Hello! I’m Hank Green, and today we’re diving into 50 common science misconceptions that many people believe. Let’s clear up some of these myths and learn some cool facts along the way!
Did you know the Brontosaurus never actually existed? In the 19th century, scientists mistakenly combined the skull of a Camarasaurus with the skeleton of an Apatosaurus, thinking it was a new dinosaur. This error was corrected in 1903, but museums didn’t update their displays until 1979.
Pterodactyls and other pterosaurs are often called flying dinosaurs, but they’re not dinosaurs at all. Also, birds didn’t evolve from pterosaurs; they’re actually a subgroup of dinosaurs.
When it comes to the Moon, the “dark side” isn’t really dark. We just can’t see it because the Moon is tidally locked with Earth, meaning it rotates at the same rate it orbits us. Both sides get equal sunlight.
The Moon isn’t the only thing causing tides; the Sun’s gravity also plays a part, though it’s less significant. And the Sun isn’t “on fire” like a campfire; it’s a massive nuclear reaction, fusing hydrogen into helium.
There are eight planets in our solar system. Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Also, Polaris, the North Star, isn’t the brightest star in the sky; it’s between the 45th and 49th brightest, depending on the time of year.
The first American in space wasn’t John Glenn; it was Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961. And the first woman in space was Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova on June 16, 1963, not Sally Ride.
Space isn’t completely devoid of gravity; there’s enough to keep stars orbiting the galaxy’s center. And killer whales aren’t whales; they’re the largest members of the dolphin family.
Your pet goldfish can remember things for months, not just a few seconds. Adding salt to water raises its boiling point. Speed and velocity aren’t the same, nor are mass and weight. Weight measures gravity’s pull on a mass.
Hens don’t need a rooster to lay eggs; they’ll lay unfertilized eggs on their own. A duck’s quack echoes like any other sound. The sound we often associate with bald eagles is actually from red-tailed hawks. Bald eagles sound more like a mix between a squeaky toy and a seagull.
Bats aren’t blind; they use echolocation but also have eyes that work. Houseflies live for about 20 to 30 days, not just 24 hours. A one-year-old dog is like a 10 to 15-year-old human, and the second year equals about 3 to 8 human years.
Sunflowers don’t follow the sun; they usually face east. The Coriolis effect doesn’t determine which way water drains in a bathtub. Glass isn’t a supercooled liquid; it’s an amorphous solid, a state between solid and liquid.
Humans have more than five senses; we have between 9 and 20, including balance, acceleration, and pain. Your tongue isn’t divided into taste sections; all areas can taste sweet, sour, savory, salty, and bitter.
The Earth’s seasons are due to its 23° axial tilt, not our distance from the Sun. The equinox doesn’t mean equal day and night everywhere; it’s a specific astronomical alignment that happens twice a year.
Lightning can strike the same place more than once. The Empire State Building gets hit about 100 times a year. Meteorites aren’t always hot when they land; some are even covered in frost.
There’s no chemical that changes color if someone pees in a pool. The average person doesn’t swallow eight spiders a year while sleeping. Alcohol doesn’t kill brain cells, though it’s a funny myth.
Blood in your veins isn’t blue; it doesn’t turn red when it hits air. We can’t predict earthquakes accurately, despite some claims. Centrifugal force isn’t real; it’s just centripetal force from a different perspective.
The Earth’s core isn’t molten; it’s a solid ball of nickel and iron. Most diamonds don’t come from coal; they existed before plants and coal. Galileo didn’t invent the telescope; he improved it. Watson and Crick didn’t discover DNA’s structure; they figured it out.
There’s no Nobel Prize for mathematics, but it’s not because of Alfred Nobel’s personal life. Others before Copernicus suggested the heliocentric model of the solar system. Charles Darwin didn’t coin “survival of the fittest”; he borrowed it from philosopher Herbert Spencer.
Remember, just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean one causes the other. For example, people eat more corn dogs in summer because of state fairs, not because hot weather makes them crave corn dogs.
Thanks for learning with us! Remember, science is full of surprises, so keep exploring and stay curious!
Create a colorful poster that debunks one of the science misconceptions mentioned in the article. Use drawings, facts, and explanations to clearly show why the misconception is false. Share your poster with the class and explain your findings.
Organize a quiz show where you and your classmates take turns asking and answering questions about the misconceptions discussed in the article. Prepare questions that challenge your peers to identify whether a statement is a myth or a fact, and explain why.
Choose one misconception from the article and research it further. Prepare a short presentation to share with the class, including additional facts and interesting information you discovered during your research.
Start a science journal where you document each misconception from the article. For each entry, write a brief explanation of the myth, the truth behind it, and why it might have been believed. Include drawings or diagrams to make your journal engaging.
Participate in a role-playing debate where you and your classmates take on the roles of scientists from different eras. Debate the misconceptions from the article, using historical context and scientific evidence to support your arguments.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript, with unnecessary repetitions and informalities removed for clarity:
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Hello, I’m Hank Green. In the 16th century, British Cardinal Thomas Woy said, “Be very careful what you put into that head because you’ll never get it out.” Today, we’re going to address 50 common misconceptions, myths, rumors, and old wives’ tales about science.
Let’s start with dinosaurs. Did you know that the Brontosaurus never existed? 19th-century paleontologists mistakenly attached the skull of a Camarasaurus to the skeleton of an Apatosaurus, calling it a new species. This mistake was discovered in 1903, but it wasn’t corrected in museums until 1979.
