View source for List of common misconceptions

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This '''list of common or popular [[misconception]]s''' corrects various fallacious, misleading, or otherwise flawed ideas that are described by multiple reliable sources as widely held.

==History==
=== The Americas ===
*[[Christopher Columbus]] was not the first European to discover North America. In fact he never set foot there; the closest he got was a Caribbean island. The first real European explorer was John Cabot in 1497. He was sponsored by a merchant called Richard Americ. The earliest physical evidence of [[pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]] by Europeans comes from the [[Norsemen|Norse]]: Greenland was settled by [[Iceland]]ers in 984, and a Norse settlement was established at what is now [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] in Newfoundland c. 1000. Scholars are divided on whether Norse explorer [[Leif Ericson]] established the L'Anse aux Meadows settlement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/erikson_leif.shtml |title=Leif Erikson (11th century) |publisher=BBC |accessdate=April 2008}}</ref>
* Columbus's efforts to obtain support for his voyages were not hampered by a European belief in a [[flat Earth]].<ref>[http://www.bede.org.uk/flatearth.htm The Myth of the Flat Earth]</ref> In fact, sailors and navigators of the time knew that the [[spherical Earth|Earth is spherical]], but (correctly) disagreed with Columbus' estimates of the distance to [[India]]. If the Americas did not exist, and had Columbus continued to India (even putting aside the threat of mutiny he was under), he would have run out of supplies before reaching it at the rate he was traveling. The problem here was mainly a navigational one, the impossibility of determining longitude without an accurate clock. This problem remained until inventor John Harrison designed his first marine chronometers. The intellectual class had known that the earth was spherical since [[Ancient Greece]].<ref name="dicks">{{cite book |last=Dicks |first=D.R. |title=Early Greek Astronomy to Aristotle |page=68 |date=1970 |isbn=9780801405617 |publisher=Cornell University Press. |location=Ithaca,Ny}}</ref> Eratosthenes made a very good measurement of the Earth's diameter in the third century BC.
* [[Paul Revere]] was not the only American colonist who rode to warn the [[Minute Men]] of the British before the [[battle of Lexington and Concord]] of the [[American Revolutionary War]]. The story of Paul Revere is largely based on the poem "[[Paul Revere's Ride (poem)|Paul Revere's Ride]]", written by [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] in 1860 (see ''[[Paul Revere's Ride (poem)#Historic event|Paul Revere's Ride]]'').<ref>[http://www.colorpro.com/wmdawes/theride.html The William Dawes who Rode]</ref>
* [[George Washington]] did not have wooden teeth.  According to a study of Washington's four known dentures performed by a forensic anthropologist from the University of Pittsburgh (in collaboration with the National Museum of Dentistry, itself associated with the Smithsonian Museum), the dentures were made of gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, human and animal teeth (including horse and donkey teeth).<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6875436/ MSNBC- Washington's False Teeth Not Wooden]</ref>
*[[Abraham Lincoln]]'s [[Emancipation Proclamation]] did not immediately free all American slaves, but merely warned that slaves would be freed in rebelling states on January 1. Since rebelling states did not recognize the power of the Federal government, few slaves were freed as a result of the Proclamation.<ref>[http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Lincoln/emancipate.html Text of the Emancipation Proclamation]</ref> Regions in the South that were under Union control when the Proclamation was issued were not affected by it. These regions were Tennessee, southern Louisiana, and parts of Virginia.<ref>[http://www.history.umd.edu/Freedmen/chronol.htm Chronology of the Civil War]</ref> The [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] officially abolished slavery in all of the United States.
