- [Narrator] Fact is,
facts aren't always facts, even if they're presented as facts. Surprisingly, the most
commonly held truths often turn out to be false. To prove this, here's a
shockingly large number of lies we've been told to
believe our entire lives. Rabbits love carrots. Bugs Bunny may love to eat carrots, but real rabbits never
really have the same fondness for the orange root vegetable. Instead, a rabbit's
staple diet in the wild consists of greens, mainly
hay and grass stems, although a balanced mix
of fruits and vegetables are also viable for domesticated bunnies. As for the carrot thing,
it most likely came from the 1934 film It Happened One Night. That being said, rabbits do eat carrots, but any bunny owner knows they prefer other foods like bananas way more. Earthworms will regrow if cut in half. If you've ever tried to
put this myth to the test, you've probably felt like a
murderer, and with good reason. If cut in half, most earthworms will die. However, there is some good news. Earthworms have a
distinctive head and tail. The head is located on the end
closest to the swollen band, and if cut behind that swollen band, the head of the worm may
be able to regenerate, but its tail will most certainly die. The myth likely originates
from the fact that a few earthworm species,
like planarian flatworms, are capable of becoming two new worms if bisected down the middle. People eat an average of eight spiders in a year while sleeping. Spiders are typically ambush predators. They prefer to wait for their prey, rather than to chase them around. Still, most people
believe the myth that we each eat about eight
spiders a year in our sleep. But this is a lie. The myth surprisingly came from some person named Lisa Birgit Holst, who supposedly published her work on some Swedish PC magazine in 1993. This too turned out to be false, and it's now considered highly likely that Snopes.com simply
fabricated her character and her story as a fact checking
test for internet users. The Great Wall of China
is visible from space. Onto a classic one, the Great Wall of China has
been cited numerous times as being visible from space. This is of course absolutely false. At low Earth orbit, or about 2,000 kilometers above sea level, it may be visible as a very
thin line, but only barely. Part of the reason its not very visible is because the materials
used to build the wall camouflage with the
surrounding mountainous area. To be fair, it is still actually visible out from above our planet,
as former NASA astronauts such as Eugene Cernan
claimed that it is possible under favorable conditions, though only at specific distances and using special imaging equipment. Medieval people thought
the world was flat. Numerous ancient thinkers,
navigators and artists observed that the earth was round far sooner than you've
been led to believe. It's actually been known
that the Earth was round since the time of the ancient Greeks, a good century before the medieval period. It was Pythagoras who first proposed that the Earth was round
sometime around 500 B.C. He based his idea on the
fact that the Moon and Earth must be round by observing the shape of the moon's terminator,
the line created by the shadow earth casts onto
the moon, which is curved. Then a couple hundred years later, other intellectuals such as Eratosthenes, were able to measure with
great relative accuracy the Earth's circumference. In fact, virtually all
scholars during the middle ages knew it was spherical, as monks
preserved their teachings. However, in order to act as superior, around the 17th century, protestants started campaigning that Catholics weren't aware of this, and the myth has been
propagated thoughtout time. The food pyramid is accurate. The food pyramid is a well-known
food group diagram today that first appeared in Sweden in 1974. While pretty convincing,
its fundamentally flawed, because most of the
information is outdated, and its heavily influenced
by US industries like dairy and meat, who have promoted it over the years as a way
to market their food. This leads to serious
classification inaccuracies, which can be harmful to our health. For instance, the pyramid
dangerously over-emphasizes the importance of meat and dairy products, and doesn't explain that
its two fruit servings are actually the bare minimum. Today many groups provide
updated alternatives to the food pyramid. Tic-Tacs are Sugar Free. Behind the label of any Tic-Tac pack, you'll read in fine print that each pack has zero grams of sugar. However, this is because they're taking advantage of a labeling loophole. In reality, each mint is 94.5% sugar. The product takes advantage of the fact that each tiny mint has less
than 0.5 grams of sugar, which is the minimum
measured sugar serving size officially defined by the FDA. So they can get away with
calling it sugar-free without any legal issues. The tongue has specific taste zones. The tongue map was a concept that came from an inaccurate re-interpretation by Harvard scientist D.P. Hanig, as he translated a German research paper. Originally, the study simply showed a marked difference in
detection thresholds around varied areas of the tongue. But, due to the misunderstanding, the idea was eventually spread through science textbooks propagating the myth. In reality, your taste
