Nothing beats a good dose of myth busting – it is one of our favorite pastimes here at the List Universe. Today is no exception. Following on from the very popular Top 10 Fascinating Facts That Are Wrong, we are presenting another varied list of “facts” that most people believe which are, in fact, bunkum. By the end of this list you should be ten facts smarter!
Myth: Catholic priests can’t be married
In order to clear this one up, we need to first understand the nature of the Catholic Church. Within the universal Church there are sections (also called churches but not in the sense that they are separate) – the most common one is, of course, the Roman (or Latin) Catholic Church. Then there is the Eastern Catholic Church (not to be confused with the Orthodox which is a different religion). Both of these churches fall under the jurisdiction of the Pope and all believe the same doctrines. There are a lot of differences between the two groups and these are all in matters of style of worship and certain rules. In the Eastern Church, priests are allowed to be married – but a married priest can’t become a Bishop. It also happens that occasionally in the Latin Church, pastors from other religions such as the Church of England are allowed to become priests (if they renounce their religion and become Catholic) even though they are married, so married priests can be found in all parts of the Roman Catholic Church. Pictured above is a Greek Catholic priest and his wife. Don’t believe me? Here is proof. And here is more proof.
Myth: St Bernard Dog’s carried or carry flasks of brandy around their necks
I am sure everyone is familiar with the picture above – a large St Bernard dog carrying a flask of brandy around his neck in order to revive people lost in the snowy mountains. What most people won’t be familiar with, is the fact that it is entirely made up – St Bernard dogs have never been used to carry small barrels of brandy. In fact, alcohol can make hypothermia worse so the whole idea is not just made up – it is dangerous. The famous monks at the travelers hospice in the St Bernard Pass (where the name of the dogs originated) state that they have never put brandy casks on their rescue dogs but they do keep a few flasks lying around for the tourist’s photos.
Myth: Coffee can help sober a person up
Not true. Alcohol is metabolized by the body at a constant rate (one unit of around eight grams per hour) and you can’t do anything to make it happen faster. Beer contains two units of alcohol per pint, so if you drink two pints, it will take four hours for your blood alcohol level to return to zero. All coffee will do is make you a wide-awake drunk. Just as a cold shower will make you a wet drunk. All you can do is settle down and wait for the effects to pass naturally.
Myth: Haggis is Scottish
I have Scottish roots so any Scots reading this list had better not lambast me too much for this item. It turns out that haggis (the tasty dish of minced lamb’s heart, lungs, and liver) is an import to Scotland – most likely from Scandinavia long before Scotland was even a nation. In fact, even the Roman’s used to eat a very similar dish and it is mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey: “a man before a great blazing fire turning swiftly this way and that a stomach full of fat and blood, very eager to have it roasted quickly.” While we are on the subject, Bagpipes are not Scottish either: they were described in ancient writings of the Hittites (from present day Turkey), and kilts (though not tartan) were also introduced to Scotland by the Vikings.
Myth: Spinach makes you strong – like Popeye the Sailor man!
The myth comes from the fact that spinach is high in iron – but wait… spinach is actually not very high in iron. Believe it or not, this part of the myth comes from a handwriting error in 1870 when a Doctor Wolf accidentally put a decimal point in the wrong place and made it look like Spinach had 10 times more iron that it really has. Now to the strong part of the myth: in order to get muscle strength, you need to exercise and do weight training – eating spinach (or anything else for that matter) won’t make you strong on its own – it will only give you the energy you need to survive your workout.
Myth: The Great Fire of London in 1666, ended the Great Plague of 1665.
A study done by the University of London recently found no correlation between the location of the fire and the geography of the dreadful plague. It was just a coincidence that the fire happened around the same time as the plague was beginning to mysteriously disappear. Most of the areas effected by the plague were poor parts of London north, south and east of the city walls – whereas the fire was in the city itself. Encyclopedia Britannica says “The cessation of plague in England must be regarded as spontaneous.”
Myth: Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian and didn’t drink alcohol.