* [[Pilgrims]] did not dress only in black, nor did they have buckles on their hats or shoes.<ref>[http://hnn.us/articles/406.html Top 10 Myths about Thanksgiving]</ref>
* [[Cinco de Mayo]] ([[May 5]]) is not [[Mexico]]'s [[Independence Day]]. It is a regional holiday primarily celebrated in the state of [[Puebla]], and commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in the [[Battle of Puebla]].<ref>[http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm Viva Cinco de Mayo.org]</ref> Mexico's Independence Day is on [[September 16]].<ref>[http://www.inside-mexico.com/featureindep.htm Mexican Independence Day . El Grito.16 de Septiembre<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*U.S. president [[William Henry Harrison]] did give a three-hour inauguration speech on March 4, 1841, with his jacket off during a wintry day, but he did not catch pneumonia or a cold that day. The pneumonia-like symptoms that killed him on April 4 began March 26, three weeks after the speech.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

=== Europe ===
[[Image:Eastlake - Napoleon on the Bellerophon.jpg|thumb|''Napoleon on the Bellerophon'', a painting by [[Charles Lock Eastlake]] depicting [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], who was taller than his nickname, The Little Corporal, suggests]]
* [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] (pictured) was not especially short.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/theory-of-napoleon-complex-is-debunked-442338.html|title=Theory of 'Napoleon complex' is debunked|accessdate=2009-07-13}}</ref> After his death in 1821, the French emperor's height was recorded as 5 [[Foot (length)|feet]] 2 inches in French feet. This corresponds to 5 feet 6.5 inches in modern [[International foot|international feet]], or 1.686 [[metres]],<ref>[http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/faq/index.asp#ancre54 www.napoleon.com Fondation Napoléon]</ref> making him slightly taller than an average Frenchman of the 19th century.<ref name="steckel">{{cite web|url=http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/articles_of_the_month/pdf/w8542.pdf|title=Health and Nutrition in the Preindustrial Era: Insights from a Millennium of Average Heights in Northern Europe|last=Steckel|first=Richard H.|date=October 2001|publisher=(U.S.) National Bureau of Economic Research (Working paper)|pages=35|accessdate=2008-12-23}}</ref> The [[metric system]] was introduced during his lifetime, so it was natural that he would be measured in feet and inches for much of his life. His nickname was ''le petit caporal'' (The Little Corporal).  There are competing explanations for why he was called this, but few modern scholars believe it referred to his stature.<ref>''New International Encyclopedia'', Second Edition, Volume VI (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1914), [http://books.google.com/books?id=6hUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA108&dq=Napoleon+le+petit+caporal+%22small%22+term+of+affection&lr=&ei=W4jFSbjlL5jAzQTlvM3uCw 108].</ref>
* [[Italy|Italian]] dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] did not "make the trains run on time". Much of the repair work had been performed before Mussolini and the [[National Fascist Party|Fascists]] came to power in 1922. Accounts from the era also suggest that the Italian railways' legendary adherence to timetables was more myth than reality.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/trains.htm Snopes on Mussolini]</ref>
* [[Vikings]] wore helmets, but not the [[horned helmets]] often depicted in media ([http://www.ukm.uio.no/utstilling/faste/forhistorie/index_eng.html Viking Helmet from Gjermundbu]); horned helmets were used in Celtic religious rituals, but are unsuited for combat, the horns easily catching on weapons – the imagery of horned Vikings is believed to come from 19th century [[Scandinavism]], a romantic nationalist movement. Nor did they drink from [[skull cups]].<ref>[http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/vikings.htm Solar Navigator:Vikings]</ref>
* Queen Marie Antoinette was not the first woman to whom the sentence "[[Let them eat cake]]" was ascribed. The phrase is first found in [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Jean-Jacques Rousseau's]] ''[[Confessions (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)|Confessions]],'' of 1770, when Marie-Antoinette was fourteen (prior to marriage or revolution).<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/73/1347.html Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations]</ref> Countess Madame de Boigne recalls in her memoirs that [[Princess Victoire of France|Madame Victoire]] was "by no means clever, though extremely kind. It is said of her that during a famine, when the conversation turned upon the sufferings of the poor for want of bread, she said with tears in her eyes, 'But why cannot they put up with pie crust?'" <ref>{{cite book|title=Memoirs of the Comtess of de Boigne, Vol 1|editor=M. Charles Nicoullaud|date=1907| url=http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024301701}}</ref>
