Common Facts That Aren’t True

Centuries of mostly oral tradition and word of mouth have led us to believe these “facts.” But you’ll be surprised to find out that these “facts” we’ve known all along turn out to be myths!

Frozen fruits and vegetables are as nutritious as the fresh ones. In fact, frozen produce can be even more nutritious as they retain much of the nutrients.

While that’s a common knowledge, you’ll be surprised to discover that Mount Everest is not the highest mountain on the planet. In fact, the tallest mountain is actually the Mauna Kea, in the US island state of Hawaii. It measures 33,500 tall. However, much of this inactive volcano is submerged in the water that it looks much smaller at 13,803 feet above sea level.

Not so true, because bulls are actually colorblind. So bulls will get mad at the cape’s waving movement no matter what color it is, combined with the matatdor’s taunting.

Whoever coined that phrase “blind as a bat” really ought to see the light of truth! Bats may have small eyes, may be nocturnal and may be mostly guided by sound to hunt their prey and to find a mate. But blind? Far from it! All bats can see and in fact there are many bats that have excellent night vision.

Trees are woody and have branches. Although the banana plant can grow as big as a tree, it isn’t woody nor does it have any branches. The banana “tree” is actually an herb; in fact, it is the world’s tallest herb! The famous banana fruit is technically called a berry.

You can see several man-made structures from space, but the Great Wall of China is not one of them! The wall is, in fact, too narrow to be visible from space. Besides, it blends with the natural contours and colors of its surroundings and thus it is indistinguishable when viewed from the space with the naked eye.

There is no archaeological nor historical evidence that suggests that the Vikings wore such headdress. The image of a Viking wearing a horned helmet came from an 1876 production of Richard Wagner’s opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen.”

When you have chewed and (accidentally) swallowed a bubble gum or a chewing gum, you assume it will remain stuck in your digestive system for as long as seven years before it finally gets digested. But here’s a myth-buster: you can’t digest it at all. Like any other indigestible object, the gum will simply pass through your system and get evicted in the form of an excrement.

The coffee beans that you’ve known all along are, in fact, seeds. Die-hard caffeine fans should know that!

Although it looks like a nut and tastes nutty indeed, a peanut (or groundnut) isn’t a nut. It is actually a legume — yes, it’s a closer relative of common green beans than almonds.

It’s a common knowledge that kids who have taken too much sugar in their diet become hyperactive. There’s no such thing as that — it’s a mere placebo.

They were actually invented by immigrants in California, USA during the early 20th century.

While a caffeine is a diuretic — which may cause you to pee — the effect is only mild. It doesn’t look like it heightens the risk of dehydration, so drink as much coffee as you want!

We use all parts of our brain, but not all at once. Every part of the brain becomes active at any given moment. Whenever we are focused on a specific task, some parts of our brain needed for that task become more active than the other parts.

Scientists have yet to find a concrete link between chocolates/fatty foods and acne. Chocolates and fatty foods per se will not make your skin to break out. However, overindulging in these kinds of foods might usurp other nutrients that are beneficial to your skin. For example, eating too much chocolate will cause one to not eat fruits and vegetables, whose vitamins are needed for glowing skin.

In Mary Shelley’s famous novel The Modern Promotheus aka Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who creates a grotesque monster out of his bizarre experiments. The monster has no name.

Canberra may be a lesser-known city than Sydney, but would you believe that it is Australia’s capital? No? Google it!

It does, but that’s just temporary. A swig or two of alcohol will lead to the dilation of the blood vessels. This action will cause warm blood to move closer to the surface of the skin, making you feel warm and even your face beet-red. At the same time though, you are losing core body heat — the kind of heat that you need to survive especially when you’re out in the cold. So this is going to be bad news for the Russians who rely on vodka for their icy fishing trips!

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