Fingers in the socket can not poke. Drink coffee at night too. Wash hands before eating. Every day we are faced with the unspoken rules that we follow. And we believe the facts known since childhood. But do they all deserve our faith? Let's look at the biggest myths of everyday life.
Myth 1: Quickly lifted does not count as "dropped"
There is a “five seconds rule”: if food that has fallen on the floor is quickly picked up, it will be quite edible and harmless. In fact, microbes are sitting on the floor, and seeing the food, they immediately sit on it. This is especially true of the kitchen, where the salmonella bacterium thrives. Do you still want to eat from the floor?
Myth 2: Acid will burn the skin and disfigure you
In fact, there are hundreds of different acids, and most of them are not strong enough to damage the skin. We regularly consume a few weak acids: acetic and citric. However, some acids can be harmful. Hydrochloric, nitric and sulfuric acids can damage the skin, but the list of strong acids is rather small.
Myth 3: Brain cells do not regenerate.
In fact, restored. The reason why people believe in this myth is the scientists' long confidence that a complex brain will be damaged if new cells grow. In 1998, scientists from Swedish and California universities found that brain cells regenerate. Training and memory centers in the brain can create new cells. Later at the University of Georgia, stem cell researcher Steve Stays discovered the process of making copies of embryonic stem cells that can transform into brain cells.
Myth 4: A coin fallen from a great height will kill a person
Not so long ago we wrote about a meteorite that hit a woman in the thigh. She got off with a bruise. People believe that if you throw a coin into a person from the height of the Empire State Building, she will gain enough speed to kill him. But this is not true. Given the aerodynamic nature of the coin and its low weight, the person will remain alive. He will feel the blow, he may be unpleasant, but that's all.
Myth 5: Lightning does not hit twice in one place.
Lightning may well strike the same place several times. This happens quite often. In the aforementioned Empire State Building, she hits 25 times a year, for example. Lightning selects tall buildings and trees, but in an open field, lightning will more than likely hit the tallest object twice before moving far enough in search of another high target.
Myth 6: There is no gravity in space.
In fact, space is full of gravity. It is gravity that causes the stars to rotate around the center of the galaxy, the Earth revolves around the sun, and the Moon - around the Earth. Why, then, do astronauts experience weightlessness, you ask? They rotate around the earth. They fall, but their movement compensates for this. They fall, but never fall. In an orbit at an altitude of about 402 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the force of gravity decreases only by 10%.
Myth 7: There is a dark side of the moon.
In fact, the dark side of the moon exists only as the Pink Floyd album. The sun illuminates all sides of the moon at different times. However, there is the side of the moon, which is not visible from Earth. We always see one side, and the other remains “dark”, because when we have a month (crescent) in the sky, the sunlight illuminates the side that we don’t see.
Myth 8: Evolution means rising from the bottom up.
In fact, although natural selection selects more acceptable genes from the gene pool, imperfect organisms feel great. Mosses, mushrooms, sharks and crayfish, for example, have remained unchanged for quite a long period of time. Other species have changed a lot, and not always in such a way that the improvements are obvious. Developing to be “in shape” does not mean that progress will be in development - it will just be easier to survive and reproduce in a familiar environment.
Myth 9: In a vacuum of space man will explode
In fact, science fiction films are to blame. In the real world this will not happen. People will be able to survive a brief meeting with outer space without a spacesuit exactly the time that they can hold their breath. This will keep the lungs from bursting, which will send air into the blood. However, without oxygen, a person will fall into a coma and die from suffocation. That is why space suits are so important: they allow you to breathe in airless space.
Myth 10: Synthetic chemicals are dangerous.
In fact, many chemicals produced in laboratories and factories are no different from natural ones, and very few synthetic products are toxic as natural substances. And in nature there is something that is fatal. Cyanide, for example. Natural substance, the strongest poison. Botulism is also a natural process, but one sip can kill half the people in a city. Poison oak and poison ivy are common plants, but they are extremely dangerous. On the other hand, most prescription drugs are artificially made, and their useful contribution to life expectancy cannot be overestimated.
Myth 11: Cold causes a cold.
In fact, the common cold is caused by a viral infection in the airways. Viruses do not appear magically in your body just because you forgot your scarf and mittens. For the most part, we shake hands with viruses when we come into close contact with other people who are already infected, which means that you put yourself at a greater risk of getting sick by staying at home with a coughing family than if you were walking in a cold forest without a hat but one.
Myth 12: Pediatric vaccination causes autism.
In fact, there is no evidence that childhood vaccination causes autism spectrum disorders. This myth has a clear history of origin. In 1998, an article in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet reported that a common vaccine for children could lead to ASD. But first, this article was abandoned and apologized, and secondly, there were no scientific papers confirming the article’s facts. Despite this, many parents refused to vaccinate their children. Well, Voltaire considered superstition the most terrible enemy of the human race.
Myth 13: Rubber tires protect the car from lightning.
