There are definitely sayings or statements you have heard before, either passed on from the older generation or even from peers and individuals. Everyone around you seems to believe they are true and you are convinced of their factual basis as well. Guess what! Not everything you hear is a fact but rather some are myths. Here are the top 10 myths you definitely thought were facts.
A myth is defined as a widely held but false belief or idea. It is a story that is told again and again and serves to explain why something is the way it is.
One of the best examples is a creation myth, which is a story that tells how the world came into being. You may also have studied Greek or Roman myths in which gods and goddesses wage war and play tricks on each other. Fascinating, right? These are also myths you definitely thought were facts.
Sometimes it can be hard to separate facts from fiction, especially when so many of the “facts” we’ve spent our whole lives believing are actually myths and misconceptions. These common myths seem true because we’ve heard them time and time again.
The most tricky part is that we may have even learned them from our parents, or been taught about them at school. Nevertheless, it’s more important than ever to call out the false facts that far too many people still believe. This is why you need to look at these 1o myths you definitely thought were facts.
There are three major types of myths and they include the following;
Etiological myths.
These explain the reason why something is the way it is today. The word etiological is from the Greek word aetion (αἴτιον), meaning “reason” or “explanation”. Keep in mind that the reasons given in an etiological myth are not the real or scientific reasons.
Historical myths.
These are told about a historical event, and they help keep the memory of that event alive. Ironically, in historical myths, the accuracy is lost but meaning is gained. The myths about the Trojan War, including the Iliad and the Odyssey, could be classified as historical myths.
Psychological myths.
These are usually imparted into a person’s brain and as a result, one will actually believe them eventually.
Often, we tend to be mistaken when it comes to telling from myths and facts. This is why I bring to you the top 10 myths you definitely thought were facts.
10 myths you definitely thought were facts.
We only use 10 percent of our brains.
Am sure you have heard of this myth before, and definitely believed in it! Many people have been made to believe that humans only use 10 percent of their brains. Let me refresh your memory a little bit. This myth is even the plot line for the 2014 film Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson. If you are an ardent lover of the big screen then you definitely have seen this.
However, that’s nothing but a myth. According to neurologist Barry Gordon , while he made his research about the Human Brain, he told Scientific American that humans “use virtually every part of the brain” and most of the brain is “active almost all the time.”. Fascinating, right?
Napoleon Bonaparte was extremely short.
All the History lovers out there know about the great politician Napoleon Bonaparte, right? According to various notes from books, he is often depicted as an aggressive man of a very unusually small stature, which is where the term “Napoleon complex”, used to describe men who overcompensate for their lack of height with aggression comes from.
However, Bonaparte was most likely average height at just over 5’5″ tall, History says. Historians suppose the myth that he was uncommonly small is derived from a series of political cartoons of the general by British cartoonist James Gillray in the early 1800s. Think about it. We all know how Cartoonists love to exaggerate.
Marie Antoinette mocked the Low class citizens to eat cake if they could not afford bread.
History lovers must be having a blast right now Marie! You all recall Marie Antoinette? The lady who has long been a loathed symbol of royal decadence for replying to the news that French citizens had no bread in 1789, right before the French Revolution with the mocking phrase, “If they can not afford bread, Let them eat cake.”
Well, you have hated her for this long for nothing. Historians state that the Queen of France made no such comment. As History reports, the author of Marie Antoinette’s biography, Lady Antonia Fraser, says that it’s unlikely the quote came from the French queen, who was not only very charitable, but also had great compassion for the poor.
She was of such noble character that it is recorded that on the day of her husband’s coronation, she wrote a tear evoking message to her mother. She wrote “In seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness.”
Albert Einstein failed Math’s Class.
This is not only a myth but it is also very funny. Imagine the great Albert Einstein being a poor student, so much so that he failed his grade school math class. You can also agree that this could not be true. Let me prove it to you.. According to an article in Time, this rumor had spread so widely that it was a topic of a 1935 “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” column.
Einstein himself disputed the article, claiming that he was at the top of his class in primary school. In his own words,, he said, “Before I was 15, I had mastered differential and integral calculus.”. This is actually one of the most hilarious of the 10 myths you definitely thought were facts.
