The library
Myths, checked.
Each one has the short answer up top, the whole explainer below it, and every claim listed with its source, including the claims we could not confirm.
A 1-Year-Old Dog Is Not a 7-Year-Old Kid
The real formula is logarithmic, not linear. the belief that one dog year equals seven human years.…
One 1932 Cartoon Invented the Great Wall Space Myth
Robert Ripley called the Wall 'the only one visible from the Moon' in a 1932 cartoon. Most missions are in Low Earth Orbit, just a few hundred kilomet…
Cats Don't Always Land on Their Feet. Vets See the Broken Teeth.
cats reach terminal velocity during falls from very tall buildings. a cat's inner ear acts as a personal gyroscope telling it which way is down.…
Fleming Found Penicillin in 1928. It Took 16 Years to Work.
The story of penicillin starts in 1928, with a bacteriologist named Alexander Fleming. A patch of mold, Penicillium notatum, is growing. And all aroun…
Why a Dropped Penny Won't Kill You
A penny's terminal velocity is only about 25 miles per hour. When upward push of air equals downward pull of gravity, the forces balance and the penny…
Organic Farms Spray Pesticides Too. Copper Sulfate Is One.
Organic farmers use things like copper sulfate or spinosad. In the 1920s Europe, biodynamic farming was the vision of one man: Rudolf Steiner.…
Dodge City's Deadliest Year Had Five Killings
In its most violent year, 1878, Dodge City had a total of five homicides. Many towns, from Tombstone to Dodge City, banned carrying firearms within ci…
The Tongue Map You Learned in School Is a Lie
Her tongue is covered in about eight thousand taste buds. Every single one can detect all five basic tastes.…
Carrots Don't Give You Night Vision. Here's Who Lied.
Eating extra carrots won't give you vision you don't already have. It only brings you back to normal if you were deficient. A Vitamin A deficiency can…
Why Elephants Aren't Afraid of Mice (An Investigation)
The story, written down by Pliny the Elder, claimed that elephants were afraid of mice because a mouse could crawl up an elephant's trunk and block it…
Are Men Smarter Than Women?
Women's brains often show denser connections between the left and right hemispheres. the average IQ for men and women is identical.…
Introverts aren't shy. They're saving their energy.
The difference between an introvert and an extrovert is baked into their brain's chemistry, about how an introvert's brain responds to dopamine. Extro…