That’s not true!

15 myths about the human body you should stop believing

Image: The New York Public Library

Think you know your body? Think again. Many "facts" we hear about the human body are actually just popular myths that have been long debunked by science. From the color of your blood to the capacity of your brain, join us as we separate truth from fiction.

Image: David Matos

Myth: We only use 10% of our brains.

Truth: Brain scans show that most areas of the brain are active even during simple tasks. Modern advanced imaging reveals that nearly all parts of the brain have specific roles. This is why damage to any area can lead to severe impairments. Come on, this one was fairly obvious, evolution wouldn’t keep an organ with 90% redundancy.

Image: Tekara

Myth: Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years.

Truth: Gum passes through your digestive system just like any other non-digestible materials. This means that, while it’s true that it cannot be broken down, it will simply exit your body within a few days, along with waste. There’s really no evidence of gum lingering in your stomach for years after swallowing.

Image: Eddie Jones

Myth: Cracking knuckles causes arthritis.

Truth: Studies show no link between knuckle cracking and arthritis. The sound it makes might make you cringe a bit, but it actually comes from minuscule gas bubbles collapsing in joint fluid, not bone damage. In fact, knuckle cracking indicates normal joint function. Arthritis is caused by other factors like age, genetics, and injuries.

Image: Supply

Myth: Shaving makes hair grow back thicker.

Truth: Who hasn’t heard this one? A very popular myth, it has long been debunked. The truth is that shaving can make hair appear thicker because unshaven hair ends in fine points, while shaving cuts it at the surface, leaving a blunt edge that feels coarser. However, hair regrowth is determined solely by genetics and hormones, not by how it’s trimmed.

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Myth: Blood is blue in your veins and red when exposed to air.

Truth: Blood is always red, though it can appear blue under the skin due to an optical effect caused by light diffraction. However, the oxygen level in blood can actually affect its hue, that goes from a bright red (oxygen-rich) to a darker red (oxygen-poor).

Image: Myriam Zilles

Myth: Sugar makes kids hyperactive.

Truth: Research consistently shows no direct link between sugar consumption and hyperactivity. If you are a parent, you might be convinced otherwise, but data suggests that this is often a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. Parents' expectations (as well as children’s awareness of the myth) can influence perceived—or very real—behavior changes, but sugar itself is not the culprit here.

Image: Cole Patrick

Myth: You lose most body heat through your head.

Truth: Mothers may cringe at this, but no, the head is not the heat sink many believe it to be. Heat loss simply depends on the exposed area. If your head is uncovered while the rest of your body is insulated, it might feel like most heat escapes from your head—but it’s not necessarily the primary heat-loss site.

Image: Eeshan Garg

Myth: Drinking alcohol kills brain cells.

Truth: Alcohol is far from being good for you, but it doesn’t literally kill brain cells as many believe. Instead, it can impair the communication between them. Among other things, long-term excessive drinking can damage dendrites, leading to cognitive and behavioral changes, but the cells themselves remain intact. Moreover, with a healthy lifestyle and given enough time, the brain can actually repair itself to some extent.

Image: Sean Benesh

Myth: Different parts of your tongue taste specific flavors.

Truth: Ever seen a taste map showing specific areas of the tongue associated with certain flavors? Well, forget it. It turns out that taste receptors for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are actually distributed evenly across the tongue. The "tongue map" was a misinterpretation of early research.

Image: Klim Sergeev

Myth: Reading in dim light damages your eyes.

Truth: Another parental favorite. While dim lighting can temporarily strain your eyes, it doesn’t cause any permanent damage. Your eyes adapt to low light but may need time to adjust back.

Image: Clay Banks

Myth: Sweating removes toxins.

Truth: Sweat is mostly water and salts, not toxins. The liver and kidneys handle detoxification, while sweat’s primary role is regulating body temperature.

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Myth: Hair and nails keep growing after death.

Truth: After death, the skin dehydrates and retracts, giving the appearance of growth. Hair and nail cells require living tissue to grow, which ceases after death.

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Myth: Humans only have five senses.

Truth: In addition to sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing, we have other important senses like balance (vestibular), temperature (thermoception), and body position (proprioception). Some scientists count up to 33 senses in total! Bet this one caught you off guard.

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Myth: Sweating leads to fat loss.

Truth: Just like the "sweat = toxins" myth, this is simply not true. Sweat loss reflects water weight, not fat loss. While you might weigh slightly less after intense exercise, you’ll regain that weight after rehydrating. Fat is burned through metabolic processes, not perspiration.

Image: Tamara Bellis

Myth: The phases of the moon influence hair growth.

Truth: There is no scientific evidence linking moon phases to hair growth. This myth likely originated from agricultural practices that encourage planting seeds according to the moon's phases (also not scientifically proven). Studies show that hair growth is primarily determined by genetics, nutrition, and overall health, not lunar cycles. As long as you are healthy, hair grows at a consistent rate, regardless of the moon's phase.

Surprise!

Did you know these 10 exhilarating twist endings?

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Who doesn’t love a good ending? Those final moments of entertainment are definitely the turning point that elevates some books and films to masterpiece status. And it should be said—sticking the landing is no easy task. Endings are where all loose ends of a story come together, and it takes a dedicated artist to truly bring their work of art to a perfect close.