* During [[World War II]], King [[Christian X of Denmark]] did not thwart [[Nazi]] attempts to identify [[Jew]]s by wearing a yellow star himself. Jews in Denmark were never forced to wear the Star of David. The Danes did [[Rescue of the Danish Jews|help most Jews flee the country]] before the end of the war.<ref>{{cite web | title=The King and the Star — Myths created during the Occupation of Denmark
 | url=http://www.diis.dk/graphics/CVer/Personlige_CVer/Holocaust_and_Genocide/Publikationer/holocaust_DK_kap_5.pdf | author=Vilhjálmur Örn Vilhjálmsson | publisher=Danish institute for international studies}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Some Essential Definitions & Myths Associated with the Holocaust | url=http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/myths.html | publisher=Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies - University of Minnesota }}</ref>
*[[Adolf Hitler]] was not elected [[Chancellor of Germany]] in 1933. Germany under the [[Weimar Republic]] had a [[parliamentary]] system and it was only possible to vote in the general elections for candidates for the [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]]; Chancellor was not an elective office. Hitler was appointed as Chancellor in January 1933 by the [[President of Germany (Weimar Republic)|President]], [[Paul von Hindenburg]], after Hitler's [[Nazi Party]] won some 33% of the seats in the [[German election, November 1932|election of November 1932]]. The Nazi [[plurality]] increased to roughly 44% after another election held in [[German election, March 1933|March 1933]], but the Nazis never secured a [[majority]] of the votes cast in any free and fair election.<ref>There were no more free and fair Parliamentary elections in Germany after March 1933 until after the [[Führerbunker|fall of Hitler]].</ref> Hitler did run against Hindenburg for the office of President in [[German presidential election, 1932|1932]], and lost, Hindenburg gaining an absolute majority.<ref>{{cite book  | last = Bullock  | first = Alan  | title = Hitler: A Study in Tyranny  | author-link= Alan Bullock| publisher = Harper & Row  | date = 1971  | location = New York | isbn = 0060802162 }}  {{cite book  | last = Fest| first = Joachim C. | title = Hitler | author-link=Joachim C. Fest| publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  | date = 2002  | isbn =  0156027542  }}{{cite book |last=Kershaw|first=Ian|isbn = 0-393-04671-0 |author-link=Ian Kershaw|title= Hitler 1889–1936: Hubris|location=New York|publisher= W. W. Norton & Company|year=1999  }}{{cite book | last = Shirer | first = William L. |author-link = William L. Shirer| title = The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich | location = New York |publisher= Simon & Schuster| date = 1960 | isbn = 0-67-172868-7 }}{{cite book  | last = Toland | first = John  | title = Adolf Hitler  | author-link=John Toland| publisher = Doubleday & Company  | date = 1976  | location = New York  | isbn = 0-385-03724-4    }}</ref>

==Politics==
* Although many young people in the 1960s were actively [[Opposition to the Vietnam War|opposed to the Vietnam war]], evidence from opinion polling in the United States showed consistently that younger people were more likely to support sending US troops to Vietnam than were older people. A Gallup poll in March 1966 found that 21% of Americans in their 20s thought the US made a mistake sending troops, which rose to 30% of those over 50. Four years later the percentages had risen to 49% of those in their 20s (a statistical dead heat with supporters), but 61% of those over 50 (a clear majority regarding the war as a mistake).<ref name="Pew survey">"[http://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=57 Generations Divide Over Military Action in Iraq]", Pew Research Center commentary, 17 October 2002.</ref>
* [[Al Gore]] never said he invented the Internet, though he did state that "During my service in the [[United States Congress]], I took the initiative in ''creating'' the Internet"(emphasis added).<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp Snopes: Al Gore on the invention of the internet]</ref> Gore was the original drafter of the [[High Performance Computing Act of 1991]], which provided significant funding for supercomputing centers, and this in turn led to upgrades of the Internet's precursor, the [[NSFNet]], and development of [[NCSA Mosaic]], the [[web browser|browser]] that popularized the [[World Wide Web]]; see [[Al Gore and information technology#Vice President and Information Superhighway]].
