Facts That Make You Realize That You Know Nothing

#1 Dogs do not see in white and black

Lets first bust the fact/myth that most of us believe in, so much so that you do not even have to argue with anyone about it, it is that widely accepted. Dogs see a limited spectrum of colors when compared to humans, contrary to what people think that dogs only see shades of grey. Their vision in mostly shades of blue, yellow and grey.

#2 Watching TV sitting too close to it will not harm your eyes

It is true that watching TV for too long can cause eye fatigue and may potentially harm your vision but it has got nothing to do with how close you are sitting to the TV. It was true back in the 50's when the radiations emitted by the TV were 100,000 times more dangerous than that which was considered safe.

#3 Lemmings don't run off cliffs

After Disney's nature documentary in the 1050's, "White Wilderness", plenty of people started believing that lemming run off cliffs willingly committing suicide. Though it has come to light that filmmaker faked that scene in the documentary and allegedly threw lemming off cliffs making it look like they were committing suicide.

#4 In the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible, the forbidden fruit is actaully never mentioned to be an apple

The kind of fruit or what kind of tree that the fruit originated from is never mentioned in the book of genesis. It was around the 12th century when the apple started being associated with the story probably because of the Latin pun in which the word "malus" can mean both, an apple as well as evil.

#5 Radiations do not leak out if you stop a microwave early

It has been popular belief that if one stops the microwave early, the radiations may leak out. Rest assured that no matter when you stop the microwave and open it there will not be any radiation that will leak out. FDA makes sure that all appliances produced ensure that all radiations are stopped as soon as the microwave is stopped. Also the radiation in the microwave are so low that they will not cause us any harm.

#6 Carrots are not better for your eyesight than any other vegetable with beta carotene

Since we have been kids our parents have placed plenty of emphasis on us eating a lot of carrots as it improves our vision. In reality carrots contain beta carotene which helps the body produce Vitamin A which nourish our eyes similar to other foods such a sweet potatoes and goat liver. Also these only keep our eyes healthy, not give us super-human vision.

#7 Albert Einstein did not fail math

We like to think that successful people actually performed poor in school as this sometimes gives us hope that we may emulate their success even if we failed let's say math. Similarly somehow a rumor found its way into the Ripley's Believe it Or Not columns in 1930's even though it is an established fact that he had mastered calculus and was place top of his classes.

#8 You don't have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person

We see too many movies and in almost every one of them we hear them mentioning that you have to wait 24 hours after a person has gone missing to report it. If you have any reason to believe that a person who is gone missing and might be in danger then you must immediately report it.

#9 The Great Wall of China is not the only man-made object visible from space; in fact, it's barely visible at all

Many of us know it to be a fact that the Great Wall if China is the only man-made object that can be seen from space. Maybe if you are in a very low orbit and you use some kind of a scope then maybe you can make the outline of the wall. But then you can also see the Great Pyramids or other similar large structures. Seeing any of these man made objects from higher orbit is not possible.

#10 We use 100% of our brains, not 10%

It is true that we are not using the whole of our brain at all times, as not every neuron is firing up at all times as different parts of the brain are indeed used for different functions. According to Scientific American who spoke with at neurologist Mayo Clinic, we use 100% of our brain through the course of the day even though in the movie Lucy, Morgan Freeman claims otherwise.

#11 Waiting till your phone's battery drains completely before charging it won't prolong it's life

Contrary to popular belief that draining your battery completely before charging it to a 100% will prolong your phone's battery, this actually causes further strain on your battery. It is actually better to charge the batter when it hits around 20% up to 80% as this cause least strain on the battery.

#12 There's no such thing as an alpha wolf

Since the publishing of the book by a wildlife biologist, L. David Mech, about that behavior of wolves in the wild in which he mentioned that he noticed "alpha wolves" leading packs, the term has become quite popular. What Mech actually observed was parent or grown up cubs, he has since then tried to take the book out of print and also published a paper correcting this.

#13 It alright to wake up sleep walkers if done safely

People think that if one were to wake up sleep walkers it may cause them mental disturbances and should not wake them up under any circumstances. The problem with waking them up is not that it will cause them any harm but that they may attack the person waking them up as they might be disoriented. National Sleep Foundation suggests that one should just take them to the bed slowly and wake them up from a distance with loud noises.

#14 Doing sit-ups doesn't burn stomach fat

Anyone who wishes to get rid of belly fat starts with sit-ups thinking this will burn the stomach fat. There is actually no way to targeting the burning of fat of a specific part of your body. Sit-ups do strengthen one's ab muscles. In order to burn fat one must to do some sort of exercise or eat healthy.

#15 Menstrual cycles do not sync up when people hang otu together a lot

A study claimed that menstrual cycles actually sync up when people start to hangout together a lot, then a comprehensive follow-up study was conducted which turned up no evidence to support the claim. Nobody's menstrual cycle is the same as the other person but due to slight variations they may seem like they are synced for a brief time.

#16 Goldfish don't have 15-second memories

An experiment was performed on goldfish by a researcher, Dr. Phil Gee, at the Plymouth University in which they were provided with a lever which they could nudge to get food. Not only did the goldfish remember the lever and how it worked for along time but also adapted to different challenges in the experiment such as knowing that at what time of the day did the lever worked. This experiment was conducted over 3 months which indicates that goldfish have a memory spans over 3 months at least.

#17 Your baldness genes are not all inherited from your maternal grandfather.

Though the genes from your mother sides are definitely going to influence the likeliness of you going bald but not any more than those from your father's side. It is actually a combination of that with various nutritional deficiencies that may lead to partial or complete baldness.

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