28 Incorrect 'Facts' You May Have Learned In School—part 1 of 2

I recently came across a list of 28 things you may have learned in school that have since been proven wrong. I'm going to share 14 of them with you in this blog and the remaining 14 in next week's blog. Like many myths, these stories often have their roots planted in truth, it just isn't what you learned in school.

MYTH: Chameleons change colors to camouflage themselves

Chameleons are thought of as spiky lizards that change the color of their skins to fit in with their surroundings. While their color-changing abilities are real, it's their way of maintaining a certain body temperature and communicating with other chameleons rather than a means of hiding from predators.

MYTH: Christopher Columbus discovered America

The belief that Christopher Columbus discovered America is still widespread. The U.S. even has a federal holiday honoring him. A 2005 survey from the University of Michigan showed that 85% of Americans believed Columbus discovered the continent while 2% of those surveyed answered that Columbus couldn't have discovered the land now known as America because millions of Native Americans already lived here. The first European to land on the North American continent is widely accepted by historians to be the Viking explorer Leif Erikson who sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland in what is now Canada around 1000 A.D., almost 500 years before Columbus set sail. However, Columbus is historically significant because his 1492 voyage (he never reached the North American continent but did land in the Caribbean Islands) paved the way for European imperialism in the Western Hemisphere.

MYTH: You can only taste certain things on certain parts of your tongue

According to the tongue map myth, different parts of your tongue are for different sorts of tastes—the back of your tongue detects bitter tastes, the front takes in sweet tastes, etc. This is wrong. Taste receptors are all over your tongue, and they all detect all kinds of tastes. It's true that some taste buds are more receptive to certain kinds of tastes than others, but the difference is slight, and the locations of those taste buds aren't in accordance with the tongue map.

MYTH: Sir Isaac Newton "discovered" gravity when an apple fell on his head

Newton's apple legend isn't true. But like many urban legends, it's an embellished version of something that actually happened. An apple didn't fall on Newton's head, but Newton did start theorizing about gravity when he saw an apple falling from a tree. Of course, today our account of physics is far more precise than Newton's notion of gravity.

MYTH: Albert Einstein failed math in school and was a terrible student

It's an attractive idea for young kids. Even if you're not a good student, you can still bloom as a genius later in life. Examples of late-blooming talents are everywhere, but Einstein isn't one of them. Not only was he an excellent student in math, he was excellent in everything. The myth that he flunked a math class may be from the time he failed the entrance exam to the Zurich Polytechnic. At that time, he was still a couple of years away from high school graduation and he only spoke a little bit of French—the language used on the exam. He did pass the mathematics section, but failed the language, botany, and zoology sections.

MYTH: Diamonds are made from ultra-pressurized coal

Both coal and diamonds are formed from carbon under the surface of the Earth, which is the origin of this myth. However, the carbon that forms diamonds is much more pure, and the process requires a lot more heat and pressure.

MYTH: According to laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly

According to the myth, its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think. This is, of course, wrong. Bumblebees can fly. The idea may have developed because bumblebees are pretty big and their wings are pretty small. There's a difference between a real-life biological being and a mathematical model of that being. Honeybees fly by flapping their wings really fast.

MYTH: Convicted witches in America were burned at the stake

While convicted witches in France were burned, witches in England were hanged instead. The English tradition made its way to the American colonies during the Salem Witch Trials and other places of anti-witch hysteria. All the convicted witches in Salem who went to their death were hanged, with one exception. That sole exception is Giles Corey, who was pressed under large stones.

MYTH: Pluto is no longer considered a planet

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) originally classified Pluto as the ninth planet that orbits the sun. In 2005, Eris, another really big space rock 27% larger than Pluto that also orbits the sun, was discovered. The IAU re-evaluated what a planet actually is and ended up with criteria that neither Pluto nor Eris met. So neither could be one of the major planets that go around the sun. Instead, the two are considered dwarf planets. Pluto is still a planet, it's now just a dwarf planet.

MYTH: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space

This depends on your definition of space. It's worth noting that while man-made structures like the Great Wall are visible from satellites orbiting Earth, they're not visible at all from the moon. Secondly, the structures you can see largely depend on the weather and how high the orbit is. Given the proper conditions, astronauts in the International Space Station can see major cities, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and some big bridges from their orbits.

