Popular "fun facts" that are actually myths
Short answer: many of the most shared fun facts are wrong. Here are seven famous ones and what is actually true.
1. "We only use 10% of our brains"
Brain imaging shows activity across virtually every region of the brain over the course of a day. Even simple tasks use many areas at once, and no large part of a healthy brain sits unused.
2. "Goldfish have a three-second memory"
Experiments have trained goldfish to respond to sounds, lights and feeding times and to remember them for weeks or months.
3. "The Great Wall of China is visible from space"
Astronauts in low orbit say the wall is very hard or impossible to pick out with the naked eye, because it is narrow and colored like the land around it. From the Moon it is certainly not visible.
4. "Bats are blind"
All bats can see. Many also use echolocation to hunt in the dark, and some large fruit bats rely mostly on good eyesight and smell.
5. "Bulls get angry at the color red"
Cattle cannot tell red from other colors the way people can. A bull charges the matador's cape because of its movement, not its color.
6. "Lightning never strikes the same place twice"
Tall, pointed objects are struck again and again. New York's Empire State Building is hit by lightning roughly twenty times in a typical year.
7. "Napoleon was unusually short"
Napoleon was about 1.69 meters (around 5 feet 7 inches), roughly average for a Frenchman of his time. The myth grew partly from differences between French and British inches and from cartoons of the era.
Want facts that are actually true?
Curiodex shows five new true facts a day, each with a short explanation and the source it's based on, and it never repeats a fact you've already read.
FAQ
Why do myths spread so easily?
They are short, surprising and easy to repeat, and they rarely come with a source. A true fact with a clear explanation is harder to fake.
Is the Great Wall visible from the Moon?
No. From the Moon no human-made structure can be picked out with the naked eye; even from low orbit the wall is very hard to see because it is narrow and similar in color to its surroundings.
How can I avoid sharing myths?
Look for a named, reputable source and search the claim together with the word "myth" before sharing.