Ten debunked myths

Ten debunked myths

You probably believe that Einstein was bad at math, and that vikings had horns on their helmets. These are a few myths that are just not true.

Here is a list of ten debunked myths:

1. Einstein was bad at math.

This is actually false; Einstein was very good in math. However, what some people don’t know is that he had actually failed an entrance exam for a polytechnic university. He was even a couple of years younger than most people applying at the time when he had taken it.

2. Vikings had horned helmets.

This holds some truth. Yes, helmets were found with horns, but they were not for the purposes of battle.

3. We have five senses.

We have many, many more than five. Our senses of time and balance, chronoception and equilibrioception respectively, are only a couple examples of our complete arsenal.

4. You should drink eight glasses of water daily.

If you live in dry area, then this makes sense. But other than that, you should just drink whenever you feel necessary. You put out as much as you take in, and excessive amounts of water can be unhealthy for you.

5. Chewing gum stays for seven years in your stomach.

While it’s true that parts of the gum don’t get digested, it doesn’t stay in your stomach. The indigestible part of gum just goes straight through, and everything else simply follows the regular procedure. But this doesn’t mean that you can go swallow packets of gum!

6. The Great Wall of China is visible from space.

Even the International Space Station can’t see it from space, and it’s only “about 173 miles above sea level which is considered low Earth orbit. That’s barely even space.

7. There are three states of matter.

There’s actually four states: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. A common example of plasma is lightning.

8. Knuckle cracking leads to arthritis.

It’s been scientifically proven that this is absolutely false. However, if it’s continually repeated over a long period of time, injuries can occur.

9. The “Five Second Rule.”

Sadly, five seconds is a generous time for bacteria to get on your food. If anything, they only need less than a second. Besides, there’s already bacteria on your food anyway.

10. Don’t wake up sleepwalkers.

No, please do! They are much more likely to harm themselves than you, so please wake them up. They’ll be a bit confused at first, but they will be fine.

If you’re interested in more debunked myths, check out the links below.

Credits go to the following:

http://www.lifebuzz.com/science-facts/

http://list25.com/25-popular-myths-debunked/

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-popular/10-popular-science-myths-debunked/

http://io9.com/52-of-the-worlds-most-widespread-myths-and-misconceptio-1656550980

http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/history-myths-that-you-probably-believe-are-true#.ci3o5a5Y6