MYTH: Raindrops are tear-shaped

According to the United States Geographical Survey website, raindrops are shaped more like hamburger buns or beans. When they get really large, they split in two. Only then do they turn into a teardrop shape but quickly become burger buns again.

MYTH: You can't start a sentence with a conjunction

You've probably been taught in school that you can't start sentences with but or and. But, as anyone who writes fiction will tell you, you most certainly can. Some grammar rules in the English language are unbreakable yet are broken anyway. The important thing to remember is that different publishers have different house styles. Each publisher will set its own rules about grammar, like deciding whether to permit starting sentences with conjunctions or allowing sentences to end with a preposition.

MYTH: Deoxygenated blood is blue

A common myth is that oxygenated blood is red and deoxygenated blood is blue, but this belief is inaccurate. While glancing at your skin, you may be lead to think that the veins below the surface are carrying blood that is a different color than red. This is actually the result of how you perceive light and the way body tissues are absorbed. Blood that leaves the heart is full of oxygen and bright red, while blood that travels to the heart is dark red. So, even though your veins might appear blue, green, or purple, the blood that flows in them is red (unless you are an extra-terrestrial being, then all bets are off).

MYTH: Humans only use 10% of their brains

The origin of this myth is unclear, but the idea that humans are storing approximately 90 percent untapped abilities in the brain is not true. Scientists have repeatedly been outspoken about this false claim, which has also been perpetuated by movies. All the neurons in your brain may not be firing at the same time, but that doesn't mean that parts of your brain are totally inactive. According to a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "Let's put it this way: The brain represents 3% of the body's weight and uses 20% of the body's energy."

Stop by next week for part 2 of my 2-part blog about Incorrect Facts You May Have Learned In School.

10 Biggest Myths About Medieval Torture part 3of3

This week is part 3 of my 3-part blog series about the Middle Ages/Medieval times. This period in history has many documented tales of truly barbaric treatment. But, unlike the message we get from Hollywood's entertainment industry and many novels, Medieval times overall weren't as barbaric as we've been led to believe. And with that thought in mind, here's a list of the ten biggest myths about justice in Medieval times.

10)  Go Directly To Jail?

Most Medieval communities actually had a judge and jury type of system, although it was much quicker than today's long drawn out sessions. Court generally lasted less than half an hour. At the judge's discretion, he could ask a few simple questions and deliver a verdict without consulting the jury.

9)  The Lawless Middle Age Villages?

Earlier Medieval communities had much more social responsibility than today.  If one member claimed to be wronged, every resident had to join in the hunt and persecution of the criminal, otherwise they would all be held responsible.

8)  Those Strict Church Types?

The pious Middle Ages were serious about religious offenses. Each town's church usually ran its own kind of court to investigate everything from bad attendance to heresy. However, the concept of sanctuary was also well known with the church as a place where criminals could avoid sentencing or punishment.

7)  Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind?

Criminals who committed lesser offenses were often subject to a policy of three strikes and you're out—literally. Repeat offenders were often simply banished from a city and not allowed back rather than killing them or having them clutter up the prisons. Humane and cost effective.

6)  Executions: Left, Right, and Center?

According to Hollywood, Medieval evil-doers were killed on whim and often in public squares for even the slightest of offenses. In reality, capital punishment was used only in the most serious cases which included murder, treason, and arson with the guilty usually hanged.

5)  Royal Highnesses High Above the Law?

Medieval nobles did enjoy certain privileges when it came to bending laws or making new ones to serve their purposes. However, most European countries had legislation preventing their kings and queens from running wild, such as England's Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215.

4)  Public Beheadings as Weekly Spectacle?

Beheading was swift and painless—as long as the axe was sharp. It was considered a privileged way to die and reserved primarily for the nobility. Treason was the crime of choice with the beheadings usually taking place inside castle walls rather than in public. Henry VIII had two of his wives beheaded—Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn.

3)  The Burning Times?

A few witches, as proclaimed by their accusers, were burned at the stake during Medieval times. But it was during the following Reformation period (beginning approximately in 1550) that burning witches at the stake really took off. However, in England witches were rarely burned. They were hanged instead. At the Salem witch trials in the U.S., most of the accused who were actually put to death were hanged.

2)  Off With Your Ear?

Mutilation—severing of an ear or hand—was occasionally used as a punishment for serious crimes, especially in larger jurisdictions such as London. But more often, Medieval law enforcement used it as an empty threat rather than actually doing it.

