List of common misconceptions about science, technology, and mathematics

Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries; the main subject articles can be consulted for more detail.

{{See also|Scientific misconceptions|Superseded theories in science|List of topics characterized as pseudoscience}}

= Astronomy and spaceflight  =

There is no scientific evidence that the motion of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies influences the fates of humans, and astrology has repeatedly been shown to have no explanatory power in predicting future events.{{#invoke:cite book||author1=Jeffrey Bennett |url=https://archive.org/details/astronomymediawo04lopr |title=The cosmic perspective |author2=Megan Donohue |author3=Nicholas Schneider |author4=Mark Voit |publisher=Pearson/Addison-Wesley |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8053-9283-8 |edition=4th |location=San Francisco, CA |pages=[https://archive.org/details/astronomymediawo04lopr/page/82 82–84] |url-access=registration}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Carlson |first=Shawn |year=1985 |title=A double-blind test of astrology |url=http://muller.lbl.gov/papers/Astrology-Carlson.pdf |journal=Nature |volume=318 |issue=6045 |pages=419–425 |bibcode=1985Natur.318..419C |doi=10.1038/318419a0 |s2cid=5135208}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Zarka |first=Philippe |year=2011 |title=Astronomy and astrology |url=https://zenodo.org/record/890932 |journal=Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union |volume=5 |issue=S260 |pages=420–425 |bibcode=2011IAUS..260..420Z |doi=10.1017/S1743921311002602 |doi-access=free}}
Astronauts in orbit have the sensation of being weightless because they are in free fall around the Earth,{{#invoke:cite web|| title=freefall | date=December 11, 2023 | quote=An astronaut orbiting Earth in a spacecraft experiences a condition of weightlessness because both the spacecraft and the astronaut are in free fall. |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/freefall-physics}} not because they are so far away from the Earth that its gravitational pull is negligible. For example, on the International Space Station the Earth's gravity is nearly 90% as strong as at the surface. Objects orbiting in space would not remain in orbit if not for the gravitational force, and gravitational fields extend even into the depths of intergalactic space.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Oberg|first=James|author-link=James Oberg|date=May 1993|title=Space myths and misconceptions|url=http://www.jamesoberg.com/myth.html|url-status=live|journal=Omni|volume=15|issue=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005829/http://www.jamesoberg.com/myth.html|archive-date=September 27, 2007|access-date=May 2, 2007}}{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Cowen |first1=Ron |title=Andromeda on collision course with the Milky Way |journal=Nature |date=31 May 2012 |doi=10.1038/nature.2012.10765 |s2cid=124815138 }}{{#invoke:cite journal||author=Chandler, David|date=May 1991|title=Weightlessness and Microgravity|url=http://www.lcurve.org/writings/PT-WeightlessnessAndMicrogravity.pdf|journal=The Physics Teacher|volume=29|issue=5|pages=312–13|bibcode=1991PhTea..29..312C|doi=10.1119/1.2343327}}

File:Back side of the Moon AS16-3021.jpg illuminated by the Sun.]]

The dark (far) side of the Moon receives about the same amount of light from the Sun as the near side. It is called "dark" not because it never receives light but because it had never been seen until humans sent spacecraft around the Moon, since the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth due to tidal locking.a. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Sigurdsson|first=Steinn|date=June 9, 2014|title=The Dark Side of the Moon: a Short History|url=http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2014/06/09/the-dark-side-of-the-moon-a-short-history/|access-date=September 16, 2017}}

b. {{#invoke:cite news||last=Messer|first=A'ndrea Elyse|date=June 9, 2014|title=55-year-old dark side of the moon mystery solved|publisher=Penn State News|url=http://news.psu.edu/story/317841/2014/06/09/research/55-year-old-dark-side-moon-mystery-solved|access-date=September 16, 2017}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Falin|first=Lee|date=January 5, 2015|title=What's on the Dark Side of the Moon?|url=http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/science/what%E2%80%99s-on-the-dark-side-of-the-moon|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=November 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130124604/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/science/what%E2%80%99s-on-the-dark-side-of-the-moon}}

Black holes have the same gravitational effects as any other equal mass in their place. They will draw objects nearby towards them, just as any other celestial body does, except at very close distances to the black hole, comparable to its Schwarzschild radius.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Wolfson|first=Richard|title=Simply Einstein: relativity demystified|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|date=2002|page=261|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUJWKdlFKeQC&pg=PA219|isbn=978-0-393-05154-4}} If, for example, the Sun were replaced by a black hole of equal mass, the orbits of the planets would be essentially unaffected. A stellar mass black hole can pull in a substantial inflow of surrounding matter, but only if the star from which it formed was already doing so.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/astr-160/lecture-9#transcript |title=Frontiers And Controversies In Astrophysics Lecture 9 |publisher=Yale University |access-date=April 26, 2011 }}

File:Earth seasons seen as terminator motion.gif does not line up with the plane of the Earth's orbit, so for half of the year the Northern Hemisphere is tilted more towards the Sun and for the other half the Northern Hemisphere is tilted more away, causing seasonal temperature variation.]]

Seasons are not caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun in the summer than in the winter, but by the effects of Earth's 23.4-degree axial tilt. Each hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun in its respective summer (July in the Northern Hemisphere and January in the Southern Hemisphere), resulting in longer days and more direct sunlight, with the opposite being true in the winter. Earth reaches the point in its orbit closest to the Sun in January, and it reaches the point farthest from the Sun in July, so the slight contribution of orbital eccentricity opposes the temperature trends of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Phillips|first=Tony|date=July 4, 2003|title=The Distant Sun|url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/02jul_aphelion|access-date=April 21, 2021|website=NASA|archive-date=December 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205153902/https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/02jul_aphelion/}} Orbital eccentricity can influence temperatures, but on Earth, this effect is small and is more than counteracted by other factors.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/resources/sunearth/section06i.shtml|publisher=Adler Planetarium |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216004548/http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/resources/sunearth/section06i.shtml|archive-date=December 16, 2007|title=Sun-Earth Connection|access-date=May 8, 2009}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/sunearthmiscons.html|title=Ten Things You Thought You Knew about Sun-Earth Science|publisher=NASA|access-date=May 8, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130221092931/http://istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/sunearthmiscons.html | archive-date = February 21, 2013| url-status=live}}
When a meteor or spacecraft enters the atmosphere, the heat of entry is not primarily caused by friction, but by adiabatic compression of air in front of the object.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/2007/faq-shuttleglass_prt.htm |title=NASA – Spacecraft Design |access-date=January 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709055746/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/2007/faq-shuttleglass_prt.htm |archive-date=July 9, 2009 }}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/03/30/more-booming-fireballs/ |title=More booming fireballs |work=Bad Astronomy |access-date=January 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215231308/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/03/30/more-booming-fireballs/ |archive-date=December 15, 2013 |date=March 30, 2009 }}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/12/14/meteor-propter-hoc/ |title=Meteor propter hoc |author=Phil Plait |date=December 14, 2008 |work=Bad Astronomy |publisher=Discover |access-date=January 19, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140203034517/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/12/14/meteor-propter-hoc/ | archive-date = February 3, 2014| url-status=live}}
Egg balancing is possible on every day of the year, not just the vernal equinox,{{#invoke:cite web|| url=http://www.snopes.com/science/equinox.asp | title=Infernal Egguinox | work=Snopes | date=March 6, 2012 | access-date=January 29, 2014}} and there is no relationship between any astronomical phenomenon and the ability to balance an egg.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://apnews.com/0cf1b28fd3bb7e0efa8f91da775ea6e8|title=Equinox Returns and Eggs Keep Balancing|author=Schmid, Randolph|date=September 20, 1987|access-date=January 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427084100/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1987/Equinox-Returns-and-Eggs-Keep-Balancing/id-0cf1b28fd3bb7e0efa8f91da775ea6e8|archive-date=April 27, 2014|url-status=live|work=Associated Press News}}
The Fisher Space Pen was not commissioned by NASA at a cost of millions of dollars, while the Soviets used pencils. It was independently developed by Paul C. Fisher, founder of the Fisher Pen Company, with $1 million of his own funds.[https://www.spacepen.com/about-us.aspx "Fisher Space Pen – Our story"] Retrieved on February 4, 2019 NASA tested and approved the pen for space use, then purchased 400 pens at $6 per pen.[https://history.nasa.gov/spacepen.html "NASA – The Fisher Space Pen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111230216/https://history.nasa.gov/spacepen.html |date=January 11, 2022 }} Retrieved on February 4, 2019 The Soviet Union subsequently also purchased the Space Pen for its Soyuz spaceflights.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Curtin |first=Ciara |title=Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/ |access-date=May 18, 2022 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}
Tang, Velcro, and Teflon were not spun off from technology originally developed by NASA for spaceflight, though many other products (such as memory foam and space blankets) were.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://spinoff.nasa.gov/faq|title=Spinoff Frequently Asked Questions |work=NASA.gov|access-date=February 28, 2021}}{{#invoke:cite news||title=Boomers collect artifacts, memories of NASA's heyday |last=Courter |first=Barry |newspaper=Times Free Press |date=May 13, 2007 |url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2007/may/13/Boomers-collect-artifacts-memories-of-NASAs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930222247/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2007/may/13/Boomers-collect-artifacts-memories-of-NASAs/ |archive-date=September 30, 2011 }}
The Sun is not yellow; rather, it emits light across the full spectrum of visible colors, and this combined light appears white when outside of Earth's atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths of light, particularly blues and violets, more than longer wavelengths like reds and yellows, and this scattering is why the Sun appears yellow during the day or orange or red during sunrise and sunset. The scattered blue/violet light, appearing to come from all directions, is what makes the rest of the sky look blue.{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Scherrer |first1=Deborah |display-authors=etal |title=What Color do YOU think the Sun is? |url=http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID/activities/GreenSun.html |website=Stanford SOLAR Center |access-date=June 1, 2021}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/what-color-sun |title=What Color is the Sun? |author=Lou Mayo |website=NASA Eclipse2017 |access-date=2024-01-24}}

File:Great Wall of China, Satellite image.jpeg, running diagonally from lower left to upper right (not to be confused with the much more prominent river running from upper left to lower right).]]

The Great Wall of China is not the only human-made object visible from space or from the Moon.{{#invoke:cite web||date=April 2, 2009 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/great-wall/ |title=Great Wall |work=NASA |access-date=July 5, 2024}} None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any specific human-made object from the Moon, and even Earth-orbiting astronauts can see it only with magnification. City lights, however, are easily visible on the night side of Earth from orbit.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/24mar_noseprints/ |title=Space Station Astrophotography |publisher=NASA|date=March 24, 2003|access-date=January 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404162248/https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/24mar_noseprints/|archive-date=April 4, 2014|url-status=live}}
The Big Bang model does not fully explain the origin of the universe. It does not describe how energy, time, and space were caused, but rather it describes the emergence of the present universe from an ultra-dense and high-temperature initial state.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/faq.htm#m12 |url-status=live |title=Brief Answers to Cosmic Questions |author= |website=Universe Forum |publisher=Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |location=Cambridge, MA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413195349/https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/faq.htm |archive-date=April 13, 2016 |access-date=December 18, 2019}} Archival site: "The Universe Forum's role as part of NASA's Education Support Network concluded in September, 2009."

= Biology =

== Mammals ==

Old elephants near death do not leave their herd to go to an "elephants' graveyard" to die.a. {{#invoke:cite news ||last=Spanney |first=Laura |date=January 28, 1995 |title=Not many people know that |url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14519625.100-not-many-people-know-that.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325155037/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14519625.100-not-many-people-know-that.html |archive-date=March 25, 2008 |access-date=June 16, 2024 |work=New Scientist}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://planetwild.com/blog/african-savanna-elephant|date=December 6, 2023|title=Are elephants afraid of mice? Facts and myths about the African savanna elephant|access-date=June 25, 2024 |quote=Mythbusting: Popular myths about the African elephant... Myth: Elephants go to elephant graveyards to die}}

File:10 - Cristina Sánchez.jpg

Bulls are not enraged by the color red, used in capes by professional bullfighters. Cattle are dichromats, so red does not stand out as a bright color. It is not the color of the cape, but the perceived threat by the bullfighter that incites it to charge.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.itla.net/index.cfm?sec=Longhorn_Information&con=handling|title=Longhorn_Information – handling|first=Larry|last=Smith II|publisher=International Texas Longhorn Association|date=2007|access-date=June 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100511090201/http://www.itla.net/index.cfm?sec=Longhorn_Information&con=handling|archive-date=May 11, 2010}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://iacuc.tennessee.edu/pdf/Policies-AnimalCare/Cattle-BasicCare.pdf|title=Cattle – Basic Care|first=A.|last=Dario|date=September 12, 2003|publisher=IACUC, University of Tennessee|access-date=June 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625012822/http://iacuc.tennessee.edu/pdf/Policies-AnimalCare/Cattle-BasicCare.pdf|archive-date=June 25, 2008}}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhmrNYJhcrIC&pg=PA45|title=The Biology of Animal Stress|editor=Moberg, Gary|editor2=Mench, Joy A.|chapter=Behavioral Principles of Handling Cattle and Other Grazing Animals under Extensive Conditions|first=Temple|last=Grandin|page=45|publisher=CABI|date=2007|isbn=978-1-84593-219-0}}

Domestic cats' behavioral and personality traits cannot be predicted from their coat color. Rather, these traits depend on a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors.{{cite journal | last1=Udell | first1=Monique | last2=Delgado | first2=Mikel | last3=Ekenstedt | first3=Kari | last4=Shoveller | first4=Anna Kate | last5=Croney | first5=Candace | title=CATastrophic myths part 2: Common misconceptions about the environmental, nutritional, and genetic management of domestic cats and their welfare implications | journal=The Veterinary Journal | volume=300-302 | date=2023 | doi=10.1016/j.tvjl.2023.106029 | page=106029| pmid=37683762 | doi-access=free }}
Not all cats are attracted and intoxicated by catnip, which only affects about two thirds of them. Alternatives exist, such as valerian root and leaves.{{cite journal |last1=Bol |first1=Sebastiaan |title=Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine (Actinidia polygama), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and catnip (Nepeta cataria) |journal=BMC Veterinary Research |date=16 March 2017 |doi=10.1186/s12917-017-0987-6 |pmid=28302120 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pmc=5356310 |page=70 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|title=Catnip (Nepeta cataria) – Everything You Need to Know About Catnip!|url= http://www.cat-world.com.au/all-about-catnip|website=Cat-World.com.au|publisher=Cat World |date=2014 |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150206132508/http://www.cat-world.com.au/all-about-catnip |archive-date=6 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}
Lemmings do not engage in mass suicidal dives off cliffs when migrating. The scenes of lemming suicides in the 1958 Disney documentary film White Wilderness, which popularized this idea, were completely fabricated. The lemmings in the film were actually purchased from Inuit children, transported to the filming location in Canada and repeatedly shoved off a nearby cliff by the filmmakers to create the illusion of a mass suicide.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp|title=White Wilderness Lemmings Suicide|website=Snopes|date=August 19, 2007 |first=Barbara and David P. |last=Mikkelson|access-date=August 29, 2009 }}{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Smith |first1=Nadine |title=How Disney Tricked the World Into Believing Lemmings Commit Mass Suicide |url=https://hyperallergic.com/545742/white-wilderness-disney-nature-documentary/ |website=Hyperallergic |date=March 13, 2020 |access-date=23 August 2022}} The misconception itself is much older, dating back to at least the late 19th century, though its exact origins are uncertain.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Scott|first=W.|journal=The Monthly Chronicle of North-country Lore and Legend|date=November 1891|title=The Monthly chronicle of North-country lore and legend: v. 1–5; Mar. 1887–Dec. 1891|volume=5|page=523|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8rUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA523}}
Dogs do not sweat by salivating.a. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Dog noses – myths and facts about your dog's nose – weekly pet tips by Pets.ca|url=http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/dog-noses-facts-and-myths-pet-tip-115/|access-date=May 22, 2011}}

b. {{harvnb|Varasdi|1996|loc=p. 81: "Dogs do not sweat with their tongues as most people believe. They do have some sweat glands, but the ones of most importance are on the pads, or soles, of their feet."}}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Segaloff|first=Nat|title=The Everything tall tales, legends & outrageous lies book|date=2001|publisher=Adams Media Corp.|isbn=978-1-58062-514-2|page=265|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03vYAAAAMAAJ|quote=Of course, dogs sweat. You would, too, if you had to wear a fur coat in hot weather. Dogs excrete moisture through the pads on their paws.}}

d. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Olien|first=Michael D.|title=The human myth: an introduction to anthropology|date=1978|publisher=Harper & Row|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06-044918-6|page=568|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvFKAAAAYAAJ|quote=It is another folk tale that dogs do not sweat except through the tongue. This is an incorrect belief as dogs possess sweat glands all over the body.}}

e. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Aoki|first=T.|author2=Wada, M.|title=Functional Activity of the Sweat Glands in the Hairy Skin of the Dog|journal=Science|date=August 2, 1951|volume=114|issue=2953|pages=123–24|doi=10.1126/science.114.2953.123|bibcode=1951Sci...114..123A|pmid=14854926}}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||title=British Medical Journal 1899 April 15|pmc=2462491 |quote=SOME time ago we received from a correspondent an inquiry as to whether the very prevalent belief that a dog perspires through the tongue was a vulgar error or well founded. ...whether the dog exudes fluid from the tongue of the some kind as that exuded from the human skin. To this question the answer is, No. The skin of the dog is abundantly furnished with glands, having the characteristic disposition and structure of those which in man produce sweat, ... in other words, the dog does not sweat by the tongue.|pages=921–28|volume=1|issue=1998|journal=British Medical Journal|doi=10.1136/bmj.1.1998.921|year=1899 }} Dogs actually do have sweat glands and not only on their tongues; they sweat mainly through their footpads. However, dogs do primarily regulate their body temperature through panting.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-do-dogs-sweat/page1.aspx |title=How Do Dogs Sweat|page=1|publisher=Petplace.com |access-date=February 9, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131214113342/http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-do-dogs-sweat/page1.aspx | archive-date = December 14, 2013|url-status=live}} (See also: {{Section link|Dog anatomy|Temperature regulation}})

Dogs do not consistently age seven times as quickly as humans. Aging in dogs varies widely depending on the breed; certain breeds, such as giant dog breeds and English bulldogs, have much shorter lifespans than average.{{Cite web |last=Cara |first=Ed |date=2023-11-26 |title=The Unhealthiest Dog Breeds |url=https://gizmodo.com.au/2023/11/the-unhealthiest-dog-breeds-2/ |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=Gizmodo Australia |language=en-AU}} Most dogs reach adolescence by one year old; smaller and medium-sized breeds begin to age more slowly in adulthood.a. Spadafori, Gina (1996). Dogs for Dummies. IDG Books. {{ISBN|978-1-56884-861-7}}

b. Siegal, Mordecai (Ed.; 1995). UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Book of the Dogs; Chapter 5, "Geriatrics", by Aldrich, Janet. Harper Collins. {{ISBN|978-0-06-270136-7}}.

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Wang|first1=Tina|last2=Ma|first2=Jianzhu|last3=Hogan|first3=Andrew N.|last4=Fong|first4=Samson|last5=Licon|first5=Katherine|last6=Tsui|first6=Brian|last7=Kreisberg|first7=Jason F.|last8=Adams|first8=Peter D.|last9=Carvunis|first9=Anne-Ruxandra|last10=Bannasch|first10=Danika L.|last11=Ostrander|first11=Elaine A.|date=July 2, 2020|title=Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome|url= |journal=Cell Systems|volume=11|language=en|issue=2|pages=176–185.e6|doi=10.1016/j.cels.2020.06.006|pmid=32619550|pmc=7484147|issn=2405-4712|doi-access=free}}

The phases of the Moon have no effect on the vocalizations of wolves, and wolves do not howl at the Moon.{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Busch|first1=R. H.|title=Wolf Almanac, New and Revised: A Celebration Of Wolves And Their World|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|edition=3rd|year=2007|isbn=978-1-59921-069-8|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=svbnCwAAQBAJ}}}}, p. 59 Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Lopez |first=Barry H. |title=Of Wolves and Men |publisher=J. M. Dent and Sons Limited |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-7432-4936-2 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=sz8gAQAAIAAJ}}}}, p. 38
There is no such thing as an "alpha" in a wolf pack. An early study that coined the term "alpha wolf" had only observed unrelated adult wolves living in captivity. In the wild, wolf packs operate like families: parents are in charge until the young grow up and start their own families, and younger wolves do not overthrow an "alpha" to become the new leader.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/dominance/ |title=Dominance and Dog Training|access-date=January 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202064934/https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/dominance/ |archive-date=February 2, 2017}}{{#invoke:cite news||url=http://io9.gizmodo.com/why-everything-you-know-about-wolf-packs-is-wrong-502754629|title=Why everything you know about wolf packs is wrong|last=Davis|first=Lauren|work=io9|access-date=October 13, 2017|language=en-US}}
Bats are not blind. While about 70% of bat species, mainly in the microbat family, use echolocation to navigate, all bat species have eyes and are capable of sight. In addition, almost all bats in the megabat or fruit bat family cannot echolocate and have excellent night vision.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2003/American-Heritage-Animal-Cliches.aspx|title=The Truth About Animal Clichés|date=February 1, 2003|first=Roger|last=Di Silvestro|publisher=National Wildlife Federation|access-date=October 31, 2011}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Blind as a Bat?|format=Press release|publisher=Hobart and William Smith Colleges|location=Geneva, New York|date=June 12, 2003|url=http://www.collegenews.org/x2682.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607080055/http://www.collegenews.org/x2682.xml|archive-date=June 7, 2008|access-date=April 7, 2009}}

Tomato juice and sauce are ineffective at neutralizing the odor of a skunk.[http://scienceline.org/2006/07/ask-cosier-skunk/ Is it true that tomato sauce will get rid of the smell of a skunk?]. Scienceline. Retrieved on April 5, 2012. Effective treatments for skunk odor involve artificial compounds rather than household remedies.{{#invoke:cite web|| url = http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/de-skunking_dog.html | title = De-skunking your dog | publisher = The Humane Society of the United States | access-date = August 8, 2019 | archive-date = December 10, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161210154906/http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/de-skunking_dog.html }}
Porcupines do not shoot their quills. They can detach, and porcupines will deliberately back into attackers to impale them, but their quills do not project.{{#invoke:cite book||title=Encyclopædia Britannica: Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, Enlarged and Improved|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Is0nAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA501|year=1823|publisher=Archibald Constable|pages=501–}}{{#invoke:cite book||author=Shepard, Thomas Goodwin|title=The natural history of secession|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MTA5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA78|year=1865|publisher=Derby & Miller|pages=78–}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/introducing_mammals/porcupines/|title=Porcupines|date=n.d.|website=Texas Parks & Wildlife|language=en|access-date=October 14, 2022}}
Mice do not have a special appetite for cheese, and will eat it only for lack of better options; they actually favor sweet, sugary foods. The myth may have come from the fact that before the advent of refrigeration, cheese was usually stored outside and was therefore an easy food for mice to reach.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://animals.howstuffworks.com/animal-facts/do-mice-really-love-cheese.htm|title=Do mice really love cheese?|date=April 15, 2015|website=HowStuffWorks|language=en|access-date=February 27, 2020}}
The hippopotamus does not produce pink milk, nor does it sweat blood. The skin secretions of the hippopotamus are red due to the presence of hipposudoric acid, a red pigment which acts as a natural sunscreen, and is neither sweat nor blood. It does not affect the color of their milk, which is white or beige.{{#invoke:cite web||title=FACT CHECK: Is Hippopotamus Milk Pink?|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/false-hippopotamus-milk-pink/|date=January 6, 2016|website=Snopes|language=en-US}|access-date=February 16, 2022}}
Rabbits are not especially partial to carrots. Their diet in the wild primarily consists of dark green vegetables such as grasses and clovers, and excessive carrot consumption is unhealthy for them due to containing high levels of sugar. This misconception originated from cartoon character Bugs Bunny, whose carrot chomping habit was made as a reference to the character played by Clark Gable in It Happened One Night.{{#invoke:cite news||last=Bittel|first=Jason|title=Think you know what bunnies and bears eat? Their diets may surprise you. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/think-you-know-what-bunnies-and-bears-eat-their-diets-may-surprise-you/2019/09/20/bac528ea-ce5d-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926235234/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/think-you-know-what-bunnies-and-bears-eat-their-diets-may-surprise-you/2019/09/20/bac528ea-ce5d-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post|date= September 22, 2019 |archive-date=September 26, 2019|url-status=live|quote=In the wild, rabbits aren't in the habit of digging up root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and beets. They much prefer wild greens, such as grasses and clover. In fact, carrots may actually be bad for rabbits, because although the vegetables are high in good nutrients, including beta carotene, they are also relatively high in sugar. This means that feeding a rabbit lots of carrots could lead to tooth decay or other health issues.}}{{#invoke:cite book||editor1-last=George|editor1-first=Amber E.|editor2-last=Schatz|editor2-first=J.L.|title=Screening the Nonhuman: Representations of Animal Others in the Media|chapter=Chapter 5: Would Bugs Bunny Have Diabetes? The Realistic Consequences of Cartoons for Non-Human Animals|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4985-1375-3|pages=63–67|publisher=Lexington Books}}

== Birds ==

A human touching or handling eggs or baby birds will not cause the adult birds to abandon them.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/a-bird-in-the-hand/ |title=Fact Check: Will Baby Birds Be Rejected by Their Mother If You Handle Them? |first=Barbara |last=Mikkelson |date=August 26, 2001 |website=Snopes }} The same is generally true for other animals having their young touched by humans as well, with the possible exception of rabbits (as rabbits will sometimes abandon their nest after an event they perceive as traumatizing).{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-birds-abandon-young-at-human-touch/ |magazine=Scientific American |title=Fact or Fiction?: Birds (and Other Critters) Abandon Their Young at the Slightest Human Touch |first=Robynne |last=Boyd |date=July 26, 2007}}
Eating rice, yeast, or Alka-Seltzer does not cause birds to explode and is rarely fatal. Birds can flatulate and regurgitate to expel gas, and some birds even include wild rice as part of their diet.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Mikkelson |first=David |date=2020-05-10 |title=Duck Eats Yeast, Quacks, Explodes; Man Loses Eye |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/duck-eats-yeast-quacks-explodes-man-loses-eye/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Snopes |language=en}} The misconception has often led to weddings using millet, confetti, or other materials to shower the newlyweds as they leave the ceremony, instead of the throwing of rice that is traditional in some places.{{cite web |last1=Mikkelson |first1=Barbara |title=Is Throwing Rice at Weddings Bad for Birds? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/against-the-grain/ |website=Snopes |access-date=29 July 2024 |date=14 May 2000}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.livescience.com/32624-does-wedding-rice-make-birds-explode.html |title=Does Wedding Rice Make Birds Explode? |date=June 4, 2010 |website=Live Science |access-date=April 17, 2021}}{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/reason/2016/10/19/fact-check-birds-really-can-eat-rice-safely/15728451007/ |work=The Florida Times-Union |date=October 19, 2016 |title=Fact Check: Birds really can eat rice safely |first=Carole |last=Fader}}

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The bold, powerful cry commonly associated with the bald eagle in popular culture is actually that of a red-tailed hawk. Bald eagle vocalizations are much softer and chirpier, and bear far more resemblance to the calls of gulls.Jessica Robinson, "[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=156187375 Bald Eagle: A Mighty Symbol, With A Not-So-Mighty Voice]"; NPR, July 2, 2012; accessed 2019.08.23.{{#invoke:cite book||year=2001|title=Raptors of the World| publisher=Christopher Helm|location=London|pages=717–19|isbn=978-0-7136-8026-3|author1=Ferguson-Lees, J. |author2=Christie, D.}}
Ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand to hide from enemies or to sleep.{{#invoke:cite web||author=Kruszelnicki, Karl S. |date=November 2, 2006 |title=Ostrich head in sand |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/11/02/1777947.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082637/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2006/11/02/1777947.htm |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |access-date=October 7, 2011 |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} This misconception's origins are uncertain but it was probably popularized by Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), who wrote that ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed".{{#invoke:cite news||author=Smith, Rex |date=May 8, 2011 |title=Maybe ostriches are smarter |url=http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Maybe-ostriches-are-smarter-1370503.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082414/http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Maybe-ostriches-are-smarter-1370503.php |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |access-date=October 7, 2011 |work=Albany Times-Union}}
A duck's quack actually does echo,{{#invoke:cite web||title=Alcatraz Escape: Does a Duck's Quack Echo? |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-08.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003151210/http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-08.html |archive-date=October 3, 2012}} (Season 1, Episode 8). MythBusters. Discovery Channel. December 12, 2003. although the echo may be difficult to hear for humans under some circumstances.{{#invoke:cite web||title=A Duck's Quack Doesn't Echo, and no-one knows the reason why? |url=http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/duck/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011174434/http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/duck/ |archive-date=October 11, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2010 |work=Acoustics.salford.ac.uk |publisher=University of Salford Acoustics}} Despite this, a British panel show compiling interesting facts has been given the name Duck Quacks Don't Echo.

