Following the popularity of our historical misconceptions, we offer you another list – top 10 common misconceptions. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
10. Napoleon was unusually short
Much of the reason for the rumours that Napoleon was a short man (and thus had to compensate by invading countries and becoming ruler of Europe) comes from the confusion between old French feet and Imperial (British) feet. Measured shortly after his death in 1821, Napoleon was recorded at 5ft 2in in French feet, which corresponds to 5ft 6.5in in Imperial feet, or 1.69m. This makes him slightly taller than the average Frenchman of the 19th century. Napoleon’s nickname of ‘le petit caporal’ has also perpetuated the rumour, with non-francophones interpreting ‘petit’ to refer to his height, when it was actually a term of affection referring to his camaraderie with ordinary soldiers.
9. Danish Pastries come from Denmark
Arguably the world’s most misleadingly named food, Danish pastries actually originated in Austria, inspired by Turkish baklava. Their name comes from Danish chef L.C. Klitteng who popularized them in Western Europe and the United States in the early 20th century, including baking it for the wedding of US President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. In Denmark and much of Scandinavia, Danish pastries are called ‘Viennese Bread.’
During the Islamic cartoon controversy of 2006, Danish pastries were renamed ‘Roses of the Prophet Muhammad’ in Iran, due to its association with the offending country.
8. Meteorites are hot when they hit Earth
We’ve all seen the cartoons where a meteor falls to Earth (at which point it becomes a meteorite) with a red-hot tinge and smoke blowing off it in all directions. In truth, small meteorites are cold when they hit Earth – in fact many are found with frost on them. A meteorite has been in the near–absolute zero temperature of space for billions of years, so the interior of it is very cold. A meteor’s great speed is enough to melt its outside layer, but any molten material will be quickly blown off, and the interior of the meteor does not have time to heat up because rocks are poor conductors of heat. Also, atmospheric drag can slow small meteors to terminal velocity by the time they hit the ground, giving them time to cool down.
7. Water spins in different directions
Another bane of cartoons. Toilet water does NOT spin in a given direction due to being in a particular hemisphere of the Earth. That phenomenon only occurs in weather patterns of hundreds of miles in size like hurricanes, due to the rotation of the Earth. So there.
6. Bats are blind
A common misconception perpetuated by its use in metaphors and similes (see also 5), bats actually have fairly normal eyesight, although they are very photosensitive and often dazzled by excessive light. However, bats do often use echolocation in situations where their eyesight fails them, such as times of darkness.
5. Chameleons change colour to match their surroundings
An interesting and fun idea, sure, but simply not true. While chameleons can be perceived to change their colour to match their background, a chameleon’s colour change is actually the expression of the physical and physiological condition of the lizard. Chameleon’s are already naturally camouflaged to match their surroundings, and change their colours depending on their mood, and sometimes a sign of communication. A chameleon that is frightened, for example, will turn black.
4. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo
Sounds ludicrous right? Well this rumour somehow worked up a cult following on the Internet who protested its factuality with an almost religious fervour. It got to the point that a respected scientist actually decided to take valuable time out of his day, when he could be curing cancer or something else unimportant, to test this theory. Trevor Cox, of the University of Salford, England, confirmed what all us logical people knew all along – a duck’s quack DOES echo.
He placed a duck in a reverberation chamber and tested its quack. Sure enough he concluded that a duck’s quack does echo, though the sound that comes back is very soft due to the fading nature of the actual quack. Hooray for science.
3. Hitler was an atheist
“We were convinced that the people needs and requires this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out.”
– Adolf Hitler, Berlin, 1933
Christianity – a religion of peace and tolerance that preaches moral values and love for one’s enemies. Well clearly, from a historical perspective, this has certainly not always been the case, although it’s not so much the religion’s fault as the people who attempt to follow it. With over a billion worldwide adherents, is it really probable that everyone who considers themselves a Christian is a pious, holy and moral human being?
One of the most damning criticisms of Hitler and of atheism in general is that Hitler, as an atheist had no morals and thus could kill freely without care or feeling. Well Hitler was certainly not an atheist; he was born a Roman Catholic, although how religious he actually was is debatable. It is clear though that Hitler was an evil man, and that his religion was irrelevant to his malevolent personality.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote fondly of his experiences in Church festivals, and as leader of the Nazi party made many references to the glory of Christianity in his speeches. Including making references to Jesus’ death at the hand of the Jews in an attempt to rile up anti-Semitic sentiment in his mostly religious audiences. He adopted many aspects of Catholic hierarchy, liturgy and symbolism, though he was very critical of Catholicism in private. In fact, Hitler favoured Protestantism, due to it being open to interpretation. He also ridiculed occultism and neo-Paganism that was relatively popular in Germany at the time.
Strangely enough, Hitler greatly admired the Muslim faith and tradition saying, “the Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?”
2. Humans evolved from monkeys
One of the most common misconceptions about Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is that Darwin claimed we evolved from chimpanzees. Darwin never actually said this, nor will any respectable biologist. This myth was actually spread by religious zealots during the 19th century in order to try and discredit Darwin and promote anti-evolutionism among the religious. Humans and chimpanzees are actually cousins (we share about 94% of our DNA with them) and both evolved from a common ancestor, thought to be Sahelanthropus tchadensis, around 7 million years ago.
1. “Just Desserts”
‘Just desserts’? Does that even make sense in context? The correct phrase is actually ‘just deserts’, and don’t worry if you didn’t know that because you’re not alone, and the chances are that someone much more intelligent than you didn’t know it either. The reason for this misunderstanding comes from the rarely used noun form of the verb ‘to deserve’; something which is deserved is a ‘desert’ (pronounced dessert). It’s hard to tell when the usurpation of the original word was made, but it probably had something to do with witty restaurateurs naming their businesses ‘Just Desserts’ as a pun, and the phrase catching on as the original is forgotten.
Contributor: JT
alright. i’ve pretty much stayed out of the conversation until now but i think i’d like to speak my peace. i was born and raised lds (mormon to those of you who don’t recognize the term). when i was 17 i began questioning everything, as i have come to believe is the natural process in human development. as a consequence i tried to believe for a number of different reasons. for my parents, for my clergy, for my friends. finally i tried to believe for myself. eventually i realized that belief in anything is necessitated by personal choice. science is just as much a belief system as any religion. there are just as many leaps of faith regarding science as there are in religion. there have been wars caused by science just as there have been wars caused by religion. granted, there have not been as many wars caused by science, but then you must consider that science is in its infancy. you see, what i’ve come to realize is that it doesn’t matter if you believe in evolution or creation. christ or chromosomes. what matters is what you do with that belief.
a scientific study made a connection between the brain size of primates and the size of communities they live in. humans were included in the study and it was hypothesized that humans can have a maximum of about 150 people in their community or “monkeysphere”. if you think about it, it makes sense. how many people do you actually know on a real level? how many people do you think of as actual people? i bet you anything that the guy you order your burger from is not a real person to you. he only exists to the extent that you have to interact to order you burger. you don’t know that he’s a single dad trying to fight depression as his kids turn to drugs because there is no one watching them. any terrorist doesn’t think of the people he is murdering as actual people. a bank robber sees only a huge corporation, not the 50 people with lives of their own who now need to find a new job. a priest sees only a body of scientists, persecuting him for his beliefs. an atheist sees only a religion, persecuting him for his lack of beliefs.
perhaps we should be more understanding of people. have i lost my faith? no. though i can certainly understand where people do lose their faith. i’ve been down that road.
yes i believe in god and no, i don’t know all the answers. i do know that wherever a higher power exists we have no understanding of her. perhaps when science reveals all the answers we will find god has existed all along. perhaps not. perhaps when science finds all the answers science will also find more questions, as has been consistent with scientific method. and perhaps there is a higher form of faith, a higher form of meaning to life. perhaps there is a form of knowing god on a personal level when you can say, “yes, i know my potential and i know that whatever exists in my life exists solely because i have created it though my consciousness”
maybe knowing yourself, is the highest form of knowing god. and it’s not until you know god that you can know anything with any certainty.
Mystern: One correction: You say, “science is just as much a belief system as any religion.”
This is simply not true. People *make* science into a belief system–our civilization has been doing this for quite some time now–but that is not the same as what you say, that science *itself* is a belief system.
The scientific method is NOT about belief or faith. It is about evidence, experiment, and theory.
It’s a perversion of science when people view it as a belief system.
When did Dr. Phil get here? No seriously, I don’t have any problem with faith at all. I have a problem with you insinuating that science requires faith.
Science does not need anyone praying to God to work. When you postulate a theory in science you are not saying “ok guys, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think the speed of light is as fast as anything can travel.” You know why Einstein didn’t require faith in order for E=MC2? Because he observed the evidence, proposed a hypothesis, it was eventually tested, and its now used as the “Theory of General Relativity” its how we calculate extra orbital trajectory, and guess what? It works. No faith required by our astronauts when we launch the shuttle. We know that general relativity works. We don’t know why it works yet, it just does.