This is a very common myth that seems to be extremely popular – perhaps because it seems ironic that a man who caused one of the worst cases of genocide in history loved animals so much that he wouldn’t eat them. But this ironic twist is actually untrue. What is true is that Hitler did prefer a diet of vegetables, but he had a strong fondness for German Sausage and ham, and his cook in the 1930s, Dione Lucas, said that his favorite dish was stuffed baby pigeon. Oh – and to wash it all down, Hitler’s drink of choice? Beer or watered-down wine. This was also confirmed by Hitler’s waiter, Salvatore Paolini.
Myth: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
We have all heard the tale of Alexander Graham Bell inventing the phone and using it for the first time to call his secretary Mr Watson, but the first functioning telephone was actually invented 15 years earlier by Philipp Reis, a German inventor. His device (which he called the Reis Telephon) was first demonstrated in 1861. The Reis Telephon was only able to transmit musical tones quite clearly, and human voices faintly. There is no doubt at all, that the first transmission of human voices over wire was on the device created by Reis, a full fifteen years prior to the invention by the man who now receives all the accolades for it.
Myth: Aluminum is an American corruption of the correct word “aluminium”
While I am sure that many of our American readers will know this, the British and commonwealth readers probably don’t. Aluminum is actually the older term, while aluminium was created later by the British to make it sound more like the other elements. Here is a timeline which explains things clearly:
1808: Sir Humphrey Davy isolates the metal for the first time. He calls it alumium
1812: Sir Humphrey decides to change the spelling of his element: he renames it to aluminum – the term adopted in the United States
1812: British scientists dislike the new name and change it to aluminium to match the other classical sounding elements.
So, if we are to give the discoverer the naming rights, the proper term is aluminum. And for those who love grammar, here is a slightly off-topic aside: From the late 17th century, “fall” was the universal English word for the third season (both British and Americans used it exclusively). It was not until the 18th century that the British began to use the very old fashioned (dating from the 14th century) word “Autumn” while the Americans continued to use “fall”.
Myth: Classical statues and buildings were finished in white stone or marble
Those of you who have been following the site since its infancy will know that this is a myth, but we have so many new readers that it seems appropriate to include it here anyway. When most of us think of the Romans and Greeks, we think of the beautiful white statues and buildings that they left behind them. But even way back in the 1800s, statues that had been excavated were found to contain traces of paint pigment. At the time, color was considered a non-essential part of beauty so no one bothered to try to replicate the original appearance of these great works of art. Fortunately for us, in more recent years people have tried to replicate – matching the original pigments found embedded in the stone. You can see one above – and we even have an entire list based on them.
Contributor: JFrater
Aye, i hear tha' scottish people ain't scottish! Well, Jamie Frater can take away our country… but he can never take away OUR FREEDOM!!!
RAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH *stabb*
lol funny guy
I always thought meucci invented the telephone
Fun list. I used to fall for the coffee thing, but it never worked. Now I know why.
omg spinach doesnt make you strong?! dammit…
omg coffee doesnt cure a hangover?! dammit…
omg hitler wasnt a vegetarian?! cant say i care too much… he still killed all those people…
Damn, all that spinach eating for nothing.AND now i can’t tell my girlfriend to stop being a vegetarian because Hitler was… Thanks a lot for ruining my life for the second day in a row Jamie..
“All coffee will do is make you a wide-awake drunk. Just as a cold shower will make you a wet drunk. ”
Favorite line
Cool list, only knew about half of ‘em.
Haha, nice list. Enjoyed. Good work!
AYE, NOW, I spose you’ll be telling me SCOTCH WHISKY isn’t Scottish???
I don’t care where haggis comes from, I’m still not eating it.!
wainboy, don’t forget to flash your buttocks.
*flashes buttocks*
thar ya go teapixie =3
Thanks, I feel better now.
My work here is done…
*exits to climatic music*
Oh right…I always forget that the Eastern Orthodox Catholics recognize a “Patriarch in Constantinople” not a Pope. I need to be reminded of these things sometimes…p’raps I’m losing my religion…but probably my mind…meh
Thank you SO MUCH for #2! The next time someone brings up the Aluminum / Aluminium debate I’m going to shove this list in their face!
