History
History 
Creepy 10 Controversial Experiments Conducted on Children
Miscellaneous 10 Outrageous U.S. For-Profit Schools
Music 10 Times People Tried to Weaponize Music
Humans 10 Incredible Times Ordinary People Performed Movie-Style Stunts
Weird Stuff Ten Predictions from History That Were Hilariously Wrong
Creepy 10 Spooky Signs Your House Is Haunted
History 10 Times the Might of the British Empire Was Defeated in Battle
Humans Ten More People Who Give Christianity a Bad Name
Miscellaneous 10 Fashion Trends That Were Ruined by One Person
History 10 U.S. Military Plans That Were Top Secret Until Recently
Creepy 10 Controversial Experiments Conducted on Children
Miscellaneous 10 Outrageous U.S. For-Profit Schools
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
Music 10 Times People Tried to Weaponize Music
Humans 10 Incredible Times Ordinary People Performed Movie-Style Stunts
Weird Stuff Ten Predictions from History That Were Hilariously Wrong
Creepy 10 Spooky Signs Your House Is Haunted
History 10 Times the Might of the British Empire Was Defeated in Battle
Humans Ten More People Who Give Christianity a Bad Name
Miscellaneous 10 Fashion Trends That Were Ruined by One Person
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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