See, you’re not saying that about God. faith asks me to believe God is doing something, when it appears to me he never does anything. Oh and I can’t test it, ever. Oh and its got magic too, but only the faithful can see or feel the magic. Church is like a giant Ouija board and everyone has there hands on the selector and the priest is the guy moving it around, except when he is eyeing your nubile sons of course. Ok that last part isn’t fair, but neither is life.
Randall: You are correct. Science itself is not a belief system. However belief in science is.
And um I hate to ask this, but do you mind refreshing my memory as to which war science started again?
Joe: I can completely understand your arguments and you have valid points. There are some things widely accepted in science though which cannot be proven. This is not to say that they will never be proven, simply that they have not yet. You have no evidence that the existence of God cannot be proven.
As for science causing wars, I will admit it depends on your definition of “cause”.
Whoa, you mean you need to believe in science for it to be true?
If you walk around the world in one direction (bear with me) would you call it flat? If you saw a soft tissue clone of a living dinosaur at the zoo would you say it was fake? If you see the Earth spinning from the Mir space station, does the Sun still revolve around it?
If you don’t believe your senses, those of touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound, then we cannot talk. If you disbelieve your own senses and the anecdotal evidence of your peers that they too sense the same thing, well you are a lost cause.
Blind faith doesn’t mean being blind to reality.
OPINION
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*****ED OFF OPINION
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“You have no evidence that the existence of God cannot be proven.”
I cannot disprove a negative. Religion also states that the beatific vision would instantly kill a mortal. The sheer knowledge that God exists would make your head pop like a balloon. Why do you think they threw that fine print in there? So it can never be questioned, because it can never be disproven.
No one is *****ed off, if logical debate makes you uncomfortable, change the channel.
Nope I never said you need to believe in something for it to be true. I don’t know what is true. I will concede the point that what exists, exists. There are scientific laws which exist. I am simply saying that there are some things which cannot be proven. As for “Religion also states that the beatific vision would instantly kill a mortal” – that depends on the religion.
“As for “Religion also states that the beatific vision would instantly kill a mortal” – that depends on the religion.”
Heh, which one?
You tell me. You’re the one who wrote it. I can tell you a couple that don’t. Buddhism, LDS theology, Taoism.
And That is giving the interpretation that those religions would give beatific vision
All the channels have this debate. You can go to almost any page on the internet that allows comments, and you’re sure to find a science/religion argument. It’s not that this so-called “logical debate” makes me or anyone else uncomfortable, it’s that it’s tiring, lame, and unoriginal. And I’m fully aware that I could choose not to read it if I’m too tired out by it…I’m not really reading it, to be honest. It’s just that I think there are more exciting things to talk about.
Here, I’ll throw out a topic: Isn’t it obnoxious when someone complains about inane conversations on the internet by contributing to one? Discuss…
Listen, I don’t know everything. Quite the opposite actually. What I’m saying is you don’t know more than me. Having a personal devotion to God regardless of the religion does not give you any advantage over an Atheist. Its just a distraction from reality, like World of Warcraft, or EverQuest. You live in your faith, in your head, where you plan to have a super kick ass time after death because you were good on Earth. I’m merely saying that being good while your alive has its own intrinsic value that does not require God.
God is invoked more often than anything else because of our need to avoid reality. During *****, or a car accident, or when I stub my toe, who gets the blame? God. Its a convenient way to excuse being a clumsy person and invoke something else, like God, to assure you that it was in fact Gods fault you stubbed your toe. I never understood why people call out his name during *****, other than maybe thats what people think heaven is? I dunno.
Science has yet to cause a war. If you were thinking about Oppenheimer creating the Atomic bomb, well that arguably was the end to WWII and the reason the Cold War was prevented. Science makes friends of enemies, when we all see reality in the same light we start to work together. Vice versa if you perpetually see the world through God colored glasses you will never see the harmony of man which is at the heart of all religions.
chill, please?: I agree. Though i must i’m not really irritated with Joe. he’s got some excellent points. My entire purpose for entering the discussion was to provide an alternate point of view.
Joe: Science is wonderful. It’s given humans fantastic things. And I completely agree withall of your points in the last post. While this may be the norm I think that a more personal approach to God is called for in every religion.