File:Dodo head Dinkel.jpg

Despite the saying "dumb as a dodo", the dodo's intelligence was above average for an avian, as it was a member of the family Columbidae (pigeons). The perceived stupidity of the dodo, a medium-sized flightless bird that was native to Mauritius, is due to naivety and passivity from living in isolation without significant predators.{{Cite web |title=Dodos might have been quite intelligent, new research finds |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160223143148.htm |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}
Many believe that the dodo was hunted to extinction by European settlers due to its high culinary value. However, the dodo's meat was stated to be inedible by historical accounts, as one of its early names given by the Dutch was {{lang|nl|Walghvoghel}} (tasteless bird). The dodo's decline was caused more by predation of their eggs from invasive species as opposed to direct predation from humans like the passenger pigeon or woolly mammoth.{{Cite book |last=Parish |first=Jolyon C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bp8wK8zCg7wC |title=The Dodo and the Solitaire: A Natural History |date=2013 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-00099-6 |language=en}}
Sixty common starlings were released in 1890 into New York's Central Park by Eugene Schieffelin, but there is no evidence that he was trying to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare into North America. This claim has been traced to an essay in 1948 by naturalist Edwin Way Teale, whose notes appear to indicate that it was speculation.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Fugate |first1=Lauren |last2=Miller |first2=John MacNeill |title=Shakespeare's Starlings: Literary History and the Fictions of Invasiveness |journal=Environmental Humanities |date=November 1, 2021 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=301–322 |doi=10.1215/22011919-9320167 |s2cid=243468840 |url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/environmental-humanities/article/13/2/301/234995/Shakespeare-s-StarlingsLiterary-History-and-the |access-date=November 26, 2021 |issn=2201-1919|doi-access=free }}{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Strycker|first1=Noah|title=The Thing with Feathers|date=2014|publisher=Penguin Group|isbn=978-1-59448-635-7|page=42}}

== Other vertebrates ==

Contrary to the allegorical story about the boiling frog, frogs die immediately when cast into boiling water, rather than leaping out; furthermore, frogs will attempt to escape cold water that is slowly heated before reaching their critical thermal maximum.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.fastcompany.com/26455/next-time-what-say-we-boil-consultant| title= Next Time, What Say We Boil a Consultant| access-date=February 29, 2016 |date=October 1995|work=Fast Company Issue 01 }}
The memory span of goldfish is much longer than just a few seconds. It is up to a few months long.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Hipsley|first=Anna|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/19/2166204.htm|title=Goldfish three-second memory myth busted (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)|publisher=ABC |location=Australia |date=February 19, 2008|access-date=August 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110625100621/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/19/2166204.htm | archive-date = June 25, 2011| url-status=live}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-07.html |title=Sinking Titanic: Goldfish Memory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225120856/http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-07.html |archive-date=February 25, 2011 }}. 2004 season, Episode 12. MythBusters. Discovery.com. February 22, 2004.
Sharks can get cancer. The misconception that sharks do not get cancer was spread by the 1992 book Sharks Don't Get Cancer, which was used to sell extracts of shark cartilage as cancer prevention treatments. Reports of carcinomas in sharks exist, and current data does not support any conclusions about the incidence of tumors in sharks.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Ostrander |first1=G. K. |last2=Cheng |first2=KC |last3=Wolf |first3=JC |last4=Wolfe |first4=MJ |title=Shark Cartilage, Cancer and the Growing Threat of Pseudoscience |journal=Cancer Research |volume=64 |issue=23 |pages=8485–91 |date=2004 |pmid=15574750 |doi=10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-2260|doi-access=free }}
Great white sharks do not mistake human divers for seals or other pinnipeds. When attacking pinnipeds, the shark surfaces quickly and attacks violently. In contrast, attacks on humans are slower and less violent: the shark charges at a normal pace, bites, and swims off. Great white sharks have efficient eyesight and color vision; the bite is not predatory, but rather for identification of an unfamiliar object.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0123_040123_tvgreatwhiteshark.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040125025359/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0123_040123_tvgreatwhiteshark.html|archive-date=January 25, 2004|title=Great White Shark Attacks: Defanging the Myths|work=nationalgeographic.com |author=Jennifer Hile |date=January 23, 2004}}
Snake jaws cannot unhinge. The posterior end of the lower jaw bones contains a quadrate bone, allowing jaw extension. The anterior tips of the lower jaw bones are joined by a flexible ligament allowing them to bow outwards, increasing the mouth gape.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://daily.jstor.org/how-snakes-swallow/|first=James|last=MacDonald|date=June 26, 2019|title=How Snakes Swallow|newspaper=JSTOR Daily}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.livescience.com/32096-how-do-snakes-swallow-large-animals.html|first=Corey|last=Binns|date=September 11, 2012|title=How Do Snakes Swallow Large Animals?|website=Live Science }}
The Pacific tree frog and the Baja California chorus frog are some of the only frog species that make a "ribbit" sound. The misconception that all frogs, or at least all those found in North America, make this sound comes from its extensive use in Hollywood films.{{#invoke:cite news||last=Brulliard|first=Karin|url=http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/island/essays/TreeFrogs.htm |title=Why French pigs say groin, Japanese bees say boon and American frogs say ribbit |newspaper=Washington Post |date=October 14, 2016 |access-date=June 25, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427154344/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/10/12/why-french-pigs-say-groin-japanese-bees-say-boon-and-american-frogs-say-ribbit/ |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |quote=Only American frogs are said to go "ribbit," and that's believed to be because early Hollywood producers used the ribbiting sound of the Pacific tree frog during night scenes.}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://fpdcc.com/have-you-heard-the-calls-from-cook-countys-12-frog-and-toad-species/|title=Have You Heard the Calls from Cook County's 12 Frog and Toad Species?|website=Forest Preserves of Cook County|date=May 25, 2022|access-date=June 25, 2022}}
There is no credible evidence that the candiru, a South American parasitic catfish, can swim up a human urethra if one urinates in the water in which it lives. The sole documented case of such an incident, written in 1997, has been heavily criticized upon peer review, and this phenomenon is now largely considered a myth.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Gudger |first=E.W. |date=January 1930 |title=On the alleged penetration of the human urethra by an Amazonian catfish called candiru with a review of the allied habits of other members of the family pygidiidae |journal=The American Journal of Surgery |type=Print |publisher=Elsevier Inc. |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=170–188 |doi=10.1016/S0002-9610(30)90912-9 |issn=0002-9610}}
Pacus, South American fish related to piranhas, do not attack or feed on human testicles. This myth originated from a misinterpreted joke in a 2013 report of a pacu being found in Øresund, the strait between Sweden and Denmark, which claimed that the fish ate "nuts".{{#invoke:cite web||author=Gray |first=Melissa |date=August 16, 2013 |title=Warning over testicle-biting fish in Denmark? It's all wet |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/10/world/europe/scandanavia-swim-warning |access-date=September 8, 2013 |website=CNN}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Than |first=Ker |date=August 13, 2013 |title=Fears of 'Testicle-Eating' Fish Overblown |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/130813-pacu-piranha-testicle-biting-fish-invasive-species |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104112851/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/130813-pacu-piranha-testicle-biting-fish-invasive-species |archive-date=November 4, 2021 |access-date=June 13, 2022 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}
Piranhas do not eat only meat but are omnivorous, and they only swim in schools to defend themselves from predators and not to attack. They very rarely attack humans, only when under stress and feeling threatened, and even then, bites typically only occur on hands and feet.{{#invoke:cite web||date=April 7, 2020|title=Killer Piranhas: Myth or Fact?|url=https://explorersweb.com/2020/04/07/killer-piranhas-myth-or-fact/|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=Explorersweb}}
The skin of a chameleon is not adapted solely for camouflage purposes,{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Stuart-Fox |first1=Devi |last2=Moussalli |first2=Adnan |date=January 2008 |title=Selection for Social Signalling Drives the Evolution of Chameleon Colour Change |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=e25 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060025 |doi-access=free |issn=1544-9173 |pmc=2214820 |pmid=18232740}} nor can a chameleon change its skin color to match any background.{{cite magazine |last1=Clark |first1=Laura |title=We Finally Know How Chameleons Change Their Color |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/we-finally-know-how-chameleons-change-their-color-180954527/ |access-date=29 July 2024 |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |date=11 March 2015}} Chameleons usually change color for social signaling, based on their mood, and for heat regulation.{{cite magazine |last1=Bates |first1=Mary |title=How Do Chameleons Change Colors? |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/04/how-do-chameleons-change-colors/ |magazine=Wired}} Wired Magazine. April 11, 2014. The use in social signaling may be to display bright colors for only brief periods of time to avoid increased visibility to predators.

== Invertebrates ==

Not all earthworms become two worms when cut in half. Only a limited number of earthworm species{{#invoke:cite journal||doi=10.1002/jez.1401170102|title=Simultaneous anterior and posterior regeneration and other growth phenomena in Maldanid polychaetes|date=1942|last1=Moment|first1=Gairdner B.|journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology|volume=117|pages=1–13}} are capable of anterior regeneration.
Houseflies have an average lifespan of 20 to 30 days, not 24 hours.{{#invoke:cite news||title=The Housefly |url=http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/400-499/nb453.htm |newspaper=Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois) |date=April 15, 1972 |access-date=January 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301174011/http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/400-499/nb453.htm |archive-date=March 1, 2013 }} However, members of one species of mayfly have an adult lifespan of as little as 5 minutes.{{#invoke:cite journal||author1=Sweeney, Bernard W. |author2=Vannote, Robin L. |year=1982 |title=Population Synchrony in Mayflies: A Predator Satiation Hypothesis |journal=Evolution |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=810–22 |doi=10.2307/2407894 |jstor=2407894 |pmid=28568232 }}
The daddy longlegs spider (Pholcidae) is not the most venomous spider in the world. Their fangs are capable of piercing human skin, but the tiny amount of venom they carry causes only a mild burning sensation for a few seconds.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-07.html |title=Buried in Concrete: Daddy Long Legs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225120856/http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/episode/episode-tab-07.html |archive-date=February 25, 2011 }}. (2004 Season, Episode 13). MythBusters. Discovery Channel. February 25, 2004. Other species such as harvestmen and crane flies are also called daddy longlegs, and share the misconception of being highly venomous but unable to pierce the skin of humans.{{#invoke:cite web||title=UCR Spider Site – Daddy Long Legs Myth |url=http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html |publisher=University of California Riverside |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104173738/http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html |archive-date=November 4, 2013 |access-date=September 18, 2008 }}{{#invoke:cite web||title=Spider Myths – If it could only bite |url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddyvenom.html |date=2003 |publisher=Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, University of Washington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714061900/http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddyvenom.html |archive-date=July 14, 2007 |access-date=July 22, 2008 }}
People do not swallow large numbers of spiders during sleep. A sleeping person makes noises that warn spiders of danger.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Myth: You unknowingly swallow an average of four live spiders in your sleep each year.|url=https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/arachnology-and-entomology/spider-myths/myth-you-swallow-spiders|publisher=Burke Museum|access-date=February 5, 2020|date=2010}}{{cite magazine |last1=Sneed |first1=Annie |title=Fact or Fiction? People Swallow 8 Spiders a Year While They Sleep |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-people-swallow-8-spiders-a-year-while-they-sleep1/ |magazine=Scientific American |access-date=June 7, 2015 |date=April 15, 2014}} Most people also wake up from sleep when they have a spider on their face.{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Burchell |first1=Helen |title=Do people really swallow spiders in their sleep? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66319172 |access-date=2023-08-06 |work=BBC News |date=2023-08-06 |location=Hertfordshire |language=en-gb}}

File:Mantis Tenodera aridifolia01.jpg simultaneously copulating with and cannibalizing her mate; this does not occur every time mantises mate.]]

Female praying mantises do not always eat the males during mating.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://entomologytoday.org/2013/12/22/do-female-praying-mantises-always-eat-the-males/|title=Do Female Praying Mantises Always Eat the Males?|website=EntomologyToday|date=December 22, 2013}}

File:AD2009Aug08 Bombus pratorum.jpg.]]

It is not true that aerodynamic theory predicts that bumblebees should not be able to fly; the physics of insect flight is quite well understood. The misconception appears to come from a calculation based on a fixed-wing aircraft mentioned in a 1934 book, and was further popularized in the 2007 film Bee Movie.a. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Chatfield |first=Matthew |date=January 4, 2008 |title=Some scientist once proved that bees can't fly...? |url=http://www.naturenet.net/blogs/2008/01/some-scientist-once-proved-that-bees-cant-fly}}. naturenet.net. The Ranger's Blog.

b. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Ivars Peterson |date=September 13, 2004 |title=Flight of the Bumblebee |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/flight-bumblebee |access-date=November 18, 2011 |work=Ivars Peterson's MathTrek |publisher=Mathematical Association of America}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Dickinson|first1=Michael|date=June 2001|title=Solving the Mystery of Insect Flight|journal=Scientific American|volume=284|issue=6|pages=48–50, 53–57|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0601-48 |jstor=26059248|pmid=11396342 |bibcode=2001SciAm.284f..48D |quote=a 1934 book by entomologist Antoine Magnan... refers to a calculation by his assistant André Sainte-Laguë, who was an engineer. The conclusion was presumably based on the fact that the maximum possible lift produced by aircraft wings as small as a bumblebee's wings and traveling as slowly as a bee in flight would be much less than the weight of a bee.}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=December 27, 2017 |author=Lindsay Dodgson |title=This myth about bees is scientifically incorrect — here's why |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bees-cant-fly-scientifically-incorrect-2017-12 |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=2023-05-26 |title=The Strange Myth That Bees Shouldn't Be Able To Fly According To Physics |url=https://www.iflscience.com/the-strange-myth-that-bees-shouldnt-be-able-to-fly-according-to-physics-69107 |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=IFLScience |language=en}}

While certainly critical to the pollination of many plant species, European honey bees are not essential to human food production, despite claims that without their pollination, humanity would starve or die out "within four years".{{#invoke:cite news||last=Shilton |first=AC |date=March 2, 2017 |title=What Would Happen if All the Bees Died Tomorrow? |url=https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/d7ezaq/what-would-happen-if-all-the-bees-died-tomorrow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706230348/https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/d7ezaq/what-would-happen-if-all-the-bees-died-tomorrow |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |access-date=June 16, 2024 |work=Vice Media}}{{#invoke:cite news||last=Palmer |first=Brian |date=May 2, 2022 |title=A World Without Bees? Here's What Happens If Bees Go Extinct |url=https://www.nrdc.org/stories/world-without-bees-heres-what-happens-if-bees-go-extinct |access-date=June 16, 2024 |work=Natural Resources Defense Council}} In fact, the most essential staple food crops on the planet, like wheat, maize, rice, soybeans and sorghum{{#invoke:cite web||title=FAOstats Food Supply - Crops Primary Equivalent |url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/CC |author=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division |year=2017 }}FAO 2015. FAO Statistical Pocketbook 2015, {{ISBN|978-92-5-108802-9}}, p. 28 are wind pollinated or self pollinating, and only slightly over 10% of the total human diet of plant crops is dependent upon insect pollination.
Bees do not always die if they use their sting. This only happens for a very small minority of species, which includes the honey bee, when they sting mammals, as they have thick skin. They are able to survive when they sting other insects.{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Maguire |first1=Sarah |title=Do all bees die after they sting humans? |url=https://jerseybiodiversitycentre.org.je/article/do-all-bees-die-after-they-sting-humans |website=The Jersey Biodiversity Centre |access-date=June 20, 2024 |date=July 9, 2018}}{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Dorey |first1=James |last2=Gilpin |first2=Amy-Marie |last3=Gloag |first3=Rosalyn |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Most bees don't die after stinging - and other surprising bee facts |url=https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2024/most-bees-dont-die-after-stinging---and-other-surprising-beefacts.php |access-date=June 20, 2024 |work=University of Wollongong}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=van Loon |first1=Mariëtte H |last2=Dunlosky |first2=John |last3=van Gog |first3=Tamara |last4=van Merriënboer |first4=Jeroen JG |last5=de Bruin |first5=Anique BH |date=April 14, 2015 |title=Refutations in science texts lead to hypercorrection of misconceptions held with high confidence |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361476X15000235 |journal=Contemporary Educational Psychology |volume=42 |pages=39, 47 |doi=10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.04.003 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}
Earwigs are not known to purposely climb into external ear canals, though there have been anecdotal reports of earwigs being found in the ear.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Fisher|first=JR|title=Earwig in the ear|journal=Western Journal of Medicine|year=1986|volume=145|issue=2|page=245|pmid=3765607|pmc=1306897}} The name may be a reference to the appearance of their hindwings, which are unique and distinctive among insects, and resemble a human ear when unfolded.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Costa|first=J.T.|title=The Other Insect Societies|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|date=2006}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/dermaptera.html|title=Dermaptera: earwigs|publisher=CSIRO|work=Insects and their Allies|access-date=November 16, 2015}}
Ticks do not jump or fall from trees onto their hosts. Instead, they lie in wait to grasp and climb onto any passing host or otherwise trace down hosts via, for example, olfactory stimuli, the host's body heat, or carbon dioxide in the host's breath.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Roberts|first=Catherine|title=4 Common Myths About Ticks Debunked|url=https://www.consumerreports.org/outdoor-safety/tick-myths-debunked/|access-date=June 7, 2021|website=Consumer Reports|date=June 2, 2018 |language=en-US}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.cvbd.org/en/tick-borne-diseases/about-ticks/tick-feeding/host-seeking/ |title=Host seeking |work=CVBD: Companion Vector-Borne Diseases |access-date=8 December 2016}}
Though they are often called "white ants",{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/termite?show=0&t=1420442739 |work=Merriam-Webster.com |title=Termite |date=August 27, 2023 }} termites are not ants, nor are they closely related to ants. Termites are actually highly derived cockroaches.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Cleveland|first1=L.R.|last2=Hall|first2=S.K.|last3=Sanders|first3=E.P.|last4=Collier|first4=J.|title=The Wood-Feeding Roach Cryptocercus, its protozoa, and the symbiosis between protozoa and roach|journal=Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences|date=1934|volume=17|issue=2|pages=185–382|doi=10.1093/aesa/28.2.216|doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=McKittrick|first1=F.A.|date=1965|title=A contribution to the understanding of cockroach-termite affinities.|journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America|volume=58|issue=1|pages=18–22|doi=10.1093/aesa/58.1.18|pmid=5834489|doi-access=free}}
Cockroaches would not be the only organisms capable of surviving in an environment contaminated with nuclear fallout. While cockroaches have a much higher radiation resistance than vertebrates, they are not immune to radiation poisoning, nor are they exceptionally radiation-resistant compared to other insects.{{#invoke:cite news||title=Cockroaches are not radiation-proof and most are not pests |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160926-cockroaches-are-not-radiation-proof-and-most-are-not-pests |access-date=1 June 2018 |publisher=BBC Earth}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Riley |first=Daniel |date=2008-07-08 |title=Will cockroaches really be the last survivors on Earth? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/07/will-cockroaches-really-be-the-last-survivors-on-earth.html |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}
Applying urine to jellyfish stings does not relieve pain; indeed, it may make the pain worse.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://uamshealth.com/medical-myths/does-urine-help-a-jellyfish-sting/|date = 8 March 2019|title= Does Urine Help a Jellyfish Sting?|website = UAMS Health}}{{#invoke:cite journal||journal=Scientific American|title=Fact or Fiction?: Urinating on a Jellyfish Sting is an Effective Treatment |date=4 January 2007|first=Ciara|last=Curtin|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-urinating}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=20 May 2024 |title=Should You Pee on a Jellyfish Sting? |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/pee-jellyfish-sting |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=Cleveland Clinic}} The best immediate treatment for jellyfish stings is to rinse them in salt water.
A scorpion will not sting itself to death if submerged in alcohol. Another claim, that eating a scorpion will cause hallucinations, is also entirely false.

== Plants ==

Carnivorous plants can survive without food. Catching insects, however, supports their growth.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Carnivorous Plants {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/plants/plants/carnivorous-plants#:~:text=Carnivorous%20plants%20catch%20mostly%20insects,referred%20to%20as%20insectivorous%20plants.&text=However,%20only%20true%20carnivorous%20plants,can%20survive%20without%20catching%20prey.|access-date=May 25, 2021|website=www.encyclopedia.com|quote=It is known that carnivorous plants can survive without catching prey.}}
Poinsettias are not highly toxic to humans or cats. While it is true that they are mildly irritating to the skin or stomach,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Euphorbia |encyclopedia=The Southern Living Garden Book |editor-last=Bender |editor-first=Steve |year=2004 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-376-03910-1 |publisher=Oxmoor House |location=Birmingham, AL |page=306}} and may sometimes cause diarrhea and vomiting if eaten, they rarely cause serious medical problems.a. {{#invoke:cite web|| url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55606| title= Are Poinsettia Plants Poisonous? Fact or Fiction? |publisher=MedicineNet|access-date=December 21, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509062941/http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55606 | archive-date = May 9, 2013| url-status=live}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Krenzelok E.P. |author2=Jacobsen T.D. |author3=Aronis J. M. |title=Poinsettia exposures have good outcomes...just as we thought |journal=Am J Emerg Med |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=671–74 |date=November 1996 |pmid=8906768 |doi=10.1016/S0735-6757(96)90086-8 }}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Ask the Expert: Poison Control > Poinsettia |work=ASPCA |url=http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/poinsettia.aspx |publisher=ASPCA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110210836/http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/poinsettia.aspx |archive-date=January 10, 2011 }}

File:Helianthus annuus sunflower.jpgs with the Sun behind them]]

Sunflowers do not always point to the Sun. Flowering sunflowers face a fixed direction (often east) all day long, but do not necessarily face the Sun.a. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Gerard |first=John |year=1597 |title=Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes |url=http://www.botanicus.org/page/1956748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427083100/http://www.botanicus.org/page/1956748 |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |publisher=John Norton |pages=612–14}} Popular botany book in 17th century England.

b. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Hangarter |first=Roger P. |title=Solar tracking: sunflower plants |url=http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/movements/tropism/solartrack/solartrack.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019131750/http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/movements/tropism/solartrack/solartrack.html |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |access-date=August 22, 2012 |work=Plants-In-Motion website |publisher=Indiana University}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Polikarpov |first1=G.G. |date=1978 |title=Sunflower's blooming floscule is a compass |journal=Nature |volume=272 |issue=5649 |page=122 |bibcode=1978Natur.272..122P |doi=10.1038/272122c0 |doi-access=free}}

d. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Lang |first1=A.R.G. |last2=Begg |first2=J.E. |date=1979 |title=Movements of Helianthus annuus Leaves and Heads |url=http://www.flowers-org.com/helianthus-sunflower.html |journal=Journal of Applied Ecology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=299–305 |bibcode=1979JApEc..16..299L |doi=10.2307/2402749 |jstor=2402749 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523191033/http://www.flowers-org.com/helianthus-sunflower.html |archive-date=May 23, 2013 |access-date=December 10, 2016 |quote=Dinural E-W oscillations of the heads occurred initially but ceased as the flowers opened and anthesis commenced, leaving the heads facing east}} However, in an earlier developmental stage, before the appearance of flower heads, the immature buds do track the Sun (a phenomenon called heliotropism).{{#invoke:cite web||title=When the plant is in the bud stage, it tends to track the movement of the sun across the horizon. Once the flower opens into the radiance of yellow petals, it faces east |url=http://www.sunflowernsa.com/all-about/faq/#11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103083114/http://www.sunflowernsa.com/all-about/faq/ |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |publisher=National Sunflower Association}}

Mushrooms, molds, and other fungi are not plants, despite similarities in their morphology and lifestyle. The historical classification of fungi as plants is defunct, and although they are still commonly included in botany curricula and textbooks, modern molecular evidence shows that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Shalchian-Tabrizi K, Minge MA, Espelund M, etal |date=7 May 2008 |editor1-last=Aramayo |editor1-first=Rodolfo |title=Multigene phylogeny of choanozoa and the origin of animals |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=e2098 |bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.2098S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0002098 |pmc=2346548 |pmid=18461162 |doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=Fifth-Grade Elementary School Students' Conceptions and Misconceptions about the Fungus Kingdom |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26571382 |access-date=2022-10-05}}

== Evolution and paleontology ==

The word theory in "the theory of evolution" does not imply scientific doubt regarding its validity; the concepts of theory and hypothesis have specific meanings in a scientific context. While theory in colloquial usage may denote a hunch or conjecture, a scientific theory is a set of principles that explains an observable phenomenon in natural terms.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.msu.edu/~pennock5/research/papers/Pennock_TeachingEvoNatureSci.pdf|title=Evolutionary Science and Society: Educating a New Generation (TOC)|publisher=MSU.edu|work=Revised Proceedings of the BSCS, AIBS Symposium|date=November 2004|access-date=January 13, 2011|pages=11–12}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0308/theo/index.html|title=It Is Not Just a Theory... It Is a Theory!|date=July 7, 2008|publisher=Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics|work=Chandra Chronicles|access-date=April 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214120846/http://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0308/theo/index.html |archive-date=December 14, 2013|url-status=live}} "Scientific fact and theory are not categorically separable",{{#invoke:cite book||title=The Structure of Scientific Revolutions|edition=3rd|author-link=Thomas S. Kuhn|last=Kuhn|first=Thomas S.|date=1996|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-45808-3|page=7}} and evolution is a theory in the same sense as germ theory or the theory of gravitation.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://evoled.dbs.umt.edu/lessons/miscon.htm#3|title=Misconceptions about the Nature of Science|publisher=University of Montana, Div. Biological Sciences|work=UMT.edu|access-date=April 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017233007/http://evoled.dbs.umt.edu/lessons/miscon.htm#3|archive-date=October 17, 2011}}
The theory of evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php#a1 |title=Misconceptions about evolution |publisher=Evolution.berkeley.edu |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027002124/http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php |archive-date=October 27, 2013|url-status=live}} or the origin and development of the universe. The theory of evolution deals primarily with changes in successive generations over time after life has already originated.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-misconceptions.html |title=Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution |publisher=TalkOrigins |date=October 1, 2003 |access-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003174642/http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-misconceptions.html |archive-date=October 3, 2013|url-status=live}} The scientific model concerned with the origin of the first organisms from organic or inorganic molecules is known as abiogenesis, and the prevailing theory for explaining the early development of the universe is the Big Bang model.
Evolution is not a progression from inferior to superior organisms, and it also does not necessarily result in an increase in complexity. Evolution through natural selection only causes successive generations of a population of organisms to become more fit for their environment than previous generations.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Evolution and Natural Selection |url=http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/selection/selection.html |publisher=University of Michigan |access-date=November 9, 2016 |date=October 10, 2010}} A population can evolve to become simpler or to have a smaller genome,{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Moran |first1=Nancy A. |title=Microbial MinimalismGenome Reduction in Bacterial Pathogens |journal=Cell |volume=108 |issue=5 |pages=583–86 |date=2002 |pmid=11893328 |doi=10.1016/S0092-8674(02)00665-7|s2cid=18688744 |doi-access=free }} and atavistic ancestral genetic traits can reappear after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations.{{Citation |title=Developmental mechanisms underlying the atavisms |author=Brian K. Hall |journal=Biological Reviews |year=1984 |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=89–124 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-185x.1984.tb00402.x |pmid=6367843 |s2cid=29258934}} Biological devolution or de-evolution is a misnomer, not only because it implies that organisms can only evolve backward or forward, but also because it implies that evolution may cause organisms to evolve in the "wrong" direction.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/precursors/glossary.html |title=Darwin's precursors and influences: Glossary |access-date=January 18, 2010}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-the-human-race-evolvin |title=Is the human race evolving or devolving? |date=July 20, 1998 |work=Scientific American |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010233421/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-the-human-race-evolvin |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |url-status=live}} see also biological devolution.
The phrase "survival of the fittest" refers to biological fitness, not physical fitness. Biological fitness is the quantitative measure of individual reproductive success, e.g. the tendency of lineages containing individuals that produce more offspring in a particular environment to persist and thrive in that environment. Further, while the related concepts of "survival of the fittest" and "natural selection" are often used interchangeably, they are not the same: natural selection is not the only form of selection that determines biological fitness (see sexual selection, fecundity selection, viability selection, and artificial selection).{{Citation |last=Colby |first=Chris |title=Introduction to Evolutionary Biology |date=1996–1997 |url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html |publisher=TalkOrigins Archive |access-date=22 February 2009}}Hartl, D. L. (1981) A Primer of Population Genetics {{ISBN|978-0-87893-271-9}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Haldane |first=J. B. S. |author-link=J. B. S. Haldane |date=November 1992 |title=The Cost of Natural Selection |journal=Current Science |volume=63 |issue=9/10 |pages=612–625}}
Evolution does not "plan" to improve an organism's fitness to survive.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php#b1 |title=Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation: Natural selection involves organisms 'trying' to adapt. |work=Misconceptions about evolution |publisher=University of California Museum of Paleontology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027002124/http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php |archive-date=October 27, 2013|url-status=live}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php#b2|title=Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation: Natural selection gives organisms what they 'need.' |work=Misconceptions about evolution |publisher=University of California Museum of Paleontology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027002124/http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php |archive-date=October 27, 2013|url-status=live}} This misconception is encouraged as it is common shorthand for biologists to speak of a purpose as a concise form of expression (sometimes called the "metaphor of purpose");{{#invoke:cite book||date=2004 |author=Hanke, David |chapter=Teleology: The explanation that bedevils biology |pages=143–55 |title=Explanations: Styles of explanation in science |editor=John Cornwell |place=Oxford & New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860778-6 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWpq14vS7WQC&pg=PA143}} it is less cumbersome to say "Dinosaurs may have evolved feathers for courtship" than "Feathers may have been selected for when they arose as they gave dinosaurs a selective advantage during courtship over their non-feathered rivals".{{#invoke:cite journal||url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22428-dinosaurs-may-have-evolved-feathers-for-courtship.htmlNew |title=Scientist: "Dinosaurs may have evolved feathers for courtship" |doi=10.1126/science.1225376 |date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=August 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214120634/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22428-dinosaurs-may-have-evolved-feathers-for-courtship.htmlNew |archive-date=December 14, 2013|url-status=live |volume=338 |issue=6106 |journal=Science |pages=510–14 |pmid=23112330|bibcode=2012Sci...338..510Z |author1=Zelenitsky DK |author2=Therrien F |author3=Erickson GM |author4=DeBuhr CL |author5=Kobayashi Y |author6=Eberth DA |author7=Hadfield F|s2cid=2057698 }} However, this can result in many students explaining evolution as an intentional and purposeful process.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Hartelt |first1=Tim |last2=Martens |first2=Helge |title=Influence of self-assessment and conditional metaconceptual knowledge on students' self-regulation of intuitive and scientific conceptions of evolution |journal=Journal of Research in Science Teaching |volume=61 |issue=5 |date=2024 |issn=0022-4308 |doi=10.1002/tea.21938 |pages=1134–1180|doi-access=free |bibcode=2024JRScT..61.1134H }}
Mutations are not all equally likely, nor do they occur at the same frequency everywhere in the genome. Certain regions of an organism's genome will be more or less likely to undergo mutation depending on the presence of DNA repair mechanisms and other mutation biases. For instance, in a study on Arabidopsis thaliana, biologically important regions of the plant's genome were found to be protected from mutations, and beneficial mutations were found to be more likely, i.e. mutation was "biaised in a way that benefits the plant".{{#invoke:cite news||title=Study challenges evolutionary theory that DNA mutations are random |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-01-evolutionary-theory-dna-mutations-random.html |access-date=February 12, 2022 |work=U.C. Davis |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Monroe |first1=J. Grey |last2=Srikant |first2=Thanvi |last3=Carbonell-Bejerano |first3=Pablo |last4=Becker |first4=Claude |last5=Lensink |first5=Mariele |last6=Exposito-Alonso |first6=Moises |last7=Klein |first7=Marie |last8=Hildebrandt |first8=Julia |last9=Neumann |first9=Manuela |last10=Kliebenstein |first10=Daniel |last11=Weng |first11=Mao-Lun |last12=Imbert |first12=Eric |last13=Ågren |first13=Jon |last14=Rutter |first14=Matthew T. |last15=Fenster |first15=Charles B. |last16=Weigel |first16=Detlef |title=Mutation bias reflects natural selection in Arabidopsis thaliana |journal=Nature |date=February 2022 |volume=602 |issue=7895 |pages=101–105 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04269-6 |pmid=35022609 |pmc=8810380 |bibcode=2022Natur.602..101M |language=en |issn=1476-4687}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Bundell|first1=Shamini|last2=Thompson|first2=Benjamin|date=January 19, 2022|title=Why mutation is not as random as we thought|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00142-2|journal=Nature|language=en|doi=10.1038/d41586-022-00142-2|pmid=35046581|s2cid=263483178 }}
Although the word dinosaur can be used pejoratively to describe something that is becoming obsolete due to failing to adapt to changing conditions, non-avian dinosaurs themselves did not go extinct due to an inability to adapt to environmental change as was initially theorized. Moreover, not all dinosaurs are extinct (see below).{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Benton |first=M. J. |date=1990 |title=Scientific methodologies in collision: the history of the study of the extinction of the dinosaurs |url=http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Essays/Dino90.html |journal=Evolutionary Biology |volume=24 |access-date=2017-01-14 |ref=benton-1990 |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723025927/http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Essays/Dino90.html }}{{#invoke:cite journal||author1=MacLeod, N |author2=Rawson, PF |display-authors=etal |year=1997 |title=The Cretaceous–Tertiary biotic transition |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |volume=154 |issue=2 |pages=265–292 |doi=10.1144/gsjgs.154.2.0265|bibcode=1997JGSoc.154..265M |s2cid=129654916 }}{{#invoke:cite web||title=dinosaur |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dinosaur |access-date=2008-08-06 |work=Dictionary.com |publisher=Lexico Publishing Group, LLC}}
Birds are theropod dinosaurs, and consequently dinosaurs are not extinct. The word dinosaur is commonly used to refer only to non-avian dinosaurs, reflecting an outdated conception of the ancestry of avian dinosaurs, the birds. The evolutionary origin of birds was an open question in paleontology for over a century, but the modern scientific consensus is that birds evolved from small feathered theropods in the Jurassic. Not all dinosaur lineages were cut short at the end of the Cretaceous during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, and over 11,000 species of avian theropods survive as part of the modern fauna.{{#invoke:cite book||author=Padian K. |author2=Chiappe L. M. |editor=Currie PJ |editor2=Padian K |title=Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs|date=1997|publisher=Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages=41–96|chapter=Bird Origins}}{{#invoke:cite news||last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=March 28, 2016 |title='Dinosaurs Among Us' Retraces an Evolutionary Path |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/science/dinosaurs-birds-evolution-american-museum-of-natural-history.html |access-date=March 28, 2016}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Chiappe |first=Luis M. |year=2009 |title=Downsized Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary Transition to Modern Birds |journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=248–256 |doi=10.1007/s12052-009-0133-4 |doi-access=free}}

File:Ichthyosaur and Plesiosaur 1863.jpg and plesiosaur by Édouard Riou, 1863. This old representation of a plesiosaur lifting its head is not accurate.]]

