Believe it or not: Life's top 50 misconceptions busted

[Gob]

Experts have unveiled a list of life's top 50 misconceptions - including the mistaken belief coffee is made from beans and that Everest is the world's tallest mountain.



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[Long Run]

Thought this was going to look at the 50 biggest jerks on the planet.

[Econoline]

There are a few interesting items on that list, but there are also quite a few that are merely quibbles with definitions. (E.g., "coffee doesn't come from beans"--but one of the definitions of "bean" according to Merriam-Webster is "any of various seeds or fruits that resemble beans or bean pods"...or refuting the idea that "the Great Wall of China can be seen from space" by pointing out that astronauts couldn't see it from the Moon--but an altitude of 100 km [62 mi] above sea level is conventionally used as the start of "outer space" in space treaties and for aerospace records keeping. Or "Mars is red: The red colour we see in images is the result of iron rusting"--in other words, it depends on how you define "red".)

And a number of the "misconceptions" are things that it's hard to believe that anyone really thinks are facts (blue blood?).

[Sue U]

47: The capital of Australia is Sydney: The capital of Australia is Canberra

Shorley some mistake?

[Gob]

LOL!!

[Lord Jim]

And a quick bit of research reveals that Chameleons actually change their colour according to temperature and mood

What, if they're depressed?

[Lord Jim]

'Lightening can't strike in the same place twice' is another more well-known misconception, when truthfully it can strike any location more than once.

According to the National Weather Service, The Empire State Building is hit by lightning an average of 25 times per year.

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Yeah, well what if you're not the same size as The Empire State Building...

It would be unlikely that you would be struck by lightening...

[MajGenl.Meade]

... and likely only once

[oldr_n_wsr]

If lighting strikes in a spot and another charge builds back up rather quickly, chances are it will hit in the same spot as that was the path of least resistance and electricity travels along the path of least resistance.
But usually the storm has moved a bit (or a lot) before another charge builds up.

[Big RR]

I loved the one about microwave ovens not being powerful enough to damage cell nuclei as being evidence that microwave radiation cannot cause cancer. Of course it can, just not the week radiation from the microwave ovens sold to consumers. that's like saying one cannot get burned by a fire because a properly constructed campfire will not burn you.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Acually there is no "uranium/plutonium" type of radiation eminating from a microwave.
There are radiated waves of energy which can fry you (actually they boil the water inside your cells and cause them to POP!!). There is a reason a microwave will not turn on with the door open and that there is a piece of perforated metal (mu metal) across the door window which keeps the radiated waves inside.

[Joe Guy]

It would be unlikely that you would be struck by lightening...

You're correct. Losing weight certainly doesn't strike my interest.

If lighting strikes in a spot and another charge builds back up rather quickly, chances are it will hit in the same spot as that was the path of least resistance and electricity travels along the path of least resistance.

That's true also and easy to demonstrate. Every time I turn on the lighting in my kitchen it strikes the same area as it did the last time I turned it on.

yrs,

Meade-like pedantato

[Big RR]

oldr--while you're right about microwaves being nonionizing and not able to cause cancer as readily as, say X rays or gamma rays, we do know that UV radiation, even near UV radiation which is definitely nonionizing, has been implicated in certain cancers, and there is also evidence (although not definitive) that high concentrations of Rf radiation is the same. Indeed, there have been studies that have linked exposure to microwaves (as used in communications sytems) to development of cancer and other cellular abnormalities, so the jury is at least out on this issue for the current time. But the point is, the evidence they present shows that the low level intermittent radiation released by microwaves is unlikely to cause cancer, says nothing about large scale generation risks.

[Sue U]

Yeah, well what if you're not the same size as The Empire State Building...

It would be unlikely that you would be struck by lightening...

That is simply not true. Clearly, Kim Kardashian was struck by lightening:



I have seen the same happen to many people, but it seems particularly common to women and certain members of boy bands:

[oldr_n_wsr]

But the point is, the evidence they present shows that the low level intermittent radiation released by microwaves is unlikely to cause cancer, says nothing about large scale generation risks.

Agreed

[Guinevere]

I get stuck by lightening every summer vacation (and all summer long, really). So does my older nephew. It's one of the ways you can tell a true blonde.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I'm true blonde also.

[Sue U]

One of the most egregious lightening cases I've ever seen:

[Joe Guy]

I get stuck by lightening every summer vacation (and all summer long, really)....

Being stuck by lightening sounds like a sticky situation to be in.

yrs,

Meadato