10 false facts most people think are true

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MNN.COM Lifestyle Arts & Culture10 false facts most people think are trueKids, it's okay to go out in the cold with wet hair, after all.




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Melissa BreyerFri, Dec 28 2012 at 3:38 PM

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Up until the late 16th century, everyone "knew" that the sun and planets revolved around theEarth. Up until the late 19th century, epidemic illnesses such as cholera and the plague were"known" to be caused by a poisonous mist filled with particles from rotting things. Up until theearly 20th century, the most common procedure performed by surgeons for thousands of yearswas bloodletting, because we "knew" that blood drained from the body balanced the whackyhumors responsible for poor health. Well alrighty then.

But as misinformed as all that may sound now, our predecessors believed these "facts" with thesame certainty that we believe that the Earth is round and hot fudge sundaes make us fat.

Living in a time of such dazzling science and technology, we stand firmly behind our beliefs even if so much of what we think we know to be correct is actually wrong. Here are some of themore common misconceptions, ideas that may have started as wives' tales or that came from afaulty study that was later proven wrong. Whatever the case may be, these facts are false.

1. Going out in the cold with a wet head will make you sick"Put a hat on or youll catch your death of a cold," screeches every micromanaging momma asher charges march off into the winter wonderland. But innumerous studiesaddressing the topic,

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people who are chilled are no more likely to get sick than those who were not. And a wet or dryhead makes no difference. (But these tips can help youstop a cold before it starts.)

2. Vikings wore horned helmetsIs there anything more "Viking warrior" than a helmet fitted with horns? Nary a portrayal showsthe seafaring Norse pirates without the iconic headgear. Alas, horned hats were not wornby the

warriors. Although the style did exist in the region, they were only used for early ceremonialpurposes and had largely faded out by the time of the Vikings. Several major misidentificationsgot the myth rolling, and by the time costume designers for Wagners "Der Ring desNibelungen" put horned helmets on the singers in the late 19th century, there was no goingback.

3. Sugar makes kids go bonkersThe Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of23 studieson thesubject of kids and sugar, the conclusion: Sugar doesnt affect behavior. And it's possible that itis the idea itself that is so ingrained as fact that it affects our perception. Case in point: In onestudy mothers were told that their sons had consumed a drink with a high sugar content.Although the boys had actually consumed sugar-free drinks, the mothers reported significantlyhigher levels of hyperactive behavior. That said, some scientists warn that sugarcanmake youdumb.

4. You lose most of your body heat through your headEveryone knows that you lose somewhere around 98 percent of your body heat through yourhead, which is why you have to wear a hat in the cold. Except that you dont. As reported inTheNew York Timesand elsewhere, the amount of heat released by any part of the body dependsmostly on the surface area on a cold day you would lose more heat through an exposed leg orarm than a bare head.

5. You will get arthritis from cracking your knucklesIt seems reasonable, but it's not true either. You will not get arthritis from cracking yourknuckles. There isno evidenceof such an association, and in limited studies performed therewas no change in occurrence of arthritis between "habitual knuckle crackers" and "noncrackers." There have been several reports in medical literature that have linked knucklecracking with injury of the ligaments surrounding the joint or dislocation of the tendons, but notarthritis.

6. Napoleon was shortNapoleon's height was once commonly given as 5 feet 2 inches, but many historianshave nowgiven him extra height. He was 5 feet 2 inches using French units, but when converted intoImperial units, the kind we are accustomed to, he measured almost 5 feet 7 inches inches tall which was actually slightly taller than average for a man in France at the time.

7. You have to stretch before exerciseStretching before exercise is the main way to improve performance and avoid injury, everyonestretches butresearchers have been findingthat it actually slows you down. Experts revealthat stretching before a run can result in a 5 percent reduction of efficiency; meanwhile, Italian




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researchers studying cyclists confirmed that stretching is counterproductive. Furthermore, therhas never been sufficient scientific evidence that pre-exercise stretching reduces injury risk.

