You’d be surprised at the number of so called facts circulating popularly among common society that are simply not true. Belief in these falsehoods is nothing to be ashamed of, I was surprised myself by many of the baffling cases I came across during my time researching this list.
10. You Need 8 Glasses of Water Per Day
I’ve been confronted with this one many times in the past, but it was not until recently that I discovered the truth, in all of its life altering magnitude. Although there is little to state that drinking this much water every day has any detrimental effects, failing to do so is unproven to cause any direct harm either. For many years it was considered fact, widely due to a 1945 study by the Health and Nutrition Board which declared it necessary to consume 1 millimetre of water per single calorie of food, the recommended 1,900 calories equating to some 64 ounces (approx. 8 average size glasses) per day. Turns out they forgot to include the water consumed as content in food in their calculations- rendering their research inaccurate.
9. Marie Antoinette said ‘Let Them Eat Cake’
Marie Antoinette was the wife of French King Louis XVI, the final ruling Monarch of France who was deposed and executed during the Revolution. You may be aware of this rather famous phrase she was said to have uttered amid the harsh times the French people faced in the years leading up to the revolution, in supposed response to the news that the citizens were starving to the point of having no bread. Despite it being a cool little historic fact were it true, there is no evidence towards her ever having said it. Some believe the quote was a work of fiction, intended to highlight the distance and pomposity of the upper classes at the time.
8. Vikings Wore Horns on their Helmets
In pretty much every image shown to us throughout our lives of a typical flock of Vikings- whether it be in school as a child or even on a billboard for the latest Viking containing blockbuster, they have horns on their helmets. Well guess what? We’ve all been lied to. Whilst there is research to suggest that early Northern European peoples did frequent the fun activity of putting weird things atop their helmets, many believe this behaviour was typically in relation to religious belief and ceremony; and in no way specific to the Vikings- or horns as the choice enhancer for that matter.
7. Cracking your Knuckles will give you Arthritis
We’ve all heard it, the solemn warning that cracking those knuckles can and will lead to future joint and tendon problems, namely arthritis. This, on a basic level, does make some literal sense as it wouldn’t be so hard to imagine the pressure you put on your knuckles when cracking them could be detrimental towards their well-being. There is no real scientifically based evidence to support this urban myth however- with numerous cases of in depth research instead leaning more in the other direction, in favour of the tendency being more likely to aid the joints.
6. Frequent Shaving Encourages Hair Growth
Up until recently (about 10 minutes ago actually) I was under the firm belief that frequent shaving helped to build the integrity of the beard. Turns out this is completely untrue, a revelation known since the conduction of several studies dating from as long ago as the 1920’s. As hair growth is determined mostly by the follicles under the skin, there is no way that severance of the dead hair above the skin can affect the overall strength or speed of growth.
5. The Great Wall of China is Visible from Space
A very famous misconception believed at some point by all, there is some truth in this. Many have claimed that the 5,000 mile long construction is the only man made thing which can be seen from space, whilst it is true it can be seen from a low orbit- it is far from being unique in this aspect- many things can be. As well as this, the wall cannot be clearly made out from a high-orbit, as nothing man made can- except when viewed through a very powerful lens of course. Whilst many scientists claim the feat is theoretically possible with the right weather conditions etc. the lens power currently needed is that some 5 times the strength of the human eye.
4. The Red Juice in Raw Meat is Blood
You can be forgiven for believing this one in the past, as it just seems so obvious that the red stuff which runs out of raw meat is blood. However this is in fact a misconception, hence its placement among the other imposters on this list. The liquid which runs from delicious steaks and the like is in fact a mixture of the water which constitutes the tissue itself and a protein by name of myoglobin, which is red in colour. The myoglobin is what makes the meat red in the first place, distinguishing it from white meat- which subsequently rarely contains excess or blood like liquid.
3. Blood is Blue in the Veins
Some believe that human blood, whilst still in the veins, is in fact blue instead of its classic red. Whilst there is no solid way to know whether it isn’t blue, the main theory in support of this claim has since been disproven. The theory declared that blood was blue until it met with oxygen, as it usually does when shed from the body- however this can be disproved in several ways. When blood is taken into a needle for example, it meets no oxygen yet appears red- if anything a little darker than normal. It would appear little effort may have gone into deterring this misconception, as many medical and educational texts are known to portray the veins as being blue on diagrams and the like.
2. Sushi is Raw Fish
This one was unknown to me. Call me uncultured or whatever- but I can’t be alone on this one? It turns out Sushi does not refer to a traditional dish of oriental origins which contains raw fish, but a specific type of vinegared rice. The term for the raw fish option is actually ‘sashimi’ a dish that is commonly served alongside sushi. This does kind of make sense to me now, it also makes me feel a bit stupid for complaining about the lack of raw fish on display each of the 3 times I’ve ever been for ‘sushi’.
1. The Color Red Enrages Bulls
This one is simply crushing. If you’re finding this out for the first time I would like to offer you my condolences and undying sympathy. It turns out those idiots in stupid jackets in Spain and the like just use the red sheet as an excuse for their torment. Who’d have guessed it? Apparently Bulls, just like many of their fellow mammals- are red-green color blind and so cannot possibly be reacting to the red. Instead, the Bull is likely to be opposed to the general mannerisms of the guy getting on his nerves- I’d probably get annoyed if he started doing that to me.