maintained equal to that which we experience outside. That is, the pressure is one atmosphere. In interstellar space, molecules of any kind are very rare, which means that nothing puts pressure on a person who finds himself without any protection and must be torn apart from the inside. Actually this is not true. Human body- a very stable design, at least to this kind of damage. Even though people do not have a solid exoskeleton, like insects, for example, their skin, vessel walls and bones will prevent the organs from moving from their places. Although, left without equalizing external pressure, the internal organs will swell somewhat and their “swelling” can break some capillaries. The lungs and organs of the digestive system will especially increase in size, since they are filled with gases that were greatly compressed by external pressure just a second ago. The “freed” oxygen will quickly leave the lungs and circulatory system, and the body will begin to suffer from hypoxia. A person thrown into space will lose consciousness, but before passing out, he may have time to feel something boiling inside him: with a significant decrease in pressure, the liquids contained inside turn into a gaseous state. But the resulting gas will not be able to tear a person apart from the inside - if only because there are too many holes and cracks in the body through which it will leak out. In total, a person who mistakenly goes into outer space without a spacesuit has about 90 seconds to return to the ship (although taking into account the rapid loss of consciousness, this time is reduced to 15 seconds). After a minute and a half, the unfortunate person’s blood will begin to boil; in addition, the brain damaged by hypoxia will never be able to fully restore its functionality.Hair and nails grow for some time after death
The belief that hair and nails continue to grow for some time after death is very common. Proponents of this hypothesis explain this by the fact that some physiological processes in the body of the deceased continue after death. In fact, the lengthening nails of a dead person are visual illusion. After death, the body begins to rapidly lose fluid, and the skin of the corpse dries out and shrinks. In particular, the pads of the fingers shrink, causing the nails to appear longer. Those who believe in the life of nails after death can be consoled by the fact that there is some truth in their beliefs. Most cells are less sensitive to a lack of oxygen than brain cells, so there is still a hypothetical possibility that after cardiac arrest, nails continue to grow for several minutes.Bats are blind
Bats navigate in the dark using echolocation, the same mechanism used in submarines. Animals emit sounds in the high frequency range (ultrasound) and “catch” their reflection from surrounding objects. If the sound returned quickly, it means that the obstacle is nearby, but if it traveled for a long time or did not return at all, the space nearby is free. By sending out a lot of these pulses and analyzing them carefully, mice can very accurately determine what is around them. Many people believe that owners of such a perfect “navigator” do not need ordinary eyes and their vision is almost completely atrophied. This is wrong. First, not all bats use echolocation. Secondly, even those animals that actively use this mechanism can navigate quite well with the help of vision. Moreover, at bats Eating fruits, the eyes are very well developed and occupy no less space on the face than the eyes of nocturnal rodents of comparable size. The visual organs of insectivorous bats are noticeably smaller, but they are also quite functional: with the help of their eyes, animals determine their height relative to the ground, estimate the size of large obstacles and look for a way, focusing on large objects. In addition, by assessing the level of illumination with the help of their eyes, mice determine that night has fallen and it is time for them to fly out to hunt.Red color irritates bulls
Another typical misconception regarding the characteristics of vision in animals, which became popular thanks to the bloodthirsty Spanish bullfight. It is believed that the matador “winds up” the bull with the help of a red cape, which he waves in front of the animal’s nose. Keeping this characteristic of bulls in mind, many people avoid appearing near the herd in red clothes. They have no reason to worry: bulls, like most other mammals (with the exception of primates), have dichromatic vision, that is, they are simply unable to distinguish between red and green colors. The ability to see colors is determined by special light-sensitive cells called cones, or more precisely by how many types of opsin proteins these same cones contain. For example, in the eyes of people and monkeys of the Old World there are three types of opsins, thanks to which we distinguish several thousand shades (according to some sources, up to one hundred thousand). Bird cones carry four types of opsins, so from the point of view of birds, all humans are color blind. Bulls' color vision is very poorly developed, so the matador's cloak does not stand out to them as anything special. And sudden human movements and sword thrusts infuriate animals.Chameleons change color to camouflage with their environment
Chameleons' ability to change color is often the only thing people know about these tropical lizards. And the majority is firmly convinced that funny reptiles turn green, blue or black in order to better camouflage themselves with their surrounding conditions. For a long time, this belief existed among scientists, but recently experts have come to the conclusion that mimicry of nearby branches and flowers is the last reason why chameleons change the color of their integument. Lizards change the color of their integument thanks to special cells - chromatophores, which contain granules of various pigments. Chromatophores have a complex branched shape, and pigments can be located both in the processes and in the center of the cell. This or that color appears when pigments of the corresponding shade are located in the “branches”. In order to “drive” the pigments there, the chromatophore relaxes. If it is necessary to collect granules of the dye in the center of the cell, it, on the contrary, shrinks. Observations of lizards in nature and laboratory experiments have shown that they need repainting in different colors, first of all, for thermoregulation and interaction with each other. Chameleons, like other reptiles, are poorly able to maintain a constant body temperature: it can vary within fairly wide limits depending on the external temperature (scientists call this property compound word poikilothermy). This or that color appears due to the corresponding pigments, which, in particular, include melanin. This pigment is responsible for the darker color of the lizard's skin, and since dark surfaces absorb more sunlight than light ones, chameleons turn brown when they are cold. In addition, with the help of skin color, reptiles communicate to their relatives about their mood. If the chameleon is ready for a romantic date, he chooses one shade, and his intention to immediately attack his neighbor is announced in another. Scientists have recently discovered that the more difficult social structure in a particular species of chameleon, the more often the animals change color and the less it correlates with the color of the surrounding surfaces.Physics
If you throw a coin from a skyscraper, it can kill a person
