From Disney Being Cryogenically Frozen To Eating Spiders In Our Sleep, Here Are 21 "Facts" That Are Actually False

If you're wondering what happened to Walt Disney's body...

There are so many facts, tips, and bits of advice that we get told, but sometimes these are just utterly false.

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Here are 21 myths that I'm sorry to say are totally wrong:

1. Eating garlic is a mosquito repellent.

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When those hot summer nights come along, we're all in search of an easy way to prevent mosquito bites. It's been suggested that eating a lot of garlic can deter them from going after our garlicky blood, but sadly this isn't true. 

There's no evidence that eating garlic will prevent mosquitos from biting you, but garlic could  be used in a different, less long-term way to help fend off the insects. One expert noted that while eating it will do nothing, "if you take garlic and squeeze it on your skin, that portion of your skin will be repellent to mosquitoes for about 20-40 minutes." 

Tbf, you'd probably be repellent to most people too if you did that. 

2. Chewing gum takes seven years to digest.

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I don't know about you, but I was always told by adults that you shouldn't swallow gum because it will stay in your system for seven years. Indeed, your stomach won't digest the gum, but it will pass through your system pretty much intact. 

You should still avoid swallowing a large amount of chewing gum, however, because, in high quantities – particularly for children – it can get stuck and cause blockages.

3. Eating rice makes birds explode.

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Throwing rice at weddings is/was a long-held tradition and was supposed to symbolize wealth and prosperity. But in modern times, rice has often been banned from weddings, which has perpetuated a myth that it's poisonous to birds and can even make them explode. 

It was former Connecticut State Rep. Mae S. Scmidle who introduced a bill attempting to ban rice at weddings, saying: "when the birds eat the raw rice, they cannot digest it. When it gets in their stomachs, it expands and causes them to have violent deaths.” 

Ornithologist Steven Sibley has put this myth to bed, saying: "(A)ll the food that birds swallow is ground up by powerful muscles and grit in their gizzards. Many birds love rice, as any frustrated rice farmer will tell you."

4. Chameleons change colour to match their surroundings.

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Chameleons are known for changing their colours, but the reason why is often misconstrued. The belief that they change their colour to match their surroundings isn't the case. The main reasons that chameleons change their appearance is to regulate their temperature – as they can't provide their own body heat – or to signal to other chameleons.

5. Walt Disney's body was cryogenically frozen.

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No one knows specifically when this rumour began, but one defining moment was a few weeks after his death when a reporter claimed that he'd snuck into St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank where Disney was treated during his final illness. The reporter claimed that he "disguised himself as an orderly, broke into a storage room, and saw the deceased Disney suspended in a cryogenic metal cylinder." 

Since then, the rumour has grown, with some even suggesting his body is frozen underneath the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. But there's no evidence of this, and even his daughter came out to refute it, saying: "There is absolutely no truth that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics."

6. We eat eight spiders every year in our sleep.

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You'll all know the slightly disturbing "fact" that humans on average eat eight or so spiders every year in their sleep. Well, you can all sleep easy with the knowledge that this isn't the case. In fact, our heavy breathing and the sounds of our heartbeats are so disruptive to the sensitive creatures that they tend to avoid us all together.

7. Nails continue to grow after death.

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The myth that nails continue to grow after death comes from another biological reaction. While the nails actually stop growing soon after death, it's the dehydration and detraction of the skin around them that make them appear to have grown. 

8. Bulls hate the colour red.

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The red colour of the capes used by the matador in bullfighting is just tradition and is not the reason for the bull's aggravation. What causes the bulls to charge is actually the movement of the cape, not the colour. The bulls used are also bred to be aggressive, particularly when they're kept in an enclosed place. 

9. Andy Warhol's most famous quote.

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The quote: "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" has become synonymous with the artist, but it's likely he actually never said it. Others claim to be the ones who coined the phrase, but the most reputable evidence came from Andy himself, who, in 1980, admitted to never saying it.

No matter who said it, it will forever be tied to the famous artist. 

10. Goldfish have a three-second memory.

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We all know the phrase "goldfish memory," which of course comes from the idea that goldfish have three-second-long memories. Tbf, this is actually what people used to believe, but scientists now believe that goldfish have month-long memories. 

11. We only use around 10% of our brains.

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A survey from 2013 found that 65% of Americans believed that we only used 10% of our brains. The myth has been repeated in TV shows and films, which has only added to the belief. In fact, scientists believe that we use the majority of our brains all of the time. 

12. George Washington had wooden teeth.

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Many people believe George Washington to have had wooden teeth. The fact that he, like many people in those days, had dental problems is very true, but what his false teeth were made of is far more disturbing than wood. His dentures were instead made of a combination of ivory teeth and the teeth of other actual human beings – quite possibly his slaves.

13. You have to wait 30 minutes after eating before swimming.

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We all remember when we were young and an adult would always tell us to wait after eating before swimming. The concern was that the act of digesting would divert some of the blood flow from your muscles to your stomach, causing cramps while swimming, which can lead to drowning. In reality, the blood that diverts is no way near enough to cause any problems. 

14. Dogs see in black and white.

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The myth that dogs see in black and white is also untrue. They do see things differently, however, but they see more like humans who are colour-blind.

One researcher, Jay Neitz, said: "They don't see red or green and they see everything in shades of blue and yellow, dogs are not good at seeing a bright red or orange ball on green grass but they are good at seeing blue from all other colours."

15. Pennies dropped from skyscrapers can kill people.

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I remember hearing this one as a kid, that if you dropped a penny from the empire state building it could kill someone. Don't worry though, a penny is too small, light, and would be cushioned by too much air for it to reach a velocity able to kill anyone. It's still not advisable to throw them off a building though, as it would still hurt!

16. Einstein failed maths.

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For many of us less-mathematically gifted folk, the idea that Einstein failed maths was somewhat of a comfort. Sadly (not for him), this is completely false. The scientist excelled in maths early on, was top of his class, and even took it upon himself to get ahead of the game in his own time. 

17. Sugar makes children hyper.

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"Sugar rush" and "hyper" are terms often used when kids have had a lot of sugar, but scientifically there is no basis for this. According to a study, "sugar does not affect the behaviour or cognitive performance of children." What children eating sugar did change, however, was the expectations of their parents. 

Apparently, parents who think their children have eaten too much sugar will be more likely to see their behaviour as hyperactive.

18. Bats are blind.

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The phrase "blind as a bat" is a common one, but honestly, it's pretty mean to bats. They don't have the vision humans do, but they also don't need to. Their eyes are small and sensitive, which allows them to hunt in conditions we'd consider pitch black. 

19. Shaving makes hair grow back longer and/or thicker.

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Another common myth is that when you shave, the hair will grow back longer or thicker. This myth may come from when you blunt a hair after shaving it, so the stubble could look somewhat darker when it first appears, but the hair won't actually grow longer or be thicker after you've shaved.

20. Dogs sweat out of their tongue.

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This one got me as a kid! It makes sense that they don't have sweat glands under their fur, and they pant loads, so... Well, it turns out that dogs have sweat glands in their paws (no pun intended). They also have other glands around their body to give off pheromones, which aren't used for sweating really. 

21. Peeing on a jellyfish sting is actually helpful.

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You know the classic scene in Friends where Chandler pees on Monica? Well, that probably influenced a lot of people, and told them that it was the correct course of action. It turns out that there's no scientific evidence to support this. The only thing urinating on your jellyfish sting may do is make it sting more!

What's a myth that you can debunk? Let us know in the comments below!

Thumbnail credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures