50+ Famous Facts You’ve Always Believed That Are Actually False

Napoleon Was Short

A tall tale. At five six, he was slightly above average height for a Frenchman of the time.

Indulge your inner Francophile by learning these French phrases.

Don’t Eat and Swim

This doesn’t increase the risk of cramps; alcohol is the biggest risk increaser. But a full stomach will make you short of breath.

Salty Water Boils Quicker

Adding a sprinkle of salt to water makes no difference. It can actually make boiling take longer.

You’ll wish you knew these brilliant cooking shortcuts sooner!

Oil Stops Stuck Pasta

Nope. It’ll only make it greasy. Stirring prevents sticking.

Here are more pasta cooking mistakes you should avoid.

Left and Right Brain

There’s no solid division between the talents of each hemisphere; the left brain can learn “right-brain skills” and vice versa.

Check out these simple ways to boost your brain power.

Dropped Pennies Kill

Terminal velocity of a penny is 18 to 30 kilometres per hour. Not fast enough to kill—but it sure would sting.

Don’t miss these outrageous news stories from around the globe.

Three Wise Men

Nowhere in the Bible does it specify that there were three.

Find out why bunnies are so popular for Easter.

MSG = Headaches

There’s no scientific proof—just anecdotal evidence implicating monosodium glutamate.

These are the surprising things that could be triggering your headaches.

Dogs Sweat by Salivating

No—they regulate temperature through panting. They actually sweat through their footpads.

We’ve rounded up the smartest dog breeds.

Great Wall of China

It’s not visible from space. No single human structure is visible from orbit, but you can see cities at night.

Find out what it’s really like to restore the Great Wall of China.

Water Rotation

A flushed toilet does not rotate the other way in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coriolis effect doesn’t alter water in toilets.

Einstein Failed Math

Nope. He failed an entrance exam for a school but still excelled in math.

Learn Albert Einstein’s secret to happiness!

Humans and Dinosaurs

Despite 41 per cent of U.S. adults thinking we coexisted, humans and dinosaurs actually missed each other by 64 million years. Yikes.

Check out the weirdest discoveries archaeologists have made.

Black Holes

Not really “holes,” but rather hugely dense objects with massive gravitational pull.

Don’t miss these baffling mysteries about the universe.

We Have Only Five Senses

Some scientists insist on 21, including balance, pain and temperature.

Vaccines Cause Autism

Groundless fears based on fraudulent research that’s been shown to have been manipulated.

Learn the difference between autism and Asperger’s.

Don’t Touch Baby Birds

Most birds have a limited sense of smell, so they won’t abandon babies who “smell” of humans.

Think twice before believing these other myths about animals!

Alcohol Kills Brain Cells

Even in heavy users and alcoholics, brain cells aren’t killed, only damaged.

Missing-Persons Report

Police don’t require a 24-hour waiting period before accepting a missing-persons report.

Different Tongue Parts

There are not different sections of the tongue for each taste: bitter, sour, salt, sweet and umami (savoury/meaty).

Here are the body parts you never knew you had.

Only 10 Per Cent of the Brain is Used

The proportion of the brain “firing” at any one time is task dependent, but ultimately, every region is used almost every day.

Can you pass this brainteasing colour quiz?

Iron Maidens

These were never medieval torture devices, but 18th-century fakes were created for sensational circuses.

Body Heat and the Head

Only in infants is most heat lost through the head (unless the head is the only uncovered part of the body).

Read on to find out North America’s most popular baby names.

Wake Sleepwalkers?

They’ll be really confused, but it’s OK. They’re more likely to hurt themselves if they’re not awoken.

These are the best songs to help you sleep, according to science.

Bananas Grow on Trees

Actually, they grow on massive herbs that just resemble trees.

Milk Increases Mucus

Nope, it doesn’t. There’s no need to avoid dairy if you have a cold.

Bats Are Blind

Not only can bats see, but they also use echolocation. That’s why they’re so awesome!

Check out the animals that are deadlier than sharks!

Caffeine Dehydrates You

Not really. The diuretic effect of caffeine is offset by the amount of water in a caffeinated drink.

Check out our ultimate guide to different types of coffee!

Goldfish’s Three-Second Memory

While not the smartest creatures, goldfish boast a memory span of three months.

Shaving Thickens Hair

Regrown hair isn’t thicker, coarser, or darker; it just appears so because it grows back with a blunt tip.

Avoid falling for these old wives’ tales you were told as a kid!

Seven Years to Digest Gum

The chewy base of gum is indigestible and passes straight through. The remainder is absorbed.

Vikings’ Horns

The helmets were created by a costume designer for a 19th-century Wagner opera.

Alcohol Keeps You Warm

It merely dilates warm blood vessels near the skin, creating the impression of warmth. It can actually drop core body temperature.

The Vomitorium

Not a room Romans used for Bacchanalian binges, but the name for the entrance to a stadium.

Sugar = Hyperactivity

Studies have disproved this. Poor or rowdy behaviours still occur in children with sugar-free diets.

Bulls Hate Red

Bulls are colour-blind. They actually perceive the motions of the bullfighter’s cloth as a threat.

Can you spot the animals camouflaged in these photos?

Bagpipes Are Scottish

Sorry, Braveheart fans: They were prevalent in the Middle East centuries before Western Europe.

Your Hair and Nails Keep Growing After Death

Wrong—but your skin tissue does recede, making them appear longer.

Toads Cause Warts

Humans can catch warts only from other humans. Those bumps on toads are just their skin glands.

SOS = “Save Our Ship”

It doesn’t stand for anything. SOS became a Morse code distress signal because it’s so easy to transmit: three dots, three dashes, three dots.

Take a look at what life was like aboard the Titanic.

Adam and Eve Ate an Apple

They ate the forbidden “fruit” of the tree of knowledge—nowhere in Genesis does it say it was an apple.

Celebrities Die in Threes

Of 449 celebs who have died since 1990, only in seven cases did three die in the same five-day period, according to data from the New York Times.

These mysterious celebrity deaths are still unexplained.

Sleepers Swallow Eight Spiders Per Year

Spiders usually don’t crawl into beds during nighttime wanderings because they offer no prey. You probably swallow zero spiders per year.

Everest is the Tallest Mountain

Only above sea level. If you measure Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano from its underwater base, it stands more than 33,000 feet tall—4,000 above Everest.

Find out how climbers are ruining Mount Everest.

Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear for a Lover

It was just a small piece of lobe, and he did it during a violent spat with Pat Gauguin. Whether Van Gogh then gave it to a local girl remains unknown.

Read up on these strange unsolved mysteries of the art world.

The Pilgrims First Landed at Plymouth Rock

They landed in what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts, and signed the Mayflower Compact there. Plymouth came five weeks later.

A Story Can “Break” the Internet

“The Internet is a very resilient system,” says Web pioneer Vint Cerf. “Shutting the whole thing down has not happened [since] it has been in operation.”

Slaves Built the Pyramids

Egyptologists say this ancient construction job was a great honour granted only to respected labourers, who remains entombed near the site today.

Here are more monuments that have baffled researchers.

Ben Franklin Wanted the Turkey to Represent America

While designing a national seal, Franklin proposed an image of Moses, not a wild turkey, to represent America.

Dive into these other quirky facts about America.

All Your Fingernails Grow at the Same Rate

Because blood flow stimulates nail growth, the nails on your dominant hand actually grow faster.

Ninjas Wore Black

This “uniform” comes from years of fiction and folklore. Real ninjas wore anything that would help them blend into daily life.

Next, check out these mind-blowing facts you’ll think are made up!