With that in mind, we believe a special mention is due to those pieces of media that go even further and completely defy our expectations with their endings. Yes, we’re talking about those unforgettable twists in movies and books that shook us to our core and made us reconsider the entire experience.

Without further ado, here are 10 of the best twist endings out there. Don’t worry—this list is entirely spoiler-free. Enjoy!

Image: Maxime Roedel

We’ll start with an American classic. In 1960, while Alfred Hitchcock was filming what many consider his ultimate masterpiece, he instructed his production crew to visit bookstores across Los Angeles and buy every available copy of Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel Psycho. His reason? He wanted to prevent future viewers from spoiling the movie’s twist ending.

While there’s no way to know whether Hitchcock’s strategy was successful, Psycho’s shocking conclusion took the world by storm. Its masterful final reveal instantly cemented the film as a classic, securing its place as one of the greatest movies in cinematic history.

Image: Auke Bakker

Speaking of absolute classics, let’s move on to a film that completely revolutionized the industry. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is still considered one of the greatest movies of all time, and many arguments support this claim—from its brilliant script to its groundbreaking technical achievements.

A key element that makes this film so remarkable is the mystery surrounding the word Rosebud—the single word Charles Kane repeats throughout the movie. As promised, we won’t spoil it in case you haven’t seen it, but let’s just say the reveal is just as revolutionary as the film itself.

Image: Carlos de Miguel

Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw radically changed the ghost story genre. Written in 1898, it follows a governess who moves with two children to a remote country house. After a series of inexplicable occurrences, they become convinced the house is haunted.

What makes this seemingly simple story so remarkable is the way the ending completely turns the story upside down. The Turn of the Screw has been adapted multiple times for the big screen and has influenced other iconic films, such as the 2001 movie The Others, starring Nicole Kidman.

Image: Danny Greenberg

Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel Fight Club is best known for its 1999 film adaptation, starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. With a title like Fight Club, you might expect an adrenaline-fueled action flick, but the film is far more than that. It’s a deep exploration of human nature and the dangers of modern society, culminating in a jaw-dropping twist ending.

A big part of what makes this movie so compelling is the performances by Pitt and Norton. They play seemingly opposite characters who unexpectedly find in each other the perfect counterpart to their personalities. Without revealing the ending, the film’s climax offers a striking portrayal of what happens when we confront the most destructive aspects of our personalities.

Image: Steinar Engeland

M. Night Shyamalan is a truly divisive director—some consider him a genius, while others find his movies contrived and difficult to follow. Regardless, most viewers agree that his 1999 film The Sixth Sense, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, is the pinnacle of his filmography.

The movie follows a child psychologist (played by Bruce Willis) who finds himself at a crossroads with a young patient named Cole, a boy cursed with the ability to see ghosts. Most of us remember its jaw-dropping ending (don’t worry, we won’t spoil it), which forever changes the way audiences experience the film on repeat viewings.

Image: Jon Butterworth

Martin Scorsese’s 2010 thriller Shutter Island took an already unsettling location—a hospital for the criminally insane—and made it even more terrifying. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, the film follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels as he investigates a disappearance on the remote Shutter Island.

Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, Shutter Island is most remarkable for how its twist ending is meticulously built throughout the film. While undeniably surprising, the movie masterfully plants small clues and hints that, in retrospect, help it make sense.

Image: Wes Hicks

The private investigator genre is one of the cornerstones of modern mystery and thriller films. In that sense, the 1974 neo-noir mystery Chinatown feels like a love letter to the iconic films that helped build this genre.

The film follows Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson), a detective initially assigned a seemingly simple case. However, what begins as a routine job soon unravels into a vast web of conspiracies, culminating in Gittes uncovering the shocking truth at the heart of it all.

Image: André Volkmann

We can probably skip the spoiler warning for this one—there’s hardly a living soul who can’t quote this movie’s most famous line. Still, we promised you a completely spoiler-free article, so we’ll stick to our guns and keep the twist under wraps.

The Empire Strikes Back is perhaps the most perfect example of a modern twist ending. Everything about this reveal is unforgettable: James Earl Jones’ commanding delivery, the shot of Darth Vader’s unyielding expression, and Mark Hamill’s raw, emotional performance. Honestly, can you think of a more quotable line of dialogue in movie history?

Image: Arnór Ingi Júlíusson

Who knew that feuding magicians could make for such a compelling story? Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, the 2006 film The Prestige, based on the 1995 novel of the same name, follows the intense rivalry between two 19th-century magicians and the extreme lengths they go to upstage each other.

Not only does The Prestige weave a gripping narrative, but it also immerses viewers in the fascinating world of Victorian-era magic shows. On top of that, director Christopher Nolan delivers a jaw-dropping twist ending that left audiences flabbergasted.

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Let’s wrap up this article with one of the most literal examples of a twist ending. The 1995 film The Usual Suspects follows a group of robbers who become the focus of a police investigation. The entire story unfolds through the interrogation of a small-time criminal named Verbal Kint, who is being questioned about his connection to a mysterious and elusive figure known as Keyser Söze.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is its ability to keep the audience guessing about Keyser Söze’s true identity. It isn’t until the very last scene that The Usual Suspects finally reveals the real identity of this criminal mastermind. A secret that we’ll, of course, keep to ourselves.