Despite their cultural depictions as "swimming dinosaurs", mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and other aquatic Mesozoic diapsids were not dinosaurs. Mosasaurs were actually lizards, and ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs were even more distantly related to dinosaurs. Though some dinosaurs were or are semiaquatic (Hesperornis, Spinosaurus, auks, penguins), none are known to have been fully marine.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Lambert|first=David|title=The Dinosaur Data Book |author2=the Diagram Group|publisher=Avon Books|year=1990|isbn=978-0-380-75896-8|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dinosaurdatabook00lamb/page/290 290–301] |url=https://archive.org/details/dinosaurdatabook00lamb/}}{{#invoke:cite book||last=Lucas |first=Spencer G.|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dinosaurstextboo00luca/|title=Dinosaurs: The Textbook |publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2000|isbn=978-0-07-303642-7|edition=3rd|location=Boston|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dinosaurstextboo00luca/page/247 247–260]|chapter=Dinosaurs in the public eye|author-link=Spencer G. Lucas}}
Pterosaurs (informally called pterodactyls) are often called "flying dinosaurs" by popular media and the general public, but while pterosaurs were closely related to dinosaurs, dinosaurs are defined as the descendants of the last common ancestor of the Saurischia and the Ornithischia, which excludes the pterosaurs.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Benton|first=Michael J. |url=https://archive.org/details/dinosauriandedit00weis|title=The Dinosauria|publisher=University of California Press |year=2004|isbn=978-0-520-24209-8|editor=Weishampel, David B.|edition=2nd|location=Berkeley|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dinosauriandedit00weis/page/n25 7]–19|chapter=Origin and relationships of Dinosauria|author-link=Michael J. Benton|editor2=Dodson, Peter|editor3=Osmólska, Halszka|url-access=limited}}

File:Dimetrodon8DB.jpg, the iconic sail-backed synapsid, was not a dinosaur, nor did it live at the same time as the dinosaurs.]]

Dimetrodon is often mistakenly called a dinosaur or considered to be a contemporary of dinosaurs in popular culture, but it became extinct some 40 million years before the first appearance of dinosaurs. Being a synapsid, Dimetrodon is actually more closely related to mammals than to dinosaurs, birds, lizards, or other diapsids.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Angielczyk|first1=K. D.|year=2009|title=Dimetrodon is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution|journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach|volume=2|issue=2|pages=257–271|doi=10.1007/s12052-009-0117-4|doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Black|first1=Riley|title=The Dimetrodon in Your Family Tree|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-dimetrodon-in-your-family-tree-54302176/|access-date=December 5, 2021|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en}}
Humans and avian dinosaurs currently coexist, but humans and non-avian dinosaurs did not coexist at any point.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312115133.htm |title=American Adults Flunk Basic Science |work=Science Daily|date=March 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402041004/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312115133.htm |archive-date=April 2, 2014|url-status=live}} The last of the non-avian dinosaurs died {{period start|Paleogene}} million years ago in the course of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, whereas the earliest members of the genus Homo (humans) evolved between 2.3 and 2.4 million years ago. This places 63 million years between the last non-avian dinosaurs and the earliest humans. Humans did coexist with woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats: extinct mammals often erroneously depicted alongside non-avian dinosaurs.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/why-did-the-woolly-mammoth-die-out.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529073311/http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/why-did-the-woolly-mammoth-die-out.aspx|archive-date=May 29, 2016|title=Why Did the Woolly Mammoth Die Out?|date=March 26, 2011|website=National Geographic|access-date=August 2, 2016}}
Fossil fuels do not originate from dinosaur fossils. Petroleum is formed when algae and zooplankton die and sink in anoxic conditions to be buried on the ocean floor without being decomposed by aerobic bacteria, and only a tiny amount of the world's deposits of coal contain dinosaur fossils; the vast majority of coal is fossilized plant matter.{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Strauss |first1=Bob |date=August 15, 2019 |title=Does Oil Really Come From Dinosaurs? |website=ThoughtCo |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/does-oil-come-from-dinosaurs-1092003 |access-date=September 4, 2019}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=April 21, 2017 |url=https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=coal_home |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208115825/https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=coal_home |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |access-date=November 13, 2017 |title=Coal Explained |work=Energy Explained |publisher=US Energy Information Administration}}
Mammals did not evolve from any modern group of reptiles; rather, mammals descend from a Reptiliomorph, "reptile-like," ancestor. The term reptile is problematic, since its conventional usage unnaturally excludes birds and mammals, and the modern consensus is that the reptiles are not a natural group.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Romer |first=A. S. |orig-date=1949 |title=The Vertebrate Body |publisher=W.B. Saunders |year=1970 |edition=4th }} After the first fully terrestrial tetrapods evolved, one of their lineages split into the synapsids (the line leading to mammals) and the diapsids (the line leading to crocodiles, birds and other dinosaurs, tuatara, lizards, and snakes). The synapsids and the diapsids diverged about 320 million years ago, in the mid-Carboniferous period.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Cowen|first=R.|year=2000|title=History of Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvyBS4gwPF4C&pg=PA154 |publisher=Blackwell Science |location=Oxford, UK|isbn=978-0-632-04444-3|page=154}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/verts/diapsida.php|title=Diapsida|website=ucmp.berkeley.edu}} Only later, in the Triassic, did the modern diapsid groups (the lepidosaurs and the archosaurs) emerge and diversify.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Jones |first1=Marc EH |last2=Anderson |first2=Cajsa Lisa |last3=Hipsley |first3=Christy A |last4=Müller |first4=Johannes |last5=Evans |first5=Susan E |last6=Schoch |first6=Rainer R |title=Integration of molecules and new fossils supports a Triassic origin for Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, and tuatara) |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=September 25, 2013 |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=208 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-13-208 |pmid=24063680 |pmc=4016551 |bibcode=2013BMCEE..13..208J |doi-access=free }}{{#invoke:cite journal||author1=Richard J. Butler |author2=Stephen L. Brusatte |author3=Mike Reich |author4=Sterling J. Nesbitt |author5=Rainer R. Schoch |author6=Jahn J. Hornung |year=2011 |title=The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=e25693 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0025693 |pmid=22022431 |pmc=3194824 |bibcode=2011PLoSO...625693B |doi-access=free }} The mammals themselves are the only survivors of the synapsid line.Romer, A.S. & Parsons, T.S. (1977). The Vertebrate Body. 5th ed. Saunders, Philadelphia. (6th ed. 1985)

File:Aegyptopithecus NT.jpg, a prehistoric monkey predating the split between apes and other Old World monkeys and the division of Old and New World monkeys, making it more closely related to humans than to New World monkeys.]]

Humans and other apes are Old World monkeys. The word monkey is often used colloquially to describe only those simians which possess tails, thus excluding Barbary apes and true apes, but this distinction is paraphyletic.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1= Perez |first1= S.I. |last2= Tejedor |first2= M.F. |display-authors=etal |date= June 2013 |title= Divergence times and the evolutionary radiation of New World monkeys (Platyrrhini, Primates): an analysis of fossil and molecular data |journal= PLOS ONE |volume= 8 |issue= 6 |pages= e68029 |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0068029|pmid= 23826358 |pmc= 3694915 |bibcode= 2013PLoSO...868029P |doi-access= free }}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Romer |first=A. S. |orig-date=1949 |title=The Vertebrate Body |publisher=W.B. Saunders |year=1970 |edition=4th}}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Terry |first=M. W. |chapter=Use of common and scientific nomenclature to designate laboratory primates |pages=3–4 |editor-first=A. M. |editor-last=Schrier |title=Behavioral Primatology: Advances in Research and Theory |volume=1 |location=Hillsdale, N.J., USA |publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum |year=1977}}

d. {{#invoke:cite journal||title=Phylogeny of the macaques (Cercopithecidae: Macaca) based on Alu elements |year=2009 |last1=Li |first1=Jing |last2=Han |first2=Kyudong |last3=Xing |first3=Jinchuan |last4=Kim |first4=Heui-Soo |last5=Rogers |first5=Jeffrey |last6=Ryder |first6=Oliver A. |last7=Disotell |first7=Todd |last8=Yue |first8=Bisong |last9=Batzer |first9=Mark A. |journal=Gene |volume=448 |issue=2 |pages=242–249 |pmid=19497354 |pmc=2783879 |doi=10.1016/j.gene.2009.05.013}}

e. {{#invoke:cite book||first1=J. K. |last1=Hodges |first2=J. |last2=Cortes |title=The Barbary macaque: biology, management and conservation |publisher=Nottingham University Press |location=Nottingham, UK |year=2006}} While apes were traditionally thought to be a sister group to monkeys, modern paleontological and molecular evidence shows that apes are deeply nested within the monkey family tree. Old World monkeys like baboons are more closely related to all apes than they are to all New World monkeys, and extinct Old World monkeys like Aegyptopithecus predate the split between apes and all other extant Old World monkeys.{{#invoke:cite journal||author=Seiffert Erik R. |title=Revised age estimates for the later Paleogene mammal faunas of Egypt and Oman|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=103 |issue=13 |pages=5000–5005 |date=Jan 2006 | doi=10.1073/pnas.0600689103 |pmid=16549773|pmc=1458784|bibcode=2006PNAS..103.5000S|doi-access=free}}a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/early_2.htm|title=Early Primate Evolution: The First Primates|website=anthro.palomar.edu|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-date=December 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225115518/http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/early_2.htm}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book|| last = Benton| first = Michael J. | chapter = Chapter 3: Primate evolution | pages=378–380 | title = Vertebrate palaeontology | publisher = Wiley-Blackwell | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-632-05637-8 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyJO3vpCk8AC |access-date=July 10, 2011 }}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Osman Hill|first=W. C.|title=Primates Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy I—Strepsirhini|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=1953|series=Edinburgh Univ Pubs Science & Maths, No 3|page=53|oclc=500576914|author-link=William Charles Osman Hill}}

d. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Martin|first=W. C. L.|url=https://archive.org/details/generalintroduct00martrich|title=A General Introduction to the Natural History of Mammiferous Animals, With a Particular View of the Physical History of man, and the More Closely Allied Genera of the Order Quadrumana, or Monkeys|publisher=Wright and Co. printers|year=1841|location=London|pages=340, 361}}

e. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|first=M. É.|date=1812 |title=Tableau des quadrumanes, ou des animaux composant le premier ordre de la classe des Mammifères|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/23270#page/107/mode/1up|journal=Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle |location=Paris|volume=19|pages=85–122}}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Bugge|first=J.|date=1974|title=Chapter 4|journal=Cells Tissues Organs|volume=87|issue=Suppl. 62|pages=32–43|doi=10.1159/000144209|issn=1422-6405}} There is a concerted social and religious effort to deny evidence which connects humans to their ancestors and fellow extant simians, but there is no way to naturally define the monkeys while excluding humans and other apes.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://linnaeus.c18.net/Letters/display_txt.php?id_letter=L0783 |title=Letter, Carl Linnaeus to Johann Georg Gmelin. Uppsala, Sweden, 25 February 1747 |publisher=Swedish Linnaean Society}}

Humans did not evolve from either of the living species of chimpanzees (common chimpanzees and bonobos) or any other living species of apes.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Johnson|first1=N. A. |first2=J. J.|last2=Smith |first3=B.|last3=Pobiner |first4=C.|last4=Schrein |title=Why Are Chimps Still Chimps?|journal=The American Biology Teacher|date=Feb 2012|volume=74|issue=2 |pages=74–80|doi=10.1525/abt.2012.74.2.3|jstor=3738744 |s2cid=86832904 }} Humans and chimpanzees did, however, evolve from a common ancestor.{{#invoke:cite book||pages=124–26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LavQGJVq5ScC&pg=PA124|title=Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior Can Tell Us About Human Social Evolution|isbn=978-0-674-01004-8|last1=De Waal|first1=Frans B. M|year=2002| publisher=Harvard University Press }}William H. Calvin, 2002. "A Brain for All Seasons: Human Evolution and Abrupt Climate Change." University of Chicago Press. Chicago. This most recent common ancestor of living humans and chimpanzees would have lived between 5 and 8 million years ago.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/cat02.html#Q01|title=Evolution: Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=PBS.org|access-date=August 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214115407/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/cat02.html |archive-date=December 14, 2013|url-status=live}} Extinct great apes such as Graecopithecus and Sahelanthropus tchadensis have been proposed as candidates for the chimpanzee–human last common ancestor (CHLCA); however, no fossil has yet conclusively been identified as the CHLCA.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Fuss |first1=Jochen |last2=Spassov |first2=Nikolai |last3=Begun |first3=David R. |last4=Böhme |first4=Madelaine |year=2017 |title=Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=e0177127 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1277127F |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0177127 |pmc=5439669 |pmid=28531170 |doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Daver |first1=G. |last2=Guy |first2=F. |last3=Mackaye |first3=H. T. |last4=Likius |first4=A. |last5=Boisserie |first5=J. -R. |last6=Moussa |first6=A. |last7=Pallas |first7=L. |last8=Vignaud |first8=P. |last9=Clarisse |first9=N. D. |date=2022-08-24 |title=Postcranial evidence of late Miocene hominin bipedalism in Chad |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03037386/file/383956_0_merged_1598881798.pdf |journal=Nature |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |volume=609 |issue=7925 |pages=94–100 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04901-z |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=36002567|bibcode=2022Natur.609...94D |s2cid=234630242 }}
Humans are animals, despite the fact that the word animal is colloquially used as an antonym for human.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Thesaurus results for HUMAN |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/human |access-date=May 21, 2022 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=September 19, 2021 |title=Misconceptions about evolution – Understanding Evolution |url=https://evolution.berkeley.edu/teach-evolution/misconceptions-about-evolution/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |language=en-US}}
Ecosystems do not naturally move back towards an equilibrium using negative feedback.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-29 |title=The 'balance of nature' is an enduring concept. But it's wrong, says modern ecological science. |website=National Geographic Society |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/balance-of-nature-explained/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729040404/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/balance-of-nature-explained/ |archive-date=July 29, 2019 }} The concept of an inherent "balance of nature" has been superseded by chaos theory.{{Cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Jianguo |last2=Loucks |first2=Orie L. |date=1995 |title=From Balance of Nature to Hierarchical Patch Dynamics: A Paradigm Shift in Ecology |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/419172 |journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology |language=en |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=439–466 |doi=10.1086/419172 |issn=0033-5770}}

= Chemistry and materials science =

Himalayan salt does not have lower levels of sodium than conventional table salt.{{cite journal | vauthors=Vala DR, Azam MS | title=Salt and Cardiovascular Disease | journal=Indian Journal of Clinical Cardiology | volume=5 | issue=2 | date=2024 | issn=2632-4636 | doi=10.1177/26324636241259583 | pages=160–166| doi-access=free }}
Glass does not flow at room temperature as a high-viscosity liquid.{{cite magazine |last=Curtin |first=Ciara |date=February 2007 |title=Fact or Fiction?: Glass Is a (Supercooled) Liquid |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-fiction-glass-liquid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214122430/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-fiction-glass-liquid |archive-date=December 14, 2013 |magazine=Scientific American}} Although glass shares some molecular properties with liquids, it is a solid at room temperature and only begins to flow at hundreds of degrees above room temperature.{{#invoke:cite web||author=Halem, Henry|url=http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html |title=Does Glass Flow|publisher=Glassnotes.com|date=May 30, 1998 |access-date=August 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131022034746/http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html |archive-date = October 22, 2013| url-status=live}}{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/29glass.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Nature of Glass Remains Anything but Clear|first=Kenneth|last=Chang |date=July 29, 2008 |access-date=April 4, 2010}} Old glass which is thicker at the bottom than at the top comes from the production process, not from slow flow; no such distortion is observed in other glass objects of similar or even greater age.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Zanotto|first= E.D.|date=May 1998 |title=Do cathedral glasses flow? |journal=American Journal of Physics|volume=66 |issue= 5|page=392|doi=10.1119/1.19026 |bibcode = 1998AmJPh..66..392Z }}
Diamonds are not formed from highly compressed coal. Almost all commercially mined diamonds were formed in the conditions of extreme heat and pressure about {{convert|150|km|||abbr=|sp=us}} below the earth's surface. Coal is formed from prehistoric plants buried much closer to the surface, and is unlikely to migrate below {{Convert|3.2|km||abbr=|sp=us}} through geological processes. Most diamonds that have been dated are older than the first land plants, and are therefore older than coal.
Neither "tin" foil nor "tin" cans still use tin as a primary material. Aluminum foil has replaced tin foil in almost all uses since the 20th century; tin cans now primarily use steel or aluminum as their main metal.{{#invoke:cite book||url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Ikg0vIlGHMC&q=No+cans+currently+in+wide+use+are+made+of+tin&pg=PT61|title=Putting Food By: Fifth Edition|last1=Hertzberg|first1=Ruth|last2=Greene|first2=Janet|last3=Vaughan|first3=Beatrice|date=2010|publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-101-53990-3|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206163535/https://books.google.com/books?id=4Ikg0vIlGHMC&pg=PT61&dq=No+cans+currently+in+wide+use+are+made+of+tin&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCpf2dif3UAhUO0mMKHeszBk4Q6AEITjAI#v=onepage&q=No%20cans%20currently%20in%20wide%20use%20are%20made%20of%20tin&f=false|archive-date=February 6, 2018}}{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-happened-to-tin-foil/ | title=Why Don't We Use Tin Foil Anymore? }}https://krcgtv.com/features/beyond-the-trivia/beyond-the-trivia-the-tin-can "Are today's so-called "tin cans" actually made with tin? No... The modern metal can is made of steel or aluminum."
There is no special compound added to the water in swimming pools that will reveal the presence of urine and catch those who urinate in the pool.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/piscine-of-the-crime/ | title=FACT CHECK: Does a Urine-Revealing Pool Chemical Exist? | date=December 14, 2000 }}
Although the core of a wooden pencil is commonly referred to as "lead", wooden pencils do not contain the chemical element lead, nor have they ever contained it; "black lead" was formerly a name of graphite, which is commonly used for pencil leads.a. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Have pencils ever contained lead?|url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/have-pencils-ever-contained-lead/|access-date=2020-08-27|website=BBC Science Focus Magazine|date=March 2019 |language=en}}

b. {{#invoke:cite news||title = Ever wondered about the lead in pencils?|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/ever-wondered-about-the-lead-in-pencils/2014/11/26/f8b5869c-548a-11e4-809b-8cc0a295c773_story.html|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = 26 November 2014|access-date = 5 October 2015|issn = 0190-8286|first = Howard J.|last = Bennett|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151106222853/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/ever-wondered-about-the-lead-in-pencils/2014/11/26/f8b5869c-548a-11e4-809b-8cc0a295c773_story.html|archive-date = 6 November 2015|df = dmy-all}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||title = Pencil swallowing: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia|url = https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002817.htm|website = www.nlm.nih.gov|access-date = 5 October 2015|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151006022505/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002817.htm|archive-date = 6 October 2015|df = dmy-all}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/metals/lead.html|title=Lead Facts – Uses, Properties, Element Pb, Plumbing, Pipes, Weights|website=www.sciencekids.co.nz|access-date=2016-10-29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030075725/http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/metals/lead.html|archive-date=30 October 2016}}

e. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., s.v. '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/106584 lead]' 3 and '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/19735 black lead]' 2a

= Computing and the Internet =

The macOS and Linux operating systems are not immune to malware such as trojan horses or computer viruses.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||url=http://news.techworld.com/security/1798/mac-os-x-security-myth-exposed/|title=Mac OS X Security Myth Exposed|journal=TechWorld|first=Matthew|last=Broersma|date=June 24, 2004|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5yyPTKBhT?url=http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/05/fake-mac-defender-antivirus-app-scams-users-for-money-cc-numbers.ars|archive-date=May 26, 2011|access-date=August 12, 2011}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/05/fake-mac-defender-antivirus-app-scams-users-for-money-cc-numbers.ars|title=Fake "MAC Defender" antivirus app scams users for money, CC numbers|date=May 2, 2011|first=Chris|last=Foresman|website=Ars Technica|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5yyPTKBhT?url=http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/05/fake-mac-defender-antivirus-app-scams-users-for-money-cc-numbers.ars|archive-date=May 26, 2011|url-status=live}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/284124-myth-busting-is-linux-immune-to-viruses |title=Myth Busting: Is Linux Immune to Viruses? |website=Linux.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430080334/http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/284124-myth-busting-is-linux-immune-to-viruses |archive-date=April 30, 2014}} Specialized malware designed to attack those systems does exist. However, the vast majority of viruses are developed for Microsoft Windows.a. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Mookhey |first=K. K. |title=Linux: Security, Audit and Control Features |publisher=ISACA |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-893209-78-7 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kD0sxQ0EkIC&pg=PA128 |display-authors=etal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201043333/https://books.google.com/books?id=-kD0sxQ0EkIC&pg=PA128|archive-date=December 1, 2016}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||author=Toxen, Bob|title=Real World Linux Security: Intrusion Prevention, Detection, and Recovery |publisher=Prentice Hall Professional |year=2003|isbn=978-0-13-046456-9|page=365|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_-1jwRwNaEoC&pg=PA365|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201111057/https://books.google.com/books?id=_-1jwRwNaEoC&pg=PA365|archive-date=December 1, 2016}}

c. {{#invoke:cite news||author=Noyes, Katherine|title=Why Linux Is More Secure Than Windows|work=PCWorld|date=August 3, 2010|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/202452/why_linux_is_more_secure_than_windows.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901151841/http://www.pcworld.com/article/202452/why_linux_is_more_secure_than_windows.html|archive-date=September 1, 2013}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Wallen |first=Jack |date=February 9, 2010 |title=Myth Busting: Is Linux Immune to Viruses? |url=https://www.linux.com/training-tutorials/myth-busting-linux-immune-viruses/ |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=Linux.com |language=en-US}}

e. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Do I need anti-virus software? |url=https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/net-antivirus.html.en#:~:text=Anti-virus%20software%20does%20exist,one%20writes%20viruses%20for%20it. |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=help.ubuntu.com}}

f. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Hoffman |first=Chris |title=Why You Don't Need an Antivirus On Linux (Usually) |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/135392/htg-explains-why-you-dont-need-an-antivirus-on-linux-and-when-you-do/ |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=How-To Geek |date=September 21, 2016 |language=en-US}}

The deep web is not primarily full of pornography, illegal drug trade websites, and stolen bank details. This information is primarily found in a small portion of the deep web known as the "dark web". Much of the deep web consists of academic libraries, databases, and anything that is not indexed by normal search engines, including most private email accounts and direct messages.a. {{cite magazine |last1=Greenberg |first1=Andy |title=Hacker Lexicon: What Is the Dark Web? |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/11/hacker-lexicon-whats-dark-web/ |magazine=Wired}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Callaghan|first=Greg|url=https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-dark-web-uncovering-monsters-and-myths-in-the-net-s-evil-twin-20180307-p4z39d.html|title=The dark web: uncovering monsters (and myths) in the Net's 'evil twin'|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=March 9, 2018|access-date=August 8, 2022}}

c. {{cite magazine |last1=Cox |first1=Joseph |date=June 18, 2015 |title=The Dark Web as You Know It Is a Myth |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/06/dark-web-know-myth/ |access-date=August 8, 2022 |magazine=Wired}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||last1=Beckett|first1=Andy|title=The dark side of the internet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/nov/26/dark-side-internet-freenet/|website=The Guardian|date=November 25, 2009|access-date=August 8, 2022}}

Private browsing (such as Chrome's "Incognito Mode") does not protect users from being tracked by websites, governments, or one's internet service provider (ISP), nor does it hide one's information when using devices or networks owned or maintained by one's employer, school, or other entity, such as a coffee shop. Such entities can still use information such as IP addresses and user accounts to uniquely identify users.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90311396/incognito-mode-wont-keep-you-private-try-browser-compartmentalization|title=Incognito mode won't keep your browsing private. Do this instead |last=Grothaus |first=Michael|date=April 12, 2019|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=August 14, 2019}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.privacyflake.com/2018/08/incognito-mode-browsing-myths.html|title=Incognito mode while browsing – Myths Busted |first=Anirudh |last=B|work=Privacyflake |access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-date=May 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516215450/https://www.privacyflake.com/2018/08/incognito-mode-browsing-myths.html}} Private browsing also does not provide additional protection against viruses or malware.{{#invoke:cite book||title=Proceedings of the 2018 World Wide Web Conference: Your Secrets Are Safe: How Browsers' Explanations Impact Misconceptions About Private Browsing Mode|url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3178876.3186088|first1=Yuxi|last1=Wu|first2=Panya|last2=Gupta|first3=Miranda|last3=Wei|first4=Yasemin|last4=Acar|first5=Sascha|last5=Fahl|first6=Blase|last6=Ur|date=23 April 2018|isbn=978-1-4503-5639-8|publisher=International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee|location=Republic and Canton of Geneva, CHE in Lyon, France|doi=10.1145/3178876.3186088|pages=217–226|series=WWW '18|s2cid=4881375 }}
Submerging a phone in rice after it has suffered from water damage has not been shown to be effective in repairing it.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Zelenko |first=Michael |date=September 14, 2015 |title=Putting your wet phone in rice probably won't save it. But do it anyway |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/14/9326035/can-rice-actually-save-your-wet-phone |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=The Verge |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Chugh |first=Ritesh |title=Phone wet and won't turn on? Here's how to deal with water damage (hint: soaking it in rice won't work) |url=http://theconversation.com/phone-wet-and-wont-turn-on-heres-how-to-deal-with-water-damage-hint-soaking-it-in-rice-wont-work-158633 |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=April 8, 2021 |language=en}} Even if submerging them in a desiccant were more effective than leaving them to dry in open air, common desiccants such as silica gel or cat litter are better than rice.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Aguilar |first=Nelson |url=https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ |title=Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks |publisher=Smartphones.gadgethacks.com |date=April 30, 2014 |access-date=May 16, 2022}}
Mobile phones do not create considerable electromagnetic interference when used in hospitals.Rachel C. Vreeman, Aaron E. Carroll, "Medical Myths", The British Medical Journal (now called The BMJ) 335:1288 (December 20, 2007), {{doi|10.1136/bmj.39420.420370.25}}

= Economics =

File:Total population living in extreme poverty, by world region (PovcalNet, World Bank), OWID.svg

The total number of people living in extreme absolute poverty globally, by the widely used metric of $1.00/day (in 1990 U.S. dollars) has decreased over the last several decades, but most people surveyed in several countries incorrectly think it has increased or stayed the same.* {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Roser |first1=Max |last2=Ortiz-Ospina |first2=Esteban |date=May 25, 2013 |title=Global Extreme Poverty |url=https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty |journal=Our World in Data}}
{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Rosling |first1=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-4yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World{{snd}}and Why Things Are Better Than You Think |last2=Rönnlund |first2=Anna |last3=Rosling |first3=Ola |publisher=Flatiron Books |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-250-12381-7 |page=7}}
{{#invoke:cite web||last=Bailey |first=Ronald |date=January 31, 2019 |title=Global Poverty Decline Denialism |url=https://reason.com/2019/01/31/global-poverty-decline-denialism/ |website=Reason}} However, this depends on the poverty line calculation used. For instance, if the metric used is instead one that prioritizes meeting a standard life expectancy that no longer significantly rises with additional consumption enabled by income, the number of individuals in poverty has risen by nearly 1 billion.{{#invoke:cite web||date=2015-11-01 |title=Could you live on $1.90 a day? That's the international poverty line |url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/nov/01/global-poverty-is-worse-than-you-think-could-you-live-on-190-a-day |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Edward |first=Peter |date=8 August 2006 |title=The ethical poverty line: a moral quantification of absolute poverty |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436590500432739 |journal=Third World Quarterly |language=en |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=377–393 |doi=10.1080/01436590500432739 |s2cid=154522588 |issn=0143-6597}}
Although the human population of Earth is increasing, the rate of human population growth is decreasing and the world population is expected to peak and then begin falling during the 21st century. Improvements in agricultural productivity and technology are expected to be able to meet anticipated increased demand for resources, making a global human overpopulation scenario unlikely.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Scudellari|first=Megan|date=December 1, 2015|title=The science myths that will not die|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=528|issue=7582|pages=322–325|doi=10.1038/528322a|pmid=26672537|bibcode=2015Natur.528..322S|s2cid=1414926|issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=Human Overpopulation: Still an Issue of Concern?|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-overpopulation-still-an-issue-of-concern/|access-date=October 21, 2021|website=Scientific American|language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Piper|first=Kelsey|date=August 20, 2019|title=We've worried about overpopulation for centuries. And we've always been wrong.|url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/8/20/20802413/overpopulation-demographic-transition-population-explained|access-date=October 21, 2021|website=Vox|language=en}}
For any given production set, there is not a set amount of labor input (a "lump of labor") to produce that output. This fallacy is commonly seen in Luddite and later, related movements as an argument either that automation causes permanent, structural unemployment, or that labor-limiting regulation can decrease unemployment. In fact, changes in capital allocation, efficiency, and economies of learning can change the amount of labor input for a given set of production.a. {{#invoke:cite news||url=http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/l|title=Economics A-Z terms beginning with L|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=December 21, 2016}}

b. {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Bishop |first1=Matthew |author-link1=Matthew Bishop (journalist) |title=Essential Economics: An A to Z Guide |year=2004 |publisher=Bloomberg Press |isbn=978-1-86197-580-5 |chapter-url=http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/l#node-21529454 |chapter=Lump of labour fallacy |quote=One of the best-known fallacies in ECONOMICS is the notion that there is a fixed amount of work to be done – a lump of LABOUR – which can be shared out in different ways to create fewer or more jobs... |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialeconomi00bish}}

