Biggest Myths In Science

LiveScience.com has compiled a list of what they believe to be the biggest myths and urban legends of science.

MYTH: It takes seven years to digest gum.

REALITY: While it may prove a bit more difficult to break down than organic foodstuffs, chewing gum gets no special treatment from the digestive system. Doctors figure this old wives’ tale was invented to prevent kids from swallowing the rubbery substance.

MYTH: The Great Wall of China is the only visible man-made structure from space.

REALITY: While astronauts can spot the Great Wall from low-Earth orbit, they can also spot plenty of other things like the Giza pyramids and even airport runways. But they can’t see the Wall from the Moon.

MYTH: Humans use just 10 percent of their brains.

REALITY: This one has been around for at least a century. Fortunately, it’s just not true. MRI imaging clearly demonstrates that humans put most of their cerebral cortex to good use, even while dozing.

MYTH: Animals can predict natural disasters.

REALITY: There is no evidence of this. Their keen senses of smell, hearing, and sharp instincts alone are enough to send them scattering for the hillsides during a hurricane or tsunami. Even so, animals often die during natural disasters, so if they do have some sort of sixth sense it’s not worth much.

MYTH: A penny dropped from the top of a tall building could kill a pedestrian.

REALITY: A penny isn’t the most aerodynamic of weapons. A combination of its shape and wind friction means that, tossed even from the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, it would travel fast enough merely to sting an unlucky pedestrian.

MYTH: A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s.

REALITY: Despite a habit of licking things no human would dare, Fido’s mouth is often touted as scientifically more sterile. Truth is, oral bacteria are so species-specific that one can’t be considered cleaner than the other, just different.

MYTH: Men think about sex every seven seconds.

REALITY: Males are driven to reproduce, but there is no scientific way of measuring to what extent that desire consumes their everyday lives. Thankfully, for world productivity as a whole, seven seconds seems a gross overstatement, as best researchers can tell.

MYTH: Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

REALITY: In fact lightning favors certain spots, particularly high locations.

MYTH: Chicken soup can cure the common cold.

REALITY: Cure is a strong word, but science suggests moms around the world are still right in forcing spoonfuls of chicken soup down their kids’ throats. Studies have found that the broth actually contains anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce congestion.

MYTH: The five-second rule.

REALITY: Having an arbitrary rule justifying the consumption of food dropped on the floor within a certain time frame is convenient, especially when said food is a brownie. Unfortunately, tests (and logic) confirm that germs will stick to most foods right on contact.

MYTH: Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

REALITY: Though hair and fingernails appear to keep growing after death, this is merely a morbid optical illusion at work. In death the human body dehydrates severely, retracting enough skin to expose more nail and hair.