*Former Vice President Al Gore has never won an Academy Award (AKA "Oscar"). "It is often erroneously claimed that Al Gore himself won the Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth; in fact, Davis Guggenheim was the Nominee and Recipient of the Academy Award. The Oscar statuette was handed to Mr. Gore briefly during Guggenheim's acceptance, which may be the source of the confusion." <ref name="An Inconvenient Truth">"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth#Awards
]", Wikipedia</ref>
* John F. Kennedy's historical words [[Ich bin ein Berliner]] are correct German for "I am a Berliner". An [[urban legend]] has it that due to use of the indefinite article "ein", "Berliner" must be read as "jam doughnut", and that the population of Berlin was amused by the supposed mistake. However, the phrase is correct idiomatic German for the intended meaning, and in fact the term "Berliner" for jam doughnuts is not even current in Berlin, where they are generally called "Berliner Pfannkuchen" or just "Pfannkuchen" ("pancakes").<ref>[http://www1.stadtkind.com/item/135/ich-bin-ein-berliner-john-f-kennedy-west-berlin.htm Ich bin ein Pfannkuchen. Oder ein Berliner? | Stadtkind: Berlin<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref>

==Cooking==
* [[Searing]] meat does not "seal in" moisture, and in fact may actually cause meat to lose moisture. Rather, meat is seared to create a brown crust and to add a rich flavor via the [[Maillard reaction]].<ref>[http://www.cookthink.com/reference/7/Does_searing_meat_really_seal_in_moisture Does searing meat really seal in moisture?]</ref><ref name=McGee>{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | isbn=0-684-80001-2}}  Page 161, "The Searing Question".</ref> 
* Mussels that do not open when cooked can still be fully cooked and safe to eat.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/10/29/2404364.htm Mussel myth an open and shut case]</ref>
* All true [[teas]], including black, green, and white teas, come from the ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'' plant, but [[herbal tea]]s with no relation to the tea plant, such as those made from [[chamomile]], [[peppermint]], or [[rooibos]], can also be referred to as "tea".<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], 1st ed., ''tea''. ("5. Used as a general name for infusions made in the same way as tea (sense 2), usually from the leaves, blossoms, or other parts of plants; mostly used medicinally, sometimes as ordinary drinks.") [[Webster's Third New International Dictionary]], ''tea''. ("2a (1) : any of numerous plants somewhat resembling tea in appearance or properties (2) : an infusion prepared from their leaves and used medicinally or as a beverage - used usu. with qualifying adjective or attributive").</ref> Sometimes it is claimed that there is a common misconception to the effect that herbal teas contain tea in the strict sense of the word.<ref>http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/774075.html</ref><ref>http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tea.htm</ref><ref>http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2003-05/a-2003-05-17-7-Teaism.cfm</ref>{{Dubious|date=March 2009}}
* Some cooks believe alcohol evaporates quickly when heated. However, it takes 3 hours or longer to dissipate or 'burn off' all the alcohol.<ref>[http://www.ochef.com/165.htm Does alcohol burn off in cooking?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* [[Sushi]] is not raw fish.<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=xlZ_uopejK8C The complete idiot's guide to Asian cooking] by Annie Wong, Jeffrey Yarbrough; Alpha Books, 2002; ISBN 0028643844, 9780028643847.</ref><ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=q6tl1FmWDdQC How to Do Everything: Everything You Should Know How to Do] Rosemarie Jarski; Published by Globe Pequot, 2007; ISBN 1599212218, 9781599212210.</ref> In fact, the proper Japanese term for that would be [[sashimi]]. The term "sushi" actually refers to the way the rice is prepared with a vinegary dressing.<ref>[recipes.howstuffworks.com/sushi.htm]</ref> Toppings for the rice may traditionally include raw fish but also cooked seafood or [[vegetarian]] toppings.
* The tomato is now mostly accepted as a fruit but many other vegetables are also fruits. For example peppers and cucumbers are also fruits since they contain seeds. In fact, pea pods are fruits as well, while peas are seeds. There isn't any scientific classification for "vegetable". Any vegetables that we eat are just parts of a plant; like roots (potatoes and carrots), stems (celery and rhubarb), leaves (lettuce and spinach) and flowers (broccoli and cauliflower).

==U.S. Law==
* [[Entrapment]] law in the [[United States]] does not forbid police officers from going undercover, or from denying that they are police. It is a common misconception among persons engaged in low-level crime that if an undercover police officer is asked, "Are you a cop?" that the officer must reveal his identity to avoid an entrapment defense.<ref>[http://volokh.com/posts/1197871566.shtml Volokh]</ref><ref>[http://www.snopes.com/risque/hookers/cop.asp Snopes on Entrapment]</ref>
*When a person is [[arrested]] in the United States, there is no legal requirement that the police must "read him his rights" (''i.e''. give a [[Miranda warning]]), either at the time of arrest or anytime thereafter.  The failure to give the warning will merely preclude the prosecution from using a [[confession]] (or other incriminatory statement) against the defendant; it will not preclude the criminal prosecution itself and it is possible that the defendant may be convicted without any introduction of an unwarned confession into [[evidence]]. <ref>''See'' [[Miranda warning]] 
("If the suspect did not make a statement during the interrogation the fact that he was not advised of his Miranda rights is of no import....
