31 Myths About Science, History, Culture & More, Busted!

PDF download Download Article
Get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew…
PDF download Download Article

Misconceptions about the world around us are rampant…but how many do you believe? We've created a list of some of the most prevalent misconceptions about life, history, arts and culture, and more. Ready to question everything you know (or think you know)? Keep scrolling!

Common Misconceptions Chart

Download Image
Download Image
An illustration listing some of the most common misconceptions.
  • Napoleon Bonaparte wasn't short—he was actually of above-average height for the time!
  • Fortune cookies were invented in Japan, and they rarely eat them in China.
  • Classic Greek and Roman sculptures were originally painted in color.
  • George Washington Carver didn't invent peanut butter.
  • "Irregardless" is, in fact, a word.
1

The Biblical forbidden fruit may not have been an apple.

PDF download Download Article
  1. When you think of the forbidden fruit that Eve ate in Genesis, which led to her and Adam being kicked out of the Garden of Eden, you probably picture an apple—and no wonder, there's art spanning centuries that depicts it as an apple! But in fact, the original Hebrew doesn't specifically mention what fruit it was. It could have been a pomegranate, or a jackfruit.
    • It's possible that the misconception stems from the fact that the Latin words for "evil" and "apple" are the same.
    2. Advertisement
2

Napoleon wasn't short.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Though he was nicknamed Le Petit Caporal ("the Little Corporal"), he was likely of average height for the time, or possibly even taller than average! In reality, the nickname was intended as a term of affection by his soldiers.[1] (Sort of like how we always lovingly refer to our cat Buddy as "little Bubbedy-boo-ba" even though he's kind of a heckin' chonker.)
3

They don't eat fortune cookies in China.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Fortune cookies were originally invented by Japanese immigrants in California in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The cookies were sold by Japanese businesses until the outbreak of World War II, when Japanese-Americans in California were sent to internment camps. At that point, Chinese businessmen used the opportunity to produce their own fortune cookies and sell them to Chinese restaurants, hence why fortune cookies are associated with Chinese restaurants today.[2]
    2. Advertisement
4

Swallowed gum doesn't stay in your system for 7 years.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Your body doesn't possess the digestive enzymes to digest gum, but that doesn't mean it just sits in your tummy for years (no matter how sticky the gum is). You eventually pass it, just like other food.[3] The myth likely started with parents who didn't want their kids to swallow non-food things.
5

Bulls aren't afraid of the color red.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Traditionally, bullfighters wave bright red capes to urge a bull to charge, which has led to the misconception that bulls hate the color red. This isn't true: not only do they not fear the color red, they can't even see it! Bulls are color-blind to red. In reality, when bulls charge at matadors, they're probably responding to the movement of the matador's cape as he whips it around, rather than to the color red.[4]
    2. Advertisement
6

Classic sculptures were painted in color.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Though we tend to think of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures as being pure white, the reality is they were often painted in vibrant (and sometimes even garish) color.[5] Over the centuries, the color has simply worn away to the pure white we typically associate ancient statues with.
7

George Washington Carver didn't invent peanut butter.

PDF download Download Article
  1. The guy just really, really liked peanuts. He discovered over 300 uses for peanuts, including chili sauce, shampoo, glue, and shaving cream—but peanut butter had actually already been around for hundreds of years! The earliest reference to peanut butter can be traced all the way back to the Ancient Aztecs and Incas.[6]
    2. Advertisement
8

Refrigerated bread goes stale faster.

PDF download Download Article
  1. If you're one of the many who store your bread in the fridge, thinking it'll keep it fresher longer, think again: cold bread goes stale more quickly. That being said, refrigerating bread does prevent mold from forming, so there's that!
9

Freezing batteries doesn't make them more effective.

PDF download Download Article
  1. In fact, it might make them less effective. Some people used to theorize that old alkaline cell batteries worked better in the cold, but there's not really a debate when it comes to modern lithium-ion batteries: extreme cold will trigger internal mechanical failure, potentially even compromising the battery's safety once it returns to room temp.[7] Tl;dr, keep your batteries out of the freezer.
    2. Advertisement
10

A 1990s movie called Shazaam starring Sinbad never existed.

PDF download Download Article
  1. It's a classic example of the Mandela Effect—a phenomenon in which multiple people misremember a real-life event in the same wrong way. In this case, thousands of people remembered there being a family movie released in the 1990s called Shazaam, starring Sinbad as a genie. Turns out, there's no such movie.
    • There's a Kazaam, starring Shaquille O'Neal as a genie, released in 1996, and that's probably what people were thinking of.
11

"Irregardless" is actually a word.

