We don’t know where they originated, but these scientific “facts” have become very popular. Many people take risks every day based on their belief of these “facts.” It’s time we let scientists tell us the truth. Here are 10 scientific myths debunked on Discovery.com.
The 10-second rule
Have you ever seen someone drop a piece of candy on the floor, swoop it up and pop it in their mouth, all while saying, “Ten-second rule!” Many believe an object needs to come in contact with germs for a certain period of time in order to absorb them. The truth is that germs stick to objects immediately upon contact.
We lose brain cells
Not only can the learning and memory center of the brain create new cells, but also scientists have found a way to replicate human brain cells. The myth that we can lose brain cells originated because scientists once believed a brain would be damaged by new cell growth. That was proven wrong.
A penny dropped from a tall building can kill someone
If you’ve ever lost change while standing on the Empire State Building, don’t worry: you didn’t kill anybody. Because pennies are very small, light,and non-aerodynamic, the most somebody on the ground might feel is a sting.
Lighting doesn’t strike the same place twice
Before you run to stand where lightning just struck, know this: the Empire State Building is struck by lighting 25 times a year. Lighting is attracted to tall objects, and the odds are it will hit the tallest nearby object several times before reaching something else, or moving on.
There is a dark side of the moon
The sun lights up every side of the moon at some point in its rotation. There is just a side of the moon that nobody from Earth can ever see, which is why we believe it’s a dark side. This happens because the moon takes just as long to rotate on its own axis as it does to rotate around the earth.
We only use 10% of our brains
Think about this: harming any part of the brain could result in the damage of some cognitive or regulatory function. With that in mind, each part of our brain is important to us. The truth that might have sparked the myth (that we only use 10 percent of our brains) is that none of us fulfill our maximum intellectual potential in our lifetimes.
Rubber tires protect a car from lightning
While it’s true that you’re much safer inside your car than outside of it during a lightning storm, you’re not safer inside a car than you are inside a building. It’s the car’s metal exterior that protects against lightning, acting as a conductor and sending the lightning into the ground. So, if you’re in a convertible with rubber tires, you would not necessarily be safe.
Sugar makes kids hyper
More than 16 studies have been conducted looking for a link between sugar consumption and hyperactivity, and no such link was found. That being said, there are plenty of studies that have proven there is a link between sugar consumption and obesity, so don’t let your kids eat all the cake they want just yet.
Albert Einstein flunked math
Slackers might like to point to this myth as a reason to keep slacking, but the truth is, records show that Einstein was a very good student and was always good at math.
Humans evolved from chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are more like a third cousin than a great grandfather. Humans and chimps evolved from a common ancestor—we share about 95 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees. However, at some point, our genetic paths diverged and so we obviously look and act completely different from chimpanzees.