10 Biggest Misconceptions We Learn in School

1) Einstein got bad grades in school.

Generations of children have been heartened by the thought that this Nobel Prize winner did badly at school, but they’re sadly mistaken. In fact, he did very well at school, especially in science and maths (unsurprisingly).


2) Mice like cheese

Mice enjoy food rich in sugar as well as peanut butter and breakfast cereals. So a Snickers bar would go down much better than a lump of cheddar.

3) Napoleon was short.

He was actually around 5ft 7, completely average for the 18th/19th century.

4) Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

Edison invented a lot of things – in fact he’s one of the most famous inventors of all time – but the light bulb wasn’t one of them. What he did was develop a light bulb at the same time as the British man, Joseph Swan, who came up with it originally.

5) Lemmings throw themselves over cliffs to commit suicide

The poor old things are sometimes so desperate for food that they do, according to the BBC “jump over high ground into water”, but they aren’t committing group suicide.

6) Water flushes differently in different hemispheres

No it doesn’t. Sorry!

7) Humans evolved from apes

Darwin didn’t actually say this, but he’s been misreported ever since. What he did say was that we, and apes, and chimpanzees for that matter, had a common ancestor, once, a long, long time ago.

8) Vikings had horns/helmets with horns.

Vikings may have been buried with their helmets and with drinking horns. When they were dug up by the Victorians, they assumed that the helmets had horns.

9) Columbus believed the earth was flat

He may not have known how big the world was, but he wasn’t worrying about falling off the edge of it.

10) Different parts of the tongue detect different tastes

You do have different taste buds on your tongue and some are more sensitive than others. But they aren’t divided into perfect, easy-to-teach sections.

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143 Responses to “10 Biggest Misconceptions We Learn in School”

  1. TIG says:

    We didn’t evolve from apes because we ARE apes.

  2. ricardo says:

    evolutionists say(believe) it is a science yet the whole system is untestable and the fossil record proves a cataclysmic cause or all of the remains would have rotted and we would have no fossilised footprints etc, etc. evolution is a fairy story for foolish adults that has not even one piece of definite proof other than the ridiculous belief that it is so. Ask your uni lecturers for one empirical piece of evidence that can not be honestly interpreted by intelligent creationists and if they are honest with a tinge of integrity they will tell you there has not been a single piece of data that proves darwinian THEORY, but, like the simpsons tell us “it is a commonly believed fact” You evolutionists need to open your eyes and do some of your own thinking because you believe something that parades as science when for centuries there has no evidence. Don’t prattle to me about science and religion, this is about religion and religion.

  3. Pugiron says:

    There is fossil evidence for evolution. Creationists are morons. We share 95% of DNA with Chimps, or more, depending on which studies you believe. Creationists are liars who can only argue science with igniorance and the writer of this article is one of them.

  4. veena says:

    You need to do more research before you try to debunk facts. It’s true that Vikings did not have horns on their helmets, but to imply that this was because of BURIALS implies that Vikings were CHRISTIANS, which they were not. Haven’t you heard of “Viking funerals” involving burning ships at sea? The horns came into mass acceptance because the Christians at the time were so terrified of the rape and pillaging of these warriors that they’d draw in horns on their helmets to link them with satan. It’s survived to modern times because all of the viking artwork, done by Christian artists, depicted them with horns.

  5. guest says:

    If teacher tells you that human evolved from ape, he shouldn’t be a teacher or you should simply change the school. Anyway, I’m not sure if these things are really taught at schools (you’ve heard that mice like cheese in school?! Don’t be joking) – majority of these are just common sterepotypes caused by misunderstanding or lack of knowledge.

  6. Ignorant moron says:

    @Pugiron, ok then. Dazzle us with your brilliance. Go ahead, I have all day. You could start by spelling ignorance.

  7. lina says:

    Um… Also Tom Edison had a black slave working on the damn light bulb too.. Lewis Latuermore (SP on last name). He invented the carbon filament of which was the piece that brought it all together. You keep neglecting what africans have done in the world let alone this damn country. And this is why we don’t trust white folks like that. They will steal your thunder each and every chance they get and call it theirs if they can get you to shut up about it!

  8. JPRichardson says:

    Creationists are stupid. Evolution has been proven again and again. It is a scientific FACT, not a senseless FAITH.

  9. val says:

    Water flushes differently in different hemispheres.
    Get a passport dumbass

  10. ryan says:

    We share 97% DNA with banannas too – does that make us banannas? Or will we eventually evolve into ferns, which have a heck of a lot more chromosomes than humans do? Ever considered why fossils are dated by the rock layers they are found in and the rock layers are dated by the fossils found in them? Evolutionists want do believe in evolution so that God and His Judgement does not chew at their guilty consciences. But we have nothing to fear, for Jesus Christ has paid the judgement price for us – for all who will accept it and believe!