Everyone knows that walking around a construction site without a helmet is dangerous - something even not very heavy can fall from above and hit your head. As long as a small bolt or nut flies from, say, the 15th floor, it will accelerate to such a speed that it will begin to pose a real danger. There is an opinion that the same applies to very light objects - for example, coins, if you drop them from a sufficient height, say, from the Ostankino Tower. In reality, you can throw coins from skyscrapers without fearing for the lives of other people. Due to air resistance, a coin can only accelerate to a certain threshold value (for example, skydivers, who, of course, are larger than coins, with a stable flat free fall accelerate up to 40 meters per second, and with an unstable one, that is, tumbling, up to 50 meters per second). And this does not even take into account gusts of wind, which are very significant for a small coin. The second thing to remember is that due to its shape, when assessing the danger from a coin, you only need to take into account its kinetic energy. It is calculated using the well-known formula E=m*v2/2, where m is the mass of the object, and v is its speed. When the street is calm, a coin dropped from observation deck The Ostankino TV tower, at best, will reach a speed of 70 kilometers per hour (about 19 meters per second). For a 50-kopeck coin, this corresponds to an energy of 26.6 Joules. For comparison, a 9 mm pistol bullet at exit has an energy of about 350 Joules.Lightning never strikes in the same place twice
This belief has probably cost the life of more than one person. Not only do lightning strike the same place multiple times, but some objects are downright favorite lightning targets. This especially applies to tall metal objects that “attract” lightning discharges - in fact, the action of lightning rods, which logically should be called lightning rods, is based on this fact. The spire of the same Ostankino tower is struck by 40 to 50 lightning strikes every year. Even in the absence of “traps” for lightning, their one-time hit, say, on a tree does not turn it into a guarantor of safety. If there is a thunderstorm over a specific area, then all places in this area can be “attacked” with equal probability. A lightning strike in one place or another does not affect the probability in any way, although such a conclusion seems intuitively incorrect: this misconception even has a special name “gambler’s error.”In different hemispheres, a funnel of water (for example, in a sink) twists in different directions
Theoretically, it is possible to conduct an experiment proving that the Coriolis force really affects the movement of any liquids on Earth. To do this, you need to fill a fairly capacious round container with water, exactly in the middle of which there is a tiny hole plugged with a stopper, and always from the bottom (so that manipulation of the stopper does not lead to disturbance of the liquid). After a week, when even the smallest fluctuations in the water have subsided, you need to carefully remove the plug and wait a few hours until the weak Coriolis force manifests itself. Such an experiment was carried out, and its results coincided with those expected: the water in the container swirled in the same direction as the cyclones in a particular hemisphere. “When you wash your face, be sure to look in which direction the water is swirling,” - everyone who went on vacation to Australia has probably heard this phrase from their friends. New Zealand or South Africa. The belief that in different hemispheres any flows of liquids circulate in opposite directions has been ingrained in the heads of a huge number of people since school - alas, the example of the sink is often mentioned by teachers who talk about the rotation of the Earth and the Coriolis force. The force of inertia, named after the French scientist Gustave Gaspard Coriolis who described it, is indeed associated with the rotation of our planet and affects the movement of large masses of air and water: flows in storms and cyclones in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise, and in the northern hemisphere, counterclockwise. However, compared to the rotational processes that we observe in ordinary life(the same water funnel in the sink) The Earth rotates around its axis very slowly, and in order of magnitude the Coriolis force is much less than any of the forces that control the processes of rotation of objects around us. Therefore, under normal conditions, it is impossible to notice the influence of the Coriolis force on the behavior of water in the sink, and the direction in which the liquid is sucked into the drain depends, first of all, on how the sink was filled and on its shape.Astronomy
Meteorites falling to Earth are heated to very high temperatures.
In many cartoons and science fiction films, meteorites that have fallen to Earth are red-hot and even smoke. The scriptwriters of such films and most of their viewers believe that the celestial body heats up due to friction with the air. This process actually takes place: already at an altitude of about 100 kilometers above the Earth, the meteorite, which had previously traveled in the vacuum of space, collides with a huge amount gas molecules. Collisions with them heat the outer layer of the stone to enormous temperatures, turning the solid rock into a gas, which is immediately carried away into the atmosphere. The majority (about 90 percent) of meteorites that fall to Earth are stone, and stone has very poor thermal conductivity. As a result, if the meteorite is large enough, then the heat from the outer layers does not have time to be transferred to the inner part of the stone in the few seconds (on average, 19 seconds) that the body spends in the atmosphere. If it was also cold enough initially, then the center of the meteorite may generally be frozen. At an altitude of 10-15 kilometers, such a meteorite usually slows down and begins to fall without significant friction with the atmosphere, then it has a lot of time for the cold center to cool the surface layer. As a result, a meteorite that has just fallen will not be hot at all, but warm or, at best, hot. That is, he cannot start any fire, for example. These considerations, however, apply only to bodies of average mass - large meteorites crash into the surface at tremendous speed and explode, so whether they are cold or hot does not matter.The change of seasons is associated with the Earth's approach to the Sun
This is perhaps one of the most persistent misconceptions. At first glance, it seems logical: the closer the Earth is to the Sun, the more heat and light hits the planet. Why winter and summer exist in different hemispheres at the same time, although both of them are on the same planet, supporters of this point of view can no longer explain. The true reason for the change of seasons is less obvious: the Earth has several seasons due to the fact that its axis of rotation around the axis is not parallel to the axis of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. The angle of inclination between them is constant and amounts to 23.5 degrees. One can imagine that the earth's axis is a needle piercing the planet right through so that its tip comes out of the North Pole and looks conventionally "up", and the blunt end sticks out from South Pole and directed "down". When the tip of the needle points to a star, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun rises high above the horizon, and its rays fall in the area north of the equator at smaller angles: that is, they do not slide along the surface, but seem to “rest” against it. The maximum amount of solar energy reaches the Earth when the rays fall vertically, which is why summers are warmer than winters. At equatorial latitudes, the rays fall perpendicularly all year round, so the seasons there are not distinguished. Summer in the southern hemisphere occurs when the tip of the needle is pointed away from the Sun.
