Misconceptions we still believe in.
Living in the modern world, we hear a lot of new information every day, the accuracy of which is sometimes questioned. Today we are told that bananas grow on palm trees, and the next day they begin to convince us that it is grass. Or, for example, all our life we thought that wolves howl at the moon, and in the end it turns out that all this is someone's fiction. Many of these myths are true in part, while others were taken from the ceiling. So let's hit illiteracy by exposing the myths that the vast majority of people believe in.
Bananas grow on palm trees
In fact, bananas are the fruit of an herbaceous plant that has nothing to do with palm trees. However, this grass grows to giant sizes-the height of some of its shoots can reach 15 meters. By the way, banana is a berry.
The Bible's forbidden fruit is an Apple
The Old Testament does not say that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was an Apple. Most likely, the theory that Adam and eve ate an Apple arose from the translation of the Bible into Latin, made in the IV century-the fact that the Latin word "malum" is translated as "Apple" and "evil". Therefore, the forbidden fruit can be anything, such as pomegranate, figs, or anything intangible.
Wolves howl at the moon
In fact, there is no direct connection between the full moon and the wolf howling. Howl for wolves — a means of communication, and they raise their head only because the sound is much better. The wolves can howl and in absolute darkness, however, due to the fact that moonlight nights usually out of the wind, howl's easier to hear, and to see the howling wolf in the absence of moonlight, it is simply impossible.
Cave people lived in caves
Modern research suggests that primitive people were nomadic, and the caves were used for temporary Parking. Moreover, the most ancient human settlements were found not in caves, but in open areas. These include, for example, parking in Olduvai, Tanzania, whose age, according to scientists, reaches 1.7 million years.
Ketchup is tomato sauce
The first recipes of the usual tomato ketchup appeared in American cookbooks in the early XIX century. And about 200 years before in England from Asia brought the anchovy sauce, fish brine, wine, spices, garlic, beans, walnuts and mushrooms called "сatchup" or "ketchup", which is believed to have been invented in China around the third century BC
The compass needle points to the North Pole
Strictly speaking, it is not so. The arrow of the compass points to the North magnetic pole, which, unlike the geographical North pole, is constantly shifting, and quite quickly — about 55-60 km per year. In addition, every day the North magnetic pole moves along the oval trajectory for 85 km.
The change of seasons is due to the change in the distance from the Earth to the Sun
In fact, the change of seasons is due to the fact that The earth's axis is at an angle to the plane of rotation of the planet around the Sun. So, in the period when the Northern hemisphere because of the inclination of the Earth is less turned to the sun, winter comes in it. The southern hemisphere at the same time receives much more light, and, accordingly, its inhabitants enjoy the summer heat.
The moon has a dark side
Everyone knows that the Moon is always turned to the Earth only one side. This fact was the reason for the myth about the dark side of our satellite. But for some reason everyone forgets that the Moon, like the Earth, revolves around the Sun, and therefore all its parts are equally illuminated by its rays.
Charles Darwin said that humans are descended from monkeys.
In fact, Darwin never claimed directly that man descended from apes. In his work "the Origin of man and sexual selection", he only pointed out that between man and the monkey should be some kind of link, namely a common ancestor.
Alcohol warms
Alcohol not only does not increase the body temperature, but also can significantly increase the heat loss of the body. The fact is that strong drinks expand the vessels, and warm blood comes to the skin, making us feel warm for a short time.
The Emperor ordered to kill the Gladiator with his finger down
There is no proof that the Emperor ordered to kill the Gladiator by lowering his thumb. The expression pollice verso, which is used to refer to this gesture, is translated as "turning the thumb", but up or down — is unclear. In 1872, this gesture portrayed Jean-Leon Jerome in the painting Pollice verso, which became the "ancestor" of this popular misconception.
Space is a vacuum
Despite the fact that space has a small density, it can not be called a vacuum. The Fact that the universe is filled with hydrogen molecules, electromagnetic radiation and, presumably, the so-called dark matter, which, alas, scientists have not yet been able to detect.
Indians always rode horses
Despite the fact that the ancestral home of modern horses is North America, they became extinct here around 6 thousand years BC. They returned to the American continent only in the XVI century with the European colonists.
The first to use horses were the Pueblo Indians, and then passed this skill to other tribes. And the Mustangs as a means of transportation, they are almost not used — most often they were hunted for skins and meat.
25-th frame effect on the subconscious mind of a person
In 1957, the American James Vicari conducted an experiment: he inserted into a regular film footage calling for a certain drink and eat popcorn. According to him, immediately after the sessions, sales of both have increased dramatically. But a year later, The American psychological Association denied the effect of the 25th frame, and in 1962 Vikari himself admitted to falsifying the results of the experiment.
Cellular communication works thanks to satellites
But, no! In fact, the principle of cellular networks is as follows: after dialing the phone finds the signal of the base station, the control unit which, in turn, the cable transmits it to the controller. The controller sends a signal to the switch, which also goes through the wires, and the switch already determines where to send the call.
During sleep the brain is resting
It is believed that sleep, among other things, is needed in order to our brain can relax. In fact, in a dream the brain does not rest — its activity becomes somewhat different than during wakefulness. For example, a study conducted in mice showed that during sleep, the brain triggers the function of self-cleaning to get rid of toxins.
Pyramids were built by slaves
It is believed that slaves built the Egyptian pyramids. However, a large-scale study showed that the construction of the pyramids worked freelance workers, who, as it turned out, even created a kind of modern trade unions.
Zero gravity is the absence of gravity
Everyone is familiar with the footage of astronauts hovering on the International space station. However, this is not due to the lack of gravity, because the acceleration of gravity on the International space station is only 10% less than the earth. This is explained by the non-stop movement of The international space station in a circular orbit, so that they are in a state of continuous free fall.
The right brain is responsible for creativity
It is believed that people with a more developed right hemisphere dominated by creativity, but those who dominate the left hemisphere, prone to analysis and logic. However, a recent study has completely destroyed this myth-scientists have analyzed the brain activity of 1,011 people aged 7 to 29 years and have not revealed any signs of dominance of a hemisphere.