Income is not a direct factor in determining credit score in the United States. Rather, credit score is affected by the amount of unused available credit, which is in turn affected by income.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://okcfox.com/news/consumer-watch/consumer-watch-many-americans-think-income-affects-credit-score|title=Consumer Watch: Many Americans think income affects credit score|first=Mireya|last=Garcia|date=July 15, 2019|website=KOKH}} Income is also considered when evaluating creditworthiness more generally.
The US public vastly overestimates the amount spent on foreign aid.{{#invoke:cite web||last1=DiJulio|first1=Bianca|last2=Norton|first2=Mira|last3=Brodie|first3=Mollyann|date=January 20, 2016|title=Americans' Views on the U.S. Role in Global Health|url=https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/poll-finding/americans-views-on-the-u-s-role-in-global-health/|access-date=January 12, 2021|website=Kaiser Family Foundation|language=en-US}}
In the US, an increase in gross income will never reduce a taxpayer's post-tax earnings (net income) by putting them in a higher tax bracket. Tax brackets specify marginal tax rates: only income earned in the higher tax bracket is taxed at the higher rate.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.inc.com/mediafeed/lance-cothern/4-myths-about-how-taxes-work-debunked.html|title = 4 Common Misconceptions About Taxes, Debunked |website=Inc. Magazine |date = March 25, 2019}} An increase in gross income can reduce net income in a welfare cliff, however, when benefits are withdrawn when passing a certain income threshold.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Addressing Benefits Cliffs |url=https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/addressing-benefits-cliffs.aspx |website=National Conference of State Legislatures |access-date=September 15, 2021 |date=August 20, 2019}} Prevalence of the misconception varies by political party affiliation.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/5057-understanding-how-marginal-taxes-work-its-all-part | title=Understanding How Marginal Taxes Work: It's all Party (Yet Again) | YouGov }}
Constructing new housing decreases the cost of rent and the price of homes in both the immediate neighborhood and in the city as a whole. In real estate economics, "supply skepticism" leads many Americans to misunderstand the effect of increasing the supply of housing on housing costs. The misconception is unique to the housing market.{{Cite SSRN |last1=Nall |first1=Clayton |last2=Elmendorf |first2=Christopher |last3=Oklobdzija |first3=Stan |date=15 Nov 2022 |title=Folk Economics and the Persistence of Political Opposition to New Housing |ssrn=4266459}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Levitz |first=Eric |date=2023-08-04 |title=Rent Growth Is Slowing (Where Housing Got Built) |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/08/rent-growth-is-slowing-where-housing-got-built.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Intelligencer |language=en-us}}
Businesses do not get a tax benefit by collecting charitable donations from their customers. Corporation taxes are based on profit; the customer's donation would not change the amount of profit and therefore the tax payable. A business would need to donate its own money to receive a tax break.{{cite news |last=Link |first=Devon |date=2021-06-10 |title=Fact check: Stores cannot use checkout charity funds to offset their own taxes |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/06/10/fact-check-false-claim-checkout-charities-offset-corporate-taxes/7622379002/|work=USA Today |access-date=2023-04-01}}{{cite web | url = https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0| title = Who Gets the Tax Benefit For Those Checkout Donations?| last = Zaretsky| first = Renu| date = 2020-11-04| website = Tax Policy Center| access-date = 2023-04-01}}{{cite news | last=Swenson | first=Ali | date=2021-11-30 |title =Stores can't write off customer donations made at checkout |url=https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-000329849244|work=Associated Press| access-date=2024-11-14}}
There is a near-unanimous consensus among economists that import tariffs have a net-negative effect on economic growth and welfare, and harm consumers through higher prices by more than they benefit domestic producers and governments. Additionally, import tariffs are taxes paid to the government by importers, not by exporting countries or manufacturers as is claimed by some, including Donald Trump.{{cite news |last=Wiseman | first=Paul | date=2024-09-27 | title=Trump favors huge new tariffs. How do they work?| url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/trump-favors-huge-new-tariffs-how-do-they-work| work=PBS| access-date = 2024-12-02}}{{cite news | last=Lotz | first=Avery |date = 2024-11-06 | title=Trump's tariffs: How they work, and who would pay| url=https://www.axios.com/2024/09/28/how-tariffs-work-trump-china | work=Axios| access-date = 2024-12-02}}

= Earth and environmental sciences =

File:Common Era Temperature.svg reconstruction over the last 2000 years using proxy data from tree rings, corals, and ice cores in blue.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Neukom |first1=Raphael |last2=Barboza |first2=Luis A. |last3=Erb |first3=Michael P. |last4=Shi|first4=Feng |last5=Emile-Geay|first5=Julien |last6=Evans|first6=Michael N. |last7=Franke|first7=Jörg |last8=Kaufman|first8=Darrell S. |last9=Lücke|first9=Lucie |last10=Rehfeld|first10=Kira |last11=Schurer|first11=Andrew |date=2019 |title=Consistent multidecadal variability in global temperature reconstructions and simulations over the Common Era |journal=Nature Geoscience |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=643–649|doi=10.1038/s41561-019-0400-0|pmid=31372180 |pmc=6675609 |bibcode=2019NatGe..12..643P |issn=1752-0908}} Directly observed data is in red.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Global Annual Mean Surface Air Temperature Change |publisher=NASA |url=https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v4/ |access-date=February 23, 2020}}]]

Contemporary global warming is driven by human activities,{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Powell |first1=James |date=November 20, 2019 |title=Scientists Reach 100% Consensus on Anthropogenic Global Warming |journal=Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=183–184 |doi=10.1177/0270467619886266 |s2cid=213454806}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Lynas |first1=Mark|last2=Houlton |first2=Benjamin Z.|last3=Perry |first3=Simon |date=2021 |title=Greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature |journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=16 |issue=11|at=114005 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/ac2966 |bibcode=2021ERL....16k4005L|s2cid=239032360|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free }} despite claims that it is not occurring, does not have strong scientific consensus, or that warming is mostly caused by non-human factors.{{#invoke:cite web||publisher=Pew Research Center |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/ |title=Public and Scientists' Views on Science and Society|date=January 29, 2015}}{{#invoke:cite web||author=Lydia Saad |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/355427/americans-concerned-global-warming.aspx |title=Are Americans Concerned About Global Warming?|publisher=Gallup|date=October 5, 2021}}{{cite magazine |last=Begley |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon Begley |date=August 13, 2007 |title=The Truth About Denial |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/32482 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021024942/http://www.newsweek.com/id/32482 |archive-date=October 21, 2007 |magazine=Newsweek}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070820002929/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20122975/site/newsweek/page/0/ MSNBC single page version, archived 20 August 2007]) No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with the decades-old, near-complete scientific consensus on climate change.a. {{cite report |title=Understanding and responding to climate change: Highlights of National Academies Reports, 2008 edition |year=2008 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |page=2 |url=http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/booklets/climate_change_2008_final.pdf |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011182257/http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/booklets/climate_change_2008_final.pdf |archive-date=October 11, 2017}}
b. {{#invoke:cite book||chapter=The scientific consensus on climate change: How do we know we're not wrong? |last1=Oreskes |first1=Naomi |author1-link=Naomi Oreskes |title=Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren |editor-last1=DiMento |editor-first1=Joseph F. C. |editor-last2=Doughman |editor-first2=Pamela M. |publisher=The MIT Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-262-54193-0 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PXJIqCkb7YIC&pg=PA68 68]}}
c. {{#invoke:cite news||last1=Gleick |first1=Peter |title=Statements on Climate Change from Major Scientific Academies, Societies, and Associations (January 2017 update) |date=January 7, 2017 |work=ScienceBlogs |access-date=April 2, 2020|url=https://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2017/01/07/statements-on-climate-change-from-major-scientific-academies-societies-and-associations-january-2017-update}} Global warming is primarily a result of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations (like CO₂ and methane) via the burning of fossil fuels as well as other human activities such as deforestation, with secondary climate change feedback mechanisms (such as the melting of the polar ice increasing the Earth's absorption of sunlight) assisting to perpetuate the change.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/climate-change|title=Climate Change|newspaper=United Nations }}

File:Area of the ozone hole.jpg is not a cause of global warming.]]

Global warming is not caused by the hole in the ozone layer. Ozone depletion is a separate problem caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)Jacob, Daniel J. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry. pp. 177–87. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. which have been released into the atmosphere.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Chlorofluorocarbons |website=Greenhouse Gases |publisher=NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/greenhouse-gases.php?section=cfc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830030045/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/greenhouse-gases.php?section=cfc |archive-date=August 30, 2015 |access-date=October 21, 2018 }} However, CFCs are strong greenhouse gases.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/whatonearth/tag/cfcs/ |title=CFCS – What on Earth|date=February 24, 2010 }}{{#invoke:cite web||url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3bbb9q/revision/3 |title=The enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming – Physical and human causes of climate change – Higher Geography Revision |website=BBC Bitesize |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=February 9, 2022}} Further, the hole in the ozone layer is shrinking and in 2019 was the smallest it had been since 1982,{{#invoke:cite web||date=2019-10-21 |title=2019 Ozone Hole is the Smallest on Record Since Its Discovery – NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/2019-ozone-hole-is-the-smallest-on-record-since-its-discovery/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |language=en-US}}{{#invoke:cite news||last=Ansari |first=Talal |title=Ozone Hole Above Antarctica Shrinks to Smallest Size on Record |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ozone-hole-above-antarctica-shrinks-to-smallest-size-on-record-11571847944 |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} while global warming continues.

File:Cows and cooling towers, Cottam - geograph.org.uk - 450176.jpg

Cooling towers in power stations and other facilities do not emit smoke or harmful fumes; they emit water vapor and do not contribute to climate change.{{#invoke:cite web||date=February 15, 2007 |title=Myth of cooling towers is symptomatic of global warming information shortage |url=https://www.rsc.org/news-events/articles/2007/02-february/cooling-towers/ |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=Royal Society of Chemistry |language=en-GB}}{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/why-do-we-blame-climate-change-carbon-dioxide-when-water-vapor-much-more-common-greenhouse | title=Why do we blame climate change on carbon dioxide, when water vapor is a much more common greenhouse gas? | MIT Climate Portal }}
Nuclear power is one of the safest sources of energy, resulting in orders of magnitude fewer deaths than conventional power sources per unit of energy produced. Extremely few people are killed or injured due to nuclear power on a yearly basis.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Energy |first=Duke |title=Common Myths About Nuclear Energy |url=https://nuclear.duke-energy.com/2013/06/12/common-myths-about-nuclear-energy |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Duke Energy {{!}} Nuclear Information Center |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=10 myths about nuclear energy {{!}} Argonne National Laboratory |url=https://www.anl.gov/article/10-myths-about-nuclear-energy |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=www.anl.gov |date=September 9, 2013 |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=What are the safest sources of energy? |url=https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy |access-date=2020-05-27 |website=Our World in Data}}{{#invoke:cite journal||author=Frank N. von Hippel |date=September–October 2011 |title=The radiological and psychological consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi accident |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/5/27.full |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |volume=67 |issue=5 |pages=27–36 |bibcode=2011BuAtS..67e..27V |doi=10.1177/0096340211421588 |s2cid=218769799}} (See also: Radiophobia)
Earthquake strength (or magnitude) is not commonly measured using the Richter scale. Although the Richter scale was used historically to measure earthquake magnitude (although, notably, not earthquake damage), it was found in the 1970s that it does not reliably represent the magnitude of large earthquakes. It has therefore been largely replaced by the moment magnitude scale,{{#invoke:cite web||date=2016-04-28 |title=USGS Earthquake Magnitude Policy (implemented on January 18, 2002) |url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov:80/aboutus/docs/020204mag_policy.php |access-date=2023-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428095841/http://earthquake.usgs.gov:80/aboutus/docs/020204mag_policy.php |archive-date=April 28, 2016 }} although very small earthquakes are still sometimes measured using the Richter scale.{{#invoke:cite web||title=British Geological Survey Seismology Monitoring Page |url=https://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/education/faqs/faq15.html |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk}} Nevertheless, earthquake magnitude is still widely misattributed to the Richter scale.{{#invoke:cite web||date=2011-05-10 |title=Explained: Measuring earthquakes |url=https://news.mit.edu/2011/exp-measuring-earthquakes-0510 |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Reich |first=Kenneth |date=1988-02-29 |title=Science / Medicine: The Richter Scale: Caltech Seismologists Say Temblor Rating Has a Magnitude of Problems |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-29-me-179-story.html |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=2015-05-15 |title=What are the faultlines with the Richter scale? |url=https://www.euronews.com/2015/05/15/what-are-the-faultlines-with-the-richter-scale |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=euronews |language=en}}File:5-Bar-chart-–-What-is-the-safest-form-of-energy.png
Lightning can, and often does, strike the same place twice. Lightning in a thunderstorm is more likely to strike objects and spots that are more prominent or conductive. For instance, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City on average 23 times per year.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths|title=Lightning Myths and Facts|publisher=National Weather Service|quote=Fact: Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially if it's a tall, pointy, isolated object. The Empire State Building is hit an average of 23 times a year}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Lightning Often Strikes Twice|work=NASA Spinoff|publisher=Office of the Chief Technologist, NASA|url=http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2005/ps_3.html|access-date=June 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325015918/http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2005/ps_3.html|archive-date=March 25, 2012}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||author=WeatherBug Meteorologists|title=The Myths and Facts of Lightning|website=WeatherBug|url=http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-news/weather-reports.html?story=6571|publisher=Earth Works|date=May 17, 2010|access-date=June 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711061017/http://weather.weatherbug.com/weather-news/weather-reports.html?story=6571|archive-date=2010-07-11|url-status=live}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Tristan Simpson|date=Apr 29, 2022|url=https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/can-lightning-strike-the-same-place-twice|title=Can lightning strike the same place twice?|website=The Weather Network}}

Heat lightning does not exist as a distinct phenomenon. What is mistaken for "heat lightning" is usually ordinary lightning from storms too distant to hear the associated thunder.{{#invoke:cite web||title=What Is Heat Lightning?|url=https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/heat-lightning-explainer |publisher=Weather.com }}
The Yellowstone Caldera is not overdue for a supervolcano eruption.{{#invoke:cite web||date= May 8, 2015 |title= Five Things Most People Get Wrong About the Yellowstone Volcano (2015) |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/five-things-most-people-get-wrong-about-yellowstone-volcano-2015 |publisher=Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (USGS) |access-date=April 2, 2022}} There is also no evidence that it will erupt in the near future. In fact, data indicates there will not be an eruption in the coming centuries.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Modeling the Ash Distribution of a Yellowstone Supereruption (2014) {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/modeling-ash-distribution-yellowstone-supereruption-2014 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.usgs.gov}} The most likely eruption would be hydrothermal rather than volcanic. A caldera-forming volcanic eruption (and subsequent impacts on global weather patterns and agricultural production) is the least likely scenario and has an extremely low likelihood.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Questions About Future Volcanic Activity at Yellowstone {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/questions-about-future-volcanic-activity-yellowstone |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.usgs.gov}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=Could a large Yellowstone eruption significantly change the climate? {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/could-a-large-yellowstone-eruption-significantly-change-climate |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.usgs.gov}}
The Earth's interior is not molten rock. This misconception may originate from a misunderstanding based on the fact that the Earth's mantle convects, and the incorrect assumption that only liquids and gases can convect. In fact, a solid with a large Rayleigh number can also convect, given enough time, which is what occurs in the solid mantle due to the very large thermal gradient across it.{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Gupta |first1=H.K. |title=Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics |date=2011 |publisher=Springer Dordrecht |isbn=978-90-481-8701-0 |page=1539}}{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Robertson |first1=E.C. |title=The Interior of the Earth |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/ |publisher=USGS |access-date=July 8, 2022}} There are small pockets of molten rock in the upper mantle, but these make up a tiny fraction of the mantle's volume.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Hata |first1=M. |last2=Uyeshima |first2=M. |title=Temperature and melt fraction distributions in a mantle wedge determined from the electrical conductivity structure: Application to one nonvolcanic and two volcanic regions in the Kyushu subduction zone, Japan |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |date=March 31, 2015 |volume=42 |issue=8 |pages=2709–2717 |doi=10.1002/2015GL063308|bibcode=2015GeoRL..42.2709H |s2cid=128585826 }} The Earth's outer core is liquid, but it is liquid metal, not rock.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Clement |first1=B.M. |last2=Holzheid |first2=A. |last3=Tilgner |first3=A. |title=Core geophysics |journal=PNAS |date=October 25, 1997 |volume=94 |issue=24 |pages=12742–12743 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.24.12742|pmid=9370529 |pmc=34384 |bibcode=1997PNAS...9412742C |doi-access=free }}
The Amazon rainforest does not provide 20% of Earth's oxygen. This is a misinterpretation of a 2010 study which found that approximately 34% of photosynthesis by terrestrial plants occurs in tropical rainforests (so the Amazon rainforest would account for approximately half of this). Due to respiration by the resident organisms, all ecosystems (including the Amazon rainforest) have a net output of oxygen of approximately zero. The oxygen currently present in the atmosphere was accumulated over billions of years.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Katarina|first=Zimmer|date=August 28, 2019|title=Why the Amazon doesn't really produce 20% of the world's oxygen |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/why-amazon-doesnt-produce-20-percent-worlds-oxygen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218183525/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/why-amazon-doesnt-produce-20-percent-worlds-oxygen|archive-date=February 18, 2021|access-date=October 8, 2021|website=National Geographic}}
Bird deaths due to wind turbines are extremely rare compared to those caused by cats, windows, vehicles, poison, and overhead power lines.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Threats to Birds / Top Threats to Birds (U.S. only. Ordered by Median Estimate of Bird Mortality Annually. As of 2017.) |url=https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250213033928/https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds |archive-date=13 February 2025 |date=2017 |url-status=live}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=How Harmful is Renewable Energy to Birds? {{!}} Article {{!}} EESI |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-harmful-is-renewable-energy-to-birds |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=www.eesi.org}}

= Geography =

File:CapeHopeDetail.png and Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa]]

The Cape of Good Hope is not the southern tip of Africa, which is actually Cape Agulhas, about {{convert|150|km|-1}} to the east-southeast.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.airpano.com/360photo/cape-good-hope-rsa|title=Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The Most South-Western Point of The African Continent|website=AirPano}}
The majority of the Sahara consists of rocks, rather than sand.{{#invoke:cite web||date=June 19, 2024 |title=Journey through a stunning diversity of cultures and sounds in the Sahara Desert |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/passenger/passenger-sahara-cultures-and-sounds/103948632 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619110922/https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/passenger/passenger-sahara-cultures-and-sounds/103948632 |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |access-date=June 20, 2024 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}
Rivers do not predominantly flow from north to south. Rivers flow downhill in all compass directions, often changing direction along their course.{{#invoke:cite journal|| url=https://journals.flvc.org/flgeog/article/view/76274 | title=More Than a Few Northerly Running Rivers in the World | journal=The Florida Geographer | date=May 23, 2008 | volume=39 | last1=Kamiar | first1=Mohammad }}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Rosenberg |first=Matt |date=April 5, 2020 |title=Major Rivers That Flow North |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/rivers-flowing-north-1435099 |access-date=November 8, 2022 |website=ThoughtCo.}} Many major rivers flow northward, including the Nile, the Yenisey, the Ob, the Rhine, the Lena, and the Orinoco.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.worldatlas.com/rivers/rivers-that-flow-north.html|title=Rivers That Flow North|date=May 6, 2021 }}

= Human body and health =

{{See also|Urban legends about drugs|Common misconceptions about birth control}}

File:Korean fans closeup.jpg.]]

It is not just heavy metals which can be toxic; other metals (for example beryllium and lithium) can be toxic too.{{cite encyclopedia |year=2024 |entry=Metal Toxicity |title=Dictionary of Toxicology |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-981-99-9283-6_1678}}
Sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan running does not result in "fan death", as is widely believed in South Korea among older people.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/q-and-a/a5522/korean-fan-death-0209/|title=Why Do Koreans Think Electric Fans Will Kill Them?|date=January 22, 2009|website=Esquire|access-date=August 2, 2016}}{{#invoke:cite news||last=Shapiro |first=Ari |date=August 9, 2015 |title=South Korea's Quirky Notions About Electric Fans |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/08/09/430341089/south-koreas-quirky-notions-about-electric-fans |access-date=June 15, 2024 |work=NPR}} As of 2019 this belief was in decline.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Paolucci |first=Paul |url=https://brill.com/display/title/54437 |title=Acquiring Modernity |chapter=Acquiring Modernity: An Investigation into the Rise, Structure, and Future of the Modern World |publisher=Brill Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-39395-0 |series=Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume: 136 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publication-date=July 18, 2019 |page=9}}
Nocturia (waking up at night to urinate) is equally prevalent in women and men,{{cite journal |vauthors=van Kerrebroeck P, Hashim H, Holm-Larsen T, Robinson D, Stanley N |title=Thinking beyond the bladder: antidiuretic treatment of nocturia |journal=Int J Clin Pract |volume=64 |issue=6 |pages=807–16 |date=May 2010 |pmid=20337753 |doi=10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02336.x |url=}} although it is more common among both men and women over 50.{{#invoke cite web ||url= |publisher=Cleveland Clinic |title=Nocturia|access-date=Aug 1, 2024 }}
Waking up a sleepwalker does not harm them. Sleepwalkers may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, but the health risks associated with sleepwalking are from injury or insomnia, not from being awakened.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/article.htm|title=Sleepwalking: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments|publisher=MedicineNet, Inc| author1=Mersch, John |access-date=May 10, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131026073747/http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/article.htm | archive-date = October 26, 2013| url-status=live}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-related-problems/sleepwalking|title=Sleepwalking|publisher=National Sleep Foundation|access-date=May 10, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131229075629/http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-related-problems/sleepwalking | archive-date = December 29, 2013| url-status=live}}

Seizures cannot cause a person to swallow their own tongue,{{ cite book |vauthors=Tarulli A |year=2021 |chapter=Seizures and Epilepsy |title=Neurology |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-55598-6_20 |isbn=978-3-030-55597-9 |pages=289–315}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Rossi |first1=Kyle C. |last2=Baumgartner |first2=Alexander J. |last3=Goldenholz |first3=Shira R. |last4=Goldenholz |first4=Daniel M. |date=December 2020 |title=Recognizing and refuting the myth of tongue swallowing during a seizure |journal=Seizure |volume=83 |pages=32–37 |doi=10.1016/j.seizure.2020.09.023 |issn=1532-2688 |pmid=33080482|s2cid=222137755 |doi-access=free }} and it is dangerous to attempt to place a foreign object into a convulsing person's mouth. Instead it is recommended to gently lay a convulsing person on their side to minimize the risk of asphyxiation.{{#invoke:cite web||date=2022-01-03 |title=Seizure First Aid {{!}} Epilepsy {{!}} CDC |url=https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/about/first-aid.htm |access-date=2023-11-10 |website=www.cdc.gov |language=en-us}}
Drowning is often inconspicuous to onlookers.{{#invoke:cite journal||url=http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/On%20Scene/OSFall06.pdf |title=It Doesn't Look Like They're Drowning |last=Vittone |first=Mario |page=14 |journal=On Scene: The Journal of U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue}} In most cases, the instinctive drowning response prevents the victim from waving or yelling (known as "aquatic distress"), which are therefore not dependable signs of trouble; indeed, most drowning victims undergoing the response do not show prior evidence of distress.{{#invoke:cite book||editor-last1=Fletemeyer|editor-first1=John R. |editor-last2=Freas |editor-first2=Samuel J.|title=Drowning: new perspectives on intervention and prevention |volume=1998|date=1999|page=234|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xcnwm8zE24QC|last=Pia|first=Frank|chapter=Chapter 14: Reflections on Lifeguard surveillance programs|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-57444-223-6}}
Herbal medicines are not necessarily safe and side-effect free; such medicines can have adverse effects.{{cite book |vauthors=Kumar P, Nandave M, Kumar A, Nandave D |year=2024 |chapter= Herbovigilance|veditors=Nandave M, Kumar A |title=Pharmacovigilance Essentials |publisher=Springer | doi=10.1007/978-981-99-8949-2_12 |pages=243–267|isbn=978-981-99-8948-5 }}
Human blood in veins is not actually blue. Blood is red due to the presence of hemoglobin; deoxygenated blood (in veins) has a deep red color, and oxygenated blood (in arteries) has a light cherry-red color. Veins below the skin can appear blue or green due to subsurface scattering of light through the skin, and aspects of human color perception. Many medical diagrams also use blue to show veins, and red to show arteries, which contributes to this misconception.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Kienle|first1=Alwin|first2=Lothar|last2=Lilge|first3=I.Alex|last3=Vitkin|first4=Michael S.|last4=Patterson|first5=Brian C.|last5=Wilson|first6=Raimund|last6=Hibst|first7=Rudolf|last7=Steiner|date=March 1, 1996|title=Why do veins appear blue? A new look at an old question|journal=Applied Optics|volume=35|issue=7|pages=1151–60|url=http://www.imt.liu.se/edu/courses/TBMT36/pdf/blue.pdf|doi=10.1364/AO.35.001151|pmid=21085227|bibcode=1996ApOpt..35.1151K|access-date=April 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210145120/https://www.imt.liu.se/edu/courses/TBMT36/pdf/blue.pdf|archive-date=February 10, 2012}}
Exposure to a vacuum, or experiencing all but the most extreme uncontrolled decompression, does not cause the body to explode or internal fluids to boil (although the fluids in the mouth and lungs will indeed boil at altitudes above the Armstrong limit); rather, it will lead to a loss of consciousness once the body has depleted the supply of oxygen in the blood, followed by death from hypoxia within minutes.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ask_astro/space_travel.html|title=Ask an Astrophysicist: How would the unprotected human body react to the vacuum of outer space?|publisher=NASA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/68Aef3glC?url=http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970603.html|archive-date=June 4, 2012}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/04/07/1320013.htm|title=Exploding Body in Vacuum|work=ABC Science|date=April 6, 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/68Aef3glC?url=http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970603.html|archive-date=June 4, 2012}}

Exercise-induced delayed onset muscle soreness is not caused by lactic acid build-up. Muscular lactic acid levels return to normal levels within an hour after exercise; delayed onset muscle soreness is thought to be due to microtrauma from unaccustomed or strenuous exercise.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Cheung|first=K|author2=Hume, P |author3=Maxwell, L |title=Delayed onset muscle soreness: treatment strategies and performance factors|journal=Sports Medicine|year=2003|volume=33|issue=2|pages=145–64|pmid=12617692|doi=10.2165/00007256-200333020-00005|s2cid=26525519}}

b.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=McHugh |first1=Malachy P. |title=Recent advances in the understanding of the repeated bout effect: the protective effect against muscle damage from a single bout of eccentric exercise |journal=Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports |date=2003 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=88–97 |issn=0905-7188|pmid=12641640 |doi=10.1034/j.1600-0838.2003.02477.x |s2cid=6697478 }}

Stretching before or after exercise does not reduce delayed onset muscle soreness.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Henschke |first1=Nicholas |last2=Lin |first2=C. Christine |title=Stretching before or after exercise does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness |journal=Br J Sports Med |date=December 1, 2011 |volume=45 |issue=15 |pages=1249–50 |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2011-090599 |pmid=22006932 |s2cid=32498886 |url=https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/45/15/1249.full |access-date=September 11, 2018 |language=en |issn=0306-3674}}
Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/urine-not-sterile-and-neither-rest-you|title=Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you|last1=Engelhaupt|first1=Erika|date=May 22, 2014|website=Science News|language=en|access-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622083801/https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/urine-not-sterile-and-neither-rest-you|archive-date=June 22, 2018|url-status=live}} This misconception may derive from urine bacterial screening tests, which return "negative" when bacteria levels are low, but nonzero.
Sudden immersion into freezing water does not typically cause death by hypothermia, but rather from the cold shock response, which can cause cardiac arrest, heart attack, or hyperventilation leading to drowning.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Tipton|first1=M. J.|last2=Collier|first2=N.|last3=Massey|first3=H.|last4=Corbett|first4=J.|last5=Harper|first5=M.|date=November 1, 2017|title=Cold water immersion: kill or cure?: Cold water immersion: kill or cure?|journal=Experimental Physiology|language=en|volume=102|issue=11|pages=1335–55|doi=10.1113/EP086283|pmid=28833689|doi-access=free}}
Cremated remains are not ashes in the usual sense. After the incineration is completed, the dry bone fragments are swept out of the retort and pulverized by a machine called a cremulator (essentially a high-capacity, high-speed blender) to process them into "ashes" or "cremated remains".{{#invoke:cite book||last=Green |first=Jennifer |title=Dealing With Death: Practices and Procedures |author2=Green, Michael |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84310-381-3 |page=112}}

File:Alveolus diagram.svg

The lung's alveoli are not tiny balloons that expand and contract under positive pressure following the Young–Laplace equation, as is taught in some physiology and medical textbooks. The tissue structure is more like a sponge with polygonal spaces that unfold and fold under negative pressure from the chest wall.{{#invoke:cite journal||doi=10.1152/advan.00024.2002 |pmid=12594072 |volume=27 |issue=1 |title=Laplace's Law and the Alveolus: A Misconception of Anatomy and a Misapplication of Physics |journal=Advances in Physiology Education |pages=34–40 |last1=Prange |first1=Henry D. |year=2003|s2cid=7791096 }}
Half of body heat is not lost through the head, and covering the head is no more effective at preventing heat loss than covering any other portion of the body. Heat is lost from the body in proportion to the amount of exposed skin.{{#invoke:cite journal||first6=Joseph|vauthors=Sessler DI, Moayeri A, Støen R, Glosten B, Hynson J, McGuire J|year=1990|title=Thermoregulatory vasoconstriction decreases cutaneous heat loss|journal=Anesthesiology |volume=73|issue=4|pages=656–60|doi=10.1097/00000542-199010000-00011|pmid=2221434|doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite web||first=Katharine|last=Gammon|date=February 1, 2013|title=Do We Really Lose Half our Body Heat From our Heads?|url=https://www.livescience.com/34411-body-heat-loss-head.html|access-date=January 18, 2022|website=Live Science|language=en}} The head accounts for around 7–9% of the body's surface, and studies have shown that having one's head submerged in cold water only causes a person to lose 10% more heat overall.{{cite news |last1=Sample |first1=Ian |date=17 December 2008 |title=Scientists debunk the myth that you lose most heat through your head |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/dec/17/medicalresearch-humanbehaviour |access-date=29 July 2024 |work=The Guardian}}{{Medical citation needed|date=July 2024}}
Adrenochrome is not harvested from living people and has no use as a recreational drug. Hunter S. Thompson conceived a fictional drug of the same name in his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, apparently as a metaphor and unaware that a real substance by that name existed; it is Thompson's fictional adrenochrome, and not the real chemical compound, that is the source of numerous conspiracy theories revolving around human trafficking to harvest the fictional drug.{{#invoke:cite news||last1=Adams |first1=Josie |date=April 7, 2020 |title=The truth about adrenochrome |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/07-04-2020/explainer-adrenochrome-the-drug-that-doesnt-exist/ |access-date=June 28, 2020 |work=The Spinoff}}{{cite magazine |last=Friedberg |first=Brian |title=The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-dark-virality-of-a-hollywood-blood-harvesting-conspiracy/ |access-date=February 21, 2021}}
Men and women have the same number of ribs: 24, or 12 pairs. The erroneous idea that women have one more rib than men may stem from the biblical creation story of Adam and Eve.{{#invoke:cite web||date=March 12, 2020 |title=How many ribs do humans have? Men, women, and anatomy |first=Danielle |last=Dresden |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-many-ribs-do-humans-have#men-vs-women |access-date=June 5, 2022 |website=Medical News Today |language=en |quote=Although many people might think that males have fewer ribs than females — most likely sparked by the biblical story of Adam and Eve — there is no factual evidence.}}
The use of cotton swabs (aka cotton buds or Q-Tips) in the ear canal has no associated medical benefits and poses definite medical risks.a. {{citation |last=Moser |first=Rod |url=http://blogs.webmd.com/all-ears/2006/11/q-tips-weapons-of-ear-destruction.html |title=Q-Tips – Weapons of Ear Destruction? |publisher=WebMD |date=13 November 2006}}

b. {{citation |first=Joel |last=Stein |url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,105556,00.html |title=Something Evil in the Ear Canal |magazine=Time |date=26 March 2001}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=American Academy of Family Physicians|title=Information from Your Family Doctor—Earwax: What You Should Know|journal=American Family Physician|date=May 2007|volume=75|issue=10|page=1530|url=http://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0515/p1523.html|pmid=17555145}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url = http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/11/q-tips-ears-danger|title = Why You Really, Truly Should Not Put Q-Tips Into Your Ears|website = commonhealth|access-date = 6 March 2016|archive-date = March 3, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303043728/http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/11/q-tips-ears-danger}}

