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Science and the Urban Legend
By Linda | March 20, 2008
The following are actual science related urban legends that have been circulated as truth - some of them for decades. All have been busted by various sources but as urban legends are wont to do, stubbornly persist to this day. Here are five particularly long-lived legends and the reasons they are BUSTED!
The Legend - A special compound added to water in swimming pools will reveal the presence of urine.
The Truth - Despite the fact that each year pool supply companies are inundated with requests for this product, no such chemical exists that could effectively react to urine and only urine.
The Legend- Eelskin wallets demagnetize credit cards due to leftover charges from the electric eels used to make them.
The Truth- Firstly, Eelskin products are not made from electric eels and even if they were, there is no way for the skins to retain an electrical charge of any type after the demise of the eel and the manufacturing process. There are two factors that are more likely to blame for this phenomenon. 1) magnetic clasps are often used on eelskin wallets and 2) Eelskin wallets are generally thinner than wallets made from other materials, therefore allowing the magnetic strips of all the cards within to have a greater affect on each other.
The Legend - Tapping on the side of a soda can that’s been shaken will prevent the contents from spilling over.
The Truth - When a soda can is agitated (as by shaking) the carbon dioxide that has been forced into solution through the manufacturing process (and stays there because of the pressurized can) breaks free from the liquid. Tapping the can does nothing to dissolve the CO2 back into the solution. Only time can do that.
The Legend - The number of people alive today is greater than the number of people who ever died.
The Truth - The answer, of course is not as simple as it would seem. It really depends on how you define “people”. A quick estimate of how many people have died since the the building of the Egyptian pyramids (about 5000 years ago) would come to about 6 billion, which is close to the current world population. If you go back in time 40,000 - 45,000 years , when many scientist believe modern man emerged, then the estimated number of dead increases to anywhere between 12 billion and 110 billion.
The Legend - We use only ten percent of our brains.
The Truth- Brain imaging research using equipment such as PET scans (Positron Emission Tomography) clearly shows that this is not true. The many functions of the brain (conscious, unconscious and autonomic) are spread throughout the physical regions of the brain and utilize most, if not all of its capacity.
See Science and the Urban Legend Part II for more phony factoids!
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Topics: Health & the Human Body, Science Factoids, The Petri Dish |
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