If all six factors are present, then Miranda applies and ''any testimonial evidence that was the product of custodial interrogation is subject to suppression under the Fifth Amendment exclusionary rule'' unless the interrogation was preceded by a valid Miranda waiver or an exception to the Miranda rule of exclusionary rules applies.") (emphasis added) and [[Miranda v. Arizona]].</ref><ref>''See also'' [http://www.landmarkcases.org/miranda/exclusionary.html Landmark Cases], [http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2006/02/the_exclusionar.html US v. Nichols](Rule applied in context of sentencing, after defendant had already been convicted following a Miranda violation)</ref><ref>''See also'' {{cite book | title = Silence, confessions and improperly obtained evidence | first = Peter | last = Mirfield | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = 1997| pages = 225 et seq. | isbn = 0198262698}}. It is nevertheless wise and standard police procedure to give the warning, as otherwise confessions will likely be barred under the [[exclusionary rule]].</ref>
*The [[First Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]]<ref>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.</ref> did not, either by its express terms or as interpreted by the courts through the nineteenth century, prohibit one of the [[U.S. state|states]] from abridging a citizen's [[freedom of speech]] or [[freedom of religion]] or from [[Establishment Clause|establishing]] a [[state religion|state-sponsored]] and state-supported church. The first words of the Amendment are "''Congress'' shall make no law..." (emphasis added), and this was intended only as a restriction against the national or [[federal government]]; state governments were simply not subjected to the limits set forth in the Amendment. The federal constitutional restrictions against state infringements came only after the courts deemed the Amendment "[[Incorporation (Bill of Rights)|incorporated]]" into the Constitution via the  [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]].<ref>''See''  [[United States v. Cruikshank]] (the federally specified right to assembly "was not intended to limit the powers of the State governments in respect to their own citizens"); [[United States Bill of Rights]](discussing incorporation concept)</ref><ref>[http://www.krusch.com/real/under.html  Krusch Book Online]; ''and see'' extensive discussion of incorporation issue in footnote of article [[Creation–evolution controversy]], ''at'' discussion of Tennessee state constitution Religious Preference Clause in appeal of [[Scopes]] judgment.</ref>
* [[Executive privilege]], like some other constitutional doctrines such as the [[state secrets privilege]] or the federal [[right of privacy]],<ref>See [[Privacy laws of the United States]]; [[Griswold v. Connecticut]] (US Supreme Court finds a right of privacy implicit in the Constitution as a result of "[[penumbra]]s" that emanate from other rights); [[Lawrence v. Texas]] (US Supreme Court rules Texas sodomy law unconstitutional as a violation of constitutional right of privacy).</ref> is not expressly mentioned in the [[United States Constitution]].<ref>Other such "implied" doctrines include the [[dormant Commerce Clause]] (Courts have [[implied power]] by [[negative pregnant]] to nullify state laws which unduly interfere with [[interstate commerce]], when [[Congress]] has not spoken to the issue in question, even though Congress is by the text of the Constitution the guardian of interstate commerce) and a suspect's [[Miranda rights]] (Court held that a detained suspect must receive a fairly specific "Miranda warning" as a precondition to prosecution's use of his later-made incriminatory statements against him in court, or statements will be [[inadmissible]] under the judge-made [[exclusionary rule]]). ''See generally'' [[Living Constitution]].</ref>
* The [[Oath of office of the President of the United States]] as specified in the Constitution does not include the phrase "so help me God." There is also no Constitutional requirement that the President rest his/her hand on a Bible or any other book.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section1 U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1]</ref>

==Science==
===Astronomy===

[[Image:Great Wall of China, Satellite image.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|A satellite image of a section of the [[Great Wall of China]], running diagonally from lower left to upper right (not to be confused with the much more prominent river running from upper left to lower right).]]