Pterodactyls and other pterosaurs, often referred to as flying dinosaurs, are not dinosaurs. Also, birds did not evolve from pterosaurs; they are a subgroup of dinosaurs. The far side of the Moon is not the dark side; we don’t see it because the Moon is tidally locked with the Earth, but it receives just as much sunlight as the side that faces us.
Speaking of tides, the Moon is not solely responsible for this phenomenon; the Sun’s gravity plays a role as well, albeit a smaller one. The Sun is not on fire; what you’re seeing is an enormous nuclear reaction as it fuses hydrogen atoms into helium.
There are eight planets in the solar system; Pluto was demoted in 2006. Polaris, the North Star, is not the brightest star in the sky; it ranks between the 45th and 49th brightest, depending on the time of year. If you include the Sun, which you should, stars do not twinkle. The light from stars is refracted as it passes through our atmosphere, distorting the image that reaches our eyes.
The first American in space was not John Glenn; it was Alan Shepard, who took a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961. Sally Ride was not the first woman in space; that honor goes to Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who flew on June 16, 1963.
Space is not devoid of gravity; there is enough of it to keep all the stars orbiting the center of the galaxy. Killer whales are not whales; they are actually the largest members of the dolphin family. Your pet goldfish has a memory span longer than a few seconds—possibly for as long as a few months.
Adding salt to water raises its boiling point. Speed and velocity are not interchangeable, nor are mass and weight. Weight is a measurement of the strength of gravity acting on a specified mass. Gravity is not just a downward force. Hens do not require a rooster to lay an egg; they will lay an unfertilized egg regardless.
A duck’s quack echoes just like any other sound. The sound typically associated with bald eagles is actually that of a red-tailed hawk. Bald eagles sound more like a cross between a squeaky toy and a seagull. Birds will not abandon their babies if touched by humans, nor will they refuse to sit on eggs that have been similarly disturbed.
Bats are not blind; they primarily use echolocation but also have functional eyes. The lifespan of a housefly is not just 24 hours; it is more like 20 to 30 days. One dog year is not equivalent to seven human years; a one-year-old dog is between 10 and 15 human years old, and the second year is equal to about 3 to 8 human years.
Sunflowers do not track the sun across the sky; their heads generally point east. The Coriolis effect does not affect the direction water drains in a bathtub or toilet. Glass is not a supercooled liquid; it is an amorphous solid, a state between solid and liquid.
Humans do not have only five senses; we actually have between 9 and 20, including the ability to sense balance, acceleration, and pain. Your tongue is not divided into sections for different tastes; all areas can taste sweet, sour, savory, salty, and bitter.
The seasons are caused by the Earth’s 23° axial tilt, not by our distance from the Sun. The equinox does not mean that day and night are the same length everywhere; it is a specific moment of astronomical alignment that occurs twice a year.
Lightning can and does strike the same place more than once. The Empire State Building is struck about 100 times a year. Meteorites are not always hot when they crash to Earth; some have been found covered in frost.
There is no chemical that changes color to indicate if someone has urinated in a pool. The average person does not swallow eight spiders per year while sleeping. Alcohol does not kill brain cells, but that myth is often used humorously.
Blood in your veins is not blue; it does not turn red immediately upon contact with air. Despite what the Italian court system has suggested, it is not possible to accurately predict earthquakes. Centrifugal force is not a real force; it is just centripetal force viewed from a different reference point.
The Earth’s core is not molten; it is a solid ball of nickel and iron. Most diamonds do not come from coal; they predate plants and coal. Galileo did not invent the telescope; he improved it. Watson and Crick did not discover the structure of DNA; they figured it out.
The reason there is no Nobel Prize for mathematics is not due to Alfred Nobel’s personal life. Others before Copernicus suggested a heliocentric model for the solar system. Charles Darwin did not coin the phrase “survival of the fittest”; he borrowed it from philosopher Herbert Spencer.
Finally, remember that correlation does not imply causation. Just because the peak corn dog eating time coincides with the hottest time of year does not mean hot weather causes people to eat corn dogs; it is due to the state fair occurring in the summer.
Thank you for watching Mental Floss on YouTube. Mental Floss is also a real-life magazine, and there’s an online store where you can get 15% off your order with the code “YouTubeFlossers.” Thank you for watching, and don’t forget to be awesome!
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This version maintains the key points while ensuring clarity and conciseness.
Dinosaurs – Large reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago and are now extinct. – Scientists study fossils to learn more about how dinosaurs lived and what they looked like.
Gravity – The force that pulls objects toward the center of the Earth or any other celestial body. – Gravity is the reason why we stay grounded and don’t float into the sky.
Solar – Related to or derived from the sun. – Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity, providing a renewable energy source.
System – A group of interacting or interdependent components forming a complex whole. – The human body is an intricate system of organs and tissues working together to maintain life.
Animals – Living organisms that feed on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous systems. – Animals play a crucial role in ecosystems by maintaining balance and supporting biodiversity.
Senses – The physiological capacities of organisms that provide data for perception, such as sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. – Humans rely on their senses to interact with and understand their environment.
Seasons – Divisions of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and daylight, resulting from Earth’s orbit around the Sun. – The four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—each bring different weather patterns and temperatures.
Weather – The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind. – Meteorologists use various tools to predict the weather and help people prepare for different conditions.
Blood – The red liquid that circulates in the arteries and veins, carrying oxygen and nutrients to and waste materials away from all body tissues. – Blood is essential for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
Evolution – The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the Earth. – Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how species adapt to their environments over time.