PDF download Download Article
  1. If you're one of the folks who argues, "That's not a word!" when someone says "Irregardless," Merriam-Webster would disagree…although, to be fair, the word was only added to the dictionary because people kept saying it, and it's still considered nonstandard and not technically grammatically correct. The first recorded instance of the word occurred in the late eighteenth century, though it didn't gain popularity until the early twentieth century. It's used synonymously with regardless.[8]
    2. Advertisement
12

The Declaration of Independence wasn't signed on July 4.

PDF download Download Article
  1. It was adopted on July 4, 1776. However, the founding document wasn't printed until July 5th, and was officially signed on August 2, 1776.[9] Of course, it's simplest to just say "July 4" and call it a day. Now how 'bout some fireworks? 🎆
13

"Sushi" doesn't mean "raw fish."

PDF download Download Article
  1. The misconception is understandable: sushi does often include raw fish, and for many people, it's their first (or only) introduction to eating raw fish. But it actually means "sour taste," and it specifically refers to the vinegared rice typically used to make the dish.[10] After all, there are a lot of types of sushi that don't contain raw fish at all, like the avocado roll, or the smoked salmon roll.
    2. Advertisement
14

Albert Einstein didn't fail math.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Where did this myth come from? While it might be tempting to think that every kid who fails their math exam is secretly brilliant and could become the next Einstein, Einstein himself did very well in school.[11]
15

"Elephant graveyards" aren't a thing.

PDF download Download Article
  1. You may have heard that when elephants are ready to die, they instinctively wander off to an elephant graveyard where they lie down beside other dead elephants. Not true: they just…lie down and die. So where did this legend originate? It's not totally certain. It's theorized that groups of elephant skeletons found together may be the result of Neanderthal hunters who killed many elephants over decades or centuries.[12]
    • Another theory is that older elephants who can no longer chew tough foods may gather in the same place where softer food can be found, and then they eventually die there.
    2. Advertisement
16

Chameleons don't only change their appearance for camouflage.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Yes, chameleons do sometimes alter their colors to blend into their surroundings, but other times, they alter their colors specifically to stand out. Chameleons are highly territorial, and male chameleons will even engage one another in a color battle, flashing from yellow to red to white. The weaker male is whichever chameleon turns off his display first.[13]
    • Male chameleons may also change their colors to impersonate females, which lets them sneak past other males without worrying about the threat of competition.
    • That's not all: male chameleons will also use their colors to dazzle female chameleons. The female will change color depending on whether she's interested or not.
17

When you cut an earthworm in half, it doesn't create 2 worms.

PDF download Download Article
  1. If you were a…ahem…certain type of child, you may have noticed that when you cut an earthworm in half, both ends continue to wiggle. But tragically, cutting an earthworm in half doesn't make two worms: it just makes one sad worm cut in half. The head of the worm may survive and regenerate its tail, but the tail of the worm will eventually die, as it can't grow a new head.[14]
    • There are specific species of worms that can be cut in half to form multiple worms! But tragically, garden-variety earthworms aren't one of those species.[15]
    2. Advertisement
18

Humans have more than five senses.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Aristotle was the one who claimed that we only have five senses, and we've ignored all evidence to the contrary since then. Yes, we hear, see, taste, touch, and smell. But neurologists recognize more than twenty different senses—that's a lot more! These senses include (to name a few):[16]
    • Thermoception, the sense of heat
    • Nociception, the perception of pain
    • Equilibrioception, the perception of balance
    • Proprioception, the perception of body awareness (for instance, you can probably touch your nose without looking—that's proprioception in action!)
19

Shaving doesn't cause hair to grow back thicker.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Total myth. Shaving doesn't cause your hair to change thickness, color, or rate of growth. Shaving your facial or body hair gives the hair a blunt "tip," which causes it to feel stubby as it grows back, making it appear more noticeable and maybe even darker, but it's the same old hair.[17]
    2. Advertisement
20

Your fingernails don't keep growing after you die.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Neither does your hair. They may seem like they're still growing, but in reality, it's the skin around the nails and hail that's shrinking—making it appear as if the nails and hair are continuing to grow.[18]
21

People don't only use 10% of their brains.

PDF download Download Article
  1. The idea that people only use 10% of their brains is 100% myth. The human brain is constantly in use, and it consumes a huge amount of energy. So where did this notion come from that we can only access 10% of our brains? Probably William James, the founder of modern American psychology: in his 1907 book The Energies of Men, he stated that "we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources."
    • He likely meant that scientists at the time lacked the tools to explore all of the brain's abilities, but the quote instead sparked the idea that humans are only capable of accessing a small portion of their brain.[19]
    2. Advertisement
22

"Puff, the Magic Dragon" isn't about marijuana.

