Common misconceptions

[Mattigus]

We only use 10% of our brains. Napoleon Bonaparte was short. French dressing was invented in France. All three of these things are completely false.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_misconceptions

Is there anybody here who once believed in any of these misconceptions, or possibly have any to add?

 

[kirovman]

Hitler escaped to Argentina after WW2.

 

[Mattigus]

Hitler escaped to Argentina after WW2.

Are you saying that he DID escape, or are you saying that a lot of people think that and are wrong?

 

[Baserape>]

UFO's are Satan and his cronies.

 

[Direwolf]

Haha...theres some really nitpicky stuff in that entry. For example, astronauts aren't IN zero gravity, they're in zero gravity relative to their surroundings. Sure its true, but is that an outstanding and common misconception?

 

[Tr0n]

A widespread belief is that Abraham Lincoln freed the American slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. The document actually declared that slaves in Confederate-controlled areas would be considered free. However, since it applied solely to areas not in Union control at the time, no slaves were automatically freed, and were released only as more of the Confederacy came under Federal control. The Proclamation was mainly a piece of political propaganda; by defining abolition of slavery as a war aim, it would increase public support for the war, and dissuade foreign nations from recognizing the Confederacy. The document that legally abolished slavery was the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

D:

Wait, I already knew that.

 

[Remus]

Well, I used to believe that misconception you mentioned, that we use only 10% of our brains. That was disproved using real time imaging of the brain in action, that show the whole brain is active while processing information.

 

[lePobz]

Half-Life 2 will ship on the 30th of september.

 

[Bad^Hat]

UFO's are Satan and his cronies.

The demons were here all along... until satan gave his sign... and DESTROYED THE WORLD WE KNEW!!

(no Nathaniel no...)

 

[Beerdude26]

Interesting read

 

[DeusExMachina]

How tall was Napoleon exactly?

 

[Potemkin]

How tall was Napoleon exactly?

It says 1.686/5'6.5" metres right there in the Wiki entry. Measured by Antommarchi in the preparations of the autopsy of Napoleon's body.

 

[xcellerate]

that 10% thing i've known for a long time (go me!), but it pisses me off when you come across somebody who really believes it, because no matter how hard you try they've 'read proof from [insert fancy college here] showing that 90% of our brain is untapped!' omg that must mean that at 100% use we are all jedi's!

@^#*(^@$)$!*$)@_&!&_!!!

 

[Hectic Glenn]

All of these are on QI, which i went to and sat in the audience and met Stephen Fry If you like this kind of stuff you should watch it, the next series starts soon, the episode about 'Death' is the one i was at.

 

[Axyon]

The next person to shit up the thread gets a week ban.

 

[15357]

The next person to shit up the thread gets a week ban.

Ah, so thats a Common misconception.... wait... err... nvm...

Anyway, I've always believed those things, about us not using all our brains and napoleon being short. I wonder why people started believing them in the first place?

 

[Axyon]

Ah, so thats a Common misconception.... wait... err... nvm...

Anyway, I've always believed those things, about us not using all our brains and napoleon being short. I wonder why people started believing them in the first place?

Heh, maybe I should have put a disclaimer or something.

Misinformation spreads fast - a good example of this was the 'fact' that you eat up to 5 spiders while sleeping during your lifetime. This misinformation was intentionally spread across the Internet to show how these kinds of rumours disperse. I still see people claiming this as true to this day.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Heh, maybe I should have put a disclaimer or something.

Misinformation spreads fast - a good example of this was the 'fact' that you eat up to 5 spiders while sleeping during your lifetime. This misinformation was intentionally spread across the Internet to show how these kinds of rumours disperse. I still see people claiming this as true to this day.

What!? It's true! Another one is that Axyon is nasty, but hes really a cute, fluffy cuddly bear.

 

[Remus]

OK here's a common misconception that I've seen in movies. Romanians are the same thing as Russians. What the hell, Romanians, Albanians, Hungarians, same thing they're all stupid russian commie bastards anyway.

 

[15357]

Well, to be fair, Romania was ruled till sometime in the 80s or 90s by a guy who idolized Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Securitate ftw.

 

[Dan]

Saying that astronauts aren't in 0G isn't splitting hairs. There's a difference between 0 gravity and constant acceleration. Low orbit actually experiences like 75% of regular gravity.

 

[Raziaar]

There's alot of common misconceptions about pirates.

Pirates didn't generally have peg legs, eye patches, and hooks for hands. Sure some of these could have happened, but quite rare. And pirates didn't all always go "arrr matey".


And i'll leave you with a joke.


An able-bodied seaman meets a pirate in a bar, and they take turns recounting their adventures at sea. Noting the pirate's peg-leg, hook, and eye patch, the seaman asks, "So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?"

The pirate replies "We was caught in a monster storm off the Cape and a giant wave swept me overboard. Just as they was pullin' me out a school of sharks appeared and one of 'em bit me leg plum off!"

"Blimey!" said the seaman. "What about the hook"?

"Ahhhh...," mused the pirate, "We was boardin' a trader ship, pistols a 'blastin' and swords a'swingin' this way and that. In the fracas me hand got chopped off."

"Zounds!" remarked the seaman. "And how came ye by the eye patch"?

"A seagull droppin' fell into me eye," answered the pirate.

"Ye lost your eye to a seagull dropping?" the sailor asked incredulously.

"Welllll..." explained the pirate, "..it was me first day with the hook."

 

[tehsolace]

Haha...theres some really nitpicky stuff in that entry. For example, astronauts aren't IN zero gravity, they're in zero gravity relative to their surroundings. Sure its true, but is that an outstanding and common misconception?

absolute zero gravity and zero gravity relative to your surroundings isnt the same thing.

although technically saying 'zero gravity relative to your surroundings' is misleading on its own. the better way to describe orbitting astronauts would be to say that they are more literally 'falling' towards earth, while at the same time their speed adjascent to the earth is throwing them away from it (in other words, they are orbiting earth.) the point they are making, however, is the fact that at no point in time are the astronauts in any point in space where gravity is not found.

 

[MTG_Maro]

Interesting. I wonder if the person who spreads these must think he is real cool.

 

[Beerdude26]

He'll think he left an incredible stamp on the rest of the world, but it will be an incredible negative one. So he should be punished.