  11. reading is fundamental says:

    The author never disputed the fact of evolution, only the actual misinterpretation/quote of Darwin. He is correct we are not the direct descendants of apes but we do share a distant common ancestor.

  12. Glen says:

    So, you’re saying that evolution is untestable (sic), but your fairy tale jotted down by some guy over a thousand years ago is more believable?

  13. John Jacob says:

    Creationists say(believe) it is proof yet the whole system is untestable. Creationism is a fairy story for foolish adults that has not even one piece of definite proof other than the ridiculous belief that it is so. Ask your preachers for one empirical piece of evidence that can not be honestly interpreted by intelligent evolutionists and if they are honest with a tinge of integrity they will tell you there has not been a single piece of data that proves creationism. You creationists need to open your eyes and do some of your own thinking because you believe something that parades as truth when for centuries there has no evidence. Don’t prattle to me about religion and religion, this is about science and religion.

    Or something like that. It works both ways you twit. The only difference is we (scientists) can look at genetics, fossils and, observed evolution, to support our theory. Aside from a book written by MAN, where’s your empirical proof that some person in the clouds made everything?

    And without citations to back up these claims, this list is suspect at best.

  14. mibnamm says:

    Columbus actually believed the world was boob-shaped, with the Garden of Eden located on the nipple. Trufax.

  15. Stephen says:

    Toilets do flush differently in the southern hemisphere than the northern. In the north it goes clock wise & the south it goes counter clockwise. A toilet on the Equator just goes straight down. Also tornados & hurricanes rotate different directions.

  16. notpartoftheflock says:

    I dont care wether the theory of evolution is convincing the sheep ,I dont think any scientific proof would deprogram their brainwashed minds, but to sit there and knock it while they believe in magical, spiritual fairy tales , with zero physical evidence, shows how far gone they really are…why cant you people just believe that there is a possible being that created the universe and that all the bullshit you people kill each other over {religion} is all bullshit written by humans with personal gains and thirst for power and control over the masses who needed these rules or commandments to be kept you in line by the elite … how else would 10% keep 90% in line in the old days …. they wouldnt…but fear of god and belief that the 10 percent were ordained by god to rule them , makes for a good story when the 90% had no formal education whatsoever. those were the old days… these days it takes an organized system with tentacles in politics that spends billions on religous propaganda to keep believers faithfull and giving their hard earned money in hopes of whatever they think god will do for them…. wake up …they live in mansions and palaces, while u struggle daily… the blessed are the salesmen that sell you the bushit

  17. bigtuna says:

    Where is the Works Cited?
    Would be extremely useful.

  18. zeza says:

    Question- How come evolution isn’t seen in action today?

  19. bob says:

    Any such list must include that Marie Antoinette never said “let them eat cake”. It was made up by the liberal media of the time to further their agenda (just like the media does today). It cost Marie her head. We end up with an unqualified president. Some things never change.

  20. Jaden says:

    I say fuck the man who lives in the sky!

  21. daniel says:

    Lemmins actually were pushed down a cliff by documentarists at Disney, in order to make the documentary more interesting. That’s were the myth originated.

  22. satoi nakashima says:

    Both camps use pretty unsophisticated slave arguments. Humans sharing DNA with apes does not automatically mean we arrived at this juncture as a result of survival of the fittest upward evolution. For a biological machine as phenomenal as man to actual “work” without any design, plans, blueprint or schematic is impossible. Any evolutionist always sees the end result but the beginning is the key. A “spontaneous generation” from nothing leading up to the final result of a functioning sentient biological machine equates to a series of correct choices of 10 to the power of 48 zeros in a row, mathematically impossible even given any time limit.

    Why accept science when it is by no means complete from a mastery perspective when you have eyewitness accounts? If you examine the original biblical accounts before translation into English they tell us: let us make man in our own image after our likeness.

    this tells us 3 things: 1. some kind of man was already on the earth at the time of the biblical creation 2. The so called “gods” with technology and intelligence wanted to create new men and 3 they probably did resulting in modern intelligent humans.

    Every indigenous and native peoples have these stories except the white man. And white mans’ “science” rules the earth.

    So u believe what they teach u in school. Why would you have a right to know? you’re just a serf.

  23. Larry says:

    zeza- Is that a serious question? If you’ve paid attention when scientists talk, you’ll know that evolution takes place over millions and millions of years. It’s taking place but not on a large enough scale for us to notice it.

  24. bloke says:

    i think it’s because either evolution is getting old and can’t make its rounds like it used to, or it could be that y’all need to read some fancy college books

  25. Anthony says:

    Wow, there were a lot of fails in this article…
    If someone else invented the light bulb at the same time as Thomas Edison, then that does not debunk the fact that he still invented the light bulb. So did someone else.

