21 Surprising Common Misconceptions

This list is like MTV's Diary... You think you know, but you have no idea.

• 1. There's No Evidence That Vikings Had Horns On Their Helmets

  

  Historical vikings, I mean. The ones from Minnesota we definitely have evidence of horns...

• 2. Marie Antoinette Never Said "Let Them Eat Cake"

  

  The phrase appeared in Rousseau's "Confessions" when she was only 10 years old.

• 3. George Washington Did Not Have Wooden Teeth

  

  He had four different sets of dentures: gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth.

• 4. Napoleon Was Not Particularly Short

  

  He wasn't tall either, but just average size.

• 5. Mussolini Did Not Make The Trains Run On Time

  

  Most of the infrastructure work was done before Moussolini came to power.

• 6. Einstein Never Failed Math

  

  Before he was fifteen he had actually "mastered differential and integral calculus." So there's that.

• 7. Someone Does Not Need To Be Missing For 24 Hours To File A Missing Persons Report

  

  If there is evidence of violence or an unusual absence one can be filed much sooner.

• 8. Swallowed Chewing Gum Does Not Take 7 Years To Digest

  

  It's not digestible, but it goes through your system at roughly the same rate as other food.

• 9. 420 Is Not The LA Penal Code For Marijuana Use

  

  The term came from people planning to meet at 4:20pm to smoke.

• 10. When Olde English Was Spoken People Did Not Use "Ye" Instead of "The"

  

• 11. The Great Wall Of China Is Not Visible From The Moon

  

  Nothing man-made is.

• 12. Goldfish Actually Have Memories Longer Than A Few Seconds

  

  So that thing you did in front of your goldfish... He remembers.

• 13. Bats Are Not Blind

  

  Many do use sonar primarily, but all bats have eyes capable of sight.

• 14. Lemmings Do Not Have Mass Suicidal Dives From Cliffs During Migration

  

  This was popularized in an early Disney nature film that was shot on a soundstage and the Lemmings were actually pushed off the cliff by photographers.

• 15. Bulls Are Not Enraged By The Color Red

  

  Red doesn't stand out as a bright color for bulls, but the movement of the matador's cape does in fact enrage them.

• 16. Shaving Does Not Make Hair Grow Back Faster And Thicker

  

  So you can stop trying, that beard just might never come for you... Ma'am.

• 17. Sugar Does Not Cause Hyperactivity In Children

  

  Children are just crazy.

• 18. Redheads Are Not Going Extinct

  

  There may be less of them, but so long as people carry the gene there will be redheads.

• 19. Alcohol Does Not Kill Brain Cells

  

  At least not directly. You can still do things while drunk that will kill brain cells.

• 20. Men Do Not Think About Sex Every 7 Seconds

  

  It just seems that way. This statistic is actually impossible to measure.

• 21. Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

  

  So shut up Jenny McCarthy. Just shut up.