Common misconceptions

Common sense? These 12 well-known "facts" are really just myths

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Many of us have grown up thinking that bats are blind, that we can't go swimming right after lunch, that we only have five senses, or that camels store water in their humps. Wait, do you still believe in any of these things? Don't worry! To prevent you from continuing to spread wrong ideas, we have compiled a list of 12 myths that we all believe to be true but are actually false. Do you dare to question your common sense?

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It’s interesting how some ideas remain common sense for centuries without us questioning their veracity. A great example is the notion that we have only five senses, a concept that was developed by Aristotle more than 2,300 years ago and is still taught today from early childhood.

Fortunately, the advancement of science allows us to better understand the complexity and diversity of the world around us. Today, scientists argue that we have far more than just five senses—anywhere from 20 to 30—including thermoception, pain, hormonal sense, and balance, among many others.

Image: David McEachan

Contrary to what you may have thought all your life, pure water is not a good conductor of electricity. What really conducts electricity in water are its impurities, such as salts and minerals.

For example, tap water, which contains several dissolved ions, is a good conductor. In contrast, distilled water molecules have no free electrons to transfer an electric current. Hence, when handling electrical appliances near water, the real danger doesn't come from the water itself, but from its impurities.

Image: Jaeyoung Geoffrey Kang

This is a typical scene in movies: a tough character taking a swig of some spirit before crossing a snow-covered field as an antidote to the cold. Although it is a widespread idea, it is not something you should imitate.

In fact, alcohol causes your body temperature to drop. Alcohol produces a momentary sensation of warmth by dilating blood vessels and directing blood to the surface of the skin, but before long, the body's core temperature drops, and you feel colder. Did you know that?

Image: Jeff Dunham

No matter what your parents told you as a child, there is no scientific evidence that swimming after eating is dangerous. The assumption that you should wait at least an hour stems from the idea that after we eat, all the blood travels to the stomach and the body is not able to adequately supply the muscles.

As convincing as this may sound, the truth is that our body manages to maintain muscle work while we digest. In fact, some professional swimmers eat immediately before a competition to have enough energy to perform well.

Image: Milad Fakurian

One of the most widespread myths in neuroscience is that we only use 10% of our brains. In reality, we use it all, even when we are doing nothing.

This misconception probably arose at the end of the 19th century. Since then, scientists have been able to determine that our entire brain is active thanks to modern neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. Despite the evidence, popular culture, the media, and even some scholars continue to perpetuate the myth that we only use 10% of our brains. So remember, no matter what you hear out there, your brain is never off; it’s active even when you sleep.

Image: R. J. Mathar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that occurs when people, usually children or young adults, walk or do other activities while they are still asleep.

Contrary to popular belief, waking a sleepwalker is unlikely to pose a major health risk. Moreover, according to experts, in the event of witnessing someone in such a state, the wise thing to do is to help them back to bed and, if necessary, wake them up.

Image: Wolfgang Hasselmann

Camels can indeed stay hydrated even in the most inhospitable, arid, and hot environments. However, a common misconception is that these animals store water in their humps.

In reality, their humps are filled with fat, which provides them with energy for long distances. So, how do they manage to last up to 10 days without drinking water? The main key lies in their kidneys, which are able to concentrate urine to prevent water loss. In addition, their fur protects them from the ambient heat, preventing perspiration, and the mucosal structure of their nose can retain 66% of the moisture in the air.

Image: Safiye Altınkum

Knuckle cracking is a common habit. You might have noticed that many people do it, often without giving it much thought. For others, that characteristic popping sound raises concerns about its impact on health, such as its possible link to arthritis.

However, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that the manipulation of joints is associated with the development of arthritis. Numerous studies have found no correlation between knuckle cracking and chronic joint inflammation. In fact, this habit is usually harmless and is often simply a way to release tension.