The idea that a precise number of stages of grief exist is not supported in peer-reviewed research or objective clinical observation, let alone the five stages of grief model.a. {{#invoke:cite news||url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2042372-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131162817/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2042372-2,00.html|archive-date=January 31, 2011|title=New Ways to Think About Grief|first=Ruth Davis|last=Konigsberg |date=January 29, 2011|access-date=27 November 2016|via=www.time.com}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal|| vauthors = Corr CA |date=23 October 2018|title=The 'five stages' in coping with dying and bereavement: strengths, weaknesses and some alternatives|journal=Mortality|volume=24|issue=4|pages=405–417|doi=10.1080/13576275.2018.1527826|s2cid=149545381}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||last1=Shermer |first1=Michael |title=Five Fallacies of Grief: Debunking Psychological Stages |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/five-fallacies-of-grief/ |website=www.scientificamerican.com |publisher=Scientific American |date=1 November 2008 |access-date=29 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511014903/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/five-fallacies-of-grief/ |archive-date=11 May 2020 }}

d. {{#invoke:cite journal|| vauthors = Wortman CB, Silver RC | title = The myths of coping with loss | journal = Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology | volume = 57 | issue = 3 | pages = 349–357 | date = June 1989 | pmid = 2661609 | doi = 10.1037/0022-006x.57.3.349 }}

{{Convert|98.6|F|C}} is not the normal or average temperature of the human body. That figure comes from an 1860 study,{{#invoke:cite book||url=https://archive.org/details/dasverhaltender00wundgoog|first=Carl Reinhold August|last=Wunderlich|title=Das Verhalten der Eigenwärme in Krankheiten |trans-title=The behavior of the self-warmth in diseases|location=Leipzig|year=1868 |publisher=O. Wigand }}; its 1871 2nd edition translated into English and published with the title [https://archive.org/details/ontemperaturein01wundgoog On the temperature in diseases: a manual of medical thermometry]. but modern research shows that the average internal temperature is {{convert|36.4|C}}, with small fluctuations.{{#invoke:cite web||last1=Weintraub |first1=Karen |title=Are Human Body Temperatures Cooling Down? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-human-body-temperatures-cooling-down/ |website=Scientific American |date=April 2020 |access-date=10 March 2022}}{{#invoke:cite journal|| pmid=1302471 | date=1992 | title=A critical appraisal of 98.6 degrees F, the upper limit of the normal body temperature, and other legacies of Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich | journal=JAMA | volume=268 | issue=12 | pages=1578–1580 | doi=10.1001/jama.1992.03490120092034 | vauthors = MacKowiak PA, Wasserman SS, Levine MM }}{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2015/08/the_average_body_temperature_is_not_986_degrees.html | title=The Average Body Temperature is Not 98.6 | RealClearScience | date=August 26, 2015 }}
The cells in the human body are not outnumbered 10 to 1 by microorganisms. The 10 to 1 ratio was an estimate made in 1972; current estimates put the ratio at either 3 to 1 or 1.3 to 1.a. {{#invoke:cite journal|| url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.19136 | doi=10.1038/nature.2016.19136 | title=Scientists bust myth that our bodies have more bacteria than human cells | date=2016 | last1=Abbott | first1=Alison | journal=Nature }}
b. {{#invoke:cite book||last1=Engelhaupt |first1=Erika |title=Gory details: adventures from the dark side of science |title-link=Gory Details |last2=Morrow-Cribbs |first2=Briony |date=2020 |publisher=National geographic partners |isbn=978-1-4262-2097-5 |location=Washington}}
c. {{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bodys-bacteria-dont-outnumber-human-cells-so-much-after-all | title=Body's bacteria don't outnumber human cells so much after all | date=January 8, 2016 }}
The total length of capillaries in the human body is not 100,000 km. That figure comes from a 1929 book by August Krogh, who used an unrealistically large model person and an inaccurately high density of capillaries. The true number is believed to be between 9,000 and 19,000 km. {{#invoke:cite journal|| pmid=33242636 | date=24 Nov 2020 | title=August Krogh: Muscle capillary function and oxygen delivery | journal=Comp Biochem Physiol a Mol Integr Physiol | doi=10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.110852 | vauthors = Poole DC, Kano Y, Koga S, Musch TI | volume=253 | pmc=7867635 }}

== Disease and preventive healthcare ==

{{See also|Misconceptions about HIV and AIDS|COVID-19 misinformation}}

It is not true that more people have died from the COVID-19 vaccine than from COVID-19 itself.https://www.kff.org/health-information-and-trust/poll-finding/kff-tracking-poll-on-health-information-and-trust-january-2025/ Four in ten Republicans now say it is “probably” or “definitely true” that “more people have died from COVID-19 vaccines than from the virus itself,” Severe adverse reactions from the vaccine are rare,{{cite journal | vauthors = Kouhpayeh H, Ansari H | title = Adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination: A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = International Immunopharmacology | volume = 109 | pages = 108906 | date = August 2022 | pmid = 35671640 | doi = 10.1016/j.intimp.2022.108906 | pmc = 9148928 }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Graña C, Ghosn L, Evrenoglou T, Jarde A, Minozzi S, Bergman H, Buckley BS, Probyn K, Villanueva G, Henschke N, Bonnet H, Assi R, Menon S, Marti M, Devane D, Mallon P, Lelievre JD, Askie LM, Kredo T, Ferrand G, Davidson M, Riveros C, Tovey D, Meerpohl JJ, Grasselli G, Rada G, Hróbjartsson A, Ravaud P, Chaimani A, Boutron I | title = Efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 12 | issue = 12 | pages = CD015477 | date = December 2022 | pmid = 36473651 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD015477 | pmc = 9726273 }}https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/claims-that-millions-of-people-have-died-from-the-covid-19-vaccine-are-unfounded/ and an "exceedingly small" number of deaths have been caused by the vaccine.https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-cdc-covid-vaccine-deaths-910677348223 Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease itself is in the millions.https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-true-death-toll-of-covid-19-estimating-global-excess-mortality
Tuberculosis is not purely a disease of the lungs that has symptoms of coughing. It may instead infect a wide range of other organs in the body.{{cite book |vauthors=Kamboj A, Lause M, Kamboj K |year=2023 |chapter=The Problem of Tuberculosis: Myths, Stigma, and Mimics |veditors=Rezaei N |title=Tuberculosis |series=Integrated Science |volume=11 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-15955-8_50 |pages=1046–1062 |isbn=978-3-031-15954-1}}

Cancer cannot be treated by restricting food intake and so supposedly "starving" tumors. Rather, the health of people with cancer is best served by maintaining a healthy diet.{{cite journal |vauthors=Grimes DR, O'Riordan E |title=Starving cancer and other dangerous dietary misconceptions |journal=Lancet Oncol |volume=24 |issue=11 |pages=1177–1178 |date=November 2023 |pmid=37922928 |doi=10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00483-7 |url=}}
The common cold and the common flu are caused by viruses, not exposure to cold temperatures. However, low temperatures may somewhat weaken the immune system, and someone already infected with a cold or influenza virus but showing no symptoms can become symptomatic after they are exposed to low temperatures.{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Temperature-dependent innate defense against the common cold virus limits viral replication at warm temperature in mouse airway cells |year=2015 |pmc=4311828 |last1=Foxman |first1=E. F. |last2=Storer |first2=J. A. |last3=Fitzgerald |first3=M. E. |last4=Wasik |first4=B. R. |last5=Hou |first5=L. |last6=Zhao |first6=H. |last7=Turner |first7=P. E. |last8=Pyle |first8=A. M. |last9=Iwasaki |first9=A. |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=827–832 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1411030112 |pmid=25561542 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112..827F |doi-access=free }}{{#invoke:cite journal|| vauthors = Mourtzoukou EG, Falagas ME | title = Exposure to cold and respiratory tract infections | journal = The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease | volume = 11 | issue = 9 | pages = 938–43 | date = September 2007 | pmid = 17705968 }} Viruses are more likely to spread during the winter for a variety of reasons such as dry air, less air circulation in homes, people spending more time indoors, and lower vitamin D levels in humans.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||doi = 10.1177/1090198111407187|pmid = 21586668|title = Age and Ethnic Differences in Cold Weather and Contagion Theories of Colds and Flu|journal = Health Education & Behavior|volume = 39|issue = 1|pages = 67–76 |year = 2012|last1 = Sigelman|first1 = Carol K.|s2cid = 206684728}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal|| pmc=1011011 | pmid=6364570 | volume=139 | issue=6 | title=Traditional health beliefs and practices among lower class black Americans | year=1983 | author=Snow LF | journal=West J Med | pages=820–28}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal|| pmc=1011011 | pmid=6364570 | volume=139 | title=Traditional health beliefs and practices among lower class black Americans | year=1983 | author=Snow LF | journal=West J Med | issue=6 | pages=820–28}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-you-can-catch-a-cold-by-getting-cold-2488|title=Monday's medical myth: you can catch a cold by getting cold|first=Merlin|last=Thomas|website=The Conversation|date=July 25, 2011 }}

e. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2017/08/17/feeling-cold-causing-colds/|title=Feeling cold causing colds? – Scientific Scribbles}}

f. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/11-health-myths-that-may-surprise-you/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190418031550/https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/11-health-myths-that-may-surprise-you/?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=930ECABDD5CB84FF9CAB5CCC66B35FE7&gwt=pay|title=11 Health Myths That May Surprise You|first=Tara|last=Parker-Pope|date=June 29, 2009|archive-date = April 18, 2019}}

g. {{#invoke:cite web||date=December 6, 2021 |title=Winter Illness Guide |url=https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/winter-illness-guide |access-date=June 21, 2022 |website=www.hopkinsmedicine.org |language=en}}

h. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Acharya |first1=B. |last2=Thapa |first2=K. |date=January 2016 |title=Indoor Staying During Winter Season Makes People More Susceptible to Flu |journal=Journal of Nepal Health Research Council |volume=14 |issue=32 |pages=69–70 |issn=1999-6217 |pmid=27426715}}

Antibiotics will not cure a cold; they treat bacterial diseases and are ineffectual against viruses.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/colds.html|title=Suffering from a cold?|work=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=October 6, 2021}}{{#invoke:cite journal||url=https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-you-drugs/warning-antibiotics-dont-work-viruses-colds-and-flu|title = WARNING: Antibiotics don't work for viruses like colds and the flu|journal = FDA|date = November 3, 2018}} However, they are sometimes prescribed to prevent or treat secondary infections.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Arroll |first1=B |last2=Kenealy |first2=T |title=Antibiotics for the common cold and acute purulent rhinitis |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |date=October 21, 2002 |issue=3 |pages=CD000247 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD000247 |pmid=12137610 }}
There is little to no evidence that any illnesses are curable through essential oils or aromatherapy,{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Lee|first1=Myeong Soo|last2=Choi|first2=Jiae Choi|title=Aromatherapy for health care: an overview of systematic reviews|journal=Maturitas|date=2012|volume=3|issue=71|pages=257–260|doi=10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.12.018|pmid=22285469}} and fish oil has not been shown to cure dementia.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-essential-oils-work-heres-what-science-says/|title=Do Essential Oils Work? Here's What Science Says|publisher=Scientific American|date=March 7, 2020}}
In those with the common cold, the color of the sputum or nasal secretion may vary from clear to yellow to green and does not indicate the class of agent causing the infection.a. {{#invoke:cite book||editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Eccles |editor2-first=Olaf |editor2-last=Weber|title=Common cold|page=7|date=2009|publisher=Birkhäuser|location=Basel|isbn=978-3-7643-9894-1 }}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Rutter|first=Paul|title=Community pharmacy: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment|date=2009|publisher=Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone|location=Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-7020-2995-0|page=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nYPvgAACAAJ|edition=2nd}} The color of the sputum is determined by immune cells fighting an infection in the nasal area.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Davis |first=Daniel M. |date=2021-11-05 |title=Immunology meets the masses|journal=Science |volume=374 |issue=6568 |page=697 |doi=10.1126/science.abm0134 |pmid=34735237 |bibcode=2021Sci...374..697D |s2cid=243761609 |issn=0036-8075}}

Vitamin C does not prevent or treat the common cold, although it may have a protective effect during intense cold-weather exercise. If taken daily, it may slightly reduce the duration and severity of colds, but it has no effect if taken after the cold starts.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/vitamin-c-for-common-cold |title=Vitamin C for the Common Cold |website=WebMD |access-date=September 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024044649/http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/vitamin-c-for-common-cold |archive-date=October 24, 2010 |url-status=live}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||title=Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold |author=Harri Hemilä |author2=Elizabeth Chalker |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |date=Jan 2013 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub4 |pmid=23440782 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=CD000980 |pmc=1160577 }}

File:Bombina bombina 1 (Marek Szczepanek).jpgs and cannot cause warts on humans.]]

Humans cannot catch warts from toads or other animals; the bumps on a toad are not warts.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/warts-faq-questions-answers#1 | title=Warts: 10 Answers to Common Questions}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/FocusOnHealth/Fall2002/Warts.htm|title=Putting an End to Warts|publisher=Londondrugs.com|access-date=August 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120609023506/http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/FocusOnHealth/Fall2002/Warts.htm | archive-date = June 9, 2012| url-status=live}} Warts on human skin are caused by human papillomavirus, which is only known to affect humans.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Pink Book (Human Papillomavirus) |url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/hpv.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321110050/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/hpv.pdf |archive-date=21 March 2017 |access-date=18 April 2017 |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}

Cracking one's knuckles does not cause osteoarthritis.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Rizvi|first1=Asad|last2=Loukas|first2=Marios|last3=Oskouian|first3=Rod J.|last4=Tubbs|first4=R. Shane|date=August 2018|title=Let's get a hand on this: Review of the clinical anatomy of "knuckle cracking"|journal=Clinical Anatomy|language=en|volume=31|issue=6|pages=942–945|doi=10.1002/ca.23243|pmid=30080300|s2cid=51920825|issn=0897-3806}}a. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Bosomworth NJ |title=Exercise and knee osteoarthritis: benefit or hazard? |journal=Can Fam Physician |volume=55 |issue=9 |pages=871–78 |date=September 2009 |pmid=19752252 |pmc=2743580}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Deweber|first=K|author2=Olszewski, M |author3=Ortolano, R |title=Knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis|journal=Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine|date=Mar–Apr 2011 |volume=24 |issue=2|pages=169–74|pmid=21383216|doi=10.3122/jabfm.2011.02.100156|doi-access=free}}

In people with eczema, bathing does not dry the skin as long as a moisturizer is applied soon after. If moisturizer is not applied after bathing, then the evaporation of water from the skin can result in dryness.{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Eichenfield LF, Tom WL, Berger TG, Krol A, Paller AS, Schwarzenberger K | display-authors=etal| title=Guidelines of care for the management of atopic dermatitis: section 2. Management and treatment of atopic dermatitis with topical therapies. | journal=J Am Acad Dermatol | year= 2014 | volume= 71 | issue= 1 | pages= 116–32 | pmid=24813302 | doi=10.1016/j.jaad.2014.03.023 | pmc=4326095 }}
There have never been any programs in the US that provide access to dialysis machines in exchange for pull tabs on beverage cans.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=http://www.snopes.com/business/redeem/pulltabs.asp | title=Keeping Tabs | website=Snopes | date=March 24, 2012 | access-date=March 30, 2014 | author=Mikkelson, Barbara}} This rumor has existed since at least the 1970s, and usually cites the National Kidney Foundation as the organization offering the program. The Foundation itself has denied the rumor, noting that dialysis machines are primarily funded by Medicare.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/newsitemArchive.cfm?id=100 | title=NKF Dispels Pull Tabs for Dialysis Time Rumor | work=National Kidney Foundation | date=June 1, 1998 | access-date=March 30, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407102004/https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/newsitemArchive.cfm?id=100 | archive-date = April 7, 2014| url-status=live}}
High dietary protein intake is not associated with kidney disease in healthy people.{{#invoke:cite journal|| url=https://academic.oup.com/ndt/article/35/1/1/5614387 | title=High-protein diet is bad for kidney health: unleashing the taboo | journal=Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation | date=November 7, 2019 | access-date=May 5, 2022 | author=Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh| volume=35 | issue=1 | pages=1–4 | doi=10.1093/ndt/gfz216 | pmid=31697325 }} While significantly increased protein intake in the short-term is associated with changes in renal function, there is no evidence to suggest this effect persists in the long-term and results in kidney damage or disease.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://examine.com/nutrition/can-eating-too-much-protein-be-bad-for-you/ | title=Can eating too much protein be bad for you? | website=Examine.com | date=November 2, 2020 | access-date=May 5, 2022 | author=Kamal Patel}}
Rhinoceros horn in powdered form is not used as an aphrodisiac in traditional Chinese medicine as Cornu Rhinoceri Asiatici (犀角, xījiǎo, "rhinoceros horn"). It is prescribed for fevers and convulsions,Bensky, Dan; Clavey, Steven; Stoger, Erich and Gamble, Andrew (2004) Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd Edition. Eastland Press. {{ISBN|978-0-939616-42-8}} a treatment not supported by evidence-based medicine.
Leprosy is not auto-degenerative as commonly supposed, meaning that it will not (on its own) cause body parts to be damaged or fall off.{{Cite magazine |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2013/06/the-separating-sickness/ |title=The Separating Sickness |first=Rebecca |last=Solnit |magazine=Harper's Magazine |date=June 12, 2013 |access-date=29 July 2024}} Leprosy causes rashes to form and may degrade cartilage and, if untreated, inflame tissue. In addition, leprosy is only mildly contagious, partly because 95% of those infected with the mycobacteria that causes leprosy do not develop the disease.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/tuberculosis-and-related-infections/leprosy|title=Leprosy – Infections|website=Merck Manuals Consumer Version}} Tzaraath, a Biblical disease that disfigures the skin, is often identified as leprosy, and may be the source of many myths about the disease.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Grzybowski|first1=Andrzej|last2=Nita|first2=Małgorzata|title=Leprosy in the Bible|journal=Clinics in Dermatology|volume=34|issue=1|year=2016|pages=3–7|issn=0738-081X |doi=10.1016/j.clindermatol.2015.10.003 |pmid=26773616}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||title=HaTalmud V'Chachmas HaRefuah|location=Berlin|year=1928|page=323|publisher=JALKUT G.m.b.H.|first=Katznelson|last=Yehuda Liv Binyamin Ben Israel}} [http://hebrewbooks.org/20797 Title at hebrewbooks.org, pp. 339-340.]

Rust itself does not cause tetanus infection. The bacteria that causes tetanus thrives in low oxygen environments, including rust where the oxygen has combined with iron, so many people associate rust with tetanus. However, any puncture wound can introduce spores that cause a tetanus infection, not just rusty nails.{{cite web|url=http://textbookofbacteriology.net/themicrobialworld/Tetanus.html|title=Tetanus| vauthors = Todar K |publisher=University of Wisconsin, Madison - Dept. of Bacteriology|work=Lectures in Microbiology|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311070553/http://textbookofbacteriology.net/themicrobialworld/Tetanus.html|archive-date=2013-03-11}}{{Citation |url=https://nytimes.com/2005/02/22/health/the-claim-stepping-on-a-rusty-nail-can-cause-tetanus.html |title=The Claim: Stepping on a Rusty Nail Can Cause Tetanus | vauthors = O'Connor A |date=February 22, 2005 |newspaper=The New York Times }}{{cite book|vauthors = Jennings K|title=Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=udIPAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|date=2013-10-08|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4767-0696-2|pages=13–}}
Quarantine has never been a standard procedure for those with severe combined immunodeficiency, despite the condition's popular nickname ("bubble boy syndrome") and its portrayal in films. A bone marrow transplant in the earliest months of life is the standard course of treatment. The exceptional case of David Vetter, who lived much of his life encased in a sterile environment because he would not receive a transplant until age 12, was an inspiration for the "bubble boy" trope.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/bubble-boy-disease-cure-study/index.html|title=Doctors develop 'cure' for babies with 'bubble boy' disease|author=Jacqueline Howard|publisher=CNN|date=April 17, 2019}}
Statements in medication package inserts listing the frequency of side effects describe how often the effect occurs after taking a drug, but are not making any assertion that there is a causal connection between taking the drug and the occurrence of the side effect. In other words, what is being reported on is correlation, not necessarily causation.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Mühlbauer|first1=Viktoria |last2=Prinz |first2=Roman|last3=Mühlhauser|first3=Ingrid|last4=Wegwarth|first4=Odette|date=September 13, 2018|title=Alternative package leaflets improve people's understanding of drug side effects{{snd}}A randomized controlled exploratory survey |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=13|issue=9|page=e0203800|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0203800|issn=1932-6203|pmc=6136776|pmid=30212555|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1303800M|doi-access=free}}
There is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect beyond acting as a placebo.{{#invoke:cite web||date=June 23, 2017 |title=Live Science |url=https://www.livescience.com/40347-crystal-healing.html |access-date=July 29, 2018 |website=Live Science}}Spellman, Frank R; Price-Bayer, Joni. (2010). In Defense of Science: Why Scientific Literacy Matters. The Scarecrow Press. p. 81. {{ISBN|978-1-60590-735-2}} "There is no scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect. It has been called a pseudoscience. Pleasant feelings or the apparent successes of crystal healing can be attributed to the placebo effect or cognitive bias—a believer wanting it to be true."Regal, Brian. (2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia. Greenwood. p. 51. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35507-3}}
There is a scientific consensusa.

{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Nicolia |first1=Alessandro |last2=Manzo |first2=Alberto |last3=Veronesi |first3=Fabio |last4=Rosellini |first4=Daniele |date=March 2014 |title=An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research |journal=Critical Reviews in Biotechnology |volume=34 |issue=1 |page=84 |doi=10.3109/07388551.2013.823595 |pmid=24041244 }}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Ronald |first=Pamela |date=May 1, 2011 |title=Plant Genetics, Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security |journal=Genetics |volume=188 |issue=1 |page=12 |doi=10.1534/genetics.111.128553|pmid=21546547 |pmc=3120150 }}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Domingo |first1=José L |last2=Bordonaba |first2=Jordi Giné |date=2011 |title=A literature review on the safety assessment of genetically modified plants |url=https://gaiapresse.ca/images/nouvelles/28563.pdf |journal=Environment International |volume=37 |issue=4 |page=741 |doi=10.1016/j.envint.2011.01.003|pmid=21296423 |bibcode=2011EnInt..37..734D }}{{#invoke:cite news||last=Freedman |first=David H |date=September 1, 2013 |title=The Truth about Genetically Modified Food |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-modified-food/ |access-date=July 6, 2024 |work=Scientific American}} that currently available food derived from genetically modified crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food.a. {{#invoke:cite web||date=October 20, 2012 |title=Statement by the AAAS Board of Directors On Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods |url=https://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AAAS_GM_statement.pdf |access-date=July 7, 2024 |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||author1=European Commission. Directorate-General for Research|url=http://ec.europa.eu/research/biosociety/pdf/a_decade_of_eu-funded_gmo_research.pdf|title=A decade of EU-funded GMO research (2001–2010)|date=2010|publisher=Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. Biotechnologies, Agriculture, Food. European Commission, European Union.|isbn=978-92-79-16344-9|doi=10.2777/97784|access-date=August 30, 2019}}

c. {{Cite report |url=http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/csaph/a12-csaph2-bioengineeredfoods.pdf |title=Report 2 of the Council on Science and Public Health (A-12): Labeling of Bioengineered Foods |date=2012 |publisher=American Medical Association |access-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907023039/http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/csaph/a12-csaph2-bioengineeredfoods.pdf |archive-date=September 7, 2012 }}

d. {{Cite report |url=http://www.loc.gov/law/help/restrictions-on-gmos/usa.php#Opinion |title=Restrictions on Genetically Modified Organisms: United States |date=March 2014 |access-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206104730/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/restrictions-on-gmos/usa.php#Opinion |archive-date=February 6, 2016 }}

Reading in dim light causes eye strain rather than permanent damage to the eye.
Color blindness cannot be significantly alleviated by glasses or lenses. While there are lenses marketed towards the colorblind, their efficacy is doubted by professionals, and they do not enable wearers to see new colors.{{Cite web |author1=Almutairi, Nawaf |author2=Kundart, James |author3=Muthuramalingam, Naganathan |author4=Hayes, John |author5=Citek, Karl |author6=Aljohani, Saad |date=2017 |title=Assessment of EnChroma Filter for Correcting Color Vision Deficiency |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/141726688.pdf |access-date=24 November 2018 |website=Pacific University}}
A fever from infection does not cause brain damage by itself.{{cite web |title=Fever – Myths Versus Facts |url=https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/fever-myths-versus-facts/ |website=Seattle Children's Hospital |access-date=29 November 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Top five fever myths and facts |url=https://www.texaschildrens.org/content/wellness/top-five-fever-myths-and-facts |website=Texas Children's |access-date=29 November 2024 |language=en |date=8 November 2016}}{{cite web |title=Fever – Facts Versus Myths |url=https://www.childrensmercy.org/siteassets/media-documents-for-depts-section/documents-for-health-and-safety/fever-facts-versus-myths.pdf |website=Children's Mercy Kansas City |access-date=29 November 2024}} The myth has been linked to the association between fevers and typically non-serious febrile seizures.{{cite web |last1=Pulliam |first1=Dr Patrick |title=Fever myths and facts |url=https://www.covenantcarepediatrics.com/fever-myths-and-facts/ |website=Covenant Care Pediatrics |access-date=29 November 2024 |date=20 February 2024}}
Tourette's syndrome is not predominantly characterised by the compulsive or frequent use of profanity or taboo words and phrases (coprolalia), as it is commonly misunderstood to be. Only approximately 10% of people with Tourette's exhibit coprolalia at all, and most Tourette's tics (which can be physical or verbal) often go unnoticed by casual observers.{{cite book |vauthors=Singer HS |volume=100 |pages=641–657 |date=2011 |pmid=21496613 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-444-52014-2.00046-X |type= Historical review |series=Handbook of Clinical Neurology |isbn=978-0-444-52014-2 |chapter=Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders |title=Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders |publisher=Elsevier }} Also see {{cite journal |vauthors=Singer HS |title=Tourette's syndrome: from behaviour to biology |journal=Lancet Neurol |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–59 |date=March 2005 |pmid=15721825 |doi=10.1016/S1474-4422(05)01012-4 |s2cid=20181150 |type= Review}}

== Nutrition, food, and drink ==

Diet has little influence on the body's detoxification, and there is no evidence that detoxification diets rid the body of toxins.Compare: {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/detox-diets/AN01334|title=Do detox diets offer any health benefits?|publisher=Mayo Clinic|last=Zeratsky|first=Katherine|date=April 21, 2012|access-date=May 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216032647/https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/detox-diets/faq-20058040|archive-date=December 16, 2019|quote=[...T]here's little evidence that detox diets actually remove toxins from the body. Indeed, the kidneys and liver are generally quite effective at filtering and eliminating most ingested toxins.}}a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox_overview.html| title="Detoxification" schemes and scams|last=Barrett|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Barrett|publisher=Quackwatch|access-date = June 18, 2014|date=June 8, 2011}}

{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/detox-diets-cleansing-body-feature | title = Detox Diets: Cleansing the Body|website = WebMD| access-date = June 23, 2010 }} Toxins are metabolized and removed from the bloodstream by the liver and kidneys, and they are primarily removed from the body in urine and bile (excreted with the feces).

