Thread: False Myths

There are a lot of myths going around which most people assume are facts. If something isn't completely outrageous, and is common knowledge, we generally believe there must be a good reason for believing it. If we hear several people casually tell us that all polar bears are left handed, we're likely to believe they are for the rest of our lives. After all, if they weren't, where the hell did everyone get the idea that they were? They must have done some study, at some point, and that's how the fact came to be known, right?

...Wrong. I have no idea how certain myths begin to circulate, but they do and are, and the chances that you believe several of them right now to be true are almost certain. This thread is for ridding its readers of some of that false mind contamination. I'll post a few here to start.

1) Myth: All polar bears are left handed.

Spoiler for Source:

Polar Bears International

Great white bears are not left-pawed. Scientists observing the animals haven't noticed a preference. In fact, polar bears seem to use their right and left paws equally.

2) Myth: You swallow an average of [insert # here, usually 4-5] spiders in your lifetime.

Spoiler for Source:

Burkemuseum.org: Spider Myths: Gulp!

For a sleeping person to swallow even one live spider would involve so many highly unlikely circumstances that for practical purposes we can rule out the possibility. No such case is on formal record anywhere in scientific or medical literature.

3) Myth: Wait a half hour after eating before you can safely go swimming.

Spoiler for Source:

Medicinenet.com (Debunking summer medical myths)

While it's true that the digestive process does divert the circulation of the blood toward the gut and to a certain extent, away from the muscles, the fact is that an episode of drowning caused by swimming on a full stomach has never been documented. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Red Cross makes any specific recommendations about waiting any amount of time after eating before taking a swim.