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.
Myth: All Programmers Are Introverts
Coders sit together and read each other's work. They pair up, two at one keyboard, talking through every line. A day of coding starts with a standup, …
Why Chameleons Change Color (It's Not for Camouflage)
Most of the time, it's sending a message. Their skin is a billboard for their feelings and intentions, visible to every other chameleon for yards arou…
The Great Lemming Suicide Myth
The famous image of lemmings marching off a cliff has a single source: a 1958 Disney film, 'White Wilderness'. It won an Academy Award for Best Docume…
Goldfish Have a Three-Second Memory
When tested again after a full month of no training, the fish still remembers the sound. Some studies show they recall it five months later. Scientist…
Does Cracking Your Knuckles Cause Arthritis?
The sound is coming from the space between your joints. It's the sound of a bubble being born, and then dying, in an instant. Your joints are lubricat…
Do Wolves Howl at the Moon?
A howl can travel for miles on a clear night. Wolves are often more active on bright nights.…
Do Ostriches Bury Their Heads in the Sand?
The myth is ancient, starting with the Roman writer Pliny the Elder. But he never mentioned sand. He wrote that ostriches hide their head in a bush. T…
Do Bulls Hate the Color Red?
Dogs, like bulls, are dichromats. When we map out the true causes of a bull's charge, color isn't even on the chart. The real factors are a perfect st…
Did Humans Evolve From Monkeys?
This creature lived in Africa's forests around six to eight million years ago. It was created in 1965 for a popular Time-Life nature book.…
Bats Can See Fine
In the seventeen nineties Lazzaro Spallanzani put a blindfold on a bat and let it loose in a room strung with threads. Ten calls a second while it cru…