In fact, the tires do not save cars from lightning. If you hit a thunderstorm, being behind the wheel, of course, inside the car will be safer than outside. Cars provide reliable protection against lightning, but not at all because of why you think. When the lightning hits the car, it hits the metal frame, which protects the passengers, acting as a conductor and diverting the charge to the ground. It is logical to assume that a convertible or motorcycle does not protect you from lightning strikes, even though they have rubber tires.
Myth 14: Children are mad with sugar
In reality, let the kids eat their cookies. The researchers found no significant relationship between sugar consumption and hyperactivity. An analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that more than 16 qualified scientists could not identify a significant relationship between sugar consumption and cognitive performance or behavior. Of course, sugar primarily affects obesity (and other problems), which means parents still need to take cotton candy from their children in time.
Myth 15: The Big Bang Theory explains how the Universe was created.
In fact, the Big Bang theory only reflects our observations of the early Universe: it initially underwent massive and rapid growth, which continues to this day. The physicist Joao Magueijo protects the scientific views at all that during the existence of the early Universe the speed of light was greater than it is now (why it is constant and maximum - read here). The central meaning of the Big Bang theory is the explanation of the beginning of the expansion of the Universe, and not how it originated. What happened before the Big Bang is another matter.
Myth 16: In summer, the Earth is closer to the Sun.
No no and one more time no. For people living at the equator, this is exactly the opposite: the Earth is closer to the Sun in January. But for people living in the southern hemisphere, January is the best time when you can sunbathe on the beach and drink a cold lemonade. What are the reasons for the change of seasons? The point is the tilt of the axis of the Earth. The earth sways as it spins. Summer comes when the globe receives the most direct sunlight; in winter, the sun's rays reach the earth at an oblique angle.
Myth 17: Albert Einstein failed a math exam at school.
In fact, Albert Einstein was always good at math. Unlike Stephen Hawking. Another version of this myth is that Einstein was in principle a lagging student. But there is no evidence that this is true: the remaining tables of the brilliant physicists say something else. Of course, lazy children use this myth: "Even Einstein did not study well!" But unfortunately, “this student was Albert Einstein” is not about you, so learn.
Myth 18: People descended from chimpanzees.
In fact, looking at a chimpanzee, you are not looking at your great-grandfather, you are looking at a distant relative. Humans and chimpanzees are descended from a common ancestor. 95% of the human and chimpanzee DNAs are the same, but for the most part this indicates how much our bodies are alike. At some point, our genetic paths diverged, so humans and chimpanzees began to evolve according to different genetic codes.
Myth 19: Antibiotics kill viruses.
In fact, antibiotics are great target poisons that help your body kill bacteria - bacteria, not viruses. Moreover, the virus cannot be killed at all, because it is not originally alive. When a malicious cough or cold seizes us, we all want to take a pill and get rid of them. Unfortunately, this way it is impossible to fight against germs that cause colds and flu, and in many cases antibiotics can aggravate the problem. Listen to the doctor, do not self-medicate.
Myth 20: The full moon drives people crazy
In fact, you will kill at full moon in only one case: if you are a werewolf. Over the centuries, almost all cultures attributed mystical powers and the influence of otherworldly beings to the bright and round face of the full moon. In English, the words "lunacy" (madness) and "lunatic" (crazy) originate from the words "lunar" - associated with the moon, of course. But despite human prejudices, science does not reveal a significant connection between the phases of the moon and the acts of murder, aggression, madness, vandalism or the rituals of human sacrifice.
Myth 21: Your nails continue to grow after your death
Not really. Just think: why? The tissues of the body need to burn energy from food to continue growth. People do not continue to eat or digest food after death. In addition, in the event of a fatal outcome, the heart stops pumping blood. How fingers will receive the oxygen necessary for maintenance of a life in fabrics and production of a new keratin? The same goes for hair.
Myth 22: The coin on the rails will derail the train
Well, try it. Freight trains weigh many thousands of tons. With such success, you can say that you will knock over a tanker with one petard. Trains, at times, did not turn over even under the threat of a more massive one: cars or stones. The legs of the myth grow from here: once, many people tried to level a coin on the rails and suffered severely until death.
Myth 23: Bats are blind
Thank you very much, bats see perfectly. Chiroderma villosum, for example, has eyes, and these eyes work fine. Where did this myth come from? Like dogs, bats rely heavily on other senses, such as hearing and smelling. With the help of an advanced echolocation system, bats are well versed in the dark and hunt almost invisible prey. Bats love the night, unlike people who for some reason decided that the eyes of night hunters perform a rudimentary function.
Myth 24: The Coriolis effect determines the direction of the drain funnel.
In fact, this is one of the few cases when Lisa Simpson was mistaken. In one of the episodes of the sixth season of The Simpsons Bart vs. Australia, Lisa tells her brother about the Coriolis effect, which causes water to merge counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern. However, the Coriolis effect is the name of the inertial force that determines the trajectory of objects moving inside a rotating frame of reference. For example, it determines how the rotation of the earth affects weather conditions. The amount of water in the toilet is too small to be affected by the Coriolis effect.
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