How do you know something is true? More than likely, it's because someone or something that you trust told you it was so and you simply never questioned it.
But as it turns out, this can lead to widespread global confusion. Have a look below and see which 'facts' we all believed were true but are really just straight-up lies.
There's a great episode of The Simpsons where Bart ends up insulting all of Australia trying to prove/disprove this very fact. I myself took this for truth for years, but as it turns out — the Coriolus effect doesn't alter the direction of the water.
I know it might sound outrageous to even suggest this, but the fact of the matter is that more than 45% of the United States population (roughly 150 million people) believe that humans and dinosaurs walked the earth together.
When in fact, we missed each other by nearly 65 million years.
Alexander Graham Bell is often credited as being the father of the telephone. And while it's true that he was the first to successfully patent the device, the talking telegraph was actually invented by an Italian immigrant named Antonio Meucci.
Actually, you can't — not even from a low orbit and not without the aid of some serious optical equipment. Astronaut Chris Hadfield confirmed as much after he spent 5 months living on the International Space Station.
You may have even heard some people argue that carrots specifically help to improve a person's night vision. As cool as that would be, it's sadly untrue.
Carrots contain vitamin A, which promotes and maintains healthy vision, but eating them won't help you see better.
Archaeologists believe that the pyramids were actually built with a rotating labor force of willing participants — not slave labor. They've even excavated towns that many believe were dedicated to the housing of all the workers involved and their families.
Yes and no. Mount Everest may be the tallest mountain above sea level, but it is most certainly not the tallest mountain on earth. That title belongs to the Mauna Kea volcano located in Hawaii. From its underwater base, it stands more than 4000 feet taller than Everest.
The sound that we mistake as bones cracking is really just nitrogen bubbles bursting in our synovial fluid. In no way is this related to arthritis forming, and was likely perpetrated by someone who hated the sound of cracking knuckles.
This is just a groundless, flat-out lie that's based on pseudoscience and born from pure ignorance. All assertions to the contrary have been completely debunked and the doctor who originally posited the theory was discredited and eventually lost his medical license.
Thank freaking god that this isn't true, otherwise, I'd never sleep again. It turns out that there are roughly 3-4 different species of house spiders, and luckily none of them want anything to do with humans.
I remember hearing this all throughout high school. But despite popular belief, Albert Einstein never failed math class. He did wind up failing an entrance exam for university but was still absolutely brilliant in the field of mathematics.
This myth dates back all the way to the 1930s. Luckily, for all those walking down below, even if a penny was traveling at the speed of sound — it still wouldn't be enough to pierce flesh.
While Walt is credited with the invention of everyone's favorite mouse, in reality, this wasn't the case. It was actually Disney's best friend/Kansas City animator Ub Iwerks who first rendered Mickey in his now-iconic form.
If you pay close attention to the Book of Genesis, all it says is that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Nowhere does it actually state that they ate an apple.
While it is most certainly true that heavy amounts of alcohol can be detrimental to your overall body function, alcohol itself will not kill brain cells. It may leave them damaged beyond reproach, but they will still be living cells.