Adding salt to water makes it boil faster.
Don’t lie that you have never heard of this. It is however a myth and I am here to prove that to you.. The difference between boiling water with salt and boiling water without salt is negligible. As Middlebury College chemistry professor Lesley-Ann Giddings explained to LiveScience, the temperature of saltwater will get hotter faster than that of pure water, but it still has a higher boiling point, and the mass is still greater when you add salt to the same volume of water. This simply doesn’t mean that the saltwater boils faster.
The great wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from space.
Many people have been told that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from space ( you have got to be kidding me!), but that’s just not true. According to Snopes, this myth most likely developed as an attempt to convey the grand scale of the wall. From low space at 180 miles high, the Great Wall is not the only visible object, nor is it the most distinguishable.
If you want to prove this, you can take a look at NASA images. These images prove that you can see “highways, airports, bridges, dams, and components of the Kennedy Space Center. And if you go further into space, the wall can only be recognized in radar images, not with the human eye or even with a photograph.
You have to wait 24 hours before reporting a person missing.
If you are a lover of the film industry then you have surely heard this myth countless times when someone goes missing in a movie. Various police dramas and crime thrillers have spread this myth that you must wait 24 hours before you can file a missing person’s report(mind-blowing, right?).
Fortunately, this is only a “fact” in the clearly unreal world of entertainment.
Imagine having to wait for 24 hours when your sister went missing. According to Child Find of America, there is no time period in which someone must wait before reporting a person missing. In fact, acting within the first 48 hours is crucial to successfully locating a missing person.
Its okay to eat food that has fallen on the floor for five seconds or less.
In all honesty, most of us have always followed the five-second rule. Do not be misguided by this rule and take your chances with food that’s fallen on the floor. When researchers at Clemson University left bologna and bread on a surface contaminated with salmonella in a 2017 study, they found that a substantial amount of bacteria transferred to the food within the first five seconds. In simple words, don’t blow on that snack and eat it once it falls on the ground.
The famous forbidden fruit in the Bible is an apple.
I am not attacking the religious realm here but who clarified that the forbidden fruit the serpent gave to Eve was an Apple? Yes, the Bible does say that Adam and Eve ate a forbidden fruit. But despite many Sunday school stories and visual representations depicting that fruit as an apple, it’s never stated in the text as such.
According to NPR, the apple depiction was the result of some confusion with the Hebrew Bible being translated into Latin, using the term “malus,” which translates to both “evil” and “apple” In that language
Bats are Blind.
We have all been told that bats are blind and can only see in the night, which is why they are only able to fly around in the night. Guess what Contrary! contrary to popular belief, which gave birth to the idiom “as blind as a bat”, these creatures can absolutely see and they can see quite well at that. Rob Mies, former executive director for the Organization for Bat Conservation told National Geographic that bats can see three times better than humans.
https://greektraveltellers.com/blog/30-of-the-most-famous-tales-from-greek-mythology
These 10 myths you definitely thought are facts are amazing and mind-blowing as well. As the famous saying goes, the more you believe it, the more it comes true and that is a fact.
Frequently Asked Questions.
What is the oldest myth in the world?
The Epic myth of Gilgamesh is one of the most well known Mesopotamian myths, and is often regarded as the oldest known piece of literature in the world.
What is a good example of a myth?
The myth of Daedalus and Icarus. In Greek mythology, a popular myth is the tale of Daedalus and Icarus. In this myth, a father, Daedalus, builds him and his son, Icarus, wings in order to escape from the maze in which they are being held captive
Who is the most famous myth god?
Zeus. Zeus was worshiped far and wide across the Greek world, including at festivals such as the Olympic Games. His legacy as the greatest of gods also meant that he became the favored deity of great leaders in the ancient world.
What is the oldest English myth?
Beowulf may be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.
What is one example of a myth story?
The myth of Pandora’s Box. This myth comes from ancient Greek mythology and was used to explain why bad things happen in the world. The story goes that Pandora had a jar containing all manner of misery and evil. Zeus sent her to Epimetheus, who forgot the warning of his brother Prometheus and made Pandora his wife. She afterward opened the jar, from which the evils flew out over the earth.