Ugh haggis is rancid.
Wow I always believed most of this stuff
Good list
x
Climactic I’ll suggest delicately
OMG! I spent my whole childhood forcing spinach down my throat cos Popeye ate it and it made him strong!
I did always wonder why my muscles didn’t bulge after each mouthful…
i always thought that priests were forbidden of matrimony,., thats what i knew when i was studying in a catholic school,.,
well i just looked at the vatican website in reference to “married priests” having never heard of such a thing -but i’d also never heard of the “Eastern Catholic Church” and i was raised in the strict Roman Catholic tradition.
you’re right about the Eastern Church (which the vatican call it’s Oriental Church), although they seem to discourage it. but it still really does seem that a Roman (aka Latin) Catholic priest cannot be married.
“In our Oriental tradition, it has been possible to authorize the ordination of a handful of married men, as in any case you have done and go on doing in certain regions. But take care: in the West, if you separate the priesthood from celibacy, a very swift decadence will set in. The West is not mystical enough to tolerate the marriage of its clergy without degenerating. The Church of Rome (and this is to her glory) has preserved this ecclesiastical ascesis for a whole millennium. Beware of compromising it…”
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_01011993_revel_en.html
i found another quote -from bishop brown of new zealand- who wanted guidance in how to answer this question from congregates (perhaps this is a new zealand, not global, thing?):
“Why does it seem to be possible for former married priests of the Anglican Communion to be ordained and function as Catholic priests while former Catholic priests who have been dispensed from their vow of celibacy are unable to function in any pastoral way?”
the answer was about the sacrament of the eucharist, i couldn’t see how it applied to married priests. his quote seems to say if you’re first a Catholic priest and your were to get married you would no longer be a priest. the answer on this being different for “former anglican priest” is extremely unclear, the vatican seems to be struggling with this.
but it seems clear that someone originally ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, having no prior ordination, cannot get married.
lo….word
i found more info:
Pope John Paul II, through the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a clear although brief statement in June 1980.
[Concerning married Episcopalian clergy becoming Catholic priests,] “the Holy See has specified that this exception to the rule of celibacy is granted in favor of these individual persons, and should not be understood as implying any change in the Church’s conviction of the value of priestly celibacy, which will remain the rule for future candidates for the priesthood from this group.”
The promise of celibacy is waived as a favor to those married clergy, given their particular circumstances and their desire to unite with the Catholic Church. However, the Holy Father has repeatedly affirmed the discipline of celibacy on Roman Catholic clergy of the Latin Rite. (Outside the United States, the Eastern Rites do not require the promise of celibacy except for bishops.)
-so it it’s like a partial fact, some Catholic priest are married. but if you are getting ordained into the Latin Catholic Church and it’s your first of any ordinational you can’t get married, unless you leave the priesthood.
I have to disagree with number ten on the list. Roman catholic priests can’t get married. Reverends of the Church of England can get married but they are protestants. The queen of Enland is the head of the Church of England and does not answer to the pope. This dates back to when Henry VIII who broke away from the catholic church. Growing up with catholisism and from a country with a history of religious division between catholics and protestants (Ireland) i can assure you pastors/reverends and catholic priests, albeit both christian, are two different religions.
The coloring of the statues, does look rather tacky/kitsch, like Thomas Kinkade work, I just can’t possibly like it
Church of England are not considered to be Catholic under any circumstance. What rubbish.
I am speechless, good work lo…
after this i’m done talking about priests, but this was all new info to me.
so am i understanding that the vatican lets its priest up to level of bishop marry outside the U.S. and the U.S. priesthood has been nearly destroyed by ***** scandals in the past few decades (so obviously many men of the cloth have having been issues remaining celibate in the USA) yet they still won’t change they rule for the states?!
i left the church long ago, but learning this makes me a little angry, i thought all Catholics worldwide had one rule against married clergy and americans were the only ones having so much trouble not molesting people in their “celibacy.” how obnoxious.
Been a wet drunk myself once or twice.
Cool list.
