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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → List of common misconceptions
List of common misconceptions
2011-01-05, 8:56 AM #1
This article was mentioned in the latest xkcd so I started reading it. I'm simply appalled at how many things I "learned" in school are on this list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions
2011-01-05, 9:24 AM #2
MY LIFE IS A LIE!

This article should be required reading for all early childhood teachers.
2011-01-05, 9:54 AM #3
Is it just me or were some of those not really all that common?
"Hello one day ban." ~ Baconfish
>Liberius when he's not on Massassi<
2011-01-05, 10:02 AM #4
I'd say I've at least heard of 95% of those misconceptions. About 75% of them I didn't actually know the truth >.>
2011-01-05, 10:09 AM #5
Post more misconceptions!

David Bowie's eyes aren't 2 different colours, one is just permenantly dilated after he got into a fight when he was younger and got punched in the eye by someone wearing a ring.
nope.
2011-01-05, 10:20 AM #6
Superman exists and he's American.
Star Wars: TODOA | DXN - Deus Ex: Nihilum
2011-01-05, 10:22 AM #7
A couple of years ago there was a poster here who thought Superman was a Canadian comic.
2011-01-05, 10:28 AM #8
I did the exact same thing and was amazed too
2011-01-05, 10:35 AM #9
I must've read that page before, because there isn't much on it that I didn't know.
2011-01-05, 10:39 AM #10
I guess I had a better education than most.
TAKES HINTS JUST FINE, STILL DOESN'T CARE
2011-01-05, 10:41 AM #11
This article is not complete. I don't see F = mv on there.
2011-01-05, 10:53 AM #12
Well, full disclosure, there was a lot of stuff I knew was false, but I never really knew the reason or the "truth" behind it. Like the earthworm factoid. I knew it wouldn't multiply, but I didn't know that the front end would survive.
2011-01-05, 11:01 AM #13
It's like QI in wikipedia article form... only not as funny and without Stephen Fry.
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2011-01-05, 11:14 AM #14
I'm not sure it has to do with a "better" education, perhaps a more recent one?
2011-01-05, 11:44 AM #15
By better I mean more correct. And it wasn't very recent as I'm approaching thirty.
TAKES HINTS JUST FINE, STILL DOESN'T CARE
2011-01-05, 12:41 PM #16
Originally posted by Cool Matty:
Well, full disclosure, there was a lot of stuff I knew was false, but I never really knew the reason or the "truth" behind it. Like the earthworm factoid. I knew it wouldn't multiply, but I didn't know that the front end would survive.


First correct use of "factoid" that I've ever seen, bravo.
Detty. Professional Expert.
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2011-01-05, 1:42 PM #17
Originally posted by Steven:
A couple of years ago there was a poster here who thought Superman was a Canadian comic.


One of Superman's co-creators was born in Canada. There used to be a series of shorts played on Canadian television called "Heritage Minutes" about various accomplishments by Canadians, and this is one of them. It is likely this short that is the reason there are people who think Superman is just plain "Canadian".
I'm just a little boy.
2011-01-05, 2:17 PM #18
The only ones I didn't already know were the George Washington Carver (until recently, but before I read this) one and the fact that Henry Ford didn't invent the assembly line. I guess thinking about it now, it would make sense that he didn't considering all the meat factories that existed before he started manufacturing cars.
2011-01-05, 2:38 PM #19
Quote:
There is no evidence that Vikings wore horns on their helmets.

what... what... WHAT :gonk:
DO NOT WANT.
2011-01-05, 4:49 PM #20
Bagpipes didn't become associated primarily with Scotland until the 19th century. They were popular throughout Europe during the middle ages, probably even before they reached Scotland.
I'm just a little boy.
2011-01-05, 4:53 PM #21
Quote:
Al Gore never said that he "invented" the Internet; Gore actually said, "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."


... Uhh... :huh:
666, The Number of the Beast.
664, The Bloke Next Door.
Matt Bonner, The Lebron Killer
2011-01-05, 5:05 PM #22
Originally posted by Flirbnic:
They were popular throughout Europe

Christ knows why. :carl:
nope.
2011-01-05, 5:27 PM #23
Because bagpipes are AWESOME

And most bagpipes aren't quite as piercing as Scottish highland bagpipes.

