I Gathered 10 Super Common Misconceptions — Did You Know They Were All False?

Don't worry, I thought Betsy Ross made the first flag too...

1. Myth: Betsy Ross designed the first American flag.

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Fact: nobody knows for sure who designed the first American flag, but it was most likely Francis Hopkinson.

2. Myth: searing meat locks in the juices.

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Fact: searing meat makes it drier.

3. Myth: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first animated feature film.

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Fact: the first animated feature was an Argentine movie called El Apóstol.

4. Myth: The Coca-Cola Company invented the image of a jolly, red-suited Santa Claus for their ads.

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Fact: Santa Claus already looked like that in Western/American culture.

5. Myth: King Tut’s tomb was inscribed with a curse to ward off grave robbers.

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Fact: this “curse” was made up by tabloids.

6. Myth: seeds are the spiciest part of a pepper.

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Fact: pepper seeds are relatively low in capsaicin.

7. Myth: Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.”

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Fact: the phrase was originally only attributed to a “great princess."

8. Myth: fingernails and hair keep growing after a person dies.

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Fact: skin dehydrates and shrinks after a person dies, making their fingernails and hair look longer.

9. Myth: Rasputin’s assassins had to drown him after he survived both poison and gunshots.

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Fact: he was actually just shot.

10. Myth: parts of the human tongue can only taste certain flavors.

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Fact: some parts of the tongue are more sensitive to certain flavors, but every taste bud can taste every flavor.