-have been having issues-
lo:
This might be confusing…bear with me…
Of all the Christian religions, Catholicism tends to adhere more strictly to literal translations of the Bible and stricter practices (the eucharist for example. Many Christian religions partake the bread and wine to break fast WITH Christ while Catholics believe in the body and blood OF Christ). The major reason for celibacy is that they seek to create a life as similar as possible to Christ (who was celibate) as they essentially act In Persona Christi for many religious sacraments. Just as virginity in a female is a sign of purity upon entering marriage, chastity is a sign of purity upon entering priesthood. Just like nuns, they are pretty much ‘married to the church.’
If it’s a mess, sorry…I can try to clarify it when this painful headache goes away. My cousin’s wife’s brother (haha, how is that for crazy degrees of separation) was a vicar who had recently…broken off? (don’t know the correct term) not from the church but I guess his station as a vicar… in order to marry. I met him a few months ago and it was with him I had this discussion. Don’t know if I did him justice but what HE said to ME made sense!
I’m sure somebody has a differing opinion…please; let’s hear them all. This is the kind of noodling that I love to read. So many brains!
with regards to # 8, i saw this mythbusters episode that actually debunks the coffee theory about sobering up…. they did however conclude that doing some exercise , like treadmill can sober you up.
Hey – hold on a sec – the list item said that Catholic priests can be married – and Eastern Catholic priests CAN be married. It is only priests of the Western rites that are normally not allowed (though exceptions can be and are sometimes made).
Schnoobydoo: I certainly didn’t suggest that Anglicans were catholic – they are a separate religion and have been since their invention 500 years ago. I am referring to Anglican priests who are married who convert to Catholicism – the Church has allowed a number of them to become Catholic priests despite the marriage. It does not, however, allow married Anglican Bishops who convert to be consecrated as Catholic Bishops. Remember, the Catholic Church does not consider the Anglican church to have valid orders – in other words, officially, in the eyes of the Catholic religion, the Anglican church does not have any priests or bishops at all.
lo: it is not “outside the US”. There are a huge number of Eastern Catholic parishes in the US. And the Western Church started in Rome remember. This is not about physical east and west, but about the ritual practices that originated in the two distinct areas. Celibacy is the requirement of all Catholics in Latin rites around the world – and celibacy is less a requirement of the Eastern Catholics who are also all around the world. Molestation is not connected to celibacy – there is molestation in protestantism as well. The problem has arisen from changes made in the 1960s which made it FAR easier for people to become priests who would normally have been told they couldn’t.
Oh – for those who still disagree with my on item 10, you might like to read this article – I will quote a bit:
23. lola
Don’t forget these statues aren’t in their natural setting. Most of the statues were originally outdoor works, with lighting vastly different from usual gallery lighting. That and dirt managing to get into crevices would’ve created shadows and added texture. A number of stages I painted looked flat and (personally) quite ugly until we dirtied it up a bit. Regardless of the play (or even what the designer said), we would always sneak in with some diluted grays and/or browns and attack the corners just to give it more of a grounded, realistic appearance.
And one more:
jfrater: I stand corrected, i thought you were implying catholic priests can get married, apologies. Sayin that, there aren’t many married priests down my neck of the woods and if my grandmother ever heard of this there’d be strongly worded letter on its way to the bishop, i think i’ll keep to myself:0D
My dad was an Anglican and me mah was a Catholic, this inevitably led to some friction within the household…whenever I hear the Irish Rovers sing the Orange and the Green it brings a tear to me eye….marriage and funeral rites notwithstanding….oy!
Schnoobydoo: no problem – I am here to dispel myths
Boogie had a point there, the Church of England would be considered a Protestant or “runaway” religion ’cause they openly defied the Pope and Rome(vatican), never Catholics
jfrater-
i was thinking about that line i posted (Outside the United States, the Eastern Rites do not require the promise of celibacy except for bishops.)
i misinterpreted it, i’m now sure it means that Eastern Rite Catholics outside the US can marry as clergy (up to bishop), but the Eastern Rite Catholics who worship inside the US are held to the same rules as the Latin Rite Catholics in the US and can’t marry.
essentially NO ordained Catholic priest in the states -Eastern or Latin Rite- can later marry.