    It never really debunked the mice liking cheese thing, other than saying what types of foods mice like.

    And taste buds are pretty well sectioned off. Just because they’re not perfect sections doesn’t debunk that idea.

  26. Jerry Barada says:

    To those of you who say evolution is untestable, and unprovable, I hope you come one day to contract MRSA… .You know… the staph bacterium that has EVOLVED to resist most modern anti-biotics.

  27. Ed says:

    A lot of our misconceptions are wrong. There is documented proof of such. I do not have time to list each. A lot of you people making comments are utter morons. Most mor-off tan morn!!!

  28. Cthulhu's Herald says:

    Try the taste test for yourselves with sugar, vinegar, salt and strong coffee. Place them on each area shown to see how the parts of the tongue taste them. You will find that the pattern is not far off, not absolute, true, but pretty close. I have to say this article is a FAIL!

  29. Kratos says:

    to the moron who asked why evolution is not seen in action today… you’d see it if you could live for millions of years. evolution is a gradual process. it takes thousands to millions of years. use your common sense.

  30. Capper says:

    @Anthony the mice although not stated in the above article are lactose intolerant as a species, the may nibble on the cheese to identify it but that’s all after that they get ill , if you ever want to get mice into traps put peanut butter on it.

  31. morey says:

    Lots of really neat things here, some true but some not so much.

  32. rudolf coetzer says:

    The spinning of water and tornadoes arent different in the two hemispheres. They are however different in the various cells. The polar, headley and ferrel cell. This is due to the cariolis effect. So the toilet will more ofter than not spin one way in the norther hemisphere ferrel cell and a dif way in the nothern hemisphere hadley cell. So ur right they do lie to us.

  33. mhm says:

    Do you have sources for all of this??? you cant just expect people to believe everything you tell them. (actually most oftenly you can) please answer.

  34. Volcomnor says:

    What is the alternative theory of evolution? That God created everything? Now THAT is the biggest misconception of all. I’ve lived all over the world and the toilet does flush differently, depending on which hemisphere you are in..

  35. Judas says:

    Yes there is evolution. The proof is that man has evolved to argue about God and evolution, forgetting the true problems in his life. U R all pathetic, really.
    And just for the record, i do believe i evolution, we see animals around us that are evolving in order to survive, by developing new skills and body parts. But u cant argue with faith, can u, When faith comes from the door the reason leaves from the window. Believe what u want people, and u will be saved in judgement day. Come on people wake up. This is 2010 and still u r blind.

  36. Ian says:

    all of the people who have commented against creationism, would actually believe it if there were any rational scientific proof behind it, but there is acres of rational verifiable proof of evolution,
    intelligent design? well not a very good designer really, the only reason child mortality has dropped from colossal levels in the last 150 years is because of scientific investigation that led to improvements in public health, immunization, anti-biotics, radiotherapy etc etc etc. in fact human beings are very badly ‘designed’
    no one disputes the sincerity of religious, or any other wooo belief, but thats all they are beliefs. If you were on a jury that was going to put someone to death if they were guilty would not you want completely reliable, verifiable absolutely true evidence before giving your vote?

    The Bible and other religious books were written by people from a completely ignorant point of view how the world works, people infact like the Taliban who are being fought now in Afghanistan. The world 2000 years ago was a completely alien world to ours, time for our species to mature and close the book on irrationality, if we do not we are doomed

  37. B says:

    Apes and humans do have a common ancestor (factor) God. God made humans in His image and that is why we are able to create and invent. God made everything, yes, the earth, the universe, can any other human(s) create this? God gives us a choice, everyone of us, and His message is one of love. He loves us and sent His only son, and when He allowed Himself to die on the cross it was for us, for our sins, and if you believe and accept, you will have eternal life. We all have a choice. What is yours going to be?

  38. ZootAllures says:

    The water does go down in the same direction in both hemispheres as the man says, but nobody has picked up on the proper explanation. In the southern hemisphere you are UPSIDE DOWN from people in the northern, therefore it just looks opposite (which is enough to say it IS opposite, I guess).

  39. Rob says:

    Look here: 1) Probably True, 2) Plausible, 3) Probable, 4) Probable, 5) Probably False, 6) Plausibly True, 7) Probably True, 8) Probably True, 9) Probably True, 10) Probably False.

  40. Sarah K says:

    This is the biggest pile of shit that I have ever read. Half these facts are false.

  41. english says:

    for zeza;

    evolution can be observed in a lawn, within a season. reducing the height by regular mowing kills the longer grasses and increases the presence of finer grasses. it also kills some weeds and affects the presence of insects and animals. often conclusions are reached by those that have no idea how to observe and conclude, this encourages the incidence of stoopids, because dumb people don’t very often incubate clever children.

  42. sdfsfd says:

    half of these are fucking wrong. whoever made this list is a complete idiot.

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