* It is commonly claimed<ref>''The Family Memoirs of the Rev. William Stukeley'' (Durham: Surtees Society, 1882-1887) Vol. 3, p. 142.</ref> that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. None of the [[Project Apollo|Apollo]] astronauts reported seeing ''any'' man-made object from the Moon. The misconception is believed to have been popularized by [[Richard Halliburton]] decades before the first moon landing.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/science/greatwal.htm Great Walls of Liar], Snopes.com. Retrieved 2 January 2008.</ref> (See ''[[Great Wall of China#Visibility from space|Great Wall's visibility from space]].'') 
* There is no [[Dark Side of the Moon (disambiguation)|dark side of the Moon]]; every part of the Moon's surface (except perhaps deep craters near the poles) is illuminated by the Sun roughly half of the time. The phrase uses the word "dark" in the less-frequent sense of "unknown" or "obscure" to refer to the ''far'' side of the Moon, which because of [[tidal locking]] is never visible from Earth.<ref>[http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980309b.html NASA on the ''dark side of the moon'']</ref>
* Black holes, unlike the common image, do not act as cosmic vacuum cleaners any more than do other stars.<ref>{{cite book | last = Wolfson | first = Richard | title = Simply Einstein: relativity demystified | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | date = 2002 | pages = 261 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=OUJWKdlFKeQC&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=%22black+hole%22+%22misconception%22+%22cosmic+vacuum+cleaner%22+-wikipedia&source=bl&ots=8aX8Fg3jco&sig=ssdQ4VO_dQU2mQdQUbmTW6S9wJU&hl=en&ei=hwvVSeXKOKTnnQe-zYH4Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7 | isbn = 0393051544}}</ref> When a star evolves into a [[black hole]], the gravitational attraction at a given distance from the body is no greater than it was for the star. That is to say, were the Sun to be replaced by a black hole of the same mass, the Earth would continue in the same orbit (assuming spherical symmetry of the sun).  Due to a black hole's formation being explosive in nature, the object would lose a certain amount of its energy in the process, which—according to the [[mass–energy equivalence]]—means that a black-hole would be of lower mass than the parent object, and actually have a weaker gravitational pull.<ref>{{cite book|last=Misner|first=Charles W|coauthors=Kip S. Thorne, John Archibald Wheeler|title=[[Gravitation (book)|Gravitation]]|year=1973|isbn=978-0716703440|publisher=W. H. Freeman|location=New York}}</ref>
* When a [[meteor]] lands on Earth (after which it is termed a [[meteorite]]), it is not usually hot. In fact, many are found with [[frost]] on them. A meteor's great speed during [[Atmospheric reentry|entry]] is enough to melt or [[Sublimation (chemistry)|vaporize]] its outermost layer, but any molten material will be quickly blown off ([[ablation|ablated]]), and the interior of the meteor does not have time to heat up because rocks are poor [[heat conduction|conductors of heat]]. Also, atmospheric drag can slow small meteors to [[terminal velocity]] by the time they hit the ground, giving the surface time to cool down.<ref>{{cite book|author=Plait, Philip | authorlink=Philip Plait |year=2002 | title=Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax" | publisher=John Wiley &amp; Sons | isbn=0-471-40976-6}}</ref>
* The human body can briefly survive the hard [[vacuum]] of space unprotected, despite contrary depictions in much of popular [[science fiction]]. Human flesh expands to about twice its size in such conditions, giving the visual effect of a body builder rather than an overfilled balloon. Consciousness is retained for up to 15 seconds as the effects of [[Hypoxia (medical)|oxygen starvation]] set in. No snap freeze effect occurs because all heat must be lost through [[thermal radiation]] or the [[evaporation]] of liquids, and the blood does not boil because it remains pressurised within the body. The greatest danger is in attempting to hold one's breath before exposure, as the subsequent [[Uncontrolled decompression#Explosive decompression|explosive decompression]] can damage the lungs. These effects have been confirmed through various accidents (including in very high altitude conditions, outer space and training vacuum chambers).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970603.html | title=Ask an Astrophysicist, Human Body in a Vacuum | publisher=NASA's Imagine the Universe | accessdate=2008-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=741 |title=Outer Space Exposure|publisher=Damn Interesting |accessdate=2008-12-14}}</ref> Human skin does not need to be protected from vacuum and is gas-tight by itself. Instead it only needs to be mechanically compressed to retain its normal shape. This can be accomplished with a tight-fitting elastic body suit and a helmet for containing breathing gases, known as a [[Space activity suit]].