PDF download Download Article
  1. The song is actually based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, a then nineteen-year-old Cornell University student. Lipton's poem is a nostalgic reflection on childhood and growing up.[20] The Peter, Paul, and Mary classic has long been rumored to be about pot, but, as Mary Travers (aka Mary) said, "Believe me, if [Peter Yarrow] wanted to write a song about marijuana, he would've written a song about marijuana."
23

You can't see the Great Wall of China from outer space.

PDF download Download Article
  1. In a 1754 letter written by the English antiquarian William Stukeley, he alleged that the Great Wall could be seen from the moon.[21] How would he know? Well, clearly, he didn't: as astronauts have since proven, the Great Wall of China is not visible to the human eye from outer space.[22]
    2. Advertisement
24

Walt Disney isn't cryogenically frozen.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Or at least, there's no solid evidence to suggest he is. It's unclear exactly where this urban legend started, but a few weeks after Disney's death in December 1966, a reporter for a tabloid newspaper alleged he'd snuck into St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, where Disney was treated during his final days. The reporter claims to have disguised himself as an orderly, broken into a storage room, and found the deceased Disney suspended in a cryogenic metal cylinder. Crazy if true…but it's not.[23]
    • The rumors persisted in tabloids throughout the world for decades. Some even claimed the freezer Disney was stored in was hidden underneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at DisneyLand.
25

Marie-Antoinette (probably) never said "Let them eat cake."

PDF download Download Article
  1. As the legend goes, this was the queen's reply after hearing that her starving subjects had no bread. Since cake is more expensive than bread, the anecdote is often cited as an instance of Marie-Antoinette's complete obliviousness to the conditions of ordinary people. But in all likelihood, she probably never said this.[24]
    • In fact, similar stories can be found in cultures all over the world. Turns out, the theme of aristocrats being completely oblivious to the privilege they wield is a popular one.
    2. Advertisement
26

Goldfish don't have terrible memories.

PDF download Download Article
  1. You may have heard that goldfish have only three-second memories, but in reality, goldfish have memories spanning weeks, months, or even sometimes years. It's unclear where this rumor started, but it's theorized that it stems from a combination of general ignorance about fish and guilt from pet owners who typically keep their goldfish in small, unstimulating tanks.[25]
27

The Caesar salad isn't named for Julius Caesar.

PDF download Download Article
  1. It was named for its creator, Caesar Cardini. Cardini and his brothers emigrated from Italy to America before moving to Tijuana, Mexico, to open a restaurant, Caesar's. It was here that Cardini allegedly invented the dish in 1924.
    • Many of Cardini's diners were Americans who crossed the California border specifically for alcohol, since it wasn't legally available in the States during Prohibition.
    • As his daughter Rosa revealed in a 1987 interview, on July 4, 1924, diners came in such huge numbers that Cardini wasn't prepared for them. He decided to improvise by making the salad "to give the dinner guests a show as well as a meal," assembling ingredients in the middle of the room. After that, the salad became trendy among Hollywood celebs.
    2. Advertisement
28

Humans didn't evolve from chimps—we just share ancestors.

PDF download Download Article
  1. To clarify, humans did evolve…just not from chimpanzees. We share a distant ancestor with them that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago, though. All apes and monkeys share an even more distant ancestor, which lived about 25 million years ago.[26]
    • Scientists used to estimate that we share 98.8% of DNA with chimpanzees, although recent studies suggest the difference may be more like 86%.[27]
29

You don't need to wait 24 hours to report a missing person.

PDF download Download Article
  1. Movies and TV probably are to blame for the myth that you have to wait more than a day to report a missing person to the police. In reality, you can—and probably should—report a missing person as soon as you realize they're missing, whether than adult or a child.[28]
    2. Advertisement
30

You can't catch warts from toads.

PDF download Download Article
  1. But you can get them from other people. Warts on human skin occur when a human virus comes in contact with your skin and causes an infection. Toads can irritate human skin by secreting a toxic liquid when it senses it's in danger, but they won't give you warts.[29]
31

Nobody was burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials.