8. Cholesterol in eggs is bad for the heartThe perceived association between dietary cholesterol and risk for coronary heart disease stemsfrom dietary recommendations proposed in the 1960s that had little scientific evidence, other

than the known association between saturated fat and cholesterol and animal studies wherecholesterol was fed in amounts far exceeding normal intakes. Since then, studyafter studyhasfound that dietary cholesterol (the cholesterol found in food) does not negatively raise yourbodys cholesterol. It is theconsumption of saturated fatthat is the demon here. So eat eggs,dont eat steak.

9. Dogs age at seven years per one human yearYour 3-year-old dog is 21 years old in human years, right? Not according to experts. Thegeneral consensus is that dogs mature faster than humans, reaching the equivalent of 21 years inonly two, and then aging slows down to more like four human years per year. "Dog Whisperer"Cesar Millans siterecommends this way to calculate your dogs human-age equivalent:Subtract two from the age, multiply that by four and add 21.

10. George Washington had wooden teethOur first president starting losing his teeth in his 20s, but contrary to popular belief, his dentureswere not made of wood. Although built-in toothpicks would have been handy, Washington hadfour sets ofdentures that were madefrom gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and human andanimal teeth (horse and donkey teeth were common components in the day). Also of note: Thedentures had bolts to hold them together and springs to help them open, all the better to eat oneof his favorite treats, Mary Washington's seriously delicious gingerbread.

Related story on MNN:Top 10 science study buzzkills

MNN tease photo ofViking: Shutterstock

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AnnaApr 05 2013 at 11:29 AM

Why do humans still have body hair?

6 unbelievable animals

The 9 nastiest things in your supermarket

8 alarmingly unhealthy snacks to avoid

Guess which human body part stumped da Vinci?




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I'm glad to find that my dog is apparently 69 in human years, not 98!

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Sarah RodgersMar 29 2013 at 11:43 AM

That is a really interesting fact about stretching before exercising. Everybody knows stretchingwarms up the muscles. But the interesting fact, all the programs I looked up recently (Insanity,

J ill exercises online, etc.) do not do that. That's true, they start pushing up and stretch just after.

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emb1234800Mar 25 2013 at 7:55 PM

Interesting bit about the Vikings! It changes my whole image of them

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JakeMar 28 2013 at 2:36 AM

I know right I learned it is social studies and now I will never look at skyrim the same again somisleading and so disapointing




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Lik(5 Likes)|


LindseyMar 25 2013 at 1:17 PM

Good thing I never bother stretching...

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JoeMar 11 2013 at 12:34 PM

I can't believe "Thomas Edison invented the light bulb" isn't in here. Its one of the biggesthumdingers in our culture.

Like(16 Likes)|


GuestMar 09 2013 at 1:56 PM

Stretching cold muscles can lead to them pulls or tears, which is why an athlete will alwayswarm up before exercise, so that the muscles warm up. I am a qualified swimming coach, sowould like to think I know what I'm talking about, unlike some on here!!!

Like(13 Likes)|




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JPMar 08 2013 at 9:17 PM

Please, change the title! No such thing as a "false" fact!!

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My mom always said "the wet head is dead"I believe her.

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James BondApr 01 2013 at 4:45 PM

Re #4 : The heat loss by the head is much greater than an arm or leg. Look at thermal imaging

of the body. The head has the most blood; the arms and legs have little blood. Surface area ismeaningless. Covering the neck and head saves body heat. Keep those areas covered. The writeris dead wrong on not covering the head.

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Stretching however is critically importatnt to avoid injury and alow a larger functuonal range ofmotion. The key is to mix it in throughout your day and don't do aggressive stretching rightbefore a competition

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Kate JohnsonMar 01 2013 at 4:09 PM

I saw the "You don't have to stretch" bit on another site...what was funny was that in their list, afew bullet points later, they said that you MUST stretch before running! I wonder if whoever"wrote" their list actually did any research, or just lifted it whole from someone else!

