*
*
Comments on the above post
Monday, March 31, 2008
And now the other side of the coin! Fact busters!
These are the “Facts” that have been argued to be incorrect!
_________________________________________
#1 A goldfish's attention span is three seconds.
• This theory was tested by the Discovery Channel “MythBusters” (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html) The experiment consisted of training several goldfish to complete a maze. They concluded that the Goldfish attention span and memory retention lasts well over 3 seconds.
#5 Camels have three eyelids.
• In fact they have six (three per eye).
#18 Jellyfish are 95% water.
• This fact is slightly wrong, Jellyfish are actually about 99% water. (Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/failedlogin?target=/eb/artical-9043510)
#31 “The average human will eat an average of eight spiders while sleeping.
• This statistic was made up in 1993 as an example of the absurd things people will believe simply because they come across them on the internet, as uncovered by Snopes.(http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp)
#36 A duck's quack doesn't echo.
• Tested by Snopes (http://www.snopes.com) and Mythbusters. Both tests concluded that a duck's quack does echo.
#40 It is possible to lead a cow up stairs but not down
• This is not true. Cows can walk up and down stairs. proof here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfyPOzB7pB8
#69 Caller ID is illegal in California.
• There is no law against Caller ID in the state, though there were lengthy debates about legalizing it in the early 90's.
#70 (first draft of “real fact” #70) Caller ID is illegal in California.
• There is no law against Caller ID in the state, though there were lengthy debates about legalizing it in the early 90's. a">(http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PUC+to+mull+telephone+CLASS+proposals-a012048787)
#77 No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.
• This myth was also put to the test by the MythBusters, who folded a piece of paper 11 times. The piece of paper used was an oversized piece of paper and thinner than a standard 8.5"x11" inch piece of paper.
#89 The average American walks 18,000 steps a day.
• There are many 10,000 steps a day health programs which consider 10,000 a stretch goal. Such programs state that a "sedentary person" only walks 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day. http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html
#114 The oldest known animal was a tortoise which lived to be 152 years old.
• Currently the oldest living animal, a tortoise named Tu'i Malila, lived to be 188 years old (http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/06/23/harriet-turtle.html)
#121 The only bird that can swim and not fly is a penguin.
• The Flightless Cormorant can also swim.
#122 A duck can't walk without bobbing its head.
• According to several videos that show ducks out on strolls, it is clear that a duck does not need to bob its head while it walks. proof here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmEs4Z9raMw
#145 Lake Superior is the world's largest lake.
• The Caspian Sea is considered the largest lake; Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by surface area. The largest freshwater lake by volume is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
#146 The smallest county in America is New York County, better known as Manhattan.
• Falls Church, Virginia, is the smallest functional county at 2.0 square miles. (Kalawao County, Hawaii is also smaller but is technically part of Oceania and not either of the American continents).
#153 The speed limit in NYC was 8 mph. in 1895
•
It was in fact 9 miles per hour prior to 1898.
#162 "The temperature of the sun can reach 15 million degrees Fahrenheit.
• The core reaches temperatures of 25 million degrees F and the surface reaches only 10,000 degrees F, either way it's wrong.
#163 The first penny had the motto “Mind your own business”.
• This is not accurate; the first penny has the motto “Mind your business”
#171 The most sensitive parts of the body are the mouth and fingertips.
• The eyeballs have more nerve endings than all of these.
#176 The First bike was called a hobbyhorse.
• it was in fact called a draisine or DANDY-HORSE English.
#180 The first VCR was made in 1956 and was the size of a piano.
• The first '''VTR''' (Video Tape Recorder) was made in 1956; VCR's (video cassette recorders) came along in the 1970's.
#266 Manhattan is the only borough in New York City that doesn't have a Main Street.
• This is actually false, Roosevelt Island is part of the borough of Manhattan and its only significant street is Main Street.
#334 Thomas Edison coined the word "hello" and introduced it as a way to answer the phone.
• The word "hello" was used in print in the book “Roughing It” by 1872, while the telephone was invented in 1876
#362 Arachibutlphobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
• The correct spelling is arachibutyrophobia.
