False facts that changed the world. Koalas are a type of bear. Cavemen lived in caves

18.04.2019

School is the place where children go to study in order to grow up and become smart adults. When they start going to school, they accept everything the teacher says as the undeniable truth, but as they grow up, they begin to ask questions and doubt everything they hear. Sometimes the truth is shocking.

11. Van Gogh cut off his ear
Most people believe that Van Gogh cut off his ear and mailed it to his beloved, because they learned about it at school. But this is not true. Many historians today know that Van Gogh's ear was cut off by his colleague. The fact is that Gauguin and Van Gogh somehow quarreled, Van Gogh splashed wine at Gauguin, and Gauguin grabbed a saber and slightly injured his friend's ear. Later, Gauguin, in order to avoid arrest, told people that this crazy Van Gogh did it himself.

10. Benjamin Franklin and the kite

Many of us have heard the American legend that during a thunderstorm, Benjamin Franklin was driving kite demonstrating his experiment on the study of electricity. But this story is not true either. Yes, the kite experiment took place, but Franklin himself did not take part in it. If this were true, it is unlikely that Franklin survived after this.

9. Diamonds are made from coal

Many people believe that diamonds are made from coal under the influence of high temperatures, but this is not true, which we learned at school. In fact, they are mined in vertical seams in rock, and they are formed during volcanic processes. It should be said that very rarely diamonds and coal are found together, since the latter is located under the surface of the Earth, and diamonds are deep in the bowels, and get to the surface during volcanic eruptions. The only truth is that diamonds are formed under the influence of pressure and high temperatures, but not from coal, but from carbon.

8 Columbus Discovered That The Earth Is Round

Much of what we learned in school about Columbus is not true, and especially the fact that Columbus made a discovery about round shape Earth. Even 2000 years ago, people knew that the Earth was not flat thanks to the ancient mathematicians, Pythagoras, Aristotle and Eratosthenes. It is unlikely that Columbus was such a strong mathematician to do the calculations. He thought that the Earth was much smaller than it actually was, that China was much further from Japan than it actually was. The truth about Columbus is that he really landed on the shores of America completely by accident.

7. George Washington and the cherry tree

At school, we were told that George Washington cut down a cherry tree as a child, which he confessed to, because he believed that one should not lie. Although history teaches children not to lie, it is all lies. It turns out that the biographer of George Washington inserted this story into the book only 10 years after the death of the president. Today, this story is considered a real fiction.

Source 6Witches were burned at a stake during the Salem witch trial.

It is not true that after women were found guilty of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials, they were burned at a stake. In fact, people who were suspected of witchcraft were imprisoned or sentenced to be hanged. This legend originated as the people of Salem burned the dead bodies of witches at stakes to protect the city from witchcraft.

5. We only use 10% of our brain

This idea appeared to explain the mental capabilities of such talented people as Einstein. According to neuroscientist Barry Gordon, “we use all parts of our brain, and most of them all the time.” If any part of the human brain is damaged, the effect will be extremely negative. The notion that humans only use 10% of their brains comes from movies like The Dark Realm and Lucy and the school system.

4. Venous blood is blue

The myth that venous blood blue color appeared because the veins are blue. The myth says that blood turns red when oxygenated. But this is not true. Our veins are blue because that's how our eyes perceive color. If light is decomposed into a spectrum, then blue color will be reflected - that's why our veins are blue.

3. Newton and an apple

At school, we read that when Newton was sitting under an apple tree, the apple fell on his head, thus, the scientist discovered the law of gravity. Although everything ingenious is simple, and the idea with an apple is good, in fact, Newton spent twenty years working on the proof of the force of gravity. In this he was helped by such scientists as Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley.

2. Lincoln categorically opposed slavery

When we read about Abraham Lincoln in school history lessons, it was especially emphasized that he was a great fighter for the freedom of slaves. But his attitude was not so heroic. His main idea was to strengthen the Union of States, and the emancipation of slaves was one of the stages. Lincoln said that if there was another way to strengthen the Union, he would not free the slaves.
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1. Thanksgiving

On the lessons in English in the month of November, another myth usually sounds, this time about Thanksgiving. The essence of the Day is that when the pilgrims who landed on the coast of America were not ready for the winter and did not have food supplies, the local Indian tribes came to their aid. The next autumn, the pilgrims thanked their saviors with a portion of their harvest. But real story associated with cruelty. A few years before the appearance of the pilgrims, Europeans brought plague to these lands, which killed 96% of the population. There were so many dead bodies lying around that the Europeans decided to move to another area. There they also spread the plague and so everywhere. The Europeans moved to the territories previously occupied by the Indians at Cape Cod and received cultivated fields and corn seeds. In addition, the pilgrims stole food and tools from the surviving tribes in order to survive themselves.