1)  Rack 'Em Up?

Immortalized in the film Braveheart, the most famous torture device of all time was the rack. It probably wasn't used in England until the very end of the Medieval period. It was used extensively along with other devices beginning in the torturous days of the 1500s when Queen Elizabeth I, and other European monarchs, began purging religious opponents.

So, next time you're watching a high budget film set during Medieval times filled with bloody and torturous actions, remember—there's a good chance it didn't really happen that way.

28 Incorrect 'Facts' You May Have Learned In School—part 2 of 2

Last week I shared 14 of the 28 Incorrect Facts with you in part 1 of my 2-part blog. This week I'm sharing the other 14. Like many myths, these stories often have a kernel of truth to them. It just isn't what you learned in school.

MYTH: Bats are blind

If this were true, would Bruce Wayne really model his superhero identity of Batman after an animal that can't see? You've probably heard someone use the phrase blind as a bat to describe someone. Contrary to this widespread belief, bats are not blind. Large bats are said to see three times better than humans. In addition to a normal sense of sight, bats rely on a technique at night known as echolocation. In low-light environments, as the term echolocation suggests, they are able to locate the source of sounds based on echoes that are produced. This is particularly helpful when trying to find prey and other food sources.

MYTH: Tilting your head back will stop a nosebleed

As a child, you might have been taught to tilt your head back in order to stop a nosebleed. Doctors agree this is not the solution. In the case of a nosebleed, you should tilt your head forward and pinch right below the bridge of your nose to stop the flow of blood rushing out of your nostrils. Tilting your head back might actually lead to more damage. It can cause blood to enter your throat which leads to your stomach and further unpleasant complications.

MYTH: When you swallow gum, it stays in your body for seven years

Gum will stay in your body for some time, but nowhere near seven years. Unlike most food, gum can't be broken down by the body's enzymes and acids. Therefore, that piece of gum goes straight through your system without being dissolved or broken into smaller pieces, and is later expelled. Even though swallowing a wad of gum accidentally or on purpose won't cause it to stay with you for a long period of time, it's probably best to just spit it out when you're finished. There have been rare cases of children having internal issues due to swallowed gum.

MYTH: Camels store water in their humps

You might have been taught that the purpose of a camel's hump is to store water, but this is not true. Some camels have one hump while others have two, but regardless of quantity, they serve the same purpose—to store fat. The stored fat serves as a substitute for food when camels are traveling long distances with limited available resources. According to Animal Planet, a camel can use the fat as an energy source to replace approximately three weeks of food. It's the camel's red blood cells that account for its ability to last one week without water. Unlike other creatures, a camel has oval-shaped blood cells that are more flexible and enable them to store large portions of water.

MYTH: You must drink eight glasses of water a day

The origin of this myth isn't entirely clear, but it is believed that people were convinced of this health rule after the Food and Drug Administration suggested it as a guideline in a 1945 published paper. The truth is that you don't need to drink eight glasses of water each day. Your body will still receive necessary hydration from other fluids and foods. It's probably best to drink a healthy amount of water and indulge in a moderate amount of less healthy beverages (like sugary ones). The most important thing is remembering that your body needs to maintain a balance since fluids are constantly entering and leaving the body. The amount of hydration needed also varies from person to person, since there are factors like age, health conditions, and activity level to consider.

MYTH: There's a five-second rule that applies to food that falls on the floor

If you've ever dropped a piece of food on the floor and quickly picked it up within five seconds, deeming it safe to eat, you have been misguided by a popular health myth. According to the five-second rule, food that falls on the floor is acceptable to consume as long as it hasn't stayed on the unclean surface for more than five seconds. Research has found that the rule is not accurate or applicable. While it's true that the longer dropped food stays on a surface the more germs it attracts, but food will instantly become contaminated as soon as it hits the floor.

MYTH: An apple a day keeps the doctor away

While the nursery rhyme has the laudable goal of getting kids to eat more fruit, it doesn't really work. Apples have vitamin C and fiber, but they are far from containing all the nutrients people need to stay healthy. The best diet you could have is one that consistently gives you a well-rounded group of nutrients. One that uses a lot of vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats is probably ideal.