PDF download Download Article
  1. A lot of people were hanged, though. Others died in jail while awaiting trials. And one person, the elderly Giles Corey, was crushed to death with heavy stones after he refused to enter a guilty or innocent plea.[30] (Is that better than being burned alive? We can't decide.)
    • The myth that accused witches were burned at the stake was probably inspired by European witch trials, where execution by fire really was common practice.
    2. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Submit
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

You Might Also Like

Funny Fun Facts162 Amazing and Funny Facts to Get Everyone Laughing
Unbelievable but True Facts150+ Facts We Can Barely Believe Are True
Useless Facts170+ Best Useless Facts That Sound Like Lies
General Knowledge QuizGeneral Knowledge Quiz
Food Trivia Questions140+ Fun Food Trivia Questions (with Answers)
Mandela Effect50+ Crazy Examples of the Mandela Effect That You Won't Believe
Funny Trivia Questions100+ of the Most Hilarious Trivia Questions (with Answers) 😂
History Jokes130+ Hilarious History Jokes That’ll Never Go Out of Date
Weird Facts165+ Bizarre Fun Facts about Life, the Universe & More
Funny Shower Thoughts210+ Shower Thoughts: Funny, Deep, Weird & Mind-Blowing
High Thoughts180+ Best Stoner Thoughts to Blow Your Mind
Mandela Effect QuizMandela Effect Test
Strange History Facts75 Weird, Random & Ridiculous Historical Facts to Blow Your Mind
Multiple Choice Trivia Questions110 Multiple-Choice Trivia Questions & Answers
Advertisement

References

  1. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/story/was-napoleon-short
  2. ↑ https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/origins-fortune-cookie
  3. ↑ https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/myth-or-fact-it-takes-seven-years-digest-chewing-gum
  4. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/33700-bulls-charge-red.html
  5. ↑ https://www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1109995973/we-know-greek-statues-werent-white-now-you-can-see-them-in-color
  6. ↑ https://nationalpeanutboard.org/articles/who-invented-peanut-butter/
  7. ↑ https://em3ev.com/battery-in-freezer/
  8. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless
  9. ↑ https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/declaration-of-independence
  1. ↑ https://www.etymonline.com/word/sushi
  2. ↑ https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2012/11/18/how-did-albert-einstein-flunk-math-and-still-end-up-so-smart/
  3. ↑ https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add8186
  4. ↑ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/chameleon-camouflage-color-change-myth-news
  5. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/38371-two-worms-worm-cut-in-half.html
  6. ↑ https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/headlines/news/nature-curiosity-will-a-worm-regenerate-if-you-cut-it-in-half
  7. ↑ https://www.sensorytrust.org.uk/blog/how-many-senses-do-we-have
  8. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/hair-removal/faq-20058427
  9. ↑ https://uamshealth.com/medical-myths/do-a-persons-hair-and-fingernails-continue-to-grow-after-death/
  10. ↑ https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2024/01/26/do-we-use-only-10-percent-of-our-brain/
  11. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-puff-the-magic-dragon-peter-paul-and-mary-song-lyrics/
  12. ↑ https://archaeology-travel.com/asia/china/great-wall-of-china/
  13. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3972694/
  14. ↑ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-a-strange-rumor-of-walt-disneys-death-became-legend
  15. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/story/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake
  16. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/goldfish-memory.html
  17. ↑ https://humanorigins.si.edu/education/frequently-asked-questions
  18. ↑ https://scienceandculture.com/2025/05/bombshell-new-research-overturns-claim-that-humans-and-chimps-differ-by-only-1-percent-of-dna/
  19. ↑ https://childfindofamerica.org/my-child-is-missing/
  20. ↑ https://www.clevelandzoosociety.org/z/2021/03/22/truth-or-tail-toads-can-give-you-warts
  21. ↑ https://www.history.com/articles/were-witches-burned-at-the-stake-during-the-salem-witch-trials
  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxIGlMrrhQM

About This Article

Dev Murphy, MA
Co-authored by:
Dev Murphy, MA
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Dev Murphy, MA. Dev Murphy is a wikiHow Staff Writer with experience working as a teacher, ghostwriter, copyeditor, and illustrator. At wikiHow, Dev develops both how-to articles and quizzes. Dev loves writing for wikiHow because she loves learning new things and because she believes knowledge should be free and accessible to the world. Dev's creative writing and visual art have been featured in many venues online and in print. When she is not writing for wikiHow, she is drawing pictures, making perfume, or writing hybrid poems. Dev earned her MA in English Literature from Ohio University in 2017. She lives in Pittsburgh with her cat, Nick.
2 votes - 100%
Co-authors: 3
Updated: July 27, 2026
Categories: Education and Communications
In other languages

Did this article help you?

Advertisement