Marie Antoinette and cakes
Everyone in school can occasionally happily quote the French queen Marie Antoinette, who allegedly said the sacramental phrase (in response to the message that her subjects were starving: “If they have no bread, let them eat cake.” However, historian Antonia Fraser argues , that the queen never said such words. According to one version, this phrase was coined by the French writer and philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1766 and referred to events of the past, and Marie Antoinette was only 11 years old in 1766, she was still living. in her homeland, Austria. According to another version, the author of these words was the French Queen Maria Theresa, her first wife. Louis XIV.
Franz Wagenschen. Marie Antoinette. 1769
Magellan's voyage around the world
It is generally accepted that it was this navigator of Portuguese origin who accomplished the world's first circumnavigation. In fact, Ferdinand Magellan never circumnavigated the globe. He died during the journey, in 1521, on the islands, which later became known as the Philippine Islands. After his death, the voyage continued under the leadership of Juan Sebastian de Elcano. It was to him that the Spanish King Carlos I, the future Emperor Charles V, assigned a personal coat of arms with the image of spices, a castle, a helmet and globe, as well as the inscription Primus circumdedisti me (Latin: You went around me first). Initially, the trip was not supposed to be around the world, and only the threat of an attack by the Portuguese forced Elcano not to return back, but to continue his journey to the west.
Ferdinand Magellan
Juan Sebastian de Elcano
The rise of Napoleon
Another common misconception concerns the height of the French commander and ruler Napoleon Bonaparte. It is generally accepted that his lust for power was a psychological compensation for his short stature. In fact, at the time of Napoleon’s death, his height was 5 feet 2 inches and 4 lines, not in the English, but in the French system of measures, which in the metric system is 168.79 cm. Moreover, Napoleon died at 51, and since As people age, their height sometimes decreases slightly. Scientists believe that during his lifetime the Emperor of France was about 170 cm tall, that is, more than the average European of that era. Most likely, the nickname “Little Corporal” was assigned to Napoleon because of the peculiarities of his physique: thin, big-headed, fragile, he looked younger than his age and did not seem tall at all.
Jacques Louis David. Napoleon in his office. 1812
Giordano Bruno and the Inquisition
It is well known that the Italian philosopher and poet Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for adhering to the Copernican theory. However, Bruno is not exactly a follower of Copernicus in the literal sense of the word - he reinterpreted the works of the great Polish scientist from the point of view of Hermeticism, so his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church had nothing to do with science. Philosophical teaching Bruno contradicted Christianity on a number of points. For example, he defended the idea of transmigration of souls, argued that the universe is infinite, and that there are many worlds in it, inhabited by different living creatures that are not like people. In addition, he questioned the meaning and truth of the Christian sacraments, ridiculed the idea of the birth of the God-man from the Virgin Mary, etc. All this in those days was considered heresy and occultism, and therefore was persecuted by the Inquisition.
Giordano Bruno. Unknown artist. 1578
“The Burning of Jordan Bruno”
First US President
George Washington is considered to be the first president of the United States of America. But to be absolutely clear, Washington became the first president elected under the 1787 US Constitution. Before this, there was the position of President of the US Legislative Congress, who was elected in accordance with another document - the Articles of Confederation. From 1781 to 1789, ten people managed to hold this position, the first of whom was Samuel Huntington. Even earlier, there was the post of President of the Continental Congress of the United States (from 1776 to 1781), and before that, the post of President of the Continental Congress of the United Colonies of America (from 1774 to 1776).
George Washington
Execution of the Salem Witches
The Salem witch trials of 1692 in New England have gone down in history as one of the most brutal symbols of the witch hunt. During this process, about 200 people were imprisoned, including pregnant women and a 4-year-old girl, and 19 (according to another version - 34) defendants were executed. It is a common misconception that they were all burned at the stake, but this was not the case: the judges sentenced the “witches,” including men, to the gallows. By the way, already in 1697 the judges admitted their mistake, and in 1702 the court decision was declared illegal
Do you know that Sherlock Holmes never said the phrase “Elementary, Watson!”? Holmes did not use these words in any of his 56 stories and 4 novels. Have you heard that England is often called the rainiest country? But this is a misconception. In fact, for example, London receives 590 millimeters of precipitation per year, while Rome has 760 and Milan 1000. It can be argued that London is one of the driest cities in Europe.
Here are 8 more interesting misconceptions:
Misconception No. 1: Humans have five senses.
We remembered from school simple truth- humans have 5 senses: touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste. Aristotle was the first to list them. But in addition to the generally accepted canons, a person has four more senses.
1) The feeling of warmth (or lack thereof) that our skin is able to detect is called a buzzword "thermoception".
2) The sense of balance, which is caused by the fluid-containing cavities in our inner ear, is called "equibrioception".
3)"Nociception" is a feeling of pain (in joints, skin and organs of the body). It is surprising that this feeling has nothing to do with the brain, which does not have receptors sensitive to pain. Headaches - despite what we might think - do not come from inside the brain.