MYTH: You can catch a cold just by being cold

It makes some kind of intuitive and linguistic sense—if you're cold and uncomfortable, your health will suffer and you'll catch a cold. But that's not quite how it works. In reality, viruses that cause people to catch colds predominate in North America during the winter. Furthermore, people tend to stay indoors when it's cold and in close quarters, enabling viruses to spread more easily. Low indoor humidity, which happens when the heater is on, is also conducive to the flu. So it isn't so much the cold causing colds. It's the cold weather creating conditions where colds spread.

MYTH: You'll get cancer if you stand too close to the microwave

You might have been taught as a child that you shouldn't stand in front of the microwave because of potential effects on your health. This is mainly due to concerns over radiation exposure. Radiation exists on a spectrum, and the radio frequency radiation used by the kitchen appliance is low-energy which is not harmful. According to the American Cancer Society, the energy emitted by microwave ovens is contained within the device and if used correctly "there is no evidence that they pose a health risk to people."

MYTH: If you shave your facial hair, it'll grow back thicker

A biologist who has studied hair for more than 30 years said that has not proven to be true. A razor cleanly cuts the hair, which results in blunt ends. Once the hair grows back, it might feel thicker because of the bluntness.

MYTH: If you eat plenty of carrots, you'll have great eyesight

The exact origin of this myth isn't clear, but it's believed that it became a widespread idea during World War II. When the British issued citywide blackouts in their attempt to defeat the German air forces, one UK soldier, John Cunningham successfully shot down planes. From there, the country started spreading posters and other propaganda that credited carrots as the reason for his exceptional night vision. This was believed to be a myth spread by the government to hide the knowledge of radar from the Germans. The bottom line is that although carrots are high in Vitamin A, you won't have magically superior eyesight or night vision.

MYTH: Sharks can smell a drop of blood from miles away

Sharks are known for having an acute sense of smell. Although they have a better sense of smell than many other creatures, they cannot detect a single drop of blood that's miles away. These predators can pick up on small amounts of different chemicals in the water, but there are other factors that should be taken into consideration (like what kind of substance and the speed of the water current). Some shark species can detect a drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool while others can sense chemicals up to a few hundred meters away.

MYTH: Milk is good for you

Yes, that's right. The proven health benefits of milk are few and far between. It's mostly the product of an enormously successful advertising campaign. But humans are the only mammals to consume milk during adulthood. And while no one disputes that milk contains essential nutrients to help children's bodies grow, study after study shows there's no evidence milk does much good for older children or adults.

MYTH: Coffee stunts children's growth

It's a myth grown-ups use to stop kids from drinking coffee—it will stunt your growth and make you shorter later in life. The idea behind it is that caffeine limits the body's ability to absorb calcium, which is important for the growth of younger children in particular. But the overall idea that caffeine is going to significantly stunt growth is bunk.

28 Incorrect 'Facts' You May Have Learned In School—part 1 of 2

I recently came across a list of 28 things you may have learned in school that have since been proven wrong. I'm going to share 14 of them with you in this blog and the remaining 14 in next week's blog. Like many myths, these stories often have a kernel of truth to them, it just isn't what you learned in school.

MYTH: Chameleons change colors to camouflage themselves

Chameleons are thought of as spiky lizards that change the color of their skins to fit in with their surroundings. While their color-changing abilities are real, it's their way of maintaining a certain body temperature and communicating with other chameleons rather than a means of hiding from predators.

MYTH: Christopher Columbus discovered America

The belief that Christopher Columbus discovered America is still widespread. The U.S. even has a federal holiday honoring him. A 2005 survey from the University of Michigan showed that 85% of Americans believed Columbus discovered the continent while 2% of those surveyed answered that Columbus couldn't have discovered the land now known as America because millions of Native Americans already lived here. The first European to land on the North American continent is widely accepted by historians to be the Viking explorer Leif Erikson who sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland in what is now Canada around 1000 A.D. However, Columbus is historically significant because his 1492 voyage to the Americas paved the way for European imperialism in the Western Hemisphere.

MYTH: You can only taste certain things on certain parts of your tongue

According to the tongue map myth, different parts of your tongue are for different sorts of tastes—the back of your tongue detects bitter tastes, the front takes in sweet tastes, etc. This is wrong. Taste receptors are all over your tongue, and they all detect all kinds of tastes. It's true that some taste buds are more receptive to certain kinds of tastes than others, but the difference is slight, and the locations of those taste buds aren't in accordance with the tongue map.

