Common Knowledge
There is no evidence that Vikings wore horns on their helmets.
Marie Antoinette, who was the Queen of France and husband to Louis XVI during the French Revolution, never actually used the phrase “let them eat cake” when she heard that the French peasantry was starving.
George Washington did not have wooden teeth. They were actually made of gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and animal teeth, including horse and donkey teeth.
The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred on August 2, 1776, not July 4.
Napoleon Bonaparte was not particularly short in comparison to other French men and did not have a Napoleon complex.
A common misconception is that you must wait at least 24 hours before filing a missing person’s report, this is not true.
Entrapment laws in the United States do not require police officers to identify themselves.
Sushi doesn’t mean “raw fish” and not all sushi includes raw fish.
If a person swallows chewing gum, it doesn’t take seven years to digest. Chewing gum is mostly indigestible, but it still passes through the digestive system and out of your body.
A person who has used LSD more than seven times is not insane.
One hit of marijuana doesn’t have the carcinogen effects of an entire cigarette. The largest study of its kind by the University of California found that people who smoke marijuana are no more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. In fact, some studies have shown that marijuana may actually reduce the risk of some cancers by as much as 61%.
It is commonly claimed that the Great Wall of China is the only human-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. City lights were the only feature reported to be visible.
Seasons are not caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun in the summer. They are the result of the Earth being tilted on its axis.
Meteorites are not hot, but cold when they hit the earth.
The claim that a duck’s quack doesn’t echo is false.
Houseflies do not have an average lifespan of 24 hours. The average lifespan of a housefly is 20 to 30 days.
Bulls are not enraged by the color red, which is used in capes by professional matadors. The movement of the fabric is what irritates the bull and causes them to charge.
Shaving doesn’t cause hair to grow back thicker or darker. Hair which has never been cut has a tapered end and after cutting the hair the taper is lost making the new hair sharp.
Alcohol doesn’t make a person’s body temperature warmer.
Eating less than an hour before swimming doesn’t increase the risk of experiencing muscle cramps or drowning. Drowning is often thought to be a violent struggle, where the victim waves and calls for help. In truth, drowning is often inconspicuous to onlookers. The instinctive drowning response doesn’t show prior evidence of distress.
Posts