4) "Proprioception"- feeling of “body awareness”. It is an understanding of where parts of our body are, even if we don't feel or see them. Close your eyes and swing your leg in the air. You will still know where your foot is in relation to the rest of your body.
There are also scientists’ assumptions that there are feelings of hunger, danger and thirst. But scientific minds are in no hurry to somehow separate them into a separate group.
Is it true: In total, a person has at least nine senses.
Misconception No. 2: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand.
This misconception about animals is one of the most common. The legend dates back to the times of the Roman Empire, when it was believed that ostriches were hiding from danger not just anywhere, but in the sand. Since then, the metaphorical expression “burying one’s head in the sand” has come into being.
Why did it appear? Most likely due to the fact that the ostrich can often be observed with its head hung low, especially if it is standing in long grass. And there are several reasons for this. During the feeding process, the ostrich can linger in this position for a long time, carefully looking at what it wants to eat. An ostrich can also rest with its head bowed low, thus relaxing the neck muscles, or even hide its head in the shade from the scorching sun.
Is it true: Until now, not a single reliable case is known when an ostrich buried its head in the ground: it would have nothing to breathe. Ostriches bend down to the sand not to bury their heads there, but to eat it. They swallow sand and pebbles so that these elements help grind hard food in the stomach. And when they see danger, ostriches do what anyone whose limbs can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour would do in their place - they run away.
Misconception #3: A red rag makes a bull angry.
If a bull could understand human speech, he would be surprised by the words: “This affects him like a red rag on a bull!”
Scientists have been able to establish the fact that bulls have dichromatic vision. Their eyes have only 2 types of light-sensitive proteins, whereas humans have three. Oddly enough, the third protein missing from bulls is closest to the red end of the spectrum. Therefore, bulls distinguish blue from green, but they do not distinguish green from red. We can say that any bright fabric can irritate them. That is why shepherds and shepherds wear clothes of nondescript gray and black tones.
Is it true: It turns out that what actually angers the bulls is not the color of the fabric, but its swaying. As well as any rapid movement of a person, animal or object. So, it is not the one who finds himself next to the bull, dressed in red, who puts himself in danger, but the one who panics and begins to rush around in front of the bull’s gaze. And the red color is more likely to “irritate the eye” of the viewer at a bullfight.
Misconception No. 4. Einstein was a loser
Many current students who are struggling from D to C are warmed by the thought that even Nobel laureate Albert Einstein allegedly struggled with his studies at school. And after the Disney cartoon, this misconception became firmly rooted in people’s heads.
The thing is that little Einstein studied most of the time in Germany, and graduated from school in Switzerland. In these countries there were various systems knowledge assessment.
In Switzerland there was a simple six-point system, but in Germany they changed the grading system, and all “fours” became “twos”, and the maximum grade was one.
Is it true: Accordingly, Einstein, of course, was a poor student, but at the same time he studied very well. To a greater extent, he was interested only in those subjects that he liked - these were mathematics and physics. His average score was 5 out of 6 in the Swiss system.
Misconception No. 5. New Year begins with the first chime
Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin. The first chime. Hooray! For Russians, this sound, like champagne and Olivier salad, has long been an integral attribute of the New Year. Only the main question is, when exactly it occurs, there is still no complete clarity - with the chime of the bell, with the first or last strike of the chimes.
Is it true: The first strike of twelve sounds ten seconds after the start of a new day. The beginning of the chiming of the chimes coincides with the instant of the change of day. At zero hours zero minutes zero seconds the chime begins. Ten seconds later the first strike of the bell sounds, chiming the whole hour.
Misconception #6: Bananas grow on palm trees.
It’s very strange, but palm trees on which bananas grow do not exist in nature. Just like the palm trees with pineapples hanging from them. The fact is that both bananas and pineapples are grass fruits. Like, for example, the well-known blueberries or strawberries.
Only the size of this grass is impressive. The pineapple reaches a height of one meter. And the fruit appears at the top of the stem. Even more impressive is the size of the banana blade of grass.
It can reach a height of 10 meters, and the diameter of its stem will be about forty centimeters. It can hold up to 500 kilograms of fruit! Not every biggest and to a strong tree I can bear such a burden.
Is it true: But still, banana is a herb. After fruiting, its stem, like most herbs, will die, and new escape will appear on the root a few centimeters further. The stem does not become woody, and there is no bark on it. In general, banana is a mysterious thing. In addition to the usual fruits, there are also red, black, straight and round ones.
Famous perfumers annually purchase several hundred tons of bananas, which are used to make creams, lotions, and masks. And in some countries, banana beer is brewed from the fruit.
Misconception No. 7. The Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris is the Mona Lisa Gioconda
Leonardo da Vinci is the author of the painting that allegedly depicts the Mona Lisa. But in fact, this is not a portrait of Mona Lisa Gioconda at all. According to the assumption of most modern art historians, the painting depicts a portrait of Duchess Isabella of Aragon, the granddaughter of the King of Naples and the widow of the Duke of Milan, who, like Leonardo, lived at the end of the 15th century at the Milanese court.
They say that the painting received the wrong name thanks to the Italian art historian Vasari. Only 30 years after the death of Leonardo (1520 year of death) Vasari first told that the portrait belonging to the king of France depicts the wife of the merchant Francesco de Gioconde.
Is it true: In fact, Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait of the merchant de Gioconde (on at the moment this painting is lost) and probably a portrait of his beautiful wife, but to this day this painting is also lost. And this painting is not at all the Louvre portrait of the Mona Lisa. A description of Vasari himself has been preserved, where he talked about a clearly different portrait: about a lady with very expressive eyebrows (you can’t say this about a painting from the Louvre).