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Setting your phone to airplane mode when boarding a flight seems like common sense. You wouldn't be crazy to think that your phone's signal could interfere with an airplane's navigation systems, potentially causing a disaster. However, the need for airplane mode is largely a myth.

There is actually no evidence that a cell phone has ever interfered with aircraft systems. The real reason airlines don't allow phone communications in the air is to avoid disturbing noises. Let's be honest, the majority of travelers probably prefer the silence anyway.

Image: Igam Ogam

Bats hunt in the dark by echolocation, which means they use self-produced sound echoes that bounce off objects to help them navigate. But that doesn't mean that they can't see.

Bats are not blind at all; in fact, they have pretty good vision. Although they can't see as well as humans, they can see better than many mammals —they can distinguish shapes, contrasts, and some colors. So, despite their nocturnal habits and the many popular sayings we like to repeat, bats have pretty good eyesight.

Image: Brian McGowan

We're sorry to be the ones to debunk this myth, but it's time you knew that gravity exists everywhere in the universe. The term "zero gravity" is often used to describe the conditions experienced by astronauts in space, but it's a bit misleading, as gravity is never truly zero.

The more correct term to describe the phenomenon experienced by astronauts when they are on the International Space Station, for example, would be "microgravity".

Image: Vivek Doshi

Fictional characters such as Winnie the Pooh helped fuel this myth. While it is true that it’s common to see bears eating honey, it is the bees and larvae they are really interested in.

While honey alone provides them with some vitamins, minerals, and calories, such as sugar, the insects found inside the beehives give them the protein they need to stay strong.

SERIOUS MISCHIEF

Weird Science: The 10 Funniest Scientific Pranks and Hoaxes Ever

Image: National Cancer Institute

Who said scientists can’t have a bit of fun? While we often picture those dedicated to scientific inquiry as extremely serious people with no sense of humor, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Scientists, like the rest of us, love having a good laugh. And in fact, it could be argued that they love it so much that it often spills into their work, leading to whimsical names for new species or astronomical phenomena, or go so far as to make elaborate hoaxes that fool even their peers. From bizarre names to outrageous pranks, here are 10 of the weirdest scientific jokes and the fascinating stories behind them.

Image: Sergiu Nista

Studying tiny frogs smaller than the size of a thumbnail is no easy feat. Much less so when these frogs live in the lush jungles of Madagascar. And once they have been captured, it comes the even more complicated job of identifying them!

If distinguishing between normal-sized frog species can already be a daunting task, imagine when these frogs are scaled down to the size of a housefly. So, we can cut these hard-working scientists some slack for naming three of these tiny frog species as Mini ature, Mini scule, and Mini mum. The frogs certainly won’t mind, and we can smile at the silliness of it all.

Image: Greg Rakozy

Playing April Fool’s pranks on unsuspecting victims never gets old, and it seems most scientists couldn’t agree more. What better way to teach everyone to be less gullible (and to check the laws of physics once in a while) than by completely fabricating scientific phenomena?

On April 1, 1976, BBC astronomer Patrick Moore claimed that a rare alignment of Jupiter and Pluto would decrease Earth's gravity, allowing people to briefly float. This prank, known as the Jovian-Plutonian Gravitational Effect, fooled many listeners, some of whom even called in to report having experienced the phenomenon.

Image: Brett Jordan

In 1997, when John Jundberg and Eddie Weitzburg of the Karolinska Institute published a paper on measuring intestinal gas to detect inflammation, they didn’t waste the opportunity and titled the article "Nitric Oxide and Inflammation: The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind," inspired by Bob Dylan’s iconic song.

But it didn’t stop there. This playful homage sparked a bet among a group of fellow scientists to incorporate Dylan quotations in their own papers. Over 17 years, this led to numerous references to "the voice of a generation" in all kinds of scientific papers, such as "Dietary Nitrate – A Slow Train Coming" and "Blood on the Tracks: A Simple Twist of Fate?".