We refute the most famous scientific misconceptions:

“Most of the diamonds are not formed from compacted coal. They are "born" at a depth of about 150 km, and coal deposits are usually located at a depth of about three kilometers.

— The bats not blind. Yes, they navigate in space with the help of echolocation, but at the same time they see quite well.

“Blonds and redheads will not disappear over time. Recessive genes that are responsible for hair color can be passed down from generation to generation and through non-blonds and non-redheads.

Hair and nails do not continue to grow after death. This impression arises from the fact that the skin of a deceased person shrinks.

- It is impossible to determine by the color of the snot whether a bacterial disease or a viral one. The color of this substance can vary from transparent yellow to deep green in patients with a wide variety of diseases.

— Pure water- not really good conductor electricity. The reason a person can get an electric shock through water is because it contains minerals, dirt and other particles that conduct electricity.

- From frogs and toads you can’t pick up a wart, but shaking hands with a person who has warts is very possible. Warts in humans are caused by papillomavirus, which only affects humans.

Ostriches don't hide their heads in the sand, even when they're scared. If they sense danger, they tend to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.

- From the lack of oxygen, the blood does not turn blue - on the contrary, it acquires a darker red color. The veins just appear blue through the skin.

“Sugar doesn’t make kids hyperactive. Several studies have found that the activity of children was the same when consuming sugar-free and sugar-free soda.

- Clicking your knuckles can irritate your co-workers, but you won't get arthritis. The real causes of osteoarthritis are age, trauma, excess weight and genetic predisposition.

— If the product is natural, it does not mean that it does not contain pesticides. However, the levels of pesticides in both organic and non-organic food are too low to be concerned about (at least that's what the ministry says). Agriculture USA).

Stress does not play a big role in the development of chronic hypertension. severe stress may cause a temporary increase blood pressure, but in general it does not happen main reason hypertension. Genetics, smoking and unhealthy diet play a much larger role.

- Lightning can strike the same place twice. It hits some tall buildings up to 100 times a year.

- A person is not born with all the convolutions that he possesses in adulthood. There is evidence that, at least in several parts of the brain, the process of formation of nervous tissue continues into adulthood.

One gene is not the same as one protein. Many genes make many different proteins, depending on how the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of the gene is located in the cell. Some genes do not form proteins at all.

— Goldfish have a pretty good memory. They can remember certain things for several months.

We refute the most famous scientific misconceptions:

Most diamonds are not formed from compacted coal. They are "born" at a depth of about 150 km, and coal deposits are usually located at a depth of about three kilometers.

Bats are not blind. Yes, they navigate in space with the help of echolocation, but at the same time they see quite well.

Blondes and redheads will not disappear over time. Recessive genes that are responsible for hair color can be passed down from generation to generation and through non-blonds and non-redheads.

Hair and nails do not continue to grow after death. This impression arises from the fact that the skin of a deceased person shrinks.

It is impossible to determine by the color of the snot whether a bacterial disease or a viral one. The color of this substance can vary from transparent yellow to deep green in patients with a wide variety of diseases.

Pure water is not a very good conductor of electricity. The reason a person can get an electric shock through water is because it contains minerals, dirt and other particles that conduct electricity.

You can't catch a wart from frogs and toads, but shaking hands with a person who has warts is very possible. Warts in humans are caused by papillomavirus, which only affects humans.

Ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand, even when they are scared. If they sense danger, they tend to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.

From the lack of oxygen, the blood does not turn blue - on the contrary, it acquires a darker red color. The veins just appear blue through the skin.

Sugar doesn't make kids hyperactive. Several studies have found that the activity of children was the same when consuming sugar-free and sugar-free soda.

Clicking your knuckles can irritate your co-workers, but you won't get arthritis. The real causes of osteoarthritis are age, injury, excess weight, and genetic predisposition.

Just because a product is natural doesn't mean it doesn't contain pesticides. However, the levels of pesticides in both organic and non-organic foods are too low to worry about (at least that's what the USDA says).

