Saturday, April 08, 2006

Water drains backwards in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Earth's rotation

Myth: Not only is the Earth's rotation too weak to affect the direction of water flowing in a drain, tests you can easily perform in a few washrooms will show that water whirlpools both ways depending on the sink's structure, not the hemisphere.

Porcupines float in water.

Fact.

The Catholic Church persecuted Galileo for saying the Earth goes around the Sun.

Myth: The Catholic Church placed Galileo under house arrest for saying that science was the only reliable source of truth.

Mormons used to allow Polygamy

Fact.

A dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's

Myth: Despite a habit of licking things no human would dare, Fido's mouth is often touted as scientifically more sterile. Truth is, oral bacteria are so species-specific that one can't be considered cleaner than the other, just different.

Daddy Long legs are one of the most poisonous spiders, but their fangs are too short to bite humans.

Myth: Daddy Long Legs eat vegetables and things that are already dead- they don't need venom.

Hair and fingernails continue growing after death

Myth: Though hair and fingernails appear to keep growing after death, this is merely a morbid optical illusion at work. In death the human body dehydrates severely, retracting enough skin to expose more nail and hair.

Abortion is legal in Canada until the third trimester, meaning that a baby can be killed even as it is being born.

Fact

Kevin's lovable yet geeky sidekick in TV's "The Wonder Years" grew up to be Marilyn Manson.

Myth: Kevin's sidekick Paul was played by Josh Saviano. As for Marilyn Manson, his real name is Brian Warner.

Jehovahs Witnesses believe that 144,000 people go to heaven, and that entrance to heaven is based on getting converts. Everyone else goes to Hell.

Myth: Jehovahs Witnesses believe that 144,000 people get into heaven, and most of those spots are taken. The rest of the JW's get to live forever in paradise on Earth. They do not believe in Hell.

There was once a female Pope, known as Pope Joan, who disguised herself as a male, but fell off a horse and had a baby, which is how she was discovered.

Myth. This Myth was made popular during the reformation, but there is no historical evidence to back it, neither is there a place in history that it could have happened.


Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Fact!

The sloth (a mammal) moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on its fur.

Fact.

Cat urine glows under a black-light!

Fact

In the Early Church, there was a group of Christians called "Gnostics" who believed Jesus was human, but not God.

Myth: The gnostics believed Jesus was God and not human. Christians believe that Jesus is God and Human. Dan Brown (author of the Da Vinci Code) thinks Jesus is human and not God.

At one point in History, there were 3 people who claimed to be Pope.

Fact. This was a political move to try to centralize power in France, however two of the Popes were not legitimately ordained.

Slugs have 4 noses.

Fact

More Monopoly money is printed in a year, than real money printed throughout the world.

Fact.

Humans use only 10 percent of their brains


Myth: This media darling has been around for at least a century. Fortunately, it's just not true. MRI imaging clearly demonstrates—with fancy colors no less—that humans put most of their cerebral cortex to good use, even while dozing.

A penny dropped from the top of a tall building could kill a pedestrian

Myth: A penny isn't the most aerodynamic of weapons. A combination of its shape and wind friction means that, tossed even from the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, it would travel fast enough merely to sting an unlucky pedestrian.

Elephants can't jump.

Fact

The Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure visible from space

Myth:There are several variations on this folkloric statement, and they're all quantifiably false. Astronauts can spot the Great Wall from low-Earth orbit, along with plenty of other things like the Giza pyramids and even airport runways. But they can't see the Wall from the Moon.

It takes seven years to digest gum

Myth:While it may prove a bit more difficult to break down than organic foodstuffs, chewing gum gets no special treatment from the digestive system. Doctors figure this old wives' tale was invented to prevent kids from swallowing the rubbery substance.

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

Fact.



A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.



Fact

Lightning never strikes the same place twice

Myth: In fact lightning favors certain spots, particularly high locations. The Empire State Building is struck about 25 times every year. Ben Franklin grasped the concept long ago and mounted a metal rod atop the roof of his home, then ran a wire to the ground, thereby inventing the lightning rod.

Until Collumbus, everyone believed the world was flat.

Myth: Before Collumbus, the ancient Greeks believed the world was round, as did St Augustine, one of the greatest teachers in the Church. Most educated people believed it was round- only uneducated people believed it was flat.

Men think about sex every seven seconds

Myth: Males are driven to reproduce, evolutionarily speaking, but there is no scientific way of measuring to what extent that desire consumes their everyday lives. Thankfully, for world productivity as a whole, seven seconds seems a gross overstatement, as best researchers can tell.

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

Fact.

In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II was named an "Honorary Harlem Globetrotter."

Fact

Men are 6 times more likely to be struck by lightning than women.

Fact


Margarine is one molecule away from being plastic.

Myth: Margarine, like butter, is %80 fat and %20 waters and solids.

The original name for the butterfly was 'flutterby'.

Fact


A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off.


Fact: It eventually dies of starvation.

Brocolli is a cross breed of cauliflower and asparagus.

Myth: Broccoli is a member of the Cruciferae family which means it’s related to cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc. Broccoli has been around for more than 2000 years.

Ostriches bury their heads in the sand to hide, thinking that if they can't see us, we can't see them.

Myth: If threatened while sitting on the nest, which is simply a cavity scooped in the earth, the hen presses her long neck flat along the ground, blending with the background. Ostriches, contrary to popular belief, do not bury their heads in the sand.

The Bible used to be chained up in churches to prevent people from reading them.
Myth: Bibles were expensive- copied by hand, and usually inlaid with jewels. They were chained to the Churches so they wouldn't get stolen.