Drinking milk or consuming other dairy products does not increase mucus production.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Pinnock |first1=CB |last2=Graham |first2=NM |last3=Mylvaganam |first3=A |last4=Douglas |first4=RM |title=Relationship between milk intake and mucus production in adult volunteers challenged with rhinovirus-2 |journal=The American Review of Respiratory Disease |volume=141 |issue=2 |pages=352–56 |date=1990 |pmid=2154152 |doi=10.1164/ajrccm/141.2.352}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||title=Handbook of pediatric nutrition |author1=Patricia Queen Samour |author2=Kathy King Helm |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-7637-8356-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8Xgyvr9038C&pg=PA337}} As a result, they do not need to be avoided by those with the flu or cold congestion. However, milk and saliva in one's mouth mix to create a thick liquid that can briefly coat the mouth and throat. The sensation that lingers may be mistaken for increased phlegm.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Cold symptoms: Does drinking milk increase phlegm? |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/phlegm/faq-20058015 |access-date=2022-07-31 |website=Mayo Clinic |language=en}}

Drinking eight glasses (2–3 liters) of water a day is not needed to maintain health.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Valtin|first=Heinz|title="Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8 × 8"?|journal=American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology|volume=283|issue=5|date=2002|pages=R993–R1004|doi=10.1152/ajpregu.00365.2002|pmid=12376390}}

b. {{#invoke:cite news||title=Über den Durst|publisher=Die Zeit|url=http://www.zeit.de/2009/04/Stimmts|language=de|access-date=April 7, 2012}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Muss ich wirklich 3 Liter Wasser am Tag trinken|url=http://www.medipresse.de/muss-ich-wirklich-3-liter-wasser-am-tag-trinken-049.html|language=de|access-date=April 7, 2012|archive-date=September 3, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903173518/http://www.medipresse.de/muss-ich-wirklich-3-liter-wasser-am-tag-trinken-049.html}} The amount of water needed varies by person, weight, diet, activity level, clothing, and the ambient heat and humidity. Water does not actually need to be drunk in pure form, and can be derived from liquids such as juices, tea, milk, soups, etc., and from foods including fruits and vegetables.{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124371309/busting-common-hydration-water-myths | title=Busting 5 common myths about water and hydration: Life Kit | website=NPR }}

Drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages does not cause dehydration for regular drinkers, although it can for occasional drinkers.a. {{#invoke:cite journal|| author1 = Sophie C. Killer | author2 = Andrew K. Blannin | author3 = Asker E. Jeukendrup | s2cid = 18643248 | title = No Evidence of Dehydration with Moderate Daily Coffee Intake: A Counterbalanced Cross-Over Study in a Free-Living Population | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 9 | issue = 1 | pages = e84154 | date = January 2014 | pmid = 24416202 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0084154| pmc = 3886980 | bibcode = 2014PLoSO...984154K | doi-access = free }}

b. {{cite magazine |first=Alexa |last=Erickson |date=May 11, 2017 |url=https://www.rd.com/article/is-coffee-a-diuretic/ |title=Science Just Debunked a Coffee Myth That's Been Around Since 1928 |magazine=Reader's Digest}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||first1=Ronald J.|last1=Maughan|first2=Phillip|last2=Watson|first3=Philip A.A.|last3=Cordery|first4=Neil P.|last4=Walsh|first5=Samuel J.|last5=Oliver|first6=Alberto|last6=Dolci|first7=Nidia|last7=Rodriguez-Sanchez|first8=Stuart|last8=Galloway|s2cid = 378245|title=A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=103|issue=3|pages=717–23|date=December 23, 2015|pmid = 26702122|doi = 10.3945/ajcn.115.114769|doi-access=free|hdl=1893/22892|hdl-access=free}}

Eating disorders do not exclusively affect women: women are merely more likely than men to suffer from eating disorders.{{cite book |vauthors=El Hayek R, Sfeir M, AlMutairi MS, Alqadheeb B, El Hayek S |year=2024 |pages=347–372 |chapter=Chapter 16: Myths about diet and mental health |veditors=Mohamed W, Kobeissy F |title=Nutrition and Psychiatric Disorders |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-981-97-2681-3_16}}
Neither spicy food nor coffee has a significant effect on the development of peptic ulcers.{{#invoke:cite book||editor=Raphael Rubin|editor2=David S. Strayer|editor3=Emanuel Rubin|editor4=Gonzalo Aponte|title=Rubin's pathology: clinicopathologic foundations of medicine|date=2012|publisher=Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|location=Philadelphia, PA|isbn=978-1-60547-968-2|page=623|edition=6th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wb2TzY9AgJ0C&pg=PA623}}
Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.{{anchor|Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children}}

a. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Vreeman R. C. |author2=Carroll A.E.|title=Festive medical myths|journal=BMJ|volume=337|page=a2769|date=2008|pmid=19091758|doi=10.1136/bmj.a2769|s2cid=29006871}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.uamshealth.com/?id=877&sid=1|title=Medical Myths |publisher=University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences|access-date=February 10, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140109065139/http://www.uamshealth.com/?id=877&sid=1 | archive-date = January 9, 2014| url-status=live}} Double-blind trials have shown no difference in behavior between children given sugar-full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or those considered sensitive to sugar.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Fullerton-Smith|first=Jill|title=The Truth About Food|publisher=Bloomsbury|date=2007|pages=115–17|isbn=978-0-7475-8685-2|quote=Most parents assume that children plus sugary foods equals raucous and uncontrollable behaviour. ... according to nutrition experts, the belief that children experience a 'sugar high' is a myth.}} A 2019 meta-analysis found no positive effect of sugar consumption on mood but did find an association with lower alertness and increased fatigue within an hour of consumption, known as a sugar crash.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Mantantzis|first1=Konstantinos|last2=Schlaghecken|first2=Friederike|last3=Sünram-Lea|first3=Sandra I.|last4=Maylor|first4=Elizabeth A.|date=June 1, 2019|title=Sugar rush or sugar crash? A meta-analysis of carbohydrate effects on mood|journal=Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews|language=en|volume=101|pages=45–67|doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.016|pmid=30951762|s2cid=92575160|url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/115618/1/WRAP-Sugar-rush-crash-meta-analysis-carbohydrate-effects-mood-Maylor-2019.pdf}} Sugar can however lead to jump in blood sugar levels, causing temporary hyperactivity even if it does not cause clinical hyperactivity. {{cite web | url=https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002426.htm | title=Hyperactivity and sugar: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia }}

Eating nuts, popcorn, or seeds does not increase the risk of diverticulitis.{{#invoke:cite news||last=Atkins|first=William|title=Diverticulitis isn't anti-nut any more|url=http://discuss.itwire.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=6493|access-date=July 1, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120404030039/http://discuss.itwire.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=6493 | archive-date = April 4, 2012}} These foods may actually have a protective effect.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Weisberger|first=L|author2=Jamieson, B |title=Clinical inquiries: How can you help prevent a recurrence of diverticulitis?|journal=The Journal of Family Practice|date=July 2009|volume=58|issue=7|pages=381–82|pmid=19607778}}
Eating less than an hour before swimming does not significantly increase the risk of experiencing muscle cramps, and does not increase the risk of drowning. One study shows a correlation between alcohol consumption and drowning, but not between eating and stomach cramps.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/health/28real.html|title=The Claim: Never Swim After Eating |work=The New York Times|date=June 28, 2005|access-date=January 16, 2011|first=Anahad|last=O'Connor}}; {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hourwait.asp|title=Hour Missed Brooks|website=Snopes|date=January 3, 2005|access-date=January 16, 2011 }}
Vegan and vegetarian diets can provide enough protein for adequate nutrition.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Webb|first = Densie|title=Defending Vegan Diets – RDs Aim to Clear Up Common Misconceptions About Vegan Diets|journal = Today's Dietician|page = 20|date = September 2010|url=http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/082510p20.shtml|access-date =March 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214120735/http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/082510p20.shtml|archive-date=December 14, 2013|url-status=live}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.acefitness.org/blog/86/are-vegetarian-diets-safe/|title=Are vegetarian diets safe?|last=Matthews|first=Jessica|publisher=American Council on Exercise|date=November 4, 2009|access-date=March 9, 2011|website=Ask the Expert|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106231722/http://www.acefitness.org/blog/86/are-vegetarian-diets-safe|archive-date=January 6, 2013|url-status=live}} In fact, typical protein intakes of ovo-lacto vegetarians meet or exceed requirements.{{#invoke:cite book||title=The dietitian's guide to vegetarian diets |last=Messina |first=Virginia |author2=Reed Mangles |author3=Mark Messina |date=2004 |publisher=Jones and Bartlett Publishers |location=Sudbury, MA |isbn=978-0-7637-3241-7}} The American Dietetic Association maintains that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful.{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association|year=2009 |pmid=19562864 |last1=Craig |first1=W. J. |last2=Mangels |first2=A. R. |author3=American Dietetic Association |volume=109 |issue=7 |pages=1266–1282 |doi=10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027 |s2cid=7906168 |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/1954 }} However, a vegan diet does require supplementation of vitamin B₁₂, and vitamin B₁₂ deficiency occurs in up to 80% of vegans that do not supplement their diet.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Woo |first1=Kam |last2=Kwok |first2=Timothy |last3=Celermajer |first3=David |date=19 August 2014 |title=Vegan Diet, Subnormal Vitamin B-12 Status and Cardiovascular Health |journal=Nutrients |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=3259–3273 |doi=10.3390/nu6083259 |pmc=4145307 |pmid=25195560 |doi-access=free}} Consuming no animal products increases the risk of deficiencies of vitamins B₁₂ and D, calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids,{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Zampelas A, Magriplis E |date=February 2020 |title=Dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a review of the evidence |journal=Proc Nutr Soc |type=Review |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=68–75 |doi=10.1017/S0029665119000946 |pmid=31250769 |s2cid=195757764 |quote=Few studies have reported the health benefits of vegan diets and therefore no conclusive evidence can be proposed|doi-access=free }} and sometimes iodine.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Eveleigh |first1=Elizabeth R. |last2=Coneyworth |first2=Lisa J. |last3=Avery |first3=Amanda |last4=Welham |first4=Simon J. M. |date=2020-05-29 |title=Vegans, Vegetarians, and Omnivores: How Does Dietary Choice Influence Iodine Intake? A Systematic Review |journal=Nutrients |volume=12 |issue=6 |pages=E1606 |doi=10.3390/nu12061606 |issn=2072-6643 |pmc=7352501 |pmid=32486114 |doi-access=free}} Vegans are also at risk of low bone mineral density without supplementation for the aforementioned nutrients.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Iguacel |first1=Isabel |last2=Miguel-Berges |first2=María L |last3=Gómez-Bruton |first3=Alejandro |last4=Moreno |first4=Luis A |last5=Julián |first5=Cristina |date=January 2019 |title=Veganism, vegetarianism, bone mineral density, and fracture risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis |url=http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/84310 |journal=Nutrition Reviews |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1093/nutrit/nuy045 |pmid=30376075 |s2cid=53111636 |doi-access=free}}

Swallowed chewing gum does not take seven years to digest. Chewing gum is mostly indigestible, and passes through the digestive system at the same rate as other matter.a. {{cite magazine |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-chewing-gum-takes-seven-years-to-digest |title=Fact or Fiction?: Chewing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest |magazine=Scientific American |first=John |last=Matson |date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=February 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109065142/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-chewing-gum-takes-seven-years-to-digest |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=live}}

b. [http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/chewgum.asp Claim: Chewing gum takes seven years to pass through the digestive system; FALSE]

The beta carotene in carrots does not enhance night vision beyond normal levels for people receiving an adequate amount, only in those with a deficiency of vitamin A.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamina.asp |title=Fact sheet for health professionals: Vitamin A |date=June 3, 2013 |access-date=December 29, 2016 |website=Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517093019/http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamina.asp |archive-date=May 17, 2008 }} The belief that it does may have originated from World War II British disinformation meant to explain the Royal Air Force's improved success in night battles, which was actually due to radar and the use of red lights on instrument panels.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-carrots-improve-your-vision/ |title=Fact or Fiction?: Carrots Improve Your Vision |website=Scientific American |author=Maron DF|date=June 23, 2014|access-date=December 29, 2016}}
Spinach is not a particularly good source of dietary iron. While it does contain more iron than many vegetables such as asparagus, Swiss chard, kale, or arugula, it contains only about one-third to one-fifth of the iron in lima beans, chickpeas, apricots, or wheat germ. Additionally, the non-heme iron found in spinach and other vegetables is not as readily absorbed as the heme iron found in meats and fish.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Dunkin |first=Mary Anne |title=Top Iron-Rich Foods List |url=https://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=WebMD |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=High Iron Content of Spinach – More Than a Myth? |url=https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/spinach-iron-content.php |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=www.healwithfood.org}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Mielewczik |first1=M. |last2=Moll |first2=J. |date=2016 |title=Spinach in Blunderland: How the myth that spinach is rich in iron became an urban academic legend |url=https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/8wq15/spinach-in-blunderland-how-the-myth-that-spinach-is-rich-in-iron-became-an-urban-academic-legend |journal=Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology |volume=21 |pages=61–142 |doi=10.17875/gup2018-1125|doi-access=free }}
Most cases of obesity are not related to slower resting metabolism. Resting metabolic rate does not vary much between people. Overweight people tend to underestimate the amount of food they eat, and underweight people tend to overestimate. In fact, overweight people tend to have faster metabolic rates due to the increased energy required by the larger body.a. {{#invoke:cite news||title=Does metabolism vary between two people?|url=https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people|newspaper=Examine.com|date=January 28, 2013}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||first1=Kevin D.|last1=Hall|first2=Steven B.|last2=Heymsfield|first3=Joseph W.|last3=Kemnitz|first4=Samuel|last4=Klein|first5=Dale A.|last5=Schoeller|first6=John R.|last6=Speakman|title=Energy balance and its components: implications for body weight regulation|journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|date=April 1, 2012|issn=1938-3207|pages=989–94|volume=95|issue=4|pmid=22434603|doi=10.3945/ajcn.112.036350|pmc=3302369}}

c. {{#invoke:cite news||title=The truth about slow metabolism|url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/expert-answers/slow-metabolism/faq-20058480|newspaper=Mayo Clinic}}

d. {{#invoke:cite news||first1=Tim|last1=Crowe|title=Monday's medical myth: 'my slow metabolism makes me fat'|url=http://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-my-slow-metabolism-makes-me-fat-4962|newspaper=The Conversation}}

e. {{#invoke:cite journal||first1=Catharine|last1=Wang|first2=Elliot J.|last2=Coups|title=Causal beliefs about obesity and associated health behaviors: results from a population-based survey|journal=International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity|date=March 3, 2010|issn=1479-5868|page=19|volume=7|doi=10.1186/1479-5868-7-19|pmid=20199677|pmc=2842229 |doi-access=free }}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Barry|first1=Colleen L.|last2=Brescoll|first2=Victoria L.|last3=Brownell |first3=Kelly D.|last4=Schlesinger|first4=Mark|title=Obesity Metaphors: How Beliefs about the Causes of Obesity Affect Support for Public Policy|journal=The Milbank Quarterly|date=2009|volume=87|issue=1|pages=7–47|pmid=19298414|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00546.x|pmc=2879183|citeseerx=10.1.1.175.4460}}

g. {{#invoke:cite journal||first1=J. Eric|last1=Oliver|first2=Taeku|last2=Lee|title=Public Opinion and the Politics of Obesity in America|journal=Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law|date=October 1, 2005|issn=0361-6878 |pages=923–954|volume=30|issue=5|pmid=16477792|doi=10.1215/03616878-30-5-923}}

h. {{#invoke:cite journal||first1=C. R.|last1=Hankey|first2=S.|last2=Eley|first3=W. S.|last3=Leslie|first4=C. M.|last4=Hunter|first5=M. E. J.|last5=Lean|title=Eating habits, beliefs, attitudes and knowledge among health professionals regarding the links between obesity, nutrition and health|journal=Public Health Nutrition|date=2004|issn=1368-9800|pages=337–43|volume=7|issue=2|pmid=15003142|doi=10.1079/PHN2003526|doi-access=free}}

i. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/metabolism-and-weight-loss/|title=How can I speed up my metabolism?|date=April 26, 2018|website=nhs.uk|language=en|access-date=August 16, 2019}}

Eating normal amounts of soy does not cause hormonal imbalance.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://ucdintegrativemedicine.com/2015/06/the-startling-truth-about-soy/|title=The Startling Truth About Soy|first=Rosane|last=Oliveira|work=UC Davis Integrative Medicine |date=June 9, 2015|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331193006/https://ucdintegrativemedicine.com/2015/06/the-startling-truth-about-soy/}}

b. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/soya-male-body-health-side-effects-truth-milk-sexual-function-a8382976.html|title=The truth about what soya does to men's bodies|date=June 12, 2018|website=The Independent}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||title=Misconception and Concerns about Bioidentical Hormones Used for Custom-Compounded Hormone Therapy|first1=Frank Z.|last1=Stanczyk|first2=Bhagu R.|last2=Bhavnani|date=March 1, 2012|journal=The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism|volume=97|issue=3|pages=756–59|doi=10.1210/jc.2011-2492|pmid=22205711|doi-access=free}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.huhs.edu/sites/default/files/files/Soy%20protein%20article.pdf |title=Soy |website=www.huhs.edu }}

e. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/style/sperm-count.html|title=The Dawning of Sperm Awareness|first=Nellie|last=Bowles|work=The New York Times|date=July 25, 2018|via=NYTimes.com}}

==== Alcoholic beverages ====

Alcoholic beverages do not make the entire body warmer.a. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kG5BAAAAIBAJ&pg=5953,3984482|title=Popular Misconceptions Regarding Intoxication|last=Brandstadt|first=William G.|date=December 19, 1967|work=Middlesboro Daily News|access-date=January 13, 2011}}

b. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y7QOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6314,2739204|title=Hypothermia main outdoors threat|last=Pierson|first=Rebecca|date=December 9, 2004|work=Elizabethton Star|access-date=January 13, 2011}}

c. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AnRaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6238%2C1782448|title=Writer Tells Of Alcohol Dangers, Misconceptions|last=Seixas|first=Judy|date=April 15, 1977|work=The Virgin Islands Daily News|access-date=January 13, 2011}} Alcoholic drinks create the sensation of warmth because they cause blood vessels to dilate and stimulate nerve endings near the surface of the skin with an influx of warm blood. This can actually result in making the core body temperature lower, as it allows for easier heat exchange with a cold external environment.

Alcohol does not necessarily kill brain cells.{{#invoke:cite news||url=http://www.news.com.au/national/study-finds-alcohol-doesnt-kill-off-brain-cells/story-e6frfkp9-1111113923217|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129195758/http://www.news.com.au/national/study-finds-alcohol-doesnt-kill-off-brain-cells/story-e6frfkp9-1111113923217|archive-date=November 29, 2016|title=Study finds alcohol doesn't kill off brain cells | News.com.au|access-date=March 10, 2019|date=July 10, 2007 }} Alcohol can, however, lead indirectly to the death of brain cells in two ways. First, in chronic, heavy alcohol users whose brains have adapted to the effects of alcohol, abrupt ceasing following heavy use can cause excitotoxicity leading to cellular death in multiple areas of the brain.{{#invoke:cite journal||author=Lovinger, D. M.|date=1993| title=Excitotoxicity and Alcohol-Related Brain Damage |journal=Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research |volume=17 |issue=1|pages=19–27 |doi=10.1111/j.1530-0277.1993.tb00720.x|pmid=8383925}} Second, in alcoholics who get most of their daily calories from alcohol, a deficiency of thiamine can produce Korsakoff's syndrome, which is associated with serious brain damage.{{#invoke:cite journal||author=Kopelman M. D.|author2=Thomson A.D.|author3=Guerrini I.|author4=Marshall E.J.|title=The Korsakoff syndrome: clinical aspects, psychology and treatment|journal=Alcohol and Alcoholism |volume=44|issue=2 |pages=148–54 |date=2009 |pmid=19151162|doi=10.1093/alcalc/agn118|doi-access=free}}
The order in which different types of alcoholic beverages are consumed ("Grape or grain but never the twain" and "Beer before liquor never sicker; liquor before beer in the clear") does not affect intoxication or create adverse side effects.{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Grape or grain but never the twain? A randomized controlled multiarm matched-triplet crossover trial of beer and wine|first1=Jöran|last1=Köchling|first2=Berit|last2=Geis|first3=Stefan|last3=Wirth |first4=Kai O.|last4=Hensel|date=February 1, 2019|journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition|volume=109|issue=2|pages=345–52|doi=10.1093/ajcn/nqy309|pmid=30753321|pmc=6410559}}
Authentic absinthe has no hallucinogenic properties, and is no more dangerous than any other alcoholic beverage of equivalent proof.{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact|doi=10.1186/1747-597X-1-14 |pmid=16722551 |pmc=1475830 |year=2006 |last1=Padosch |first1=Stephan A |last2=Lachenmeier |first2=Dirk W |last3=Kröner |first3=Lars U |journal=Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy |volume=1 |page=14 |doi-access=free }} This misconception stems from late-19th- and early-20th-century distillers who produced cheap knockoff versions of absinthe, which used copper salts to recreate the distinct green color of true absinthe, and some also reportedly adulterated cheap absinthe with poisonous antimony trichloride, reputed to enhance the louche effect.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.lafeeabsinthe.com/absinthe-news-newsmenu-131/205-class-magazine-may-2009 |title=Class Mag May/June 2009 La Fee |publisher=Lafeeabsinthe.com |access-date=2 December 2016 |archive-date=December 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202172106/http://www.lafeeabsinthe.com/absinthe-news-newsmenu-131/205-class-magazine-may-2009 }}

== Sexuality and reproduction ==

Older adults are not necessarily sexually inactive nor have they lost interest in sex; although the frequency of sexual activity tends to decline with age, older adults are still sexually active. One survey in England of people aged 60–69 recorded 86% of men and 60% of women as sexually active.{{cite journal |vauthors=Steckenrider J |title=Sexual activity of older adults: let's talk about it |journal=Lancet Healthy Longev |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=e96–e97 |date=March 2023 |pmid=36739874 |doi=10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00003-X |url=}}
"Double bagging", the practice of using two condoms at once, is not an extra-effective method of birth control; instead such use is more likely to cause condom breakage due to friction between the condoms.{{cite journal | vauthors=Kopa Z, Scafa R, Graziani A, Goulis DG, Ferlin A | title=Male contraception: Focus on behavioral and barrier methods | journal=Andrology | date=29 July 2024 | volume=12 | issue=7 | pages=1535–1540 | issn=2047-2919 | doi=10.1111/andr.13722 | pmid=39075932 |type=Review| doi-access=free }}
It is not possible to get pregnant from semen released in a commercial swimming pool without penetration. The sperm cells would be quickly killed by the chlorinated water and would not survive long enough to reach the vagina.a. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Mikkelson |first=David |date=2009-07-12 |title=Sperm in Swimming Pool |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pool-party/ |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=Snopes |language=en-US}}
b. {{#invoke:cite news||last=Andelane |first=Lana |date=2020-02-26 |title=Family Planning debunks claim women can get pregnant 'without penetration' in pools |language=en |work=Newshub |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2020/02/family-planning-debunks-claim-women-can-get-pregnant-without-penetration-in-pools.html |access-date=2022-07-23}}
c. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Taylor |first=Magdalene |date=2020-06-13 |title=Fact-Checking the Urban Legends About Getting Pregnant in Swimming Pools |url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/swimming-pool-pregnancy-sperm |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=MEL Magazine |language=en-US}}
d. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Ewe |first=Koh |date=2020-02-24 |title=Indonesian Government Official Sitti Hikmawatty Thinks Women Can Get Pregnant From Swimming in Pools With Men |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7enze/strong-sperm-women-pregnant-swimming-pool-indonesian-official |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=Vice |language=en}}
An examination of the hymen is not an accurate or reliable indicator that a woman or girl has had penetrative sex, because the tearing of the hymen may have been the result of some other event, and some women are born without one.{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Perlman |first1=Sally E. |url=https://archive.org/details/clinicalprotocol0000perl |title=Clinical protocols in pediatric and adolescent gynecology |last2=Nakajyma |first2=Steven T. |last3=Hertweck |first3=S. Paige |publisher=Parthenon |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84214-199-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/clinicalprotocol0000perl/page/131 131] |url-access=registration}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://nerdfighteria.info/v/CnRCI2cjg9U/|title=The Hymen Doesn't Tell You Anything About a Person|date=December 14, 2019|work=SciShow|last=Green |first=Hank |author-link=Hank Green}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Mishori |first1=R. |last2=Ferdowsian |first2=H. |last3=Naimer |first3=K. |last4=Volpellier |first4=M. |last5=McHale |first5=T. |date=2019-06-03 |title=The little tissue that couldn't – dispelling myths about the Hymen's role in determining sexual history and assault |journal=Reproductive Health |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=74 |doi=10.1186/s12978-019-0731-8 |pmc=6547601 |pmid=31159818 |doi-access=free}} Virginity tests, such as the "two-finger" test, are unscientific.{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Perlman |first1=Sally E. |title=Clinical protocols in pediatric and adolescent gynecology |last2=Nakajyma |first2=Steven T. |last3=Hertweck |first3=S. Paige |publisher=Parthenon |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-84214-199-1 |page=131}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/17-10-2018-united-nations-agencies-call-for-ban-on-virginity-testing|title=United Nations agencies call for ban on virginity testing|date=October 17, 2018|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=October 22, 2018}}[http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ovw/206554.pdf A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708172707/http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ovw/206554.pdf|date=July 8, 2011}} National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). September 2004
Hand size{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/08/health/trump-small-hands-penis/index.html|title=Trump: Do small hands equal small penis, or a myth?|first=Jen | last=Christensen|publisher=CNN}} and foot size{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Shah |first1=J. |last2=Christopher |first2=N. |title=Can shoe size predict penile length? |journal=BJU International |date=2002 |volume=90 |issue=6 |pages=586–587 |doi=10.1046/j.1464-410X.2002.02974.x |pmid=12230622 |s2cid=20887458 |url=https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2002.02974.x |access-date=January 28, 2022 |language=en |issn=1464-410X}} do not correlate with human penis size, but finger length ratio may.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/04/news/la-heb-finger-ratio-penis-length-20110704|title=Judging penis size by comparing index, ring fingers|first=Thomas H. |last=Maugh II|date=July 4, 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}
While pregnancies from sex between first cousins do carry a slightly elevated risk of birth defects, this risk is often exaggerated.{{#invoke:cite news||first = Sarah |last = Kershaw |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/garden/26cousins.html |title = Shaking Off the Shame |date = November 26, 2009 | work=The New York Times}} The risk is 5–6% (similar to that of a woman in her early 40s giving birth),{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Bennett|first1=Robin L.|last2=Motulsky|first2=Arno G.|last3=Bittles|first3=Alan|last4=Hudgins|first4=Louanne|last5=Uhrich|first5=Stefanie|last6=Doyle |first6=Debra Lochner |last7=Silvey|first7=Kerry|last8=Scott|first8=C. Ronald|last9=Cheng|first9=Edith|last10=McGillivray|first10=Barbara|last11=Steiner|first11=Robert D.|last12=Olson|first12=Debra|title=Genetic Counseling and Screening of Consanguineous Couples and Their Offspring|journal=Journal of Genetic Counseling|date=2002|volume=11|issue=2|pages=97–119|doi=10.1023/A:1014593404915|pmid=26141656|s2cid=23922750|doi-access=free}} compared with a baseline risk of 3–4%. The effects of inbreeding depression, while still relatively small compared to other factors (and thus difficult to control for in a scientific experiment), become more noticeable if isolated and maintained for several generations.a. {{#invoke:cite journal|| pmc = 1377721 | pmid=9915962 | doi=10.1086/302198 | volume=64 | issue=1 | title=Inbreeding effects on fertility in humans: evidence for reproductive compensation | date=January 1999 | journal=Am. J. Hum. Genet. | pages=225–31 | last1 = Ober | first1 = C | last2 = Hyslop | first2 = T | last3 = Hauck | first3 = WW}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal|| doi=10.1038/ejhg.2008.237|pmid = 19092776| pmc=2986271| title=Impact of inbreeding on fertility in a pre-industrial population| journal=European Journal of Human Genetics| volume=17| issue=5| pages=673–81| year=2009| last1=Robert| first1=Alexandre| last2=Toupance| first2=Bruno| last3=Tremblay| first3=Marc| last4=Heyer| first4=Evelyne}}

Having sex before a sporting event or contest is not physiologically detrimental to performance.{{#invoke:cite journal||url=http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060609/full/news060605-16.html |title=Sex before the big game? |journal=Nature |date=June 9, 2006 |access-date=January 16, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104140935/http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060609/full/news060605-16.html |archive-date= November 4, 2012 |url-status=live |doi=10.1038/news060605-16 |author=Ainsworth Claire |s2cid=179920555}} In fact some studies suggest that sex prior to sports activity can elevate male testosterone levels (which could potentially enhance performance for male athletes), while long periods of abstinence can reduce those levels.{{cite magazine |title=Sex and Sports: Should Athletes Abstain Before Big Events? |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/0222_060222_sex.html |magazine=National Geographic |date=February 22, 2006 |access-date=January 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301110507/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/0222_060222_sex.html |archive-date=March 1, 2014}}
The heightened sensitivity some women experience at the G-spot is not due to it being a distinct anatomical structure, but rather because pressure in that area may stimulate other internal structures, notably the Skene's gland. Many sexologists take issue with the term, concerned that women who "fail to find their G-spot" may feel abnormal.a. {{#invoke:cite book||first1=Richard |last1=Balon |first2=Robert Taylor |last2=Segraves|title=Clinical Manual of Sexual Disorders |publisher= American Psychiatric Publishing|year=2009|access-date=January 24, 2014|page=258|isbn=978-1-58562-905-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuP3Hb0TMLQC&pg=PA258}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||first1=Jerrold S.|last1=Greenberg|first2=Clint E.|last2=Bruess|first3=Sara B. |last3=Oswalt|title=Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality|pages=102–04|isbn=978-1-4496-4851-0|date=2014|access-date=October 30, 2014|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hm3aTuANFroC&pg=PA102}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Hines T |s2cid=32381437 |date=August 2001 |title=The G-Spot: A modern gynecologic myth |journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol |volume=185 |issue=2 |pages=359–62 | doi=10.1067/mob.2001.115995 |pmid=11518892}}

d. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Kilchevsky |first1=A |last2=Vardi |first2=Y |last3=Lowenstein|first3=L|last4=Gruenwald |first4=I|title=Is the Female G-Spot Truly a Distinct Anatomic Entity?|journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine|volume= 9|issue= 3|pages= 719–26|date=January 2012|pmid=22240236|doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02623.x}}

e. {{lay source |template=cite news |date=January 19, 2012 |title=G-Spot Does Not Exist, 'Without A Doubt,' Say Researchers |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/g-spot-does-not-exist_n_1215822.html |work=Huffington Post}}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Vincenzo Puppo|date=June 6, 2012 |title=Does the G-spot exist? A review of the current literature|journal=International Urogynecology Journal|volume=23 |issue=12 |pages=1665–1669 | doi=10.1007/s00192-012-1831-y |pmid=22669428 |s2cid=1861061 |url=https://rdcu.be/c0ly8|quote="All published scientific data point to the fact that the G-spot does not exist..."}}

Closeted or latent homosexuality is not correlated with internalized homophobia. A 1996 study claiming a connection in men{{#invoke:cite journal||pmid=8772014|year=1996|vauthors=Adams HE, Wright Jr LW, Lohr BA|title=Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?|volume=105|issue=3|pages=440–45|journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology|doi=10.1037/0021-843X.105.3.440|url=http://my.psychologytoday.com/files/u47/Henry_et_al.pdf|access-date=June 14, 2021|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170703071551/http://my.psychologytoday.com/files/u47/Henry_et_al.pdf}} has not been verified by subsequent studies, including a 2013 study that found no correlation.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=MacInnis |first1=Cara C. |last2=Hodson |first2=Gordon |title=Is Homophobia Associated with an Implicit Same-Sex Attraction? |journal=Journal of Sex Research |date=November 2013 |volume=50 |issue=8 |pages=777–785 |doi=10.1080/00224499.2012.690111 |pmid=22989040 |s2cid=205442892 }}
The menstrual cycles of women who live together do not tend to synchronize. A 1971 study made this claim, but subsequent research has not supported it.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-women-who-live-together-menstruate-together |title=Do Women Who Live Together Menstruate Together? |first=Anna |last=Gosline |date=December 7, 2007 |publisher=Scientific American |access-date=January 2, 2012}}{{#invoke:cite journal||doi=10.1080/00224499.2012.763085 |title=Darwin's Legacy: An Evolutionary View of Women's Reproductive and Sexual Functioning |year=2013 |last1=Harris |first1=Amy L. |last2=Vitzthum |first2=Virginia J. |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=50 |issue=3–4 |pages=207–46 |pmid=23480070|s2cid=30229421 }}
There is no evidence that English-speaking Christian missionaries encouraged converts to use the Missionary Position in the colonial era. This notion probably originated from Alfred Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) through misunderstandings and misinterpretations of historical documents.{{cite web |url=https://www.straightdope.com/21343722/assuming-the-missionary-position-again |title=Assuming the missionary position… again |date=2005-06-17 |work=The Straight Dope |publisher=Cecil Adams |access-date=2024-03-16 |archive-date=2024-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316204023/https://www.straightdope.com/21343722/assuming-the-missionary-position-again |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last=Priest |first=Robert J. |title=Missionary Positions: Christian, Modernist, and Postmodernist |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=42 |issue=1 |year=2001 |doi=10.1086/318433 |pages=29–68 |pmid=14992209|s2cid=224796898 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/318433?seq=1}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a38746/things-you-didnt-know-about-missionary-sex/ |title=8 Things You Never Knew About Missionary Sex|date=2017-04-08 |access-date=2024-03-16 |url-status=live }}

== Skin and hair ==

Water-induced wrinkles are not caused by the skin absorbing water and swelling.{{#invoke:cite news||last=Botcharova|first=Maria|title=A gripping tale: scientists claim to have discovered why skin wrinkles in water|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jan/09/skin-wrinkle-water-grip?intcmp=239|access-date=January 28, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 10, 2013 }} They are caused by the autonomic nervous system, which triggers localized vasoconstriction in response to wet skin, yielding a wrinkled appearance.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Changizi|first1=Mark |last2=Weber|first2=Romann |last3=Kotecha|first3=Ritesh |last4=Palazzo|first4=Joseph |title=Are Wet-Induced Wrinkled Fingers Primate Rain Treads?|journal=Brain Behav. Evol.|date=2011 |volume=77|pages=286–90|doi=10.1159/000328223|pmid=21701145|issue=4|doi-access=free}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Kareklas|first=Kyriacos|author2=Nettle, Daniel |author3=Smulders, Tom V. |title=Water-induced finger wrinkles improve handling of wet objects|journal=Biol. Lett.|date=April 23, 2013|volume=9|issue=2 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2012.0999|pmid=23302867|page=20120999|pmc=3639753}}

A person's hair and fingernails do not continue to grow after death. Rather, the skin dries and shrinks away from the bases of hairs and nails, giving the appearance of growth.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Graham-Brown|first=Robin |author2=Tony Burns |title=Lecture Notes on Dermatology|publisher=Blackwell|date=2007|page=6|isbn=978-1-4051-3977-9}}
Shaving does not cause terminal hair to grow back thicker or darker. This belief is thought to be due to the fact that hair that has never been cut has a tapered end, so after cutting, the base of the hair is blunt and appears thicker and feels coarser. That short hairs are less flexible than longer hairs contributes to this effect.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://snopes.com/oldwives/hairgrow.asp|title=Shaved Hair Grows Darker|website=Snopes|date=October 2, 2003 |access-date=August 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101222541/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-removal/an00638|archive-date=January 1, 2014|url-status=live}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-removal/an00638|title=Does shaving make hair grow back thicker?|website=Mayo Clinic|date=October 26, 2011|access-date=February 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101222541/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-removal/an00638|archive-date=January 1, 2014|url-status=live}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.webmd.com/skin-beauty/shaving-tips-girls?page=2|title=Shaving Tips for Teen Girls|website=WebMD|access-date=February 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101222541/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-removal/an00638|archive-date=January 1, 2014|url-status=live}}