Stress does not play a big role in the development of chronic hypertension. Severe stress can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, but in general it is not the main cause of hypertension. A much larger role is played by genetics, smoking and malnutrition.

Lightning can strike the same place twice. It hits some tall buildings up to 100 times a year.

Lemmings don't commit mass suicide. However, during periods of migration, they do occasionally fall off rocks if the area is unfamiliar to them.

A person is not born with all the convolutions that he possesses in adulthood. There is evidence that, at least in several parts of the brain, the process of formation of nervous tissue continues into adulthood.

Many people call the dinosaur shown in this picture a brontosaurus - even Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park. It's actually an Apatosaurus. The myth of the brontosaurus was born 130 years ago, during the so-called "Bone Wars", when two paleontologists used any means in rivalry in the search for fossils.

Goldfish have a pretty good memory. They can remember certain things for several months.

Most likely, HIV was transmitted to humans not through sexual contact between humans and monkeys, but because monkeys were hunted for their meat, which implies contact with animal blood.

Dogs and cats do not distinguish between shades of gray. But they perceive different shades blue and green. Dogs have a wider field of vision than humans, but they can't see as far ahead as we can.

It's not true that people supposedly use "only 10 percent" of their brains. We use the whole brain - just different areas at different times.

Only a small percentage of those suffering from Tourette's syndrome involuntarily shout out swear words. In fact, this disease can manifest itself in different ways - involuntary movements or different kind ticks. The impulsive utterance of vulgar or obscene words is called coprolalia.

Even at the dawn of the Middle Ages, almost all scientists knew that the Earth was round, not flat. Myth about dark people The Middle Ages, which were convinced that the Earth was a flat pancake, were launched in the 1940s by members of the Historical Association (the leading association of historians in the UK).

Sharks get cancer. The rumor that these fish are not susceptible to cancer was spread by William Lane, who sold shark cartilage as an "effective anti-cancer agent."

The Great Wall of China is not the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. Depending on the distance from the Earth, you can either see the Great Wall of China and other large structures, or not see any structures at all. From the Moon, for example, only the lights of the Earth are visible.

No " photographic memory» does not exist - only very good memory. But even people with exceptional memory cannot reproduce visual details that can compare with photography.

Radiation in microwave oven cannot cause cancer - it just warms food. In fact, cancer can only be caused certain types radiation, but it also depends on the dose. For example, too much sunlight can actually cause skin cancer, but if you don't overdo it with sunburn, it will only help the body produce the vitamin D it needs.

Shaving your hair doesn't make it thicker, it just makes it appear rougher for a while - that's because the ends of the hair don't taper like regrown hair, but end in a blunt cut.

It's not true that swallowed chewing gum will be digested for seven years. In fact, it only takes a few hours for the body to do this.

We refute the most famous scientific misconceptions:

Most diamonds are not formed from compacted coal. They are "born" at a depth of about 150 km, and coal deposits are usually located at a depth of about three kilometers.
- Bats are not blind. Yes, they navigate in space with the help of echolocation, but at the same time they see quite well.
- Blondes and redheads will not disappear over time. Recessive genes that are responsible for hair color can be passed down from generation to generation and through non-blonds and non-redheads.
- Hair and nails do not continue to grow after death. This impression arises from the fact that the skin of a deceased person shrinks.
- It is impossible to determine by the color of the snot whether a bacterial disease or a viral one. The color of this substance can vary from transparent yellow to deep green in patients with a wide variety of diseases.
- Pure water is not a very good conductor of electricity. The reason a person can get an electric shock through water is because it contains minerals, dirt and other particles that conduct electricity.
- You can't catch a wart from frogs and toads, but shaking hands with a person who has warts is very possible. Warts in humans are caused by papillomavirus, which only affects humans.
- Ostriches don't hide their heads in the sand, even when they're scared. If they sense danger, they tend to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.
- From the lack of oxygen, the blood does not turn blue - on the contrary, it acquires a darker red color. The veins just appear blue through the skin.
- Sugar doesn't make kids hyperactive. Several studies have found that the activity of children was the same when consuming sugar-free and sugar-free soda.
- Clicking your knuckles can irritate your co-workers, but you won't get arthritis. The real causes of osteoarthritis are age, injury, excess weight, and genetic predisposition.
- If the product is natural, it does not mean that it does not contain pesticides. However, the levels of pesticides in both organic and non-organic foods are too low to worry about (at least that's what the USDA says).
- Stress does not play a big role in the development of chronic hypertension. Severe stress can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, but in general it is not the main cause of hypertension. Genetics, smoking and unhealthy diet play a much larger role.
- Lightning can strike the same place twice. It hits some tall buildings up to 100 times a year.
- Lemmings don't commit mass suicide. However, during periods of migration, they do occasionally fall off rocks if the area is unfamiliar to them.
- A person is not born with all the convolutions that he has in adulthood. There is evidence that, at least in several parts of the brain, the process of formation of nervous tissue continues into adulthood.
- Many people call the dinosaur shown in this picture a brontosaurus - even Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park. It's actually an Apatosaurus. The myth of the brontosaurus was born 130 years ago, during the so-called "Bone Wars", when two paleontologists used any means in rivalry in the search for fossils.
- One gene is not the same as one protein. Many genes make many different proteins, depending on how the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of the gene is located in the cell. Some genes do not form proteins at all.
- Goldfish have a pretty good memory. They can remember certain things for several months.

