Some modern myths will never die. Think you know how long a gold fish’s memory lasts? Can you kill by dropping a penny off the Empire State Building? You may be in for a surprise, find out the truth about these urban myths.
A myth is a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people. The purpose of myths is to account for the origins of something, explain aspects of the natural world, or delineate the psychology, customs, or ideals of society.
10Myth: Goldash only have 3 second memories.
Truth: Goldash learned to associate feeding time with a sound and still remembered 5 months later.
09Myth: If a pigeon eats rice it could explode.
Truth: Bird seed expands by 40% when soaked in water – white rice expands by 33%.
08Myth: Santa Claus wears red rather than green because of COCA-COLA.
Truth: The red suit was influenced by the traditional bishop robes of Saint Nicholas in the 4th Century.
07Myth: We only use 10% of our brain, accessing 100% of our brain would give us super powers.
Truth: We´re at 100% capacity. If only used our neuronal level would be below a frog.
06Myth: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon.
Truth: Because of its gray brick wall, it isn´t even visible to the unaided eye in low earth orbit.
05Myth: If you drop a penny off the top of the Empire State Building it will fall fast enough to kill someone.
Truth: A penny would be traveling at 50 mph when it reached the ground. A fired bullet travels at 800 mph.
04Myth: The average person swallows 7 spiders a year in their sleep.
Truth: The myth was reportedly started by an email hoax in 1993.
03Myth: Albert Einstein failed math at school.
Truth: Einstein boasted “before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus”.
02Myth: US president John F. Kennedy ended a speech in German announcing “I am a jam doughnut”.
Truth: “Ich bin ein Berliner” translates correctly to “I am a Berliner” but “berliner” is also a type of German pastry.
01Myth: Kentucky Fried Chicken shortened its name to KFC when they stopped using “real” chickens.
Truth: KFC changed their name in 1991 to avoid paying license fees to The Commonwealth of Kentucky.