Common misconceptions

12 completely false "facts" everyone believes to be true

Image: Hartono Creative Studio

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?

Image: Alexas_Fotos

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.

Image: Sten Ritterfeld

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.

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.