Misconception #8: The Statue of Liberty is in New York
Is this really true? Leave your options in the comments to this article. The answer will appear at 13:00 on October 24, 2013.
Answer: The Statue of Liberty is actually located in New Jersey.
Many people are used to thinking that everything they find on the Internet labeled “fact” is pure truth, in which you need to believe unconditionally. But more often than not it turns out that these facts are just empty talk that will spread throughout the world with lightning speed. social networks, misleading people. These common false facts are so deeply ingrained in people's brains that without checking the information they are given, they can spend hours arguing that Napoleon was short and bulls lose their temper when they see the color red. Here is a collection of the most common myths and misconceptions that many of us accept as the truth.
Myth: Different areas of language
Not really different areas languages responsible for certain tastes. The language map is based on an incorrect translation of the thesis of the German scientist Edwin Boring
Myth: Sharks don't get cancer
This false fact was used to sell shark cartilage, which supposedly could prevent cancer. Sharks actually suffer from skin cancer
Myth: Black holes
Black holes are not holes at all, but dense objects with very strong gravity.
Myth: You can't wake up a sleepwalker
There is a common myth that you should not wake up a sleepwalker, but even if you wake him up, nothing bad will happen. But if you don’t do this, the sleepwalker can harm himself
Myth: Napoleon was short
Napoleon's height was 168 cm, which is the average height for a Frenchman of those times
Myth: Bulls hate the color red
Bulls are irritated by the object, in in this case a rag that is waved in front of its muzzle, the color of which is indifferent to it, since bulls are color blind
Myth: The Great Wall of China is visible from space
In fact, the Great Wall of China is practically invisible from space, but from orbit you can see the lights of cities on the night side of the Earth
Myth: If you add oil to pasta, it won't stick together.
Adding oil to pasta will not prevent it from sticking, but it may reduce the foaming of the water.
Myth: Dogs sweat through salivation.
Dogs regulate their body temperature by sticking out their tongues and breathing frequently, and they sweat through their paw pads.
Myth: We lose most of our heat through our heads.
It has been proven that we lose about 10% of heat through our heads, and the rest through other parts of the body. Therefore, you can freeze without pants or a hat.
Myth: Vikings wore helmets with horns
A Viking in a helmet with horns is just an image created by 19th century artists
Myth: Salieri was an enemy of Mozart
This is just a common misconception. In fact, the composers were friends and there was only a slight rivalry between them
Myth: You can't touch the chicks, otherwise the mother will abandon them.
Birds have a limited sense of smell, so they will not abandon their chicks because of human scent.
Myth: You can't swim on a full stomach.
Perhaps, if you go swimming immediately after eating, you will get shortness of breath, nothing more
Myth: Einstein was weak in mathematics
Einstein failed entrance examination. but in mathematics I always got straight A's
Myth: A goldfish's memory is only 3 seconds.
A goldfish can hardly be called the smartest living creature, but nevertheless its memory span is 3 months
Myth: We evolved from chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are humans' closest genetic relatives, but our common ancestor lived 5-8 million years ago
Myth: Excess sugar can cause hyperactivity
Attention deficit disorder and inappropriate behavior also found among children who do not consume sugar
Myth: Different abilities of the left and right hemispheres of the brain
There is no clear division of abilities according to the hemispheres of the brain. The left hemisphere can “learn” the abilities of the right and vice versa
Myth: Alcohol warms you up
Alcohol only dilates the blood vessels in our skin, which creates a feeling of warmth, but at the same time it can lower the core body temperature
Myth: We only use 10% of our brain
In fact, we use the whole brain, just not all parts of it at the same time. One piece of evidence came from studies of brain damage. No matter what part of the brain is damaged, it somehow affects the efficiency of the entire brain. Brain imaging technologies show the same thing. So those who hoped to tap into the remaining 90% of the brain to develop telekinetic abilities would have to lift their butts off the chair and move objects on their own.
Myth: Satan rules hell
There is not one mention of this in the Bible
Myth: If you salt water when cooking, it will boil faster.
When salt is added to fresh water it makes no difference
Myth: Chewing gum takes 7 years to digest
In fact, it is simply not digested and comes out unchanged.
Myth: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand.
If an ostrich gets scared or senses danger, it will run away rather than hide its head in the sand.
Myth: Hair and nails grow even after death
Long-haired ghosts with long nails only appear in horror films, and in reality nails do not grow, but the skin around them dries out and pulls back, making the nails appear longer. And the skin on the dead man's chin also loses moisture and shrinks, exposing a previously invisible part of the hair. This effect is enhanced by the emergence of the so-called goose bumps caused by contraction of the erector pili muscles.
Myth: If you touch a frog, a wart will grow.
Warts can be caused by the human papilloma virus, and not by a harmless frog
Actually, it seems to me that any more or less educated person should know this. The list includes documented and widely accepted stupid ideas and misconceptions.
Story
The ancient Romans did not build special rooms called vomitoria where they could vomit to their heart's content after eating a large meal. Vomitoria were the passages through which visitors entered and exited stadiums.
There is no evidence that Viking helmets had horns
There is no evidence that Iron Maidens were invented in the Middle Ages or were ever used for torture. They were collected at the end of the 18th century to attract blood-hungry and spectacle-hungry publics to museums to exhibit “medieval horrors.”