MC1R, the gene mostly responsible for red hair, is not becoming extinct, nor will the gene for blond hair do so, although both are recessive alleles. Redheads and blonds may become rarer but will not die out unless everyone who carries those alleles dies without passing their hair color genes on to their children.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Silverman|first=Jacob|title=Are redheads going extinct?|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/redhead-extinction.htm|publisher=HowStuffWorks|access-date=July 15, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121203143345/http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/redhead-extinction.htm | archive-date = December 3, 2012| url-status=live|date=September 9, 2007}}
Acne is not caused by a lack of hygiene or eating fatty foods, though certain medication or a carbohydrate-rich diet may worsen it.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Acne |url=https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acne/symptoms-causes/syc-20368047 |website=Mayo Clinic |access-date=August 20, 2021}}
Dandruff is not caused by poor hygiene, though infrequent hair-washing can make it more obvious. The exact causes of dandruff are uncertain, but they are believed to be mostly genetic and environmental factors.a. {{#invoke:cite web||title=How to treat dandruff |url=https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/hair-scalp-care/scalp/treat-dandruff |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=American Academy of Dermatology |language=en |quote=Many people believe that dandruff is caused by poor hygiene, but this is not true.}}
b. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Rosenblum |first=Katie |date=September 25, 2019 |title=Dandruff: What It Is and What to Do About It |url=https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/what-is-dandruff.html |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Cedars-Sinai |language=en-US |quote=It's often associated with poor hygiene, but that's a misconception—no one's really sure what causes it.}}
c. {{#invoke:cite web||date=October 18, 2017 |title=Dandruff |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dandruff/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=NHS |language=en |quote=Dandruff is not caused by poor hygiene, although it may be more obvious if you do not wash your hair regularly.}}

= Inventions =

James Watt did not invent the steam engine,a. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Rolt|first=L. T. C.|title=James Watt|date=1962|publisher=Batsford|isbn=978-1-163-47052-7|page=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNrlAAAAIAAJ}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Carroll|first=John Millar|title=Designing interaction: psychology at the human-computer interface|date=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-40056-5|page=76|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=coY6AAAAIAAJ}}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Green|first=Joey|title=Contrary to Popular Belief: More Than 250 False Facts Revealed|date=2005|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=978-0-7679-1992-0|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ew38DByz-DQC}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://physicsworldarchive.iop.org/index.cfm?action=summary&doc=3%2F12%2Fphwv3i12a41%40pwa-xml&qt=|title=Invention – Myth and Reality|publisher=Physics World|date=1990}} nor were his ideas on steam engine power inspired by a kettle lid pressured open by steam.{{#invoke:cite journal||title=True Myths: James Watt's Kettle, His Condenser, and His Chemistry|date=2004|bibcode=2004HisSc..42..333M|last1=Miller|first1=David Philip|volume=42|issue=3|pages=333–60|journal=History of Science|doi=10.1177/007327530404200304|s2cid=161722497}} Watt improved upon the already commercially successful Newcomen atmospheric engine (invented in 1712) in the 1760s and 1770s, making certain improvements critical to its future usage, particularly the external condenser, increasing its efficiency, and later the mechanism for transforming reciprocating motion into rotary motion; his new steam engine later gained huge fame as a result.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://dspace.dsto.defence.gov.au/dspace/bitstream/1947/3295/1/DSTO-RR-0287%20PR.pdf|title=An Evolutionary Framework for Experimental Innovation|publisher=Australian Government Department of Defence Defence Science and Technology Organisation|access-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815072201/http://dspace.dsto.defence.gov.au/dspace/bitstream/1947/3295/1/DSTO-RR-0287%20PR.pdf|archive-date=August 15, 2011}}

Although the guillotine was named after the French physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, he neither invented nor was executed with this device. He died peacefully in his own bed in 1814. Rather, it was Guillotin's speech favoring beheadings over other forms of execution that led to the device being referred to as "La machine Guillotine" and later simply guillotine.{{#invoke:cite web||access-date=June 5, 2020|title=Origins of the Guillotine|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/head-man/|website=Snopes|date=September 4, 2011 }}
Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/business/names/crapper.asp|title=Thomas Crapper|work=Snopes|date=February 22, 2007|access-date=December 13, 2008 }} A forerunner of the modern toilet was invented by the Elizabethan courtier Sir John Harington in the 16th century,{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Kinghorn|first=Jonathan| title=A Privvie in Perfection: Sir John Harrington's Water Closet | journal=Bath History | volume=1 | date=1986 | pages=173–88 }} {{ISBN|978-0-86299-294-1}} and in 1775 the Scottish mechanic Alexander Cumming developed and patented a design for a toilet with an S-trap and flushing mechanism.{{#invoke:cite news||title=From Charles Mackintosh's waterproof to Dolly the sheep: 43 innovations Scotland has given the world|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charles-mackintosh-chemist-waterproof-google-doodle-scotland-inventions-innovation-bicycles-a7499911.html|work=The independent|date=December 30, 2016}} Crapper, however, did much to increase the popularity of the flush toilet and introduced several innovations in the late 19th century, holding nine patents, including one for the floating ballcock.{{#invoke:cite news||title=Thomas Crapper: Myth & Reality|url=https://theplumber.com/thomas-crapper-myth-reality/|work=Plumbing & Mechanical Magazine|publisher=BNP Media|date=June 1, 1993}}

File:Gluehlampe 01 KMJ.png

Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Robert|first=Friedel|author2=Paul Israel|title=Edison's Electric Light: Biography of an Invention|location=New Brunswick, NJ|publisher=Rutgers University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/edisonselectricl00frie/page/115 115–17]|date=1987|isbn=978-0-8135-1118-4|url=https://archive.org/details/edisonselectricl00frie/page/115}} The team of inventors Edison employed at his laboratories in Menlo Park, New Jersey did, however, develop the first practical light bulb in 1880 (employing a carbonized bamboo filament), shortly prior to Joseph Swan, who invented an even more efficient bulb in 1881 (which used a cellulose filament).
Henry Ford did not invent either the automobile or the assembly line. He did improve the assembly line process substantially, sometimes through his own engineering but more often through sponsoring the work of his employees, and he was the main person behind the introduction of the Model T, regarded as the first affordable automobile.a. {{Hounshell1984}}, pp. 15–47.

b. {{#invoke:cite book|| last = Sorensen | first = Charles E. |author2=Williamson, Samuel T. | author-link = Charles E. Sorensen | date = 1956 | title = My Forty Years with Ford | publisher = Norton | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-8143-3279-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fv9WPvAXpGMC&pg=PA128|page=128 | lccn = 56010854}} Karl Benz (co-founder of Mercedes-Benz) is credited with the invention of the first modern automobile,{{#invoke:cite book||title=The Automobile Book| publisher=Paul Hamlyn Ltd| date=1967|

last=Stein|first=Ralph}} and the assembly line has existed throughout history.

Al Gore never said that he had "invented" the Internet. What Gore actually said was, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet", in reference to his political work towards developing the Internet for widespread public use.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp|title=Al Gore on the invention of the internet|website=Snopes|date=May 5, 2005 |access-date=August 29, 2009 }} Gore was the original drafter of the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991, which provided significant funding for supercomputing centers, and this in turn led to upgrades of a major part of the already-existing early 1990s Internet backbone, the NSFNet,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2000/10/the-mother-of-gores-invention/ |title=The Mother of Gore's Invention |magazine=Wired |date=October 17, 2000}} and development of NCSA Mosaic, the browser that popularized the World Wide Web.{{#invoke:cite news|| last = Kessler| first = Glenn| title = A cautionary tale for politicians: Al Gore and the 'invention' of the Internet| newspaper = Washington Post| date = November 4, 2013}} (See also: Al Gore and information technology)
Kodak did not refuse to invest in digital cameras, but was rather a pioneer in the field,{{cite web |last1=Aldred |first1=John |title=Kodak could have dominated digital photography |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/kodak-could-have-dominated-digital-photography/ |website=DIY Photography |access-date=4 January 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Ries |first1=Al |title=Marketing Myth-Busting: Kodak Wasn't Slow to Digital; It Was the First One In |url=https://adage.com/article/al-ries/marketing-myth-busting-kodak-digital/232226 |website=Ad Age |publisher=Crain Communications, Inc |access-date=4 January 2025}} and at one point was the market leader in digital camera sales in the United States.{{cite web |last1=Hamm |first1=Steve |last2=Symonds |first2=William C. |date=November 27, 2006 |title=Mistakes Made On The Road To Innovation |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011421.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206024326/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011421.htm |archive-date=December 6, 2006 |access-date=January 19, 2012 |website=Businessweek |publisher=}}

= Mathematics =

File:Kapitolinischer Pythagoras adjusted.jpg made any mathematical discoveries.

{{citation |last=Burkert |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Burkert |date=June 1, 1972 |title=Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qqp4Vk1zG0C |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-53918-1 |pages=428–33}}{{sfn|Kahn|2001|pages=2–3}}]]

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras was not the first to discover the equation expressed in the Pythagorean theorem, as it was known and used by the Babylonians and Indians centuries before him.{{sfn|Burkert|1972|pages=429, 462}}{{citation |last=Riedweg |first=Christoph |date=2005 |orig-date=2002 |title=Pythagoras: His Life, Teachings, and Influence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8ixyQJA7_MC&q=Pythagoras |location=Ithaca, New York |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7452-1 |page=27}}{{sfn|Kahn|2001|page=32}}{{citation |last=Ferguson |first=Kitty |date=2008 |title=The Music of Pythagoras: How an Ancient Brotherhood Cracked the Code of the Universe and Lit the Path from Antiquity to Outer Space |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h83m1i3QhhYC&q=Pythagoras+Theano&pg=PA59 |location=New York City, New York |publisher=Walker & Company |isbn=978-0-8027-1631-6 |pages=6–7}}{{citation |last=Joost-Gaugier |first=Christiane L. |title=Measuring Heaven: Pythagoras and his Influence on Thought and Art in Antiquity and the Middle Ages |date=2006 |page=143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cf9Rj_ADZU4C&q=Pythagoreanism&pg=PA116 |location=Ithaca, New York |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-7409-5 |author-link=Christiane Joost-Gaugier}} Pythagoras may have been the first to introduce it to the Greeks,{{sfn|Burkert|1972|page=429}}{{sfn|Kahn|2001|page=32}} but the first record of it being mathematically proven as a theorem is in Euclid's Elements which was published some 200 years after Pythagoras.
There is no evidence that the ancient Greeks deliberately designed the Parthenon to match the golden ratio.a. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Jesse Galef|url=http://measureofdoubt.com/2011/08/29/lies-and-legends-about-the-golden-ratio/|title=Lies and Debunked Legends about the Golden Ratio|date=August 29, 2011|access-date=April 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427083317/http://measureofdoubt.com/2011/08/29/lies-and-legends-about-the-golden-ratio/|archive-date=April 27, 2014}}

b. "Two other beliefs about [the golden ratio] are often mentioned in magazines and books: that the ancient Greeks believed it was the proportion of the rectangle the eye finds most pleasing and that they accordingly incorporated the rectangle in many of their buildings, including the famous Parthenon. These two equally persistent beliefs are likewise assuredly false and, in any case, are completely without any evidence." {{#invoke:cite book||last=Devlin|first=Keith|title=The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter that Made the World Modern|date=2008|publisher=Basic Books|page=35}} The Parthenon was completed in 438 BCE, more than a century before the first recorded mention of the ratio by Euclid. Similarly, Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man makes no mention of the golden ratio in its text, although it describes many other proportions.a. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Donald E. Simanek |url=http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/pseudo/fibonacc.htm |title=Fibonacci Flim-Flam |access-date=April 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5nDtkyeKW?url=http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/pseudo/fibonacc.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2010 }}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||first=Keith|last=Devlin|url=http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_05_07.html|title=The Myth That Will Not Go Away|access-date=April 10, 2013|date=May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701231044/http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_05_07.html|archive-date =July 1, 2013|quote=Part of the process of becoming a mathematics writer is, it appears, learning that you cannot refer to the golden ratio without following the first mention by a phrase that goes something like 'which the ancient Greeks and others believed to have divine and mystical properties.' Almost as compulsive is the urge to add a second factoid along the lines of 'Leonardo Da Vinci believed that the human form displays the golden ratio.' There is not a shred of evidence to back up either claim, and every reason to assume they are both false. Yet both claims, along with various others in a similar vein, live on.}}

The repeating decimal commonly written as 0.999... represents exactly the same quantity as the number one. Despite having the appearance of representing a smaller number, 0.999... is a symbol for the number 1 in exactly the same way that 0.333... is an equivalent notation for the number represented by the fraction {{frac|1|3}}.a. {{#invoke:cite book||first=John |last=Stillwell |author-link=John Stillwell |title=Elements of algebra: geometry, numbers, equations|year=1994|publisher=Springer |page=42 }}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Bunch |first=Bryan H. |title=Mathematical fallacies and paradoxes |year=1982 |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |isbn=978-0-442-24905-2|page=119}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Tall|first1=David|author-link1=David Tall |last2=Schwarzenberger|first2=R. L. E.|author-link2=Rolph Ludwig Edward Schwarzenberger |title=Conflicts in the Learning of Real Numbers and Limits|journal=Mathematics Teaching|year=1978|volume=82|pages=6, 44–49|url=http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/David.Tall/pdfs/dot1978c-with-rolph.pdf |access-date=May 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530043040/http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/David.Tall/pdfs/dot1978c-with-rolph.pdf| archive-date=May 30, 2009}}

The p-value is not the probability that the null hypothesis is true, or the probability that the alternative hypothesis is false; it is the probability of obtaining results at least as extreme as the results actually observed under the assumption that the null hypothesis was correct, which can indicate the incompatibility of results with the specific statistical model assumed in the null hypothesis.{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Wasserstein RL, Lazar NA |year=2016 |title=The ASA's statement on p-values: context, process, and purpose |journal=The American Statistician |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=129–33 |doi=10.1080/00031305.2016.1154108|s2cid=124084622 |url=https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~aldous/Real_World/ASA_statement.pdf |doi-access=free }} This misconception, and similar ones like it, contributes to the common misuse of p-values in education and research.{{#invoke:cite journal|| vauthors = Sterne JA, Davey Smith G | title = Sifting the evidence-what's wrong with significance tests? | journal = BMJ | volume = 322 | issue = 7280 | pages = 226–31 | date = January 2001 | pmid = 11159626 | pmc = 1119478 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.322.7280.226 }}
If one were to flip a fair coin five times and get heads each time, it would not be any more likely for a sixth flip to come up tails. Phrased another way, after a long and/or unlikely streak of independently random events, the probability of the next event is not influenced by the preceding events. Humans often feel that the underrepresented outcome is more likely, as if it is due to happen. Such thinking may be attributed to the mistaken belief that gambling, or even chance itself, is a fair process that can correct itself in the event of streaks.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=J. Michael Shaughnessy |year=1977 |title=Misconceptions of probability: An experiment with a small-group, activity-based, model building approach to introductory probability at the college level |journal=Educational Studies in Mathematics |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=295–316 |doi=10.1007/BF00385927|s2cid=120555285 }}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||author=Henk Tijms |title=Understanding Probability: Chance Rules in Everyday Life |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-70172-3 |page=79}}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||author=Maxwell, Nicholas |title=Data Matters: Conceptual Statistics for a Random World |publisher=Key College |year=2004 |isbn=1-930190-89-1 |page=63}}

d. {{#invoke:cite book||title=The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science |publisher=Wiley |year=2000 |isbn=0-471-24097-4 |editor=W. Edward Craighead, Charles B. Nemeroff |volume=2 |page=617}}

e. Oppenheimer, D.M., & Monin, B. (2009). The retrospective gambler's fallacy: Unlikely events, constructing the past, and multiple universes. Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 326-334

f. {{#invoke:cite web||date=2015-01-02 |title=Why we gamble like monkeys |url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150127-why-we-gamble-like-monkeys |work=BBC.com}}

g. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Rogers |first1=Paul |year=1998 |title=The cognitive psychology of lottery gambling: A theoretical review |journal=Journal of Gambling Studies |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=111–134 |doi=10.1023/A:1023042708217 |issn=1050-5350 |pmid=12766438 |s2cid=21141130}}

= Physics =

File:Equal transit-time NASA wrong1 en.svg

The lift force is not generated by the air taking the same time to travel above and below an aircraft's wing.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/wrong1.html |title=Incorrect Lift Theory |publisher=NASA Glenn Research Center |work=grc.nasa.gov |date=July 28, 2008 |access-date=January 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427084226/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/wrong1.html |archive-date=April 27, 2014 }} (Java applet). This misconception, sometimes called the equal transit-time fallacy, is widespread among textbooks and non-technical reference books, and even appears in pilot training materials. In fact, the air moving over the top of an aerofoil generating lift is always moving much faster than the equal transit theory would imply, as described in the incorrect and correct explanations of lift force.
Blowing over a curved piece of paper does not demonstrate Bernoulli's principle. Although a common classroom experiment is often explained this way,a. {{cite magazine |title=This occurs because of Bernoulli's principle – fast-moving air has lower pressure than non-moving air |url=http://makeprojects.com/Project/Origami-Flying-Disk/327/1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103152803/http://makeprojects.com/Project/Origami-Flying-Disk/327/1%23.UOWjZ33LdRw |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |access-date=September 5, 2012 |magazine=Make Magazine}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Paper Lift |url=https://physicsforce.umn.edu/content/paper-lift-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021453/https://physicsforce.umn.edu/content/paper-lift-0 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |work=Physics Force |publisher=University of Minnesota}}.

c. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Educational Packet |url=http://www.tallshipschannelislands.com/PDFs/Educational_Packet.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014334/http://www.tallshipschannelislands.com/PDFs/Educational_Packet.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=June 25, 2012 |work=Tall Ships Festival: Channel Islands Harbor |quote=Bernoulli's Principle states that faster moving air has lower pressure... You can demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing over a piece of paper held horizontally across your lips."}} Bernoulli's principle only applies within a flow field, and the air above and below the paper is in different flow fields.a. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Craig |first=Gale M. |title=Physical Principles of Winged Flight |url=http://www.regenpress.com/aerodynamics.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307172349/http://regenpress.com/aerodynamics.pdf |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |access-date=September 5, 2012 |quote=If the lift in figure A were caused by "Bernoulli principle," then the paper in figure B should droop further when air is blown beneath it. However, as shown, it raises when the upward pressure gradient in downward-curving flow adds to atmospheric pressure at the paper lower surface.}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Babinsky |first=Holger |year=2003 |title=How Do Wings Work |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230910482 |journal=Physics Education |volume=38 |pages=497–502 |bibcode=2003PhyEd..38..497B |doi=10.1088/0031-9120/38/6/001 |s2cid=1657792 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |number=6}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Eastwell |first=Peter |year=2007 |title=Bernoulli? Perhaps, but What About Viscosity? |url=http://d1vdx9ifs4n5d7.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/davidson_images/eastwell-bernoulli.pdf |journal=The Science Education Review |volume=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318183632/http://d1vdx9ifs4n5d7.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/davidson_images/eastwell-bernoulli.pdf |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |access-date=September 10, 2023 |quote=...air does not have a reduced lateral pressure (or static pressure...) simply because it is caused to move, the static pressure of free air does not decrease as the speed of the air increases, it misunderstanding Bernoulli's principle to suggest that this is what it tells us, and the behavior of the curved paper is explained by other reasoning than Bernoulli's principle. ... An explanation based on Bernoulli's principle is not applicable to this situation, because this principle has nothing to say about the interaction of air masses having different speeds... Also, while Bernoulli's principle allows us to compare fluid speeds and pressures along a single streamline and... along two different streamlines that originate under identical fluid conditions, using Bernoulli's principle to compare the air above and below the curved paper in Figure 1 is nonsensical; in this case, there aren't any streamlines at all below the paper!}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Raskin |first=Jef |title=Coanda Effect: Understanding Why Wings Work |url=http://karmak.org/archive/2003/02/coanda_effect.html}}

e. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Auerbach |first=David |year=2000 |title=Why Aircraft Fly |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230994575 |journal=European Journal of Physics |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=292, 295 |bibcode=2000EJPh...21..289A |doi=10.1088/0143-0807/21/4/302 |s2cid=250821727}}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Smith |first1=Norman F. |date=November 1972 |title=Bernoulli and Newton in Fluid Mechanics |journal=The Physics Teacher |volume=10 |issue=8 |pages=451–455 |bibcode=1972PhTea..10..451S |doi=10.1119/1.2352317}} The paper rises because the air follows the curve of the paper and a curved streamline will develop pressure differences perpendicular to the airflow.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last=Babinsky |first=Holger |year=2003 |title=How Do Wings Work |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230910482 |journal=Physics Education |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=497–503 |bibcode=2003PhyEd..38..497B |doi=10.1088/0031-9120/38/6/001 |s2cid=1657792 |access-date=January 7, 2021 |quote=...if a streamline is curved, there must be a pressure gradient across the streamline, with the pressure increasing in the direction away from the centre of curvature.}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Smith |first1=Norman F. |date=April 1973 |title=Bernoulli, Newton, and Dynamic Lift Part II*: Bernoulli or Newton? |journal=School Science and Mathematics |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=327–335 |doi=10.1111/j.1949-8594.1973.tb09040.x |quote=The curved paper turns the stream of air downward, and this action produces the lift reaction that lifts the paper.}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||title=AERONAUTICS: An Educator's Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education |url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/58152main_Aeronautics.Educator.pdf |access-date=January 7, 2021 |publisher=NASA |page=26 |quote=The curved surface of the tongue creates unequal air pressure and a lifting action. ... Lift is caused by air moving over a curved surface.}}a. {{#invoke:cite book||last1=Anderson |first1=David F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=52Hfn7uEGSoC&pg=PA229 |title=Understanding Flight |last2=Eberhardt |first2=Scott |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-07-138666-1 |page=229 |quote=Demonstrations" of Bernoulli's principle are often given as demonstrations of the physics of lift. They are truly demonstrations of lift, but certainly not of Bernoulli's principle. |via=Google Books}}

b. {{#invoke:cite book||last=Feil |first=Max |title=The Aeronautics File |quote=As an example, take the misleading experiment most often used to "demonstrate" Bernoulli's principle. Hold a piece of paper so that it curves over your finger, then blow across the top. The paper will rise. However most people do not realize that the paper would NOT rise if it was flat, even though you are blowing air across the top of it at a furious rate. Bernoulli's principle does not apply directly in this case. This is because the air on the two sides of the paper did not start out from the same source. The air on the bottom is ambient air from the room, but the air on the top came from your mouth where you actually increased its speed without decreasing its pressure by forcing it out of your mouth. As a result the air on both sides of the flat paper actually has the same pressure, even though the air on the top is moving faster. The reason that a curved piece of paper does rise is that the air from your mouth speeds up even more as it follows the curve of the paper, which in turn lowers the pressure according to Bernoulli.}}

The Coriolis effect does not cause water to consistently drain from basins in a clockwise/counter-clockwise direction depending on the hemisphere. The common myth often refers to the draining action of flush toilets and bathtubs. In fact, rotation is determined by whatever minor rotation is initially present at the time the water starts to drain, as the magnitude of the coriolis acceleration is negligibly small compared to the inertial acceleration of flow within a typical basin.a. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Bad Coriolis |url=http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html |access-date=2016-12-21 |work=www.ems.psu.edu}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||date=April 28, 2003 |title=Flush Bosh |url=http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp |access-date=2016-12-21 |work=Snopes}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||date=2009-07-20 |title=Does the rotation of the Earth affect toilets and baseball games? |url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/rotation-earth-toilet-baseball2.htm |access-date=2016-12-21}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Can somebody finally settle this question: Does water flowing down a drain spin in different directions depending on which hemisphere you're in? And if so, why? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-somebody-finally-sett/ |access-date=2016-12-21 |work=www.scientificamerican.com}}

e. {{#invoke:cite book||author1=Larry D. Kirkpatrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8hOLs-bmiYYC&pg=PA168 |title=Physics: A World View |author2=Gregory E. Francis |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-495-01088-3 |pages=168–9}}

f. {{#invoke:cite journal||author1=Y. A. Stepanyants |author2=G. H. Yeoh |year=2008 |title=Stationary bathtub vortices and a critical regime of liquid discharge |url=http://eprints.usq.edu.au/5726/2/Stepanyants_Yeoh_2008_PV.pdf |journal=Journal of Fluid Mechanics |volume=604 |issue=1 |pages=77–98 |bibcode=2008JFM...604...77S |doi=10.1017/S0022112008001080 |s2cid=53071268 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723091453/https://eprints.usq.edu.au/5726/2/Stepanyants_Yeoh_2008_PV.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2022 |access-date=July 23, 2022}}

g. {{#invoke:cite book||author=Creative Media Applications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fF0TTZVQuZoC&pg=PA22 |title=A Student's Guide to Earth Science: Words and terms |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-32902-9 |page=22}}

Neither gyroscopic forces nor geometric trail are required for a rider to balance a bicycle or for it to demonstrate self-stability.{{#invoke:cite journal||journal=Science |author=J. D. G. Kooijman |author2=J. P. Meijaard |author3=J. M. Papadopoulos| author4=A. Ruina |author5=A. L. Schwab |date=April 15, 2011 |title=A bicycle can be self-stable without gyroscopic or caster effects |volume=332 |issue=6027 |pages=339–342 |doi=10.1126/science.1201959 |pmid=21493856 |bibcode=2011Sci...332..339K |s2cid=12296078 |url=http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revised.pdf |access-date=January 22, 2013}}a. {{#invoke:cite book||title=Bicycling Science|edition=2nd|last1=Whitt|first1=Frank R.|first2=David G.|last2=Wilson|date=1982|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology|isbn=978-0-262-23111-4|pages=198–233}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Klein |first=Richard E. |display-authors=etal |title=Bicycle Science |url=http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/default.aspx?Lev=2&ID=34 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010070125/http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/default.aspx?Lev=2&ID=34 |archive-date=October 10, 2006 |access-date=August 4, 2006 |publisher=LoseTheTrainingWheels.org}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Jones |first1=David E. H. |date=1970 |title=The Stability of the Bicycle |url=http://socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Efajans/Teaching/MoreBikeFiles/JonesBikeBW.pdf |journal=Physics Today |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=34–40 |bibcode=1970PhT....23d..34J |doi=10.1063/1.3022064}} Although gyroscopic forces and trail can be contributing factors, it has been demonstrated that those factors are neither required nor sufficient by themselves.

A penny dropped from the Empire State Building would not kill a person or crack the sidewalk. A penny is too light and has too much air resistance to acquire enough speed to do much damage since it reaches terminal velocity after falling about {{convert|50|ft|0|disp=flip}}. Heavier or more aerodynamic objects could cause significant damage if dropped from that height.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Could a Penny Dropped off a Skyscraper Actually Kill You? |author=Wolchover, Natalie|date=March 5, 2012|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-a-penny-dropped-off/ |website=Scientific American}}{{#invoke:cite web||title=What would happen if you were hit by a penny falling from a skyscraper?|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/15/what-would-happen-if-you-were-hit-penny-falling-skyscraper/99160982/|website=USA Today}}
Using a programmable thermostat's setback feature to limit heating or cooling in a temporarily unoccupied building does not waste as much energy as leaving the temperature constant. Using setback saves energy (5–15%) because heat transfer across the surface of the building is roughly proportional to the temperature difference between its inside and the outside.{{#invoke:cite web||title=Thermostats|website=Energy.gov |url=https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/thermostats}}{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.achrnews.com/articles/98114-programmable-thermostat-myths-know-the-facts-and-boost-your-profits|title=Programmable thermostat myths: Know the facts and boost your profits|website=www.achrnews.com}}
It is not possible for a person to completely submerge in quicksand, as commonly depicted in fiction,{{#invoke:cite web||title=Quicksand myth exposed|author=Patricia Reaney|date=September 29, 2005|agency=Reuters |url=https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/09/29/1471116.htm|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU|access-date=April 8, 2020}} although sand entrapment in the nearshore of a body of water can be a drowning hazard as the tide rises.{{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160323-can-quicksand-really-suck-you-to-your-death|title=Can quicksand really suck you to your death?|last=Hammond|first=Claudia|website=www.bbc.com|language=en|access-date=April 8, 2020}}
Quantum nonlocality caused by quantum entanglement does not allow faster-than-light communication or imply instant action at a distance, despite its common characterization as "spooky action at a distance". Rather, it means that certain experiments cannot be explained by local realism.{{#invoke:cite journal||author1=Aspect, Alain |author2=Dalibard, Jean |author3=Roger, Gérard |date=December 1982 |title=Experimental Test of Bell's Inequalities Using Time- Varying Analyzers |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=49 |issue=25| pages=1804–1807| doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.49.1804| bibcode=1982PhRvL..49.1804A|doi-access=free}}{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete? |date=October 13, 1935 |first=N. |last=Bohr |journal=Physical Review |volume=48 |issue=8 |pages=696–702 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.48.696|bibcode=1935PhRv...48..696B |url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/1060284/files/PhysRev.48.696.pdf |doi-access=free}}
The slipperiness of ice is not due to pressure melting. While it is true that increased pressure, such as that exerted by someone standing on a sheet of ice, will lower the melting point of ice, experiments show that the effect is too weak to account for the lowered friction. Materials scientists still debate whether premelting or the heat of friction is the dominant cause of ice's slipperiness.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||title=Pressure melting and ice skating |vauthors=Colbeck SC |journal=American Journal of Physics |volume=63 |page=888 |date=1995 |issue=10 |quote=Pressure melting cannot be responsible for the low friction of ice. The pressure needed to reach the melting temperature is above the compressive failure stress..." |doi=10.1119/1.18028|bibcode=1995AmJPh..63..888C }}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Explaining Ice: The Answers Are Slippery |author=Kenneth Chang |date=Feb 21, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/science/21ice.html |url-access=subscription |work=The New York Times |quote=According to the frequently cited — if incorrect — explanation of why ice is slippery under an ice skate, the pressure exerted along the blade lowers the melting temperature of the top layer of ice, the ice melts and the blade glides on a thin layer of water that refreezes to ice as soon as the blade passes... But the explanation fails... because the pressure-melting effect is small.}}

c. {{#invoke:cite journal||author=Robert Rosenberg |url=https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/jayaprakash.1/846/skating.pdf |date=December 2005 |title=Why is Ice slippery? |journal=Physics Today |pages=50–55}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Bluhm |first=H. |author2=T. Inoue |author3=M. Salmeron |date=2000 |title=Friction of ice measured using lateral force microscopy |journal=Phys. Rev. B |volume=61 |issue=11 |page=7760 |bibcode=2000PhRvB..61.7760B |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.61.7760 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1233739}}