receptors are distributed more or less evenly across your tongue. You can taste sweet things just a well as in any part of your
tongue, not just the tip. The Garden of Eden's fruit was an apple. The Forbidden fruit is a famous fruit described in the book of Genesis, which is typically depicted as an apple in many illustrations and interpretations. However, there's actually
no mention in the original Hebrew text that it
ever was actually an apple. It was described as a fruit, but it never specified
exactly what fruit it was. In fact, in other places and cultures, the forbidden fruit is
represented as grapes, pomegranates, and even a mushroom, such as the one depicted
in an old 1291 fresco at the Plaincourault Chapel in France. Goldfish only grow as big as the tank. This myth is partly true, but its more complicated than you think. The fact is, goldfish do often
exceed lengths of 12 inches, because unlike humans,
they grow until they die. However, the reason they
don't get this large in a normal fish bowl is quite sad. What really stunts a fish's
growth is poor water quality, due to the lack of a filtration
system, and improper care. This means they often die at a young age. We only use 10% of our brain power. Its relieving to think that we can become so much more intelligent and creative simply by harnessing
unused parts of our brain. But sadly, this isn't the case. Although it's true that
at any given moment not all of the brains regions are working, neuroscientists using
imaging technology have shown that like the body's muscles, most of the brain is continually active over a 24 hour period. The myth likely spread due to
a series of mis-attributions to numerous academics,
including Albert Einstein. No single academic has
managed to prove it. Coffee is made from beans. Coffee beans aren't actually beans. They're officially classified as seeds. Only plants of the Fabaceae
or Leguminosae family are true beans, and unfortunately,
coffee isn't one of them. The term bean is used
simply because of its resemblance to an original bean. Since then, its kind of stuck. In addition, the term coffee bean has a more produce-like sound to it, as opposed to simply referring
them as coffee seeds. Peanuts are a type of nut. If you're looking for a rightful member of the Leguminosae family, look no further than the trusty peanut. Yes, they're classified as legumes. Peanuts are far closer
to beans and lentils than walnuts and chestnuts. The primary characteristic
of a legume is that it's an edible seed that's
encased inside a pod. This is why coffee isn't
a bean, but peanuts are. Also, unlike almonds or cashews,
peanuts grow underground. A product of a bush-like creeping plant reminiscent of other
bean-producing plants. Chameleons change color for camouflage. Chameleons are famously known for their color shifting skins. But you'd be wrong to believe
that this ability of theirs is used solely for camouflage. Though some species adjust their colors to hide from predators, they mostly change their skin pigmentation as a response to certain mood changes, or if temperature or light levels shift. They also use this ability to communicate with other chameleons, as a kind of social
signal to convey emotion. Funnily enough, they can run quite fast, which is how they often
escape from predators. Mount Everest is the tallest
mountain in the world. This basic known fact is
still technically true, but only if we're talking about the tallest mountain above sea level. If you really want the tallest
mountain ever on Earth, the title actually goes to the
Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. From sea level, this active mountain is only 4,207 meters towards the peak. But if we include the
real base of the mountain, which is at the oceanic base, it stands as high as 10,000 meters tall. This is roughly 1,500 meters
higher than Mount Everest, which currently has an official
peak record of 8,848 meters. The close door buttons on elevators work. Close door buttons on
elevators might seem to work when you smash them down really hard, but actually, they almost never do in most developed nations
like the United States. Almost all elevators on
all modern buildings today are designed to wait a
certain amount of time before opening and closing. It may feel as if the button worked, but the truth is it would have worked on its own schedule anyway, which is why in a lot of elevators, the button isn't even
connected to anything. According to Karen Penafiel,
executive director of the National Elevator
Industry Trade Association, the button's function changed in 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act instituted rules giving
those with mobility issues more time to get onto the elevator. Rules include how far the elevator doors are positioned from the call button, to ensure those with disabilities can catch the elevator in time. So today, its more of a placebo button to make you feel like you
did something to help. That said, it differs
from country to country, so if you're in Britain, the
button may actually work. So, which lie surprised you the most? And do you know any more
I could have mentioned? Let me know in the comments
section down below. Thanks for watching.