Most diamonds are not formed from compacted coal. They are "born" at a depth of about 150 km, and coal deposits are usually located at a depth of about three kilometers.

Bats are not blind. Yes, they navigate in space with the help of echolocation, but at the same time they see quite well.

Blondes and redheads will not disappear over time. Recessive genes that are responsible for hair color can be passed down from generation to generation and through non-blonds and non-redheads.

Hair and nails do not continue to grow after death. This impression arises from the fact that the skin of a deceased person shrinks.

Pure water is not a very good conductor of electricity. The reason a person can get an electric shock through water is because it contains minerals, dirt and other particles that conduct electricity.

You can't catch a wart from frogs and toads, but shaking hands with a person who has warts is very possible. Warts in humans are caused by papillomavirus, which only affects humans.

Ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand, even when they are scared. If they sense danger, they tend to fall to the ground and pretend to be dead.

From the lack of oxygen, the blood does not turn blue - on the contrary, it acquires a darker red color. The veins just appear blue through the skin.

Sugar doesn't make kids hyperactive. Several studies have found that the activity of children was the same when consuming sugar-free and sugar-free soda.

Clicking your knuckles can irritate your co-workers, but you won't get arthritis. The real causes of osteoarthritis are age, injury, excess weight, and genetic predisposition.

Stress does not play a big role in the development of chronic hypertension. Severe stress can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure, but in general it is not the main cause of hypertension. Genetics, smoking and unhealthy diet play a much larger role.

Lightning can strike the same place twice. It hits some tall buildings up to 100 times a year.

Lemmings don't commit mass suicide. However, during periods of migration, they do occasionally fall off rocks if the area is unfamiliar to them.

Goldfish have a pretty good memory. They can remember certain things for several months.

Most likely, HIV was transmitted to humans not through sexual contact between humans and monkeys, but because monkeys were hunted for their meat, which implies contact with animal blood.

Dogs and cats do not distinguish between shades of gray. But they perceive different shades of blue and green. Dogs have a wider field of vision than humans, but they can't see as far ahead as we can.

It's not true that people supposedly use "only 10 percent" of their brains. We use the whole brain - just different areas at different times.

Only a small percentage of those suffering from Tourette's syndrome involuntarily shout out swear words. In fact, this disease can manifest itself in different ways - involuntary body movements or various kinds of tics. The impulsive utterance of vulgar or obscene words is called coprolalia.

Even at the dawn of the Middle Ages, almost all scientists knew that the Earth was round, not flat. The myth of the dark people of the Middle Ages, who were sure that the Earth was a flat pancake, was launched in the 1940s by members of the Historical Association (the leading association of historians in the UK).

Sharks get cancer. The rumor that these fish are not susceptible to cancer was spread by William Lane, who sold shark cartilage as an "effective anti-cancer agent."

There is no "photographic memory" - only a very good memory. But even people with exceptional memory cannot reproduce visual details that can compare with photography.

Radiation in a microwave oven cannot cause cancer - it just heats food. In fact, only certain types of radiation can cause cancer, but even here everything depends on the dose. For example, too much sunlight can actually cause skin cancer, but if you don't overdo it with sunburn, it will only help the body produce the vitamin D it needs.

Shaving your hair doesn't make it thicker, it just makes it appear rougher for a while - that's because the ends of the hair don't taper like regrown hair, but end in a blunt cut.

It is not true that swallowed chewing gum will take seven years to digest. In fact, it only takes a few hours for the body to do this.