* It is a common misconception that [[season]]s are caused by the [[Earth]] being closer to the [[Sun]] in the summer than in the winter.  In fact, the Earth is actually farther from the Sun when it is summer in the [[Northern Hemisphere]].  Seasons are actually the result of the Earth being [[Axial tilt|tilted on its axis]] by 23.5 degrees.  As the [[Earth's orbit|Earth orbits the Sun]], different parts of the world receive different amounts of direct sunlight.  In July, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun giving longer days and more direct sunlight; in winter, it is tilted away. The seasons are reversed in the [[Southern Hemisphere]], which is tilted towards the Sun in January and away from the Sun in July. In [[tropics|tropical areas]] of the world, there is no noticeable change in the amount of sunlight.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/resources/sunearth/section06i.shtml | title=Sun-Earth Connection | accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/outreach/sunearthmiscons.html | title=Ten Things You Thought You Knew about Sun-Earth Science | accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/seasons.html | title=What causes the seasons? | accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref>  See also [[Effect of sun angle on climate]].
* The most common incorrect explanation of the [[lunar phases]] is that they are caused by the Earth's shadow.<ref>[http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/moonphases.html]</ref> {{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}Instead, as the Moon orbits Earth, we see its illuminated half from differing angles in relation to the Sun. ([[Lunar eclipse]]s, by contrast, are caused by Earth's shadow passing over the Moon.)

* The North Star, [[Polaris]], is not the brightest star in the northern hemisphere night sky, as is sometimes supposed.<ref>[http://www.farmersalmanac.com/press-releases/2008/08/17/the-north-star-its-not-the-brightest]</ref> The brightest star is [[Sirius]], with an [[apparent magnitude]] of −1.47; Polaris in comparison is 1.97, barely making the top-50 [[brightest stars]] list (a lower number indicates a brighter star). Its importance lies in its proximity to the [[celestial pole|north celestial pole]], meaning its location in the sky currently marks North.
* It is a common misconception[http://www.snopes.com/science/equinox.asp] that it's easier to balance an egg on its end on the [[vernal equinox|first day of spring]]. In fact, the ease or difficulty of balancing an egg is the same 365 days a year. This myth is said to originate with the "[[egg of Li Chun]]", an ancient Chinese folk belief that it is easier to balance an egg on ''Li Chun'', the first day of spring in the [[Chinese lunar calendar]].  It was introduced to the western world in a ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' article in 1945, and popularized once again by self-titled 'urban shaman' [[Donna Henes]], who has hosted an annual egg balancing ceremony in New York City since the mid-1970s.<ref>http://gothamist.com/2007/10/31/donna_henes_urb.php</ref><ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2181377</ref><ref>http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/mar/20/you-can-balance-an-egg-on-its-end-today-and-any/</ref><ref>[http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/a/equinox_eggs.htm Can You Balance Eggs on End During the Spring Equinox]</ref><ref>[http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/egg_spin.html#badegg Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions]</ref>

===Health===
[[Image:Taste buds.svg|thumb|right|100px|A "[[tongue map]]" showing zones which taste bitter (1), sour (2), salty (3) and sweet (4). In reality, all zones can sense all tastes.]]
* Different [[taste]]s can be detected on all parts of the [[tongue]] by [[taste bud]]s,<ref>Huang A. L., et al. {{cite web | title="The cells and logic for mammalian sour taste detection" | url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7105/abs/nature05084.html}}, Nature, 442. 934 - 938 (2006).</ref> with slightly increased sensitivities in different locations depending on the person, contrary to the popular belief that specific tastes only correspond to specific mapped sites on the tongue.<ref>[http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2002/q4/f021022a.htm Beyond the Tongue Map<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The original "[[tongue map]]" was based on a mistranslation by a Harvard psychologist of a discredited German paper<ref>Hänig, D.P., 1901. Zur Psychophysik des Geschmackssinnes. Philosophische Studien, 17: 576-623.</ref> that was written in 1901.
* People do not use only [[10 percent myth|ten percent of their brains]]. This myth is thought by some to have emerged after the discovery of [[glial cells]] in the brain, or it could have