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(8 Likes)|


BrianFeb 27 2013 at 4:28 PM

Saturated fat is not the villain that the diet dictocrates say it is either.

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VeeFeb 27 2013 at 4:21 PM

I have to disagree with the wet head one regardless of studies. If I go to sleep with wet hair after

a shower I ALWAYS wake up with a head cold ... every time. Of course, now I try to avoiddoing it, but if I have wet hair and need to sleep, I put on a beanie which allows the heat fromthe head to keep my head warm and I dont get a cold. Sometimes studies do not really work inall situations.

Like(11 Likes)|


Kate JohnsonFeb 28 2013 at 3:56 PMYour wet head didn't cause your cold. It may have contributed to a weakened immune system,but having a wet head does NOT create a virus. The same as with getting cold outside. Having aweakened immune system can make it easier to get sick because they can't fight off viruses aswell as a healthy immune system, which is why every year when the news advises that children,the elderly, diabetics and folks in poor health should get a flu shot- because those people are less

able to fight off infections.... MoreLike(17 Likes)|


eurotravellerFeb 28 2013 at 8:31 AM

Colds are bacteria or the like, we pass colds between ourselves, wet hair and feeling chilly donot create colds, DO THEY ??

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DishonestFeb 25 2013 at 11:01 AMNumber 1 & 7 are intellectually dishonest. Yes having a wet head in and of itself doesn't causemore colds, but having a wet hed and going from warm to cold to warm does increase one'schance of catching a cold. As for the stretching, it is true that stretching too much is bad, and itdoes effect fast twitch fibers, but to say that stretching in and of itself is bad is just dishonest andstupid. Yes stretching for long periods of time before an event is bad, but spending timestretching.... MoreLike(9 Likes)

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How?Feb 26 2013 at 11:43 PM

How would going from warm to cold increase one's chance of catching a cold, isn't a cold a

virus or bacteria? You can't simply say it is not true without providing evidence.

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GuestFeb 22 2013 at 8:32 AM

all true

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Log i or registe to post comment Report This Post

wait_a_minute_manFeb 20 2013 at 10:17 AM

If you can Report a post... how do I report this article?

The church kept Europe ignorant by centuries.

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KevlarFeb 19 2013 at 1:28 PM

What is a false fact? A lot of information in this article, i suppose...

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AnnoFeb 18 2013 at 7:36 AM

What is this article all about... I stop at nr. 1. Wet head? You mean wrt hair? It's not a factor of

getting sick, but it sure helps you get the flu faster than when you dry your darn hair... pleasestop writing!!!

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How?Feb 27 2013 at 12:02 AM

Get the flu faster?? How do get the flu faster? It is a virus, travelling through the airborne

particles (coughing, sneezing etc) once you have "caught" it you will be sick with it and thenyou build an immunity to it and you can't catch that strain again(until it mutates)...I am howeversure it make you uncomfortable when you are sick.

Like(8 Likes)|


Josh RussellFeb 17 2013 at 10:59 AM

"Up until the late 16th century, everyone "knew" that the sun and planets revolved around theEarth"

This is also fictional. The science existed long before then to prove otherwise. Think it was theGreeks but it may have been even longer before that. The church may have claimed still at thispoint that the universe wasn't heliocentric but Copernicus was far from the first person to

disagree.

Like(7 Likes)|


fadedtrendsFeb 13 2013 at 6:03 AM

@David womack, are you serious you think 3 candy bars will make kids hyper? I will agree onlimiting sweets but not because of hyperactivity, I work with kids aged 6 through 14 in aresidential setting and have seen the majority eat more than 3 candy bars in a sitting and notbounce off the walls, 10 bored 8 year olds in a room are going to flip out more than 10, 8 year




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olds who have just consumed 3 candy bars and something to do, And no David wet hair doesncause colds

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