Top 10 Listverse List Errors

The great thing about Listverse is how accurate it is. No list of “weird laws” that don’t actually exist or that annoying email filler of “out of control” lawsuits based on urban legends. But every so often an error will crop up ranging from something only an overly pedantic type-A person (like me) would pick up on, to errors of omission, to outright skewering of the facts. [JFrater: Out of humility, I am publishing this list for all to see! In time I will make the appropriate corrections to the lists in error, but the Listverse Book is keeping me extremely busy at the moment.]

List Containing Error: The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Item in error: 1. Great Pyramid of Giza

“Sadly, this is the only one of the seven wonders still in existence.”

For completeness, this should indicate that there are still pieces of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in existence at the British museum. The Pyramids are the only ancient wonder that is (except for the limestone casing) still in existence in close to its original state.

List Containing Error: 25 Examples of Body Language
Item in error: 21. Gesture: Arms crossed on chest; Meaning: Defensiveness

Or that your back hurts (crossing the arms helps to stretch it) or that you’re cold (trying to conserve body heat). More to the point, the same gesture can have multiple meanings and it is too simplifying to try to draw a one-to-one correspondence between gestures and meanings.

List Containing Error: Top 10 Tips for Great Home-cooking
Item in error: 10. Pantry Items

Included in the list of pantry items is beef stock and chicken stock.

Stock should always be homemade. It’s easy to do and you end up with stewed chicken or beef (both very versatile) as an added bonus. Freeze it (I do in baggies with 2C stock in each). The stock is easy to make, tastes tons better than store bought, and the fat that floats to the top is great in other recipes. I’ll freeze the fat separately and break off a bit to add flavor to sauces.

List Containing Error: Top 10 Casino Games
Item in error: 9. Baccarat

The rules for baccarat are incomplete. The original list says: “In Baccarat each player has three options: Player, Tie, and Banker. When all players have placed their bets, the dealer deals out two 2-card hands, one is the banker hand while the other is the player hand. The hands are added up. If a hand totals over ten, the ten is dropped (I.E. 9+5=14=4). A hand equaled to 10 becomes a 0 or baccarat. The winning hand would be the higher of the 2 and anyone who placed a corresponding bet wins.”

According to the rules, the game gives an even chance to banker and player but completely neglected are the rules for the draw. After the first two cards in each hand are dealt, if either the player or banker has an 8 or a 9 (a natural), the hand is over and the winning hand is paid. Otherwise, if the player has a hand less than 5, they must draw another card. Then the bank draws a card by the following rules:
If the hand is 0, 1, or 2, the bank automatically draws a third card
If the hand is a 3 and the player’s third card is an 8
If the hand is a 4 and the player’s third card is a 0, 1, 8, or 9
If the hand is a 5 and the player’s third card is a 4, 5, 6, 7
If the hand is a 6 and the player’s third card is a 6 or 7
If the hand is a 7, the bank will not draw a third card
These rules give the slightest of advantages to the bank

List Containing Error: Top 10 Amazing Earth Facts
Item in error: 9. Deserts

In the description, the Sahara Desert is named as the largest desert.

Actually, a desert is an area with 10 inches or less of rainfall. Because of it being so cold, the polar regions receive almost no precipitation and at an area of 14 million square kilometers, Antarctica is easily larger than the Sahara at only 9 million square kilometers.

List Containing Error: 9 Great Historically Accurate Medieval Movies
Item in error: 9. Henry V

“King Henry V of England (Kenneth Branagh) is insulted by the King of France. As a result, he leads his army into battle against France. Along the way, the young king must struggle with the sinking morale of his troops and his own inner doubts. The war culminates at the bloody Battle of Agincourt. This film is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name and it contains brilliant battle scenes.”

In the present, we think of the Duke of York as a younger brother of the king and Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V implies as much. At the time of King Henry V, the Duke of York was a hereditary title held by a line of the Plantagenets and at the Battle of Agincourt, the Duke was 42 year old Edward of Norwich. Also, he did not get killed by French soldiers like in the movie. He fell off his horse and unable to get up, either died of a heart attack, asphyxiation, or heat exhaustion. At best, he was a distant relative of King Henry V.

List Containing Error: Top 10 Errors in Science Fiction Movies
Item in error: 4. Explosions in Space

“Unfortunately virtually every science fiction movie makes this error – in fact, in the vacuum of outer space, there can be no flames (as flames need oxygen) and, of course, no boom.”

Then I guess rockets can’t travel in space since there is no oxygen for the fuel to burn. Rockets carry their own oxidizers to burn the fuel, very similar to modern-day explosives. In fact, this is why there was an explosion on Apollo 13, there was a spark in an oxygen tank. An accident like the Challenger explosion would occur whether in the atmosphere or in deep space.

List Containing Error: Top 10 Tragic Movie Set Deaths
Item in error: 7. The Return of the Musketeers

Death: Roy Kinnear. “In September 20th 1988, Madrid, Spain, actor Roy Kinnear broke his pelvis after falling from a horse and subsequently bled to death!”

Actually, Kinnear died the next day of a heart attack despite the wealth of “bled to death” pages on the web. Ref: New York Times

List Containing Error: 15 Holidays and their origins
Item in error: 6. Independence Day

“Independence Day is the national holiday of the United States of America commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.”

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4 July 1776 but not signed. The signing of the Declaration did not begin until 19 July with most of the signatures done on 2 August.

List Containing Error: 10 Of The Best In Hollywood Who Never Won An Oscar
Item in error: 1. Charlie Chaplin

“SURPRISE! Charlie Chaplin never won an Oscar, EVER! This is rumored to be because of his public disdain for the Oscars. Nonetheless, Charlie Chaplin is considered by many to be the most influential and greatest actor of all time. He received 2 honorary Oscars, but as I said earlier those don’t count. No doubt he should have at least won ONE!”

Actually, the first honorary Academy Award given to Charlie Chaplin was at the first ceremony for The Circus. Most Oscar historians accept that this was because if it competed, The Circus would have dominated the awards. But even if we discount that as honorary, Chaplin won outright for Best Music in an Original Dramatic Score in 1972 for Limelight.