“Though i must i’m not really irritated with Joe”
This was supposed to say: Though I must admit I’m not really irritated with Joe
chill, please?: It is highly irritating!
I’ll give you yet another topic . . . the Civil War was neither civil nor a war . . . discuss . . .
Bhuddism requires transcendance or detachment from mortality to reach nirvana.
I know nothing about Mormons other than they used to embrace polygamy which is strictly against the tenets of the foundation of Christianity where it is supposedly derived and the little nerds on bicycles with there Herb outfits are annoying as ***** when I have a 12 pack of Heineken in one hand and this months Hustler in the other and they decide to stop me and ask if I have found Jesus to which I always reply “if he loves all of us he’ll find me.”
Taoism like ancient Chinese Confucianism? They worship rocks and the wind. They believe in a balance of power in the universe. Hell the conservation of matter is like the first law of thermodynamics. I side with them if anything, and I don’t think they are even searching for a deity.
Angelina: Oh hey, there’s an idea! In my fifth grade American History textbook, someone’s mom had gone through and crossed out every instance of the term “Civil War” and replaced it with “The War of Northern Aggression.” I grew up in GA.
83. jeff_nesquick
with all this talk of nazi’s i figured it was about time a grammar nazi would show up.
Yes my education is probobly lacking in the grammar area but WTF cares.
Ok, democracy rules I am out of here, but I will check back sometime it was actually very interesting.
Joe: I think our debate has come to an end. Thanks for helping me pass half the day at work. And thanks for raising some awesome points. Thanks also for challenging my answers in intelligent ways.
oh yah and its nice to see i was correct in a assuming a religous debate was coming. It did take longer then expected though.
Juggz: I held my peace as long as I could. I just wanted to provide an alternate perspective. I haven’t had a discussion that good in a long time.
chill, please?: I live in Savannah now though I grew up in Va. I work with a lady who refers to it as “The war between the states”. Yikes!
Angelina: No way! I totally grew up in Savannah! There are definitely some crazies there.
So I’ve never heard that the Civil War was neither civil or a war. Could you please explain this?
chill: So you know all about St. Patty’s day, huh? When did you move away? I love it here but I didn’t grow up here so I understand. I never want to move back to where I from. Too cold! I loved your comment . . . nice to break the tension with a sarcastic remark . . . I’m the same way!
Mystern: It’s from a SNL skit with Mike Myers, “Coffee Talk”. Sorry, it was funnier in my head!
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/76
There watch that, its pretty cool stuff.
I moved a little more than 3 years ago to go to school. Oh St. Patrick’s Day. That holiday (or should I say WEEK of revelry) is…how can I put this delicately…celebrated quite merrily in our fair city. Have you been through a hurricane yet? I think I prefer cold weather to hurricanes.
Yarr: Didn’t find it a challenge at all, don’t worry! I’ve come into a lot of contact with scorning Christians. I suppose it’s mostly due to where I live (the “cliques” here are based on where you go to church), but I have to say it’s quite tiresome, being constantly told I’m heading to hell for no reason at all. I mean, I’m a nice person! It’s not like I kick puppies for sport or anything. I pay my ridiculously high taxes, I send out Christmas cards, and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday. Ah well, doesn’t really bother me — I was in a bit of a ranty-sort of mood when I wrote that last post. Generally I’m happy-go-lucky, you stay on your side of the pond and I’ll stay on mine!
And don’t get me wrong, Atheists have been known to bite my head off as well. They think I’m stupid because I DO believe in a higher power (I just haven’t defined what that is yet). That can be tiresome as well. I can’t win with the mean Christians (the majority, I find, are very cheerful, friendly people!), yet I can’t win with the over-expressive Atheists either! It’s a vicious, vicious circle, and I think I’ll just turn my head and whistle tunelessly, hoping they’ll ignore me!
chill: Hurricane Bonnie 1998 in Wilmington, NC. It sucked! But it lasted for 3 days . . . winter in Va. lasts forever! Or 4-5 months depending on the year.
Yarr: Where do you live such that you don’t regularly encounter crazy street-preachers? Sign me up!
This must be the topic of the day. Hey guys we have forums too
Juggz: Forums are for nerds. 8)
*Proud Nerd!
well
i WOULD go on the forums… if i ever get that verification email
If anyone wants to continue this discussion further, I blog at http://ojmac79.blogspot.com where I have lots of things you can disagree with.
Joe: wow. no stay … Joe’s still goin…”Keep Punching Joe!” I am the eyes inside of you.