Here, enjoy some Swedish bagpipes.
I'm just a little boy.
2011-01-05, 5:35 PM #24
Originally posted by Fett 316:
... Uhh... :huh:

Actually, yes.
Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.
2011-01-05, 5:44 PM #25
I'm surprised the gum-in-stomach-for-7-years misconception isn't there.
SnailIracing:n(500tpostshpereline)pants
-----------------------------@%
2011-01-05, 5:49 PM #26
maybe it isn't a misconception. :eng101:
DO NOT WANT.
2011-01-05, 5:50 PM #27
Maybe you're a misconception.
SnailIracing:n(500tpostshpereline)pants
-----------------------------@%
2011-01-05, 6:09 PM #28
I just now realised the hidden text in Echoman's sig... I feel slow.
"Hello one day ban." ~ Baconfish
>Liberius when he's not on Massassi<
2011-01-05, 8:16 PM #29
Originally posted by Baconfish:
Post more misconceptions!

David Bowie's eyes aren't 2 different colours, one is just permenantly dilated after he got into a fight when he was younger and got punched in the eye by someone wearing a ring.


yeah i noticed that, i was watching The Prestige and i thought "whuts up teslas eyes?" ANd for the record, Tesla was the MAN. :hist101:

Originally posted by Darth:
I don't see F = mv on there

?
Code:
if(getThingFlags(source) & 0x8){
  do her}
elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}
2011-01-05, 8:41 PM #30
Originally posted by Zell:
what... what... WHAT :gonk:


Yeah. That one ruined 95% of my childhood fantasies.
"it is time to get a credit card to complete my financial independance" — Tibby, Aug. 2009
2011-01-05, 8:54 PM #31
I've got to admit I 'learned' quite a number of those. Bah.

Some are just silly though... like the summer/winter thing. Everybody who's had geography should know about the tilted earth axis.
ORJ / My Level: ORJ Temple Tournament I
2011-01-05, 9:03 PM #32
Additional common misconceptions in law:

1. Pretty much everything about marital privilege
2. Originalism
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2011-01-06, 4:15 AM #33
Originally posted by Ni:
It's like QI in wikipedia article form... only not as funny and without Stephen Fry.

Exactly what I was going to post
<spe> maevie - proving dykes can't fly

<Dor> You're levelling up and gaining more polys!
2011-01-06, 8:31 AM #34
Originally posted by Emon:
Actually, yes.


I think you misunderstand Fett's :huh:
You can't judge a book by it's file size
2011-01-06, 8:42 AM #35
Originally posted by Zell:
what... what... WHAT :gonk:


Yeah. :/ It was probably introduced by Wagner to give them better stage presence in operas.

In related news:
Top Ten Myths About Vikings
Also, I can kill you with my brain.
2011-01-08, 9:08 PM #36
At work tonight, I got in an argument with my shift leader over whether things got heavier when you froze them. Her reasoning went like this: One time she was making shakes, weighed them, and put them away in a freezer for later. When she took them out, they weighed more.

We did an experiment with water, and lo and behold, I was right. The liquid and frozen weights were identical. My shift leader was in disbelief, and I just fist pumped and said "Science: It works, *****es," and walked off.
I had a blog. It sucked.
2011-01-08, 9:29 PM #37
Hah, that link shows Napoleon as not being particularly short...at 5ft 6"? :P
woot!
2011-01-08, 9:57 PM #38
Originally posted by JLee:
Hah, that link shows Napoleon as not being particularly short...at 5ft 6"? :P

For the time and place, 5'6" was likely more similar, relative to average height, to today's 5'9" at the very least.
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2011-01-08, 11:54 PM #39
Not to mention there's a rather major difference between 5'2" and 5'6".
Star Wars: TODOA | DXN - Deus Ex: Nihilum
2011-01-09, 12:05 AM #40
Originally posted by Michael MacFarlane:
Additional common misconceptions in law:
[...]
2. Originalism


?
Warhead[97]

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