an exception WAS made for clergy of the High-Episcopalian faith who were already married and wished to leave their churches as they liberalized and ordained women and the like. the Pope felt these Episcopalians were already “Roman” in spirit and were seeking to mend the rift between protestants and the Church by “returning” and he granted an exception to allow it, despite their married status.
the “real fact” is Eastern Rite Catholics who are priests can be married men, excluding bishops. in other cases a Papal Exception is required.
i shouldn’t have brought up the *****ual abuse stuff, it’s just that it’s been so prominent in the states for most of my life and it gets discussed in Catholic (and non Catholic) circles often. -there is a recurring concept amongst the lay people in these discussions that if priests were allowed to marry and have families they would not only better understand the lives of their congregates, but might have more normal ***** lives in general, being finally permitted to have any sanctioned ***** life at all, so maybe the church should change the rule.
i apologize for bringing it up, it was almost automatic from all the discussions i just mentioned.
the statues nonetheless, IMHO, look far better and grander without colour.
Nice list
jfrater-you and cracked.com are two of my favorite sites to find Top 10 whatever subjects. The difference is that you have a bit more class and are a bit more intellectually revealing, they have the low brow stuff that I love just as much. I just wish at times I could come up with my own list to add. Maybe you could do a list on lists that haven’t been done yet?
@lo,
There was some terrible acts performed by the men who represented the Catholic church but it isn’t exclusive to the Catholics…
archangel- I agree with you on that one, but it is still interesting to see what the original looked like.
Like I’m not trying to get defensive her…it has been such occurring theme throughout history in all religions and cultures…it boggles the mind that all that *****e went on for so long
jfrater-
a last thought: your “false fact” statement is correct!
a Catholic priest can, in some circumstances BE married, he just cannot GET married (post ordination).
i concede the argument. -that one little word made all the difference. thanks for teaching me something new.
all-in-all, a fun list.
CurtShmurt- just think about the possibility that some new religion down the road may pull the exact same stuff again but using their views and beliefs to justify it. Scientology maybe? American Idol viewers? Fox “News”?
43. CurtShmurt- thanks for all your comments.
no, you don’t sound defensive. please read my last paragraph @ #39 for why it came to my mind, but it was wrong of me to bring it up.
again, my apologies. i didn’t mean to imply that being a catholic or a priest/pastor made one more inclined to abuse -i know full well that any person in any position can commit a terrible act unto another.
in regards to number 2, I read somewhere that the American accent is actually more similar to old English than the current accent used in England today. Can’t remember where I read it though.
Arg, I hate it when people bring up facts like number 7. Sure, it may have been imported in a long long time ago, but if you go back that far, then Scottish people aren’t even Scottish, because they came from somewhere else. We’re all African by those rules.
Olde English smells great, that’s why us Americans use it when we talk!
Ew!…. Haggis….
47. mister- just remember there is no such thing a “an american accent” or “an english accent” there are many, many regional accents and and vocabularies in both places (and i didn’t even count other part of the UK).
you should so read Bill Bryson’s book The Mother Tongue: english and how it got that way it’s excellent.
#45 chunkylover77-I know, I worry about it.
#46 lo-Don’t worry about it
Jfrater: On #1 – Am I the only one who thinks that these sculptures & statues look great in white rather than in their original colors? And the same comment holds true for most on the other list – esp. #3 (apollo) looks hideous in color.
Or is it that we are so familiar with these works without their paint that our mind tells us that paint-version looks worse?
In the immortal words of Stan Lee,”’nuff said”.
?
O Kalyan, the statues look marvelous in white…but that’s the only way we’ve seen them hm? There’s so much to explore…colours, lifestyle…so much
p.s. to #39
the Eastern Rite Church in the states ordained its 1st married priest in 1997. he was the first since 1929, as his bishop interpreted that a papal decree in 1990 didn’t renew a prohibition against this in america, as it wasn’t mentioned. there had been married Eastern Rite priests in the states in the interval, but all were ordained overseas.
it is still true that they must be married prior to ordination.
this married priest stuff fascinates me, and i’d not have found out about it without jamie’s list