London: Coffee is made from beans, chameleons change colour to match their surroundings and Mount Everest is the ‘tallest’ mountain in the world.
These are all modern day ‘facts’ which we believe to be true – but experts have pointed out that many are simple misconceptions.
A team of experts has dispelled some commonly held assumptions and revealed a list of modern life’s top misconceptions or “faux facts.”
The museum of curiosities in London’s Piccadilly Circus commissioned the study and compiled the list of myths
A spokesman for Ripley’s said the misconceptions in this list are all pretty plausible, so it’s understandable that many Brits will have read it and been certain it’s true, with many of us being told these from an early age.
Most people believe coffee is made from beans, but experts say they are actually made from seeds called a bean.
It is commonly assumed that chameleons change colour to fit in with their surroundings, but they actually change colour depending on their mood, temperature and their exposure to light.
Mount Everest is often named as the tallest mountain on earth, but Mauna Kea is the tallest when measured from base to summit.
People say you can see the Great Wall of China from space, but Apollo astronauts confirmed that you can’t see the Great Wall of China from the Moon.
It’s often said you lose your body heat fastest through your head, but this is a myth as experts said humans would be just as cold if they went without a hat as if they went without trousers.
Parents often claim giving children sugar makes them hyper, but most research has concluded that sugar does not cause hyperactivity.
We were all taught the Earth revolves around the Sun, but technically the Earth, Sun and all the planets are orbiting around the centre of mass of the solar system.
Humans have five senses most people assume, but there are at least nine senses and most researchers think there are more like twenty-one or so.
As the Moon is constantly rotating on its own axis, there is no area of the planetoid which is in permanent darkness.
It is a commonly held view that caffeine dehydrates. While caffeinated drinks may have a mild diuretic effect they don’t appear to increase the risk of dehydration.
The forbidden fruit mentioned in the Book of Genesis is always thought of as an apple, but the bible never mentions the forbidden fruit was an apple though.
Vikings are often depicted as wearing horned helmets. Yet there is no evidence to suggest Vikings ever wore horned helmets.