MYTH: Sir Isaac Newton "discovered" gravity when an apple fell on his head

Newton's apple legend isn't true. But like many urban legends, it's an embellished version of something that actually happened. An apple didn't fall on Newton's head, but Newton did start theorizing about gravity when he saw an apple falling from a tree. Of course, today our account of physics is far more precise than Newton's notion of gravity.

MYTH: Albert Einstein failed math in school and was a terrible student

It's an attractive idea for young kids. Even if you're not a good student, you can still bloom as a genius later in life. Examples of late-blooming talents are everywhere, but Einstein isn't one of them. Not only was he an excellent student in math, he was excellent in everything. The myth that he flunked a math class may be from the time he failed the entrance exam to the Zurich Polytechnic. At that time, he was still a couple of years away from high school graduation and he only spoke a little bit of French—the language used on the exam. He did pass the mathematics section, but failed the language, botany, and zoology sections.

MYTH: Diamonds are made from ultra-pressurized coal

Both coal and diamonds are formed from carbon under the surface of the Earth, which is the origin of this myth. However, the carbon that forms diamonds is much more pure, and the process requires a lot more heat and pressure.

MYTH: According to laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly

According to the myth, its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think. This is, of course, wrong. Bumblebees can fly. The idea may have developed because bumblebees are pretty big and their wings are pretty small. There's a difference between a real-life biological being and a mathematical model of that being. Honeybees fly by flapping their wings really fast.

MYTH: Convicted witches in the United States were burned at the stake

While convicted witches in France were burned, witches in England were hanged instead. The English tradition made its way to the American colonies during the Salem Witch Trials and other places of anti-witch hysteria. All the convicted witches who went to their death were hanged, with one exception. That sole exception is Giles Corey, who was pressed under large stones.

MYTH: Pluto is no longer considered a planet

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) originally classified Pluto as the ninth planet that orbits the sun. In 2005, Eris, another really big space rock 27% larger than Pluto that also orbits the sun, was discovered. The IAU re-evaluated what a planet actually is and ended up with criteria that neither Pluto nor Eris met. So neither could be one of the major planets that go around the sun. Instead, the two are considered dwarf planets. Pluto is a planet, it's just a dwarf planet.

MYTH: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space

This depends on your definition of space. It's worth noting that while man-made structures like the Great Wall are visible from satellites orbiting Earth, they're not visible at all from the moon. Secondly, the structures you can see largely depend on the weather and how high the orbit is. Given the proper conditions, astronauts in the International Space Station can see major cities, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and some big bridges from their orbits.

MYTH: Raindrops are tear-shaped

According to the United States Geographical Survey website, raindrops are shaped more like hamburger buns or beans. When they get really large, they split in two. Only then do they turn into a teardrop shape but quickly become burger buns again.

MYTH: You can't start a sentence with a conjunction

You've probably been taught in school that you can't start sentences with but or and. But, as anyone who writes fiction will tell you, you most certainly can. Some grammar rules in the English language are unbreakable yet are broken anyway. The important thing to remember is that different publishers have different house styles. Each publication will set its own rules about grammar, like deciding whether to permit starting sentences with conjunctions, or allowing sentences to end with a preposition.

MYTH: Deoxygenated blood is blue

A common myth is that oxygenated blood is red and deoxygenated blood is blue, but this belief is inaccurate. While glancing at your skin, you may be lead to think that the veins below the surface are carrying blood that is a different color than red. This is actually the result of how you perceive light and the way body tissues are absorbed. Blood that leaves the heart is full of oxygen and bright red, while blood that travels to the heart is dark red. So, even though your veins might appear blue, green, or purple, the blood that flows in them is red (unless you are an extra-terrestrial being, then all bets are off).

MYTH: Humans only use 10% of their brains

The origin of this myth is unclear, but the idea that humans are storing approximately 90 percent untapped abilities in the brain is not true. Scientists have repeatedly been outspoken about this false claim, which has also been perpetuated by movies like Lucy and Limitless. All the neurons in your brain may not be firing at the same time, but that doesn't mean that parts of your brain are totally inactive. According to a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "Let's put it this way: The brain represents 3% of the body's weight and uses 20% of the body's energy."

Stop by next week for part 2 of my 2-part blog about Incorrect Facts You May Have Learned In School.