Europeans' faith in flat earth was not an obstacle to Christopher Columbus's Indian campaign. Since the times of Plato, Aristotle and Aristophanes, who more or less correctly calculated the diameter of the earth for 240 years BC. enlightened people were familiar with the concept of a spherical earth. Sailors and navigators used this knowledge every day, and quite correctly disagreed with Columbus in his estimates of the distance to India, which he underestimated by 6 times. If America had not been on his way, he simply would not have had enough supplies to sail to Asia.
Marie Antoinette did not say “let them eat cake” when she heard that the peasants were starving due to lack of bread. The phrase first appeared in Rousseau's Confessions when Marie Antoinette was 10 years old, and most researchers believe that Rousseau either invented it himself or it belongs to Maria Theresa, the wife of Louis 15th. And even Rousseau (or Maria Teresa) did not talk about cakes. In the original the phrase sounds like Qu"ils mangent de la brioche- let them eat brioche (French sweet bread). Marie Antoinette was a very unpopular ruler, so the phrase "let them eat cake" was taken up by many people as an illustration of her reputation as a cruel and out-of-touch ruler.
The signing of the Declaration of Independence occurred on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4. On July 4th the declaration was approved by the Second Continental Congress. On July 4th and 5th it was printed and distributed.
Napoleon was above his nickname "little corporal". He was not short and did not have a Napoleon complex. His posthumous height in 1821 was 1.686 meters. Not big, but quite average height for a Mediterranean man of the late 18th century.
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini did not "make the trains run on time." Most repair work on railway was completed before Mussolini came to power in 1922. Witnesses also claim that the running of Italian trains on schedule was more of a myth than a reality. Service was often disrupted due to Mussolini's conflicts with trade unions.
The Polish cavalry did not launch saber attacks on German tanks in 1939. This clean water The fascists' war, which may have appeared after one of the battles in Northern Poland, when a Polish cavalry brigade suddenly attacked German infantry and retreated only under the pressure of armored units. Despite the fact that the saber was part of the equipment of the Polish cavalrymen, they also had firearms, including light anti-tank weapons.
During World War II, the Danish King Christian X did not interfere with the Nazis' attempts to identify Jews by wearing clothes with a yellow Star of David sewn on it. This was never required of Danish Jews. Nevertheless, by the end of the war, the Danes still helped most Jews flee the country.
According to various polls, from 11 to 24% of Americans are confident that President Barack Obama is a Muslim. White House describes Obama as a fairly devout Christian who prays daily.
Food and cooking
Some chefs believe that hot dishes prepared with alcohol will end up being non-alcoholic because the low boiling point of the alcohol will cause it to evaporate very quickly. However, studies have shown that alcohol still remains in dishes even after intensive heat treatment: 25% after an hour of stewing and 10% after two.
Sushi does not mean "raw fish" and not all sushi is made from raw fish. Sushi is “vinegar” rice prepared according to a special recipe. It is made from sumeshi - rice, with the addition of vinegar, salt and sugar solution. Traditionally served with raw fish, other (cooked) seafood, caviar, avocado, etc. The term sashimi is a little closer in definition to raw fish, but still not enough. Sashimi can be any raw meat, fish or vegetable, and the term refers to the style of presentation of the dish rather than the contents.
Microwaves do not heat food from the inside. Microwave radiation penetrates food and directly heats it only to a small depth. For example, muscle tissue (what we call meat) is directly heated to less than a centimeter in depth.
The presence of metal in a microwave oven cannot damage the oven electronics. However, metal has other problems. For example, an electric arc. Or heating the metal to such an extent that it can burn through the inside of the furnace in a certain way. Some metal items (like the foil on the rack under a frozen pizza) are microwave safe.
Swallowed chewing gum passes through the digestive system in the same way as all other foods, and does not remain digested in the stomach for 7 years. It would seem to be obvious nonsense, hardly worthy of refutation, but if up to 20% of people are sure that Obama is a Muslim, you never know what other nonsense they will believe :)))
Astronomy
It is "widely known" (yup) that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon. Lies. None of the participants in the lunar expeditions were able to see a single man-made object on the ground. Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt said, "The great wall is virtually invisible from 180 miles up." However the lights big cities visible from orbit without any problems. It is believed that the misconception was popularized by Richard Haliburton several decades before the start of flights to the moon.
Contrary to their sinister image, black holes do not necessarily suck up all the surrounding matter. In a sense, they are space vacuum cleaners, but not as much as they are credited with. The collapse of a star into a black hole is an explosive process, therefore the resulting object will have less mass and, as a result, less gravitational force. If you replace the sun with a black hole of the same mass (which is physically impossible), the orbits of the planets revolving around it will remain unchanged.
The change of seasons is not caused by the earth's proximity to the sun in summer and distance in winter. The earth is further away from the sun during summer in the northern hemisphere. The change of seasons is the result of a change in the angle of the earth's axis.
Biology
The claim that duck quacks have no echo is a lie. Although under certain circumstances it may be difficult for the human ear to hear.
DNA is not made of protein. DNA is an acid. Although DNA and protein are very closely interconnected.
The statement that a goldfish's memory lasts only a few seconds is not true.
Lemmings don't throw themselves off cliffs in a fit mass suicide. However, sometimes, during migrations through territories unfamiliar to them, they can accidentally fall off cliffs. The misconception was popularized by Disney, but its roots go back to the 19th century.
Bats are sighted. Most bats use echolocation, but despite this, all types of bats are quite sighted.
According to a popular misconception, a worm cut in the middle turns into two worms. In fact, only a limited number of worm species are capable of such regeneration. In most worms, only the front severed half survives. 
