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History 
Movies and TV 10 Reality TV Shows Sued by Their Participants
Crime Ten Interesting Tales of Trials Decided by Jury Nullification
Animals 10 Cool Facts about the Most Mysterious Mammal on Earth
Technology 10 Old-School Technologies Making Surprising Comebacks
Movies and TV 10 Movie Monsters Who Went from Scary to Silly
History 10 True Tales of British Women Transported to Australia in Convict Ships
Politics 10 Surprising Duties of the U.S. President
Crime 10 Murderers Who Appeared on Game Shows
Creepy 10 Ghostly Tales You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
History 10 Instances Where One Vote Changed the World
Movies and TV 10 Reality TV Shows Sued by Their Participants
Crime Ten Interesting Tales of Trials Decided by Jury Nullification
Who's Behind Listverse?
Jamie Frater
Head Editor
Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author.
More About Us
Animals 10 Cool Facts about the Most Mysterious Mammal on Earth
Technology 10 Old-School Technologies Making Surprising Comebacks
Movies and TV 10 Movie Monsters Who Went from Scary to Silly
History 10 True Tales of British Women Transported to Australia in Convict Ships
Politics 10 Surprising Duties of the U.S. President
Crime 10 Murderers Who Appeared on Game Shows
Creepy 10 Ghostly Tales You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
25 Things That Are Not What They Seem
As is obvious from the fact that I write the majority of articles on this site, I love lists. Recently I was reading through a book filled with interesting facts and figures I stumbled upon this list – 25 things that are not what they seem. It seemed perfect for the site, and so I have reproduced it here for you all. Without further ado, 25 things that are not what they seem:
1
Items 1 – 5
1. A firefly is not a fly – it is a beetle
2. A prairie dog is not a dog – it is a rodent [image above]
3. India ink is not from India – it is from China and Egypt
4. A horned toad is not a toad – it is a lizard
5. A lead pencil does not contain lead – it contains graphite
2
Items 6 – 10
6. A douglas fir is not a fir – it is a pine [image above]
7. A silkworm is not a worm – it is a caterpillar
8. A peanut is not a nut – it is a legume
9. A koala bear is not a bear – it is a marsupial
10. An English horn is not English and it isn’t a horn – it is a French alto oboe
3
Items 11 – 15
11. A guinea pig is not from guinea and it is not a pig – it is a rodent from South America
12. Shortbread is not a bread – it is a thick cookie [image above]
13. Dresden China is not from Dresden – it is from Meissen
14. A shooting star is not a star – it is a metorite
15. A funny bone is not a bone – it is the spot where the ulnar nerve touches the humerus
4
Items 16 – 20
16. Chop suey is not a native Chinese dish – it was invented by Chinese immigrants in California
17. A bald eagle is not bald – it has flat white feathers on its head and neck when mature, and dark feathers when young [image above]
18. A banana tree is not a tree – it is a herb
19. A cucumber is not a vegetable – it is a fruit
20. A jackrabbit is not a rabbit – it is a hare
5
Items 21 – 24
21. A piece of catgut is not from a cat – it is usually made from sheep intestines
22. A Mexican jumping bean is not a bean – it is a seed with a larva inside
23. A Turkish bath is not Turkish – it is Roman
24. A sweetbread is not a bread – it is the pancreas or thymus gland from a calf or lamb [image above]
Source: The Book of Lists, 2
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fact checked by
Alex Hanton
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