1. Medieval princesses wore dresses and jewels. There was nothing luxurious about being a princess in the Middle Ages. They were better off than common people, but their castles were dark and cold, and full of sewage and the smells of death and rot.
2. Cavemen lived in caves. Early humans and Neanderthals actually didn't live inside caves . . . they just painted pictures on the walls. Most of the artifacts we have from early humans were found in other places.
3. Getting too close to a TV screen will damage your eyes. There's actually no evidence that watching TV up close will damage your eyes over time. Same for reading in dim light. It might give you a headache, but it doesn't hurt your eyesight.
4. Earth's magnetic north pole is actually at the North Pole. This one is kind of a technicality. But the north pole of a magnet is the end that's ATTRACTED TO geographic North. So the Earth's real north pole is at the South Pole, and vice versa.
5. Humans only have five senses. They've been teaching that to kids for more than 2,000 years now. But these days scientists believe we have at least ten senses, including the senses of pain, balance, time, and body awareness.
6. Birds and bees have sex like we do. They reproduce sexually, but it's a lot different. Most birds don't have junk. And a queen bee is fertilized by about ten drones at a time, all taking turns . . . and each one dies when it pulls away from her.
7. There are only seven colors in the rainbow. This is also kind of a technicality. In IDEAL viewing conditions, most people could actually distinguish about a MILLION different colors. But they're still just different shades of the colors you already know.
8. Bats are blind. They actually see extremely well, although they're color-blind. Probably the myth goes back to people just assuming they don't need eyes, because they have radar and they live in caves.
9. Gum takes seven years to digest. It actually breaks down normally in the stomach and intestines, just like any other food. It takes about two hours, and the leftovers pass out with whatever else you ate.
But don't start swallowing your gum all the time now. It's still sticky enough to make other foods clump together as they pass through your gut, and that could cause other problems.
@HuffingtonPost