According to urban legends, harvest spiders (Pholcus phalangioides) are the most poisonous spiders in the world, but the structure of their jaws prevents them from biting humans, which makes them technically harmless to us. In fact, they can still bite through the skin and a microscopic amount of their venom can cause a burning sensation for a couple of seconds. Nothing more.
The aerodynamics and mechanism of bee flight are remarkably calculated and understood, despite the fact that urban legends claim that according to calculations bees should not fly. In the 1930s, a German scientist, using incorrect calculations, came to the false conclusion that bees should theoretically not fly, although he later admitted his mistake. However, the false hypothesis grew into the belief that “scientists believe that theoretically bees cannot fly.”
Sharks can get cancer. The nasty myth was popularized in 1992 by the book "Sharks Don't Get Cancer" and was used to sell a variety of anti-cancer drugs based on shark extracts. Reports of cancer in sharks are widely known and the unequivocal information available makes speculation on this topic nothing more than nonsense.
Transferring from place to place (for example, back to the nest) is completely safe for the chicks, contrary to the popular misconception that such chicks will be rejected by the mother.
Bulls are not irritated by the color red. Cattle are dichromatic, and their vision is unable to distinguish the color red (or orange, when worn by a hunter). The bull is irritated not by the color, but by the movements.
Evolution
The word “theory” in the concept of “theory of evolution” does not mean that the scientific mainstream doubts it. The concepts of theory and hypothesis have special meanings in a scientific context. In an everyday context, theory may imply uncertainty and speculation, but in a scientific context, theory is nothing more than a set of principles that explain the results of observations.
Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees or other modern primates. Humans and apes, however, share a common ancestor who lived about 40 million years ago. The common ancestor gave rise to several evolutionary lineages. Old World monkeys, New World monkeys and great apes. Humans are classified as hominids, a family that also includes chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees lived 5-8 million years ago, eventually splitting into two branches - humans and two species of chimpanzees. 
Evolution does not mean progress from simpler to more complex organisms. A population can evolve towards a simpler genome.
According to the California Academy of Sciences, approximately 41% of American adults believe that humans and dinosaurs coexisted (and I was also making fun of the Obama disbelievers). However, the last dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, while those who can be considered pre-humans appeared 2.3-2.4 million years ago. 
Evolution does not violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Opponents of evolution argue their position by the fact that according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy increases with time, therefore evolution cannot cross a certain threshold of complexity. The second law of thermodynamics says nothing about complexity and applies only to closed systems, while the earth, absorbing the sun's rays, is an open system.
Evolution does not improve an organism's ability to survive. For example, it would be an incorrect description of the evolution of the giraffe to say that over time their necks extended to reach the foliage of tall trees. Evolution is pre-lightbulb and it does not react to such things in any way. This erroneous theory is known as Lamarckism. A mutation that causes an elongated neck would be beneficial to an animal living among tall trees rather than among short ones. Therefore, this animal is more likely to survive and pass on its genes to its offspring. Tall trees do not cause long necks and have no bearing on the number of animals born with long necks.
Body and health
The difference in taste can be detected by any part of the tongue, with sensitivity varying slightly depending on the area and the individual. Contrary to the popular belief that specific areas of the tongue are responsible for recognizing unique tastes. The original "map of language" is a mistranslation of a work written in 1901 by Edwin Boring. By the way, not 4, but 5 tastes are recognized. In addition to the well-known sweet, salty, sour and bitter, a person is able to recognize umami - the taste of meat.
People are able to recognize more than 5 senses. Depending on the definition, their number varies from 9 to 20. In addition to the canonical vision, smell, taste, touch and hearing described by Aristotle, man has the senses of balance, acceleration, pain, position of the body and limbs, and relative temperature. Other feelings often include feelings of time, hunger, thirst, fullness of the stomach, pressure, etc.
Hair does not grow darker or thicker or faster after shaving.
The hair and nails of the dead do not grow. Their skin becomes dry, resulting in a false impression of growth.
Hair care products cannot “cure” split ends. However, they can prevent damage as well as seal damaged ends and generally make your hair look healthier.
A person does not need to drink 8 glasses of water a day to maintain good health. Sufficient consumption of foods containing water - tea, milk, fruits and vegetables - compensates for under-drinking water.
Alcohol doesn't warm you up. Under the influence of alcohol, paralysis of the skin vessels soon occurs, they expand, and more blood flows to the surface of the body. It seems to a person that he has warmed up, but in fact this is a deception: only the skin heats up, which very quickly gives off the resulting heat outside. At the same time, the body temperature decreases, which is easy to verify both theoretically (using the law of conservation of energy) and practically (by carrying out systematic measurements).
Alcohol does not kill brain cells. At one time, the idea was promoted that brain cells die under the influence of alcohol (as well as the claim that alcohol in the blood can cause spontaneous combustion). According to research from the Queensland Brain Institute, there is no evidence of a direct link between alcohol consumption and the death of brain cells. Moreover, when consumed in moderation, alcohol has positive influence on the body. Alcohol can indirectly affect the death of brain cells only in chronic alcoholics.
Vegetarian and vegan diets contain adequate protein. The typical diet of ovolacto-vegetarians and vegans more than meets the body's daily protein needs. Despite the lack of protein compared to meat diets, vegetarianism has a positive effect in the fight against cancer. However, a vegetarian diet is not a panacea, and a strict vegan diet requires supplemental vitamin B-12.
It is a common belief that men think about sex every 7 seconds. In fact, this has never been measured and researchers claim that this figure is a gross exaggeration.
Another popular myth is sex before sports competitions worsens the athlete's results. Numerous studies have shown the absence of any physiological prerequisites for this. Moreover, it turned out that sex within 24 hours before a competition can improve results by producing additional testosterone. 
