ODD WAYS THE WORLD AROUND YOU IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK
Added on: 21st Dec 2015
DOGS ARE DEADLIER THAN SHARKS
Dogs kill 2,500 times more humans each year than sharks do. Over
25,000 humans perish annually due to rabies infections passed on
from dogs. In 2010, dogs killed 33 people in attacks.
WE USE MOST OF OUR BRAIN
Ever heard that we only use 10% of our brain? In a way the world is
different from what you think (literally), this statement is actually a
myth! The low number relates to much-outdated knowledge of the
brain. In fact, only a small amount of our neurons are firing at any
moment; though, they activate at other times to carry out different
processes, from thinking to breathing to regulating blood flow.
ELLEN'S OSCAR SELFIE MAY HAVE BEEN PLANNED
AND PAID FOR
Remember Ellen Degeneres’s selfie taken at the 2013 Oscars? There’s
more behind it than meets the eye. Cell phone maker Samsung paid
$20 million for their products to be used throughout the show. Ellen’s
selfie, they claim, was unplanned, but Ellen spoke about breaking
the record during rehearsal.
THERE'S A MARATHON RUN OVER AN OLD FORTRESS
The Great Wall Marathon in China is one of the most gruelling marathons
in the world, taking runners up 5,164 steps and down the infamous
“Goat Track”, so named because it is so steep only goats can properly
navigate it! Meant to protect the Chinese from invading hordes,
nowadays the Great Wall welcomes foreign visitors, runners or otherwise.
VACCINES DON'T CAUSE AUTISM
Vaccines don’t cause autism – and this myth needs to be settled for
good! As the vaccine debate has recently sprung back up, it’s
important to note that only one study ever made a correlation between
vaccinations and autism and the data was falsified.
THE ASTEROID IMPACT DIDN'T KILL ALL LIFE ON EARTH
The well-known asteroid impact which killed off the dinosaurs was just
one of a serious of mass extinctions on Earth – and it wasn’t even the
most deadly. Though all non-avian dinosaurs (and loads of other life)
died during this Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, 25% of life on
Earth is expected to have survived the blast, rapidly evolving into
some animals we love today such as horses and primates.
WE CAN'T GET A COLD FROM THE COLD
Despite what our mothers would like us to think, we can’t actually get a
cold from being in the cold or rain. Though most studies suggest lower
body temperatures increases our susceptibility to infection, we can’t get
a cold just from being outside in the cold. Some theories for why we
get the common cold more often in wintertime include spending more
time indoors (near an infected person) or lower humidity.
A NARWHAL'S "HORN" ISN'T EVEN A HORN
A narwhal’s “horn”, the protrusion which makes it look like a
sea unicorn, isn’t actually bone but a tooth. Every narwhal has two teeth
and one tooth in males grows right up through their upper lips.
This tooth can grow up to 8.8ft (2.7m) long.
DRUG FLASHBACKS AREN'T DUE TO LINGERING CHEMICALS
A popular conception says a person who stops taking LSD or smoking
pot will experience flashbacks. This is true (sort of – only a quarter of
people will experience flashbacks). What isn’t what it seems is the
reason for the flashback. Though commonly attributed to remaining
traces of the drug in our blood or fat cells, flashbacks are a
psychological event linked to sight, smell, or other senses
or experiences.
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