People love information. They love knowing things about our body, our world and our universe. The website Information is Beautiful give its readers knowledge of a variety of sorts.
One such topic on the website is Common Mythconceptions. These are five of these misconceptions.
1. The brain is hard-wired
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Professor Ronald McKay, director of stem cell science at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development,
explains that the brain is hardwired to an extent, but that there is a flexibility that comes from behavioral input and interaction of the nervous system.
2. The five-second rule
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A study published in the
Journal of Applied Microbiology concluded that it's not how long food stays on the floor, but how contaminated the floor is.
3. Black Holes
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As the name might suggest, a
black hole is actually not a hole at all. They aren't empty at all either. Black holes are so dense that it's gravitational field sucks in everything, even light.
4. Don't eat and swim
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Actually,
eating then swimming may make you short of breath, and having an alcoholic beverage or two will increase the chance of a cramp.
5. Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building would kill someone
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MythBusters tested this and
busted it. The penny would be fast, roughly 64 miles per hour, but not fast
enough to kill.
For more MythConceptions, the hyperlink at the top of this has more debunked myths.