Debunking Old Beliefs: An Apple a Day Doesn’t Keep the Doctor Away

We’ve been raised to believe many stories that we accepted as fact because our parents or grandparents would tell them as the absolute truth. We’re not saying they lied to us, but these folklore tales stem from outdated science or misinterpretations of it.

These myths have been passed down from one generation to the next, and here at Bright Side, we’d like to put an end to that and get things straight.

1. If you’re “right-brained,” you’re more creative, whereas “left-brained” people are more analytical.

Though not true, it derives from a real fact: the right and left hemispheres are engaged in different kinds of tasks. For example, the left side is more verbal, analytical, and orderly, while the right is more visual and intuitive. However, there’s no scientific evidence to prove that these differences can be attributed to the dominance of one half of the brain over the other.

2. If you swallow gum, it takes 7 years to come out.

It’ll only take a few days for your body to pass gum. We’ve been led to believe that if we swallowed it, it would stay in our stomachs for 7 years, but it actually travels relatively intact through the digestive system until it’s excreted. Even so, avoid doing this at all costs!

3. Sharks can smell a drop of blood in the ocean.

The movie, Jaws, has traumatized many generations because this is an exaggeration. Sharks do have an acute and highly-developed sense of smell, but they can only detect smells that are 1 part blood per 10 billion parts water, which is about one drop of blood in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. So, yeah, maybe you should be careful when going into a swimming pool with a shark in it.

4. If you drop a penny from the Empire State building, you will kill someone on the sidewalk.

Though you won’t kill anyone, please don’t try it. It’s possibly the worst idea you could think of. According to this myth, the penny would accelerate to the point that if it fell on a person standing below, it would kill them. However, this is just a bad calculation. The truth is, the penny would reach a great terminal velocity and cause some harm, but not that extreme. Better save that penny...

5. Lightning never strikes twice in the same place.

Guess again: lightning frequently strikes in the same place more than once or at a very close distance. So you’d better move out of its way and find shelter indoors!

6. The largest living organism is the blue whale.

The blue whale is the biggest ocean creature. But of all the living organisms on Earth, the largest one is a fungus. The humongous honey fungus in the Oregon Blue Mountains occupies some 2,384 acres (965 hectares), meaning it takes up 1,665 football fields. What’s more, it sucks the life out of some trees, and it’s continuing to spread.

7. Bats are blind.

Contrary to popular belief, bats have even better eyesight than humans. This myth derives from the notion that since they hunt in pitch black and rely mostly on echolocation, they’re consequently blind. Far from the truth, their eyes are accustomed to seeing their prey in low-light conditions, which gives them the upper hand.

8. Cracking your knuckles can give you arthritis.

Even though it doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of developing arthritis in those joints, knuckle cracking has been associated with swelling and a weaker grip.

Fun fact: That popping sound you hear is actually gas bubbles created in the fluid between joints bursting. It’s as if you were inflating a balloon until it pops.

9. If you want to catch mice, cheese is the best thing to tempt them with.

Sure, mice might go for cheese but not always. They tend to choose things that are sweet and juicy, such as apples and pears or even cookies. Who knew they also had a sweet tooth? Being omnivores, they eat everything, and that strangely includes crunchy treats, like pet food. So spare that slice of cheese for your grilled sandwich!

10. We only use 10% of our brains.

Let’s give our brains a bit more credit than that. This myth comes from believing that by tapping into our unrealized potential, we’re unlocking a part of our brain that we hadn’t used before. But learning something new just means we’re using it in a different way. Our brains have evolved to use very little energy while carrying lots of information, and this requires using our entire neuron-dense brains.

11. All dinosaurs went extinct when an asteroid hit Earth.

The asteroid and the effects that unraveled after it hit our planet were responsible for the extinction of about 75% of the dinosaurs. Basically, only the land animals that weighed over 55 lb (25 kg) disappeared off the face of the Earth.

12. The 5-second rule is safe.

Bacteria can contaminate food in just 1 to 300 seconds. It depends mostly on the type of food and how clean the surface is. For example, moist or sticky foods attract more bacteria than dry foods. So, just in case, avoid eating it altogether or wash it first.

13. Elephants are afraid of mice.

This is only true in children’s stories. They do have poor vision and are quite slow in moving due to their size. So, if a small animal rushes past them, they might get startled, and this is probably how their reputation for being such cowards started.

14. Toilets flush in different directions depending on the side of the equator you are on.

Both directions can be found in either hemisphere. It actually depends on the design of the toilet, water pressure, and plumbing.

You might wonder then how this myth came to life. It’s based on a real scientific phenomenon called the Coriolis Effect, which describes the flow patterns taken by objects not firmly connected to the ground as they travel long distances around Earth. It’s responsible for many large-scale weather patterns, but toilet flushes are too small to be affected.

15. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Apples are healthy, per sé, since they’re rich in fiber and antioxidants, but not all of them are that healthy. Remember the poisoned apple the Evil Queen gave to Snow White? In real life, the Evil Queen would have just added pesticides instead. Make sure you always buy organic food from local farmers or wash them properly before having one.

Which of these myths did you still believe to be true? What other old wives’ tales were you told growing up?