[_] 30 facts we all know (which aren't actually true)
1. Coffee is made from beans: it is actually made from a seed.
2. Chameleons change colour to match their surroundings: they change as a response to mood, temperature, communication and light, not the object they are touching.
3. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world: the top of Mount Everest is higher above sea level than the summit of any other mountain, but Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the tallest when measured from base to summit. 4. The Great Wall of China can be seen from space: the Apollo astronauts confirmed that you can't see the Great Wall of China from the moon.
5. One human year is equivalent to seven dog years: it depends on the size and breed of the dog.
6. You lose your body heat fastest through your head: experts say we'd be just as cold if we went without trousers as we would be hatless.
7. The earth revolves around the Sun: technically, what is going on is that the Earth, Sun and all the planets are orbiting around the centre of mass of the solar system.
8. Different parts of your tongue detect different tastes: all taste sensations come from all regions of the tongue, although different parts are more sensitive to certain tastes.
9. Peanuts are a type of nut: wrong, they belong to the plant family, Leguminosae.
10. Giving children sugar makes them hyper: most research has concluded that sugar does not cause hyperactivity.
11. Humans have five senses: it turns out there are at least nine senses and most researchers think there are more like 21.
12. Fortune cookies are a Chinese tradition: they were invented in the US.
13. Sushi means "raw fish": it actually translates as sour-tasting. 14. Vikings wore horned helmets: there is no evidence to suggest they did.
15. The forbidden fruit mentioned in the Book of Genesis is an apple: the Bible never mentions it.
16. Vitamin C is an effective treatment for a cold: most experts say there is little or no evidence that it helps.
17. Penguins mate for life: while mostly monogamous, there are some species, such as the Emperor Penguin which is only monogamous season by season.
18. Caffeine dehydrates you: while caffeinated drinks may have a mild diuretic effect - meaning they may cause the need to urinate - they don't appear to increase the risk of dehydration.
19. When in London, you are merely 6ft away from a rat: this is just a rough estimate as rodents are not evenly spread.
20. There is a dark side of the Moon: as it is constantly rotating on its own axis, there is no area of it that is in permanent darkness.
21. A toilet's flush will change direction depending upon which hemisphere it is in: the real cause of "backwards"-flushing toilets is the direction in which the water jets point.
22. Mars is red: the red colour we see in images of Mars is the result of iron rusting.
23. Sunflowers track the sun across the sky: in fact, the uniform alignment of the flowers results from what is called heliotropism at the bud stage - before the appearance of flower heads.
24. People use just 10 per cent of their brain: neurologists disagree. We use virtually every part of the brain, and most of the brain is active almost all the time.
25. Your fingernails continue to grow after you die: the dehydration of the body after death can cause retraction of the skin around hair and nails, giving the illusion that they have grown.
26. Bats are blind: despite tiny eyes and a nocturnal lifestyle, none of the roughly 1,100 bat species are blind.
27. Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building would kill someone: a penny weighs only about a gram and it tumbles as it falls. As a result there is so much air resistance that the penny never really gathers much speed before it hits its terminal velocity.
28. Handling a baby bird will make its mother reject it: most birds have a very poor sense of smell, so in most cases wouldn't even notice.
29. You need to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person to the police: no such rule exists.
30. Your blood is blue before it's oxygenated: not true - human blood is always red.
Daily express.
1. Coffee is made from beans: it is actually made from a seed.
2. Chameleons change colour to match their surroundings: they change as a response to mood, temperature, communication and light, not the object they are touching.
3. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world: the top of Mount Everest is higher above sea level than the summit of any other mountain, but Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the tallest when measured from base to summit. 4. The Great Wall of China can be seen from space: the Apollo astronauts confirmed that you can't see the Great Wall of China from the moon.
5. One human year is equivalent to seven dog years: it depends on the size and breed of the dog.
6. You lose your body heat fastest through your head: experts say we'd be just as cold if we went without trousers as we would be hatless.
7. The earth revolves around the Sun: technically, what is going on is that the Earth, Sun and all the planets are orbiting around the centre of mass of the solar system.
8. Different parts of your tongue detect different tastes: all taste sensations come from all regions of the tongue, although different parts are more sensitive to certain tastes.
9. Peanuts are a type of nut: wrong, they belong to the plant family, Leguminosae.
10. Giving children sugar makes them hyper: most research has concluded that sugar does not cause hyperactivity.
11. Humans have five senses: it turns out there are at least nine senses and most researchers think there are more like 21.
12. Fortune cookies are a Chinese tradition: they were invented in the US.
13. Sushi means "raw fish": it actually translates as sour-tasting. 14. Vikings wore horned helmets: there is no evidence to suggest they did.
15. The forbidden fruit mentioned in the Book of Genesis is an apple: the Bible never mentions it.
16. Vitamin C is an effective treatment for a cold: most experts say there is little or no evidence that it helps.
17. Penguins mate for life: while mostly monogamous, there are some species, such as the Emperor Penguin which is only monogamous season by season.
18. Caffeine dehydrates you: while caffeinated drinks may have a mild diuretic effect - meaning they may cause the need to urinate - they don't appear to increase the risk of dehydration.
19. When in London, you are merely 6ft away from a rat: this is just a rough estimate as rodents are not evenly spread.
20. There is a dark side of the Moon: as it is constantly rotating on its own axis, there is no area of it that is in permanent darkness.
21. A toilet's flush will change direction depending upon which hemisphere it is in: the real cause of "backwards"-flushing toilets is the direction in which the water jets point.
22. Mars is red: the red colour we see in images of Mars is the result of iron rusting.
23. Sunflowers track the sun across the sky: in fact, the uniform alignment of the flowers results from what is called heliotropism at the bud stage - before the appearance of flower heads.
24. People use just 10 per cent of their brain: neurologists disagree. We use virtually every part of the brain, and most of the brain is active almost all the time.
25. Your fingernails continue to grow after you die: the dehydration of the body after death can cause retraction of the skin around hair and nails, giving the illusion that they have grown.
26. Bats are blind: despite tiny eyes and a nocturnal lifestyle, none of the roughly 1,100 bat species are blind.
27. Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building would kill someone: a penny weighs only about a gram and it tumbles as it falls. As a result there is so much air resistance that the penny never really gathers much speed before it hits its terminal velocity.
28. Handling a baby bird will make its mother reject it: most birds have a very poor sense of smell, so in most cases wouldn't even notice.
29. You need to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person to the police: no such rule exists.
30. Your blood is blue before it's oxygenated: not true - human blood is always red.
Daily express.
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