#383 Mount Katahdin in Maine is the first place in the U.S. to get sunlight each morning.
• The town of Lubec, Maine (the easternmost town in the U.S.) is the first place in the U.S. to get sunlight each morning, although some believe Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island (near Bar Harbor, Maine) sees the first sunlight
#399 Manhattan was the first capital of the United States.
• False. Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States, as said in fact #662 saying that "Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States."
#726 A polar bear cannot be seen by an infrared camera, due to its transparent fur.
• Polar Bear International uses infrared cameras for polar bear research, particularly to track female bears who are in dens with cubs.
#794 Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States, and Zabriskien [sic] Point, the lowest point in the United States, are less than eighty miles apart.
• It is true that Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the Continental United States, but Badwater in Death Valley, not Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, is the lowest point in the United States. http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/death_valley/badwater.html
#889 The original Cinderella was Egyptian and wore fur slippers.
• It is true that Rhodopis is considered the oldest telling of the Cinderella story, but her slippers are consistently described as rose-gold. Some claim that Charles Perrault's classic French telling featured fur slippers, and that vair (fur) was mistranslated as verre (glass,) but this is believed to be an urban legend. http://www.snopes.com/language/misxlate/slippers.asp
#904 If done perfectly, any Rubik's Cube combination can be solved in 17 turns.
• There is a known configuration whose optimal solution is 20 turns. It has been proved that any combination can be solved in at most 21 turns.
#907 Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
• Killing people in any way or by any reason is illegal by law in Paraguay.
# 921 if you had 1 billion dollars and spent 1 thousand dollars a day, it would take you 2,749 years to spend it all.
• It would actually take 2737 years and 311 days (including leap years) or 2739 years and 265 days without including leap years.
_________________________________________
#1 A goldfish's attention span is three seconds.
• This theory was tested by the Discovery Channel “MythBusters” (http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html) The experiment consisted of training several goldfish to complete a maze. They concluded that the Goldfish attention span and memory retention lasts well over 3 seconds.
#5 Camels have three eyelids.
• In fact they have six (three per eye).
#18 Jellyfish are 95% water.
• This fact is slightly wrong, Jellyfish are actually about 99% water. (Encyclopedia Britannica http://search.eb.com/failedlogin?target=/eb/artical-9043510)
#31 “The average human will eat an average of eight spiders while sleeping.
• This statistic was made up in 1993 as an example of the absurd things people will believe simply because they come across them on the internet, as uncovered by Snopes.(http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp)
#36 A duck's quack doesn't echo.
• Tested by Snopes (http://www.snopes.com) and Mythbusters. Both tests concluded that a duck's quack does echo.
#40 It is possible to lead a cow up stairs but not down
• This is not true. Cows can walk up and down stairs. proof here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfyPOzB7pB8
#69 Caller ID is illegal in California.
• There is no law against Caller ID in the state, though there were lengthy debates about legalizing it in the early 90's.
#70 (first draft of “real fact” #70) Caller ID is illegal in California.
• There is no law against Caller ID in the state, though there were lengthy debates about legalizing it in the early 90's. a">(http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PUC+to+mull+telephone+CLASS+proposals-a012048787)
#77 No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.
• This myth was also put to the test by the MythBusters, who folded a piece of paper 11 times. The piece of paper used was an oversized piece of paper and thinner than a standard 8.5"x11" inch piece of paper.
#89 The average American walks 18,000 steps a day.
• There are many 10,000 steps a day health programs which consider 10,000 a stretch goal. Such programs state that a "sedentary person" only walks 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day. http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html
#114 The oldest known animal was a tortoise which lived to be 152 years old.
• Currently the oldest living animal, a tortoise named Tu'i Malila, lived to be 188 years old (http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/06/23/harriet-turtle.html)
#121 The only bird that can swim and not fly is a penguin.
• The Flightless Cormorant can also swim.
#122 A duck can't walk without bobbing its head.