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In 1983, a weekly newspaper in Michigan reported that the chemical dihydrogen oxide had been found in the city's water pipes, and warned of its many dangers - including the fact that it could be fatal if inhaled. To make matters worse, this dangerous chemical seemed to be everywhere!

A closer inspection, however, reveals that dihydrogen oxide is simply two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, also known as H₂O — water! This amusing hoax has been used many times to demonstrate how scientific terminology can be misleading if not properly understood.

Image: Vince Fleming

In 1956, anthropologist Horace Miner published an article describing the strange rituals of the Nacirema, a "tribe" obsessed with body purity. Miner claimed that the underlying belief of this culture is that their bodies are inherently ugly, so they perform various rituals to make them more acceptable. The Nacirema were particularly obsessed with rituals related to their teeth, believing that neglecting these rituals would lead to disgrace and the loss of friends and lovers.

If you haven’t noticed already, the mysterious Nacirema are none other than Americans ("Nacirema" spelled backward), and the rituals were everyday activities like brushing teeth and visiting the dentist. Beyond being hilarious, the genius of Miner’s satirical report lies in its ability to show that while we may view ourselves as civilized and rational, most of our everyday practices can seem ridiculous and nonsensical from another culture’s perspective.

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There’s such an abundance of odd theories in the field of evolutionary science that a yearly prank contest has been initiated to poke some fun. Dubbed "The Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses" or BAH!, participants vie for an award by presenting the most well-argued, thoroughly researched, yet completely unhinged evolutionary theory.

One recent winning entry argued that infant distress vocalization, commonly known as "crying," provided prehistoric warriors with a competitive edge in battle. Allegedly, strapping these crying infants to their backs helped warriors "perform significantly better on violent motor tasks." So, next time you hear a baby cry, perhaps it’s the perfect moment to tackle those long-postponed, mildly aggressive emails.

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In the 1990s, a British television program called "Brass Eye" aired a satirical segment featuring a fictitious drug named "Cake." The segment humorously portrayed Cake as a dangerous new substance with absurd side effects, such as impossibly swollen necks and overstimulation of a fictional brain region called "Shatner’s Bassoon," causing users to perceive time much, much slower.

Despite the outlandish claims and explicitly stating multiple times in the spoof report that Cake was a "made-up drug" with "made-up" chemicals (sic), several public figures and even government officials were fooled into issuing warnings against it.

Image: Sonika Agarwal

In 2011, scientists named a rare horsefly species Scaptia beyonceae in honor of singer Beyoncé. The fly, noted for its golden rear, was discovered in Australia. However, this type of homage is more common than one might expect.

While sometimes names are deliberately humorous or quirky to garner public interest in scientific research, often scientists simply wish to pay tribute to their favorite artists or inject a bit of fun into their work. There are even hidden palindromes (like Orizabus subaziro), anagrams (like Rabilimis mirabilis), and numerous puns that only those in the know can appreciate.

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In 1996, physicist Alan Sokal perpetrated what became known as the Sokal affair - a notorious academic hoax that targeted postmodernist philosophy and cultural studies. Sokal, frustrated by what he saw as a trend of pseudoscientific language creeping into these disciplines, submitted a deliberately nonsensical paper titled "Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity" to the journal Social Text.

To his surprise—and one could imagine, delight—the jargon-filled, entirely fabricated research paper was accepted and published. Sokal promptly revealed his prank in the journal Lingua Franca, igniting widespread discussions about scholarly publishing standards and causing considerable embarrassment within academic circles.

Image: Derek Oyen

Penguinone is a whimsical name given to a chemical compound whose structural formula resembles a penguin. Officially known by the less whimsical name 3,4,4,5-tetramethylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone, it's likely scientists chose creativity over grappling with its cumbersome designation.

Besides, the playful moniker not only sparked interest and engagement in organic chemistry—a field not typically known for its accessibility to laypeople—but also demonstrated that even the most technical and obscure disciplines can embrace a sense of humor.