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General KnowledgeMedium

True or False: Myths and Misconceptions

No, you don't swallow 8 spiders a year, Einstein never failed math, and water doesn't swirl backward in the south. Twenty myths to dismantle, with the real story behind each one.

20

Questions

3

Minutes

Tip: Use keys 1-4 to answer quickly

The 20 quiz questions

Question 1 : Nails and hair continue to grow after death.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! The skin dehydrates and retracts, creating the illusion that nails and hair have grown.

Question 2 : Albert Einstein failed math in school.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Einstein excelled at math. This legend comes from confusion with the reversed Swiss grading system.

Question 3 : Sharks can detect a drop of blood from miles away.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Their sense of smell is good but not miraculous: about 1 part per million, meaning a few hundred meters max.

Question 4 : Chewing gum takes 7 years to digest.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Gum isn't digested but is naturally expelled within a few days like any waste.

Question 5 : A coin dropped from the Empire State Building could kill a pedestrian.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Air resistance limits a coin's terminal velocity. It would hurt but wouldn't be fatal.

Question 6 : Chameleons change color to camouflage themselves.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! They primarily change color to communicate (mood, temperature, courtship), not for camouflage.

Question 7 : There are more ways to arrange a 52-card deck than atoms on Earth.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: TRUE! 52! (factorial) = 8×10^67 arrangements, far more than the ~10^50 atoms on Earth.

Question 8 : Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when scared.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! They lie on the ground with their head extended to be discreet. From a distance, it looks like they're burying themselves.

Question 9 : Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! The sound comes from gas bubbles bursting in synovial fluid, it's harmless. A doctor even cracked only one hand for 60 years to prove there's no link to arthritis!

Question 10 : Humans have the same number of hairs as chimpanzees.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: TRUE! We have the same number of hair follicles, but our hair is finer and less visible.

Question 11 : Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen after his death.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! He was cremated in 1966. This urban legend persists despite denials from his family.

Question 12 : A duck's quack doesn't produce an echo.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! A quack does produce an echo, but it's hard to hear because the original sound masks its reflection.

Question 13 : The human body replaces all its cells in 7 years.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Some cells (neurons, lens cells) are never replaced. Others renew in just a few days.

Question 14 : On average, we swallow 8 spiders a year while sleeping.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! This myth dates from 1993 and was invented to show how false info spreads. Spiders flee from human vibrations.

Question 15 : Toilets flush in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! The Coriolis effect is too weak to affect toilet water. It's the bowl shape that determines the direction.

Question 16 : Bulls are enraged by the color red.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Bulls are colorblind. It's the cape's movement that angers them, not its color.

Question 17 : Glass is a liquid that flows very slowly.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! Glass is an amorphous solid. Old windows thicker at the bottom are due to manufacturing techniques.

Question 18 : We have more bacteria in our body than human cells.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: TRUE! It's estimated at 38 trillion bacteria vs 30 trillion human cells (ratio ~1.3:1).

Question 19 : We lose 80% of our body heat through our head.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! The head represents ~10% of body surface and loses ~10% of heat. This myth comes from a misinterpreted military study.

Question 20 : Inuits have dozens of words for snow.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: FALSE! It's exaggerated. They have a few root words that decline, like in any language (snow, snowy, to snow...).

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True or False: Myths and Misconceptions - Medium Quiz | QuizFury