• According to several videos that show ducks out on strolls, it is clear that a duck does not need to bob its head while it walks. proof here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmEs4Z9raMw
#145 Lake Superior is the world's largest lake.
• The Caspian Sea is considered the largest lake; Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by surface area. The largest freshwater lake by volume is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
#146 The smallest county in America is New York County, better known as Manhattan.
• Falls Church, Virginia, is the smallest functional county at 2.0 square miles. (Kalawao County, Hawaii is also smaller but is technically part of Oceania and not either of the American continents).
#153 The speed limit in NYC was 8 mph. in 1895
•
It was in fact 9 miles per hour prior to 1898.
#162 "The temperature of the sun can reach 15 million degrees Fahrenheit.
• The core reaches temperatures of 25 million degrees F and the surface reaches only 10,000 degrees F, either way it's wrong.
#163 The first penny had the motto “Mind your own business”.
• This is not accurate; the first penny has the motto “Mind your business”
#171 The most sensitive parts of the body are the mouth and fingertips.
• The eyeballs have more nerve endings than all of these.
#176 The First bike was called a hobbyhorse.
• it was in fact called a draisine or DANDY-HORSE English.
#180 The first VCR was made in 1956 and was the size of a piano.
• The first '''VTR''' (Video Tape Recorder) was made in 1956; VCR's (video cassette recorders) came along in the 1970's.
#266 Manhattan is the only borough in New York City that doesn't have a Main Street.
• This is actually false, Roosevelt Island is part of the borough of Manhattan and its only significant street is Main Street.
#334 Thomas Edison coined the word "hello" and introduced it as a way to answer the phone.
• The word "hello" was used in print in the book “Roughing It” by 1872, while the telephone was invented in 1876
#362 Arachibutlphobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
• The correct spelling is arachibutyrophobia.
#383 Mount Katahdin in Maine is the first place in the U.S. to get sunlight each morning.
• The town of Lubec, Maine (the easternmost town in the U.S.) is the first place in the U.S. to get sunlight each morning, although some believe Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island (near Bar Harbor, Maine) sees the first sunlight
#399 Manhattan was the first capital of the United States.
• False. Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States, as said in fact #662 saying that "Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States."
#726 A polar bear cannot be seen by an infrared camera, due to its transparent fur.
• Polar Bear International uses infrared cameras for polar bear research, particularly to track female bears who are in dens with cubs.
#794 Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States, and Zabriskien [sic] Point, the lowest point in the United States, are less than eighty miles apart.
• It is true that Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the Continental United States, but Badwater in Death Valley, not Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, is the lowest point in the United States. http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/death_valley/badwater.html
#889 The original Cinderella was Egyptian and wore fur slippers.
• It is true that Rhodopis is considered the oldest telling of the Cinderella story, but her slippers are consistently described as rose-gold. Some claim that Charles Perrault's classic French telling featured fur slippers, and that vair (fur) was mistranslated as verre (glass,) but this is believed to be an urban legend. http://www.snopes.com/language/misxlate/slippers.asp
#904 If done perfectly, any Rubik's Cube combination can be solved in 17 turns.
• There is a known configuration whose optimal solution is 20 turns. It has been proved that any combination can be solved in at most 21 turns.
#907 Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
• Killing people in any way or by any reason is illegal by law in Paraguay.
# 921 if you had 1 billion dollars and spent 1 thousand dollars a day, it would take you 2,749 years to spend it all.
• It would actually take 2737 years and 311 days (including leap years) or 2739 years and 265 days without including leap years.
Facts that were changed in second draft!
These “facts” were changed after they were shown to be not accurate!
_____________________________________________
#20 originally stated “Broccoli is the only vegetable that is a flower”, It now reads, “Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are flowers”.
#76 originally stated “There is a town called Big Ugly, West Virginia”, It now states, “There is an area called Big Ugly, West Virginia”.
_____________________________________________
#20 originally stated “Broccoli is the only vegetable that is a flower”, It now reads, “Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are flowers”.
#76 originally stated “There is a town called Big Ugly, West Virginia”, It now states, “There is an area called Big Ugly, West Virginia”.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)