Thinking abilities are not completely divided between the hemispheres of the brain. Some functions, such as speech and language, gravitate toward one hemisphere when performing certain tasks. However, if one of the hemispheres is damaged at a very early age, these functions are restored partially or completely in the undamaged hemisphere. Other abilities, such as motor skills and memory, are distributed equally between both hemispheres.
Vaccines do not cause autism. A bogus study by Andrew Wakefield showed a link, but repeated attempts to replicate the results failed.
People don't use only ten percent of their brain. While the brain only fires a small number of neurons at a time, passive neurons also play an important role. This myth has been prevalent in American culture for the past century. Its authorship belongs to William James, who used this statement as a metaphor. 
Warts on human skin are caused by the papillomavirus, which is unique to humans. Warts cannot be contracted from toads or other animals. The growths on toads are not warts. 
Mathematics
Contrary to popular perception, the number 0.999(9) with an infinite number of nines after the decimal point is still equal to one.
Physics
The Coriolis effect does not determine the direction of rotation of the water in the toilet or sink. The Coriolis effect, caused by the rotation of the earth, becomes noticeable only on larger scale phenomena. Such as atmospheric systems or ocean currents. In addition, water in modern toilets is usually supplied at an angle and at an initial speed that is too high to be affected by the Coriolis effect.
Gyroscopic forces are not required for the cyclist to balance. They are a factor to some extent, but balance is primarily maintained by inertia, steering geometry and the rider's ability to control lean angle by turning the handlebars.
The concept of lightning not striking the same place twice is one of the oldest and wackiest misconceptions about lightning. There is no reason why lightning cannot strike the same place twice. During a thunderstorm, lightning will strike the same objects of the required combination of height and conductivity with the highest probability. For example, lightning strikes the New York Empire State Building approximately 100 times a year.
A one-cent coin thrown from a skyscraper will not kill a passerby or break the asphalt. The one cent coin has maximum speed a fall of 30-50 miles per hour, which, given its mass, is completely insufficient for it to cause any serious damage.
Psychology
There is an opinion that anger and rage during catharsis should not be driven inside, but should be released onto an inanimate object to relieve tension, so that aggression is not relieved at the expense of another person. However, experiments have shown that the subject's aggression only increases after negative energy has been released onto an inanimate object.
The ability to remember pictures with maximum attention to the smallest details is called photographic or eidetic memory. However, such a gift hardly exists, because there is no evidence of it. Many people claim to have a photographic memory, but they simply have very good memory thanks to training, but not natural ability to remember the smallest details.
Sport
A black belt in martial arts is not necessarily proof of skill. The black belt was first introduced into judo in the 1980s as a demonstration of an athlete's competence in basic techniques. Further ranks of a fighter after receiving a black belt may vary. In judo and some other martial arts, masters are more high level wear belts with alternating white and red colors, and the strongest fighters have red belts.
Religion
It is generally accepted that the biblical Forbidden Fruit was an apple. It was this form that was popularized in Western art despite the fact that nowhere in the Book of Genesis is any specific fruit mentioned. Early translations from Latin contain the word "mali", which can be translated as either "evil" or "apple". Beginning in the 12th century, German and French artists depicted the apple as the forbidden fruit, and in John Milton's pamphlet (Areopagitica, 1644) forbidden fruit clearly called an apple. Jewish researchers suggest that the forbidden fruit could have been grapes, figs, citrus fruits, or even wheat. The Koran mentions the forbidden "tree", also without specifically identifying it. In light of which, grapes and wheat clearly disappear. 
“Everyone knows” that in Noah’s ark there were “two of every creature.” In fact, the figure is based on Genesis 6:19, while Genesis 7:2 mentions very specific instructions to Noah - to bring 7 pairs of “clean animals” and one pair of each of the others.
There is no evidence of the birth of Christ on December 25th. The Bible nowhere names this date, but indirectly points to a date closer to September. This date may have originally been related to the date when conception occurred according to Christian beliefs (+ 9 months), or to the date of the Roman solstice or one of the ancient winter festivals.
The canonical Buddha was not fat. “Fat Buddha” or “Laughing Buddha” is a character in Chinese folklore of the 10th century named Budai, who, according to Buddhists, was one of the reincarnations of Bothisattva.
Buddha is not a god. Only in late Buddhism did Buddha become a prophet and receive the status of a savior, but even this does not make him a god in general understanding this word.
A fatwa is a non-binding decree of Islamic experts, made by them on the basis of Sharia - the laws of Islam. Many believe that a fatwa is a death sentence, based on the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 against the writer Salman Rushdie. This event, in fact, attracted the attention of the Western press to the very concept of fatwa.
The word "jihad" does not necessarily mean "holy war." The literal translation of this word from Arabic means “struggle.” Despite the existence of concepts such as “jihad by the sword,” many modern scholars of Islam argue that jihad is an internal, spiritual struggle.
Technologies
Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb. However, he developed the first practically working light bulb in 1880. A year before Joseph Swan invented an even more efficient light bulb.
Henry Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line. As an engineer, he participated in the development of the conveyor, but by and large it was his employees who did it.
Guillermo Marconi did not invent radio. He adapted it for public broadcasting. The laurels of the inventor of radio do not belong to anyone in particular.
Al Gore never said he "invented the Internet." He literally said that “the Internet appeared thanks to my initiative while serving in the US Congress.” It was Gore who initially drafted a bill that provided significant funding for supercomputer centers, which in turn led to an upgrade of the NSFNet system that had already existed by the early 90s and the development of Mosaic, a browser that opened Internet access to everyone.