I’m still willing to call bull***** on many fronts.
I said some things in comment 81. about how faith is what it is and how it really didn’t matter what you thought about it…
I guess that could mean faith in God, science, lightswitches… Whatever.
I also pointed out how nicely people who don’t agree with each other over religion seem to treat one another. Joe and Auntie Kryst more or less proved my point. (…the venom comments, remember?)
Thanks guys!
Before you go back up the comment stream, one of Auntie Kryst’s more offensive comments was removed.
That’s unfortunate.
It really tied the room together.
Chill Please:
I live in Houston. I think we’re home to maybe 3 or 4 world famous mega-churches.
I gotta say though, no street preachers. Lots and lots of panhandlers, the occasional Mormon on a bicycle at a crosswalk. But, and I swear to God, I have never, except for once in my life, seen a crazy street preacher.
It seems like there’s a ***** shop on every corner though. Which is cool. You never know just exactly when you’re gonna need more *****. In Houston, if you forgot to stop, you just wait a second or two. There will be another one just up the block.
I used to live directly behind a big gay ***** store. It was the only landmark to my street. I literally gave my parents directions to Thanksgiving at my house,”Come up Richmond about 3/4 mile, and take a left at the big gay ***** store.”
So, lots of pollution, lots of bums, lots of traffic, and lots and lots of *****. But, few, if any wacky preachers.
By the way, I think any serious discussion can be derailed when you start talking about *****.
How the hell can you continue to argue about God when someone starts talking about *****?
*****.
Yarr: priceless!
I’ve never understood why people take offense to being called stupid. Some people are very stupid people, can’t we at the very least agree that humans are notoriously dumb some times?
The internet is chalk full of nascar loving, blonde joke emailing, redneck saluting dunderheads. Al Gore created the internet tubes to be filled with ***** and insults, don’t rock the boat!
Joe: Are you referring to me?
Wow, in 4 comments 2 of my favourite things on the internet have been mentioned: ***** and blonde jokes
Everyone is stupid, some just show it more publicly.
No, no I was referring to all of us. I act like an idiot just as much as the next guy. We are all imperfect people and I am no different.
soo, anyone remember Are You Afraid of the Dark? The chameleon episode?? Did it ***** anyone else off that they used iguanas and called them chameleons? Cause it sure *****ed me off.
It sounds like this Joe guy is sick of life itself…man..just put yourself out of your misery…
I’m happy living in reality chap. If you need to believe lies and myths to feel good about yourself, it is you who needs to look at your self worth, not me.
Joe:
Don’t let the yahoos get at you. Keep fighting the good fight.
My eyes started bleeding about halfway through reading all the comments…
Certainly didn’t help that i tried doing those stereo images just before that!!
joe you are doing a good job.
I often wonder if atheism would be stronger as a ‘belief’ if there was a unified piece of literature and a once a week gathering place for it.
From working in a lab, and seeing the scientific approach to doing experiments for a living, and comparing this to (past) church life in the assemblies of god:
Science has just exactly the same types of people in it that religion has. There are just as many scientific zealots as there are religious zealots. Just as there are people whose faith is weak, there are also people whose knowledge of their own scientific area is lacking. It seems that faith is manifest in what you will do with your hands for others of any kind, but science is manifest in what you will do for the body of scientific knowledge. The arguments about scientific theories are on level with some of the arguments about who did what in the bible. The two lots of people are pretty much the same on a biological and social level. They all make mistakes. They all argue. Someone in science is always proved wrong and disappears. Someone in faith is seen as popular and is recorded as having a good statement.
My speculation is that there is a part of everyone’s brain, whether scientific or religious, that is hard-wired for just a little bit of bull***** that is contrary to their overall nature. We fill it with sport, movies, dreams, fantasies about the future, etc, and we make excuses for it. No one is immune from this. All of us are descended from people who lived without the scientific method.
Hitler posed as a Christian to win support from the eccliastic leaders. Not only was he critical of Christianity in private, his understanding of Christianity was way off – he redefined it as he saw it, not as it self-defined.
He is probably better described as a social darwininst.
Who cares whether Hitler was an atheist or a Christian. No doubt, thousands of people who followed him were in fact Christians and agreed with his evil views. All this says to me is that there are good and bad people in every belief system. By the way, just because Hitler did evil things does not mean that he was an atheist. Atheists do have a very valid basis for morality and it’s called compassion. It is something we evolved to have. If we didn’t have it, we would not have survived as a species.