= Psychology and neuroscience =

Cannabis use in pregnancy is not low risk. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) within cannabis crosses the placenta, directly exposing the developing fetus to this chemical. Cannabis use in pregnancy is linked to increased risk of preterm delivery and lower birth weight, along with a higher likelihood of infants needing placement in the neonatal intensive care unit.{{Cite journal |last1=Gunn |first1=J. K. L. |last2=Rosales |first2=C. B. |last3=Center |first3=K. E. |last4=Nuñez |first4=A. |last5=Gibson |first5=S. J. |last6=Christ |first6=C. |last7=Ehiri |first7=J. E. |date=2016-04-01 |title=Prenatal exposure to cannabis and maternal and child health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis |url=https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/4/e009986 |journal=BMJ Open |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=e009986 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009986 |issn=2044-6055 |pmid=27048634|pmc=4823436 }} Additionally, infants exposed to cannabis in pregnancy may have increased rates of behavioral conditions such as hyperactivity and impulsivity, attention deficits, sleep disorders, emotional disturbances, and a higher chance of substance use.{{Cite journal |last1=Renard |first1=Justine |last2=Konefal |first2=Sarah |date=2022 |title=Clearing the Smoke on Cannabis: Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding - An Update |url=https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2022-05/CCSA-Cannabis-Use-Pregnancy-Breastfeeding-Report-2022-en.pdf |journal=Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction}} As of 2015, 70% of American women thought that consumption of cannabis once or twice per week while pregnant is harmless.{{cite journal| author=Ko JY| author2=Farr SL|author3=Tong VT|author4=Creanga AA|author5=Callaghan WM| title=Prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age. | journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol | year= 2015 | volume= 213 | issue= 2 | pages= 201.e1–201.e10 | pmid=25772211 | doi=10.1016/j.ajog.2015.03.021 | pmc=7469257 }}
True photographic memory (the ability to remember endless images, particularly pages or numbers, with such a high degree of precision that the image mimics a photo) has never been demonstrated to exist in any individual,{{#invoke:cite web||title=Photographic Memory |url=http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/photographic-memory/|publisher=indianapublicmedia.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082738/http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/photographic-memory/ |archive-date=April 27, 2014|url-status=live}} although a small number of young children have eidetic memory, where they can recall an object with high precision for a few minutes after it is no longer present.{{#invoke:cite book||author=Anthony Simola|title=The Roving Mind: A Modern Approach to Cognitive Enhancement|publisher=ST Press|isbn=978-0-692-40905-3|year=2015|page=117|access-date=May 10, 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4ZMBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT117}} Many people have claimed to have a photographic memory, but those people have been shown to have high precision memories as a result of mnemonic devices rather than a natural capacity for detailed memory encoding.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.slate.com/id/2140685/ |title=Kaavya Syndrome: The accused Harvard plagiarist doesn't have a photographic memory. No one does |author=Foer, Joshua |date=April 27, 2006 |work=Slate |access-date=January 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924094531/http://www.slate.com/id/2140685 |archive-date=September 24, 2011 |url-status=live}} There are rare cases of individuals with exceptional memory, but none of them have a memory that mimics that of a camera.
The phase of the Moon does not influence fertility, cause a fluctuation in crime, or affect the stock market. There is no correlation between the lunar cycle and human biology or behavior. However, the increased amount of illumination during the full moon may account for increased epileptic episodes, motorcycle accidents, or sleep disorders.a. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Martens|first1=R.|last2=Kelly|first2=I. W.|last3=Saklofske|first3=D. H.|date=December 1988|title=Lunar Phase and Birthrate: A 50-Year Critical Review|journal=Psychological Reports|volume=63|issue=3|pages=923–934|doi=10.2466/pr0.1988.63.3.923|pmid=3070616|s2cid=34184527}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Rotton|first1=James|last2=Kelly|first2=I. W.|date=1985|title=Much ado about the full moon: A meta-analysis of lunar-lunacy research|journal=Psychological Bulletin|volume=97|issue=2|pages=286–306|doi=10.1037/0033-2909.97.2.286|pmid=3885282}}

c. {{Citation |last1=Kelly |first1=Ivan |title=The Moon Was Full and Nothing Happened: A Review of Studies on the Moon and Human Behavior |date=1986 |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=129–43 |last2=Rotton |first2=James |last3=Culver |first3=Roger}}. Reprinted in The Hundredth Monkey – and other paradigms of the paranormal, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books. Revised and updated in The Outer Edge: Classic Investigations of the Paranormal, edited by Joe Nickell, Barry Karr, and Tom Genoni, 1996, CSICOP.

d. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Foster|first1=Russell G.|last2=Roenneberg|first2=Till|date=2008|title=Human Responses to the Geophysical Daily, Annual and Lunar Cycles|journal=Current Biology|volume=18|issue=17|pages=R784–R794|bibcode=2008CBio...18.R784F|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2008.07.003|pmid=18786384|s2cid=15429616|doi-access=free}}

== Mental disorders ==

Vaccines do not cause autism. There have been no successful attempts to reproduce fraudulent research by British ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield, where the misconception likely originates. Wakefield's research was ultimately shown to have been manipulated.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Godlee |first1=F. |last2=Smith |first2=J. |last3=Marcovitch |first3=H. |year=2011 |title=British Medical Journal: Wakefield's article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full |url-status=live |journal=BMJ |volume=342 |page=c7452 |doi=10.1136/bmj.c7452 |pmid=21209060 |s2cid=43640126 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111093448/http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |access-date=January 5, 2011}}
Dyslexia is not defined or diagnosed as mirror writing or reading letters or words backwards.{{#invoke:cite book||last1=Lilienfeld |first1=Scott O. |author-link1=Scott Lilienfeld |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DlS0gfO_QUC&pg=PT88 |title=50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior |last2=Lynn |first2=Steven Jay |last3=Ruscio |first3=John |last4=Beyerstein |first4=Barry L. |author-link4=Barry Beyerstein |date=15 September 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-6074-5 |pages=88–91 |access-date=19 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109130327/https://books.google.com/books?id=8DlS0gfO_QUC&pg=PT88 |archive-date=9 January 2017 |url-status=live}}{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Handler |first1=Sheryl M |last2=Fierson |first2=Walter M |date=March 1, 2011 |title=Learning disabilities, dyslexia, and vision. |journal=Pediatrics |publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics |volume=127 |issue=3 |pages=e820 |doi=10.1542/peds.2010-3670 |pmid=21357342 |doi-access=free}} Mirror writing and reading letters or words backwards are behaviors seen in many children (dyslexic or not) as they learn to read and write. Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder of people who have at least average intelligence and who have difficulty in reading and writing that is not otherwise explained by low intelligence.{{#invoke:cite web||last=Dinelli |first=Beth |title=Common Misconceptions about Dyslexia |url=https://www.commlearn.com/common-misconceptions-about-dyslexia/ |access-date=August 2, 2019 |website=Commonwealth Learning Center}}
Self-harm is not generally an attention-seeking behavior. People who engage in self-harm are typically very self-conscious of their wounds and scars and feel guilty about their behavior, leading them to go to great lengths to conceal it from others.{{#invoke:cite book||url=http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/?EntryId5=38712 |title=Truth Hurts Report |publisher=Mental Health Foundation |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-903645-81-9 |access-date=June 11, 2008}} They may offer alternative explanations for their injuries, or conceal their scars with clothing.{{#invoke:cite book||author=Helen Spandler |title=Who's Hurting Who? Young people, self-harm and suicide |publisher=42nd Street |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-900782-00-5 |place=Manchester}}{{#invoke:cite book||url=https://archive.org/details/selfharmperspect0000unse |title=Self-harm – Perspectives from personal experience |publisher=Chipmunka/Survivors Speak Out |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-904697-04-6 |editor=Pembroke, L. R. |url-access=registration}}
There is no evidence that a chemical imbalance or neurotransmitter deficiency is the sole factor in depression and other mental disorders, but rather a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Stahl |first=S. M. |title=Stahl's essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-108-98585-7 |edition=5th |page=264}}{{#invoke:cite web||date=March 17, 2022 |title=The Myth of the Chemical Imbalance {{!}} Ronald Pies |url=https://return.life/2022/03/17/the-myth-of-the-chemical-imbalance/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201222841/https://return.life/2022/03/17/the-myth-of-the-chemical-imbalance/ |archive-date=1 December 2022 |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=Return}}
Schizophrenia is characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, paranoia, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdrawal, decreased emotional expression, and apathy.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition. The term was coined from the Greek roots schizein and phrēn, "to split" and "mind", in reference to a "splitting of mental functions" seen in schizophrenia, not a splitting of the personality.{{#invoke:cite book||author=Baucum, Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCVSdYdA36EC&pg=PA182 |title=Psychology |publisher=Barron's |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7641-3421-0 |edition=2nd |location=Hauppauge, NY |page=182}} It does not involve split or multiple personalities—a split or multiple personality is dissociative identity disorder.a. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Schizophrenia |url=http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Schizophrenia9&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=118290 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504155431/http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Schizophrenia9&Template=%2FContentManagement%2FContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=118290 |archive-date=May 4, 2012 |publisher=National Alliance on Mental Illness}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=10 Myths About Mental Illness |url=http://www.mha-oc.org/10myths.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519221144/http://www.mha-oc.org/10myths.html |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=usurped |publisher=Mental Health Association}}

== Brain ==

Broad generalizations are often made in popular psychology about certain brain functions being lateralized, or more predominant in one hemisphere than the other. These claims are often inaccurate or overstated.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Goswami |first1=U |title=Neuroscience and education: from research to practice? |journal=Nature Reviews. Neuroscience |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=406–11 |date=2006 |pmid=16607400 |doi=10.1038/nrn1907|s2cid=3113512 }}
The human brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, does not reach "full maturity" or "full development" at any particular age (e.g. 16, 18, 21, 25, 30). Changes in structure and myelination of gray matter are recorded to continue with relative consistency all throughout life including until death. Different mental abilities peak earlier or later in life.a. More modern research suggests that the prefrontal cortex region of the brain is changing in structure even well past the age of 30.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Hartshorne |first1=Joshua K. |last2=Germine |first2=Laura T. |title=When Does Cognitive Functioning Peak? The Asynchronous Rise and Fall of Different Cognitive Abilities Across the Life Span |journal=Psychological Science |date=April 2015 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=433–443 |doi=10.1177/0956797614567339 |pmid=25770099 |pmc=4441622|quote="Some abilities peak and begin to decline around high school graduation; some abilities plateau in early adulthood, beginning to decline in subjects' 30s; and still others do not peak until subjects reach their 40s or later. These findings motivate a nuanced theory of maturation and age-related decline, in which multiple, dissociable factors differentially affect different domains of cognition." }}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.menshealth.com/health/a26868313/when-does-your-brain-fully-mature/ |title=People's Brains Don't Reach Adulthood Until Age 30, Study Finds|website=Men's Health|first=MEelissa|last=Matthews |date=March 19, 2019|quote="What we're really saying is that to have a definition of when you move from childhood to adulthood looks increasingly absurd... It's a much more nuanced transition that takes place over three decades."}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/adult-brain-30s-teenagers-crime-mental-health-research-a8828681.html |title=Scientists think you are not a proper adult until you enter your 30s |website=Independent.co.uk |date=March 18, 2019}}

d. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/8204782/Brain-only-fully-matures-in-middle-age-claims-neuroscientist.html#:~:text=You%20might%20think%20that%20you,developing%20until%20your%20late%2040s.&text=Scientists%20used%20to%20believe%20that,changing%20well%20into%20middle%20age | title=Brain only fully 'matures' in middle age, claims neuroscientist| date=December 16, 2010}}

e. {{#invoke:cite journal||doi=10.1073/pnas.1105108108 |title=Extraordinary neoteny of synaptic spines in the human prefrontal cortex |year=2011 |last1=Petanjek |first1=Zdravko |last2=Judaš |first2=Miloš |last3=Šimić |first3=Goran |last4=Rašin |first4=Mladen Roko |last5=Uylings |first5=Harry B. M. |last6=Rakic |first6=Pasko |last7=Kostović |first7=Ivica |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=108 |issue=32 |pages=13281–13286 |pmid=21788513 |pmc=3156171 |bibcode=2011PNAS..10813281P |doi-access=free}}

f. {{cite magazine |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/01/age-of-consent-25-advice.html |title=My Progressive Friends Say It's Immoral to Have Sex With Anyone Under 25 |first=Stoya |last=Juzwiak |author2=Rich Juzwiak |date=January 9, 2020 |magazine=Slate}}

g. {{#invoke:cite news||url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html|title=What Is It About 20-Somethings?|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Robin Marantz |last=Henig|date=August 18, 2010}}

h. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Cockcroft |first1=Kate |title=The role of working memory in childhood education: Five questions and answers |journal=South African Journal of Childhood Education |date=4 September 2015 |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=18 |id={{ProQuest|1898641293}} |doi=10.4102/sajce.v5i1.347 |doi-access=free }}

i. {{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Hartshorne |first1=Joshua K. |last2=Germine |first2=Laura T. |title=When Does Cognitive Functioning Peak? The Asynchronous Rise and Fall of Different Cognitive Abilities Across the Life Span |journal=Psychological Science |date=April 2015 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=433–443 |doi=10.1177/0956797614567339 |pmid=25770099 |pmc=4441622 }}

j. {{#invoke:cite web||last=Hu |first=Jane C. |date=2022-11-28 |title=A Powerful Idea About Our Brains Stormed Pop Culture and Captured Minds. It's Mostly Bunk. |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/brain-development-25-year-old-mature-myth.html |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}} The myth is believed to have originated from Jay Giedd's work on the adolescent brain funded by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy,{{#invoke:cite web|| url=https://www.iflscience.com/does-the-brain-really-mature-at-the-age-of-25-68979 | title=Does the Brain Really Mature at the Age of 25? | date=May 19, 2023 }} though it has also been popularized by Laurence Steinberg in his work with adolescent criminal reform who has considered ages 10–25 to constitute cognitive adolescence, despite denying any connection to the notion of the brain maturing at "25".{{#invoke:cite news|| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/redefining-teenagers-and-the-adolescent-mind/article20789085/ | title=Why we need to treat adolescents in a radical new way | newspaper=The Globe and Mail | date=September 25, 2014 }}

File:Gyrus Dentatus 40x.jpg

Humans do not generate all of the brain cells they will ever have by the age of two years. Although this belief was held by medical experts until 1998, it is now understood that new neurons can be created after infancy in some parts of the brain into late adulthood.{{#invoke:cite journal|| author = Gross C. G. | date = 2000 | title = Neurogenesis in the adult brain: death of a dogma | journal = Nat Rev Neurosci | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 67–73 | doi = 10.1038/35036235| pmid = 11252770 | s2cid = 2347812 }}
People do not use only 10% of their brains.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp|title=Snopes on brains|website=Snopes|date=February 8, 2000 |access-date=August 29, 2009 }}{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Radford|first=Benjamin|date=March–April 1999|title=The Ten-Percent Myth|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|issn=0194-6730|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_ten-percent_myth/|access-date=April 15, 2009|quote=It's the old myth heard time and again about how people use only ten percent of their brains | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131030034901/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_ten-percent_myth/ | archive-date = October 30, 2013| url-status=live}} While it is true that a small minority of neurons in the brain are actively firing at any one time, a healthy human will normally use most of their brain over the course of a day, and the inactive neurons are important as well. The idea that activating 100% of the brain would allow someone to achieve their maximum potential and/or gain various psychic abilities is common in folklore and fiction,{{#invoke:cite web||last=Bahn |first=Christopher |title='Limitless' brainpower plot isn't all that crazy |work=TODAY.com |date=7 March 2011 |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41953704/ns/today-entertainment/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313105800/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41953704/ns/today-entertainment/ |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |access-date=March 31, 2011}} but doing so in real life would likely result in a fatal seizure.{{#invoke:cite journal||vauthors=Fisher RS, Acevedo C, Arzimanoglou A, Bogacz A, Cross JH, Elger CE, Engel J, Forsgren L, French JA, Glynn M, Hesdorffer DC, Lee BI, Mathern GW, Moshé SL, Perucca E, Scheffer IE, Tomson T, Watanabe M, Wiebe S |date=April 2014 |title=ILAE official report: a practical clinical definition of epilepsy |journal=Epilepsia |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=475–482 |doi=10.1111/epi.12550 |pmid=24730690 |doi-access=free |s2cid=35958237}}{{#invoke:cite news||date=February 13, 2018 |title=The Life and Times of the 10% Neuromyth – Knowing Neurons |language=en-GB |work=Knowing Neurons |url=https://knowingneurons.com/2018/02/13/10-neuromyth/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133927/https://knowingneurons.com/2018/02/13/10-neuromyth/ |archive-date=March 15, 2018}} This misconception was attributed to late 19th century leading thinker William James, who apparently used the expression only metaphorically.{{#invoke:cite book||last=Beyerstein|first=Barry L.|title=Mind Myths: Exploring Popular Assumptions About the Mind and Brain|editor=Sergio Della Sala |publisher=Wiley |date=1999 |pages=3–24 |chapter=Whence Cometh the Myth that We Only Use 10% of our Brains? |isbn=978-0-471-98303-3}}
Although Phineas Gage's brain injuries, caused by a several-foot-long tamping rod driven completely through his skull, caused him to become temporarily disabled, many fanciful descriptions of his aberrant behavior in later life are without factual basis or contradicted by known facts.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Barker |first=F. G. II |year=1995 |url=http://mysois.uwm.edu/omeka/archive/files/b7cf786e3d97d4cf63ac3b7d14e1f88e.pdf |title=Phineas among the phrenologists: the American crowbar case and nineteenth-century theories of cerebral localization |journal=Journal of Neurosurgery |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=672–82 |pmid=7897537 |doi=10.3171/jns.1995.82.4.0672 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006074853/http://mysois.uwm.edu/omeka/archive/files/b7cf786e3d97d4cf63ac3b7d14e1f88e.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2014 }}

== Senses ==

File:Taste buds.svg showing taste zones. In fact, all zones can sense all tastes.]]

Humans have more than the commonly cited five senses. The number of senses in various categorizations ranges from 5 to more than 20. In addition to sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, which were the senses identified by Aristotle, humans can sense balance and acceleration (equilibrioception), pain (nociception), body and limb position (proprioception or kinesthetic sense), and relative temperature (thermoception).{{#invoke:cite web||author=Cerretani, Jessica |date=Spring 2010 |website=Harvard Medicine |publisher=Harvard College |url=http://harvardmedicine.hms.harvard.edu/fascinoma/fivesenses/beyond/extra.php |title=Extra Sensory Perceptions |access-date=January 13, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120211190433/http://harvardmedicine.hms.harvard.edu/fascinoma/fivesenses/beyond/extra.php |archive-date=February 11, 2012}} Other senses sometimes identified are the sense of time, echolocation, itching, pressure, hunger, thirst, fullness of the stomach, need to urinate, need to defecate, blood carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels,{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/question242.htm |date=April 2000 |title=How many senses does a human being have? |website=Discovery Health |publisher=Discovery Communications Inc. |access-date=January 13, 2011 |archive-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111106034223/http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/question242.htm |url-status=live}} and electric field sensation.{{#invoke:cite journal||last1=Odagiri-Shimizu |first1=H |last2=Shimizu |first2=K |title=Experimental analysis of the human perception threshold of a DC electric field |journal=Medical * Biological Engineering & Computing |date=Nov 1999 |volume=37 |issue=6 |pages=727–732 |doi=10.1007/BF02513374 |pmid=10723879}}
All different tastes can be detected on all parts of the tongue by taste buds,{{#invoke:cite journal||title=The cells and logic for mammalian sour taste detection|journal=Nature|volume=442|issue=7105 |pages=934–938 |date=August 2006|pmid=16929298|pmc=1571047 |doi=10.1038/nature05084|bibcode=2006Natur.442..934H |vauthors=Huang AL, Chen X, Hoon MA, Chandrashekar J, Guo W, Tränkner D, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS}} with slightly increased sensitivities in different locations depending on the person; the tongue map showing the contrary is fallacious.{{#invoke:cite web||date=October 22, 2002|title=Beyond the Tongue Map|publisher=Asha.org |url=http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2002/021022/f021022a.htm|access-date=August 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214115137/http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2002/021022/f021022a.htm|archive-date=December 14, 2013}}
There are not four primary tastes, but five: in addition to bitter, sour, salty, and sweet, humans have taste receptors for umami, which is a "savory" or "meaty" taste.a. {{#invoke:cite book||title=Food Science and Technology |last=Campbell-Platt |first=Geoffrey |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7GXHploJasC&pg=PA31 |isbn=978-0-632-06421-2 |page=31}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.rtc.edu/programs/generaleducation/biology/biology220/files/Senses_notes.pdf |title=Senses Notes |access-date=January 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720040515/http://www.rtc.edu/programs/generaleducation/biology/biology220/files/Senses_notes.pdf |archive-date=July 20, 2011}}

c. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Krulwich, Robert |date=November 5, 2007 |title=Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter ... and Umami |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15819485 |website=Krulwich Wonders, an NPR Science Blog |publisher=NPR |access-date=January 13, 2011 }}

d. {{Cite web |title=Probing Question: What is umami? {{!}} Penn State University |url=https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/probing-question-what-umami/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.psu.edu |language=en}} Fat does interact with specific receptors in taste bud cells, but whether it is a sixth primary taste remains inconclusive.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Besnard|first=P |date=December 2015|title=Taste of Fat: A Sixth Taste Modality?|journal=Physiological Reviews|volume=96|issue=1 |pages=151–176|doi=10.1152/physrev.00002.2015|pmid=26631596 |doi-access=free}}

The human sense of smell is not weak or underdeveloped. Humans have similar senses of smell to other mammals, and are more sensitive to some odors than rodents and dogs.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=McGann |first=John P. |date=2017-05-12 |title=Poor human olfaction is a 19th-century myth |journal=Science |language=en |volume=356 |issue=6338 |pages=eaam7263 |doi=10.1126/science.aam7263 |issn=0036-8075 |pmc=5512720 |pmid=28495701}}

= Toxicology =

Smokeless tobacco is not a "safe" alternative to conventional tobacco; smokeless tobacco products contain nicotine and are therefore highly addictive.{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Vidyasagaran |first1=A. L. |last2=Siddiqi |first2=K. |last3=Kanaan |first3=M. |year=2016 |title=Use of smokeless tobacco and risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/101100/1/EJPC_D_16_00085_R1_2016.pdf |journal=European Journal of Preventive Cardiology |volume=23 |issue=18 |pages=1970–1981 |doi=10.1177/2047487316654026 |issn=2047-4873 |pmid=27256827 |s2cid=206820997}} They also can cause various harmful effects such as dental disease, oral cancer, oesophagus cancer, and pancreas cancer, coronary heart disease, as well as negative reproductive effects including stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight.{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Gupta |first1=Ruchika |last2=Gupta |first2=Sanjay |last3=Sharma |first3=Shashi |last4=Sinha |first4=Dhirendra N |last5=Mehrotra |first5=Ravi |date=2019-01-01 |title=Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Smokeless Tobacco Users: Results of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Global Data |url=https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/21/1/25/4793346 |journal=Nicotine & Tobacco Research |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=25–31 |doi=10.1093/ntr/nty002 |issn=1469-994X |pmc=6941711 |pmid=29325111}}
Swallowing gasoline does not generally require special emergency treatment, as long as it goes into the stomach and not the lungs; inducing vomiting can make it worse.a. {{#invoke:cite web||url=https://healthcare.utah.edu/the-scope/shows.php?shows=0_g9tzppx4 |publisher=University of Utah|title= Dos and Don'ts in Case of Gasoline Poisoning |author=University of Utah Poison Control Center|date=June 24, 2014}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||url= https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/MMG/MMG.asp?id=465&tid=83 |title= Medical Management Guidelines for Gasoline (Mixture) CAS# 86290-81-5 and 8006-61-9 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date= October 21, 2014 |author= Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |author-link= Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry }}

A chloroform-soaked rag cannot instantly incapacitate a person.{{#invoke:cite journal||last=Payne|first=J. P.|s2cid=1718276|date=July 1998|title=The criminal use of chloroform|journal=Anaesthesia|volume=53|issue=7|pages=685–690|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2044.1998.528-az0572.x|pmid=9771177|doi-access=free}} It takes at least five minutes of inhaling an item soaked in chloroform to render a person unconscious. Most criminal cases involving chloroform also involve another drug being co-administered, such as alcohol or diazepam, or the victim being found to have been complicit in its administration. The misconception that chloroform can be used as an incapacitating agent{{#invoke:cite journal||title=Medical Annotation: Chloroform amongst Thieves |journal=The Lancet |date=1865 |volume=2 |issue=2200 |pages=490–491|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(02)58434-8}} has been popularized by crime fiction authors.
Although bananas contain naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, particularly potassium-40 (⁴⁰K), which emit ionizing radiation when undergoing radioactive decay, the levels of such radiation are far too low to induce radiation poisoning, and bananas are not a radiation hazard. It would not be physically possible to eat enough bananas to cause radiation poisoning, as the radiation dose from bananas is non-cumulative.{{#invoke:cite web||title=The Most Common Medical Radiation Myths Dispelled |url=https://www.ahu.edu/blog/the-most-common-medical-radiation-myths-dispelled |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=AdventHealth University |date=May 21, 2018 |language=en}}{{#invoke:cite web||last=Loughran |first=Sarah |title=Are bananas really 'radioactive'? An expert clears up common misunderstandings about radiation |url=http://theconversation.com/are-bananas-really-radioactive-an-expert-clears-up-common-misunderstandings-about-radiation-193211 |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=The Conversation |date=November 3, 2022 |language=en}}a. {{#invoke:cite book||last1=Eisenbud |first1=Merril |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67Pn4ydLOVAC |title=Environmental radioactivity: from natural, industrial, and military sources |last2=Gesell |first2=Thomas F. |publisher=Academic Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-12-235154-9 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=67Pn4ydLOVAC&pg=PA171 171–172] |quote=It is important to recognize that the potassium content of the body is under strict homeostatic control and is not influenced by variations in environmental levels. For this reason, the dose from {{sup|40}}K in the body is constant.}}

b. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (1999), [https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-05/documents/402-r-99-001.pdf Federal Guidance Report 13], page 16: "For example, the ingestion coefficient risk for 40K would not be appropriate for an application to ingestion of ⁴⁰K in conjunction with an elevated intake of natural potassium. This is because the biokinetic model for potassium used in this document represents the relatively slow removal of potassium (biological half-time 30 days) that is estimated to occur for typical intakes of potassium, whereas an elevated intake of potassium would result in excretion of a nearly equal mass of natural potassium, and hence of ⁴⁰K, over a short period."

c. {{#invoke:cite web||author=Maggie Koerth-Baker |author-link=Maggie Koerth-Baker |date=Aug 27, 2010 |title=Bananas are radioactive—But they aren't a good way to explain radiation exposure |url=http://boingboing.net/2010/08/27/bananas-are-radioact.html |access-date=25 May 2011}}. Attributes the title statement to Geoff Meggitt, former UK Atomic Energy Authority. (See also: Banana equivalent dose)

Ingesting Visine, a brand of eye drops, does not cause diarrhea. It is neurotoxic, with consumption causing several serious side-effects. Pranks spiking people with Visine rose after the misconception was popularized by the film Wedding Crashers.{{#invoke:cite news||date=July 24, 2013 |title=Nothing funny about so-called 'Visine prank,' says pharmacist |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/nothing-funny-about-so-called-visine-prank-says-pharmacist/article_c955e29f-ffab-5c9b-a82f-671ff7ea9dc3.html |work=Waterloo Region Record}}{{Cite magazine |last=Blum |first=Deborah |date=March 25, 2013 |title=Just an (Eye) Drop of Poison |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/03/just-an-eye-drop-of-poison/ |magazine=Wired}}

= Transportation =

File:Bermuda Triangle.png

The Bermuda Triangle does not have any more shipwrecks or mysterious disappearances than most other waterways.a. {{#invoke:cite news||url =https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22806362|title =Study finds shipwrecks threaten precious seas|date =June 7, 2013|access-date = June 7, 2013|publisher =BBC News/science}}

b. {{#invoke:cite journal|| url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/0610/Bermuda-Triangle-doesn-t-make-the-cut-on-list-of-world-s-most-dangerous-oceans | title=Bermuda Triangle doesn't make the cut on list of world's most dangerous oceans | journal=The Christian Science Monitor | access-date=March 22, 2016| date=June 10, 2013 }}

c. {{#invoke:cite book||title=The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved| year=1975|first=Lawrence David|last= Kusche|isbn = 978-0-87975-971-1|publisher=Prometheus Books|location = Buffalo, NY|ref=Kusche, 1975}}

Toilet waste is never intentionally jettisoned from an aircraft. All waste is collected in tanks and emptied into toilet waste vehicles.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/11/19/on-world-toilet-day-let-us-praise-the-airline-lav/|last=Philips|first=Matt|title=On World Toilet Day, Let Us Praise the Airline Lav|work=The Middle Seat Terminal (Wall Street Journal)|access-date=April 2, 2009|date=November 19, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131214105710/https://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/11/19/on-world-toilet-day-let-us-praise-the-airline-lav/ | archive-date = December 14, 2013| url-status=live}} Blue ice is caused by accidental leakage from the waste tank. Passenger train toilets, on the other hand, have indeed historically flushed onto the tracks; modern trains in most developed countries usually have retention tanks on board and therefore do not dispose of waste in such a manner.
Automotive batteries stored on a concrete floor do not discharge any faster than they would on other surfaces, in spite of a worry that concrete harms batteries.{{#invoke:cite web||url=http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/battery.asp|title=Battery Parked|work=Snopes|date=February 8, 2011|access-date=June 2, 2013}} Early batteries with porous, leaky cases may have been susceptible to moisture from floors, but for many years lead–acid car batteries have had impermeable polypropylene cases.{{#invoke:cite news||url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k8BIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2232,1623674|title= No End to Battery Storage Debate|newspaper=The Vindicator |date= November 4, 1999|first1=Tom|last1=Magliozzi|author1-link= Tom Magliozzi|first2= Ray|last2= Magliozzi|author2-link=Ray Magliozzi|page=37}} While most modern automotive batteries are sealed, and do not leak battery acid when properly stored and maintained,a. {{#invoke:cite book||title=Ask Click and Clack: Answers from Car Talk|first1=Tom|last1= Magliozzi|author1-link=Tom Magliozzi|first2=Ray|last2=Magliozzi|author2-link=Ray Magliozzi|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1nntWoIBp4C&pg=PA68|pages=68–69|publisher=Chronicle Books|date=2008|isbn= 978-0-8118-6477-0 |access-date= June 2, 2013 }}

b. {{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxXlKb9wIe0C&pg=PA136 |title=Car Care Auto Clinic |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=November 2000 |volume=177 |issue=11 |issn=0032-4558 |page=136 |access-date=June 2, 2013}} the sulfuric acid in them can leak out and stain, etch, or corrode concrete floors if their cases crack or tip over or their vent-holes are breached by floods.a. {{#invoke:cite news||title=Use care in cleaning battery-acid stain|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/use-care-in-cleaning-battery-acid-stain/|first=Karen|last=Youso|website=The Seattle Times|access-date=May 9, 2018|date=October 4, 2008}}

b. {{#invoke:cite web||title=Managing Used Lead-Acid Batteries|url=http://www.gecap.org/pdf/lead-acid_batteries.pdf|website=Georgia Environmental Compliance Assistance Program|publisher=Georgia Tech Research Institute|access-date=May 9, 2018|date=July 2002|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028080456/https://www.gecap.org/pdf/lead-acid_batteries.pdf}}

=References=

=Sources=

{{cite book|last=Kahn|first=Charles H.|author-link=Charles H. Kahn|date=2001|title=Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans: A Brief History|url=https://archive.org/details/pythagoraspythag0000kahn|location=Indianapolis, Indiana and Cambridge, England|publisher=Hackett Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-87220-575-8| url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive|oclc=46394974}}
{{cite book | last = Varasdi | first = J. Allen | title = Myth Information | publisher = Ballantine Books | year = 1996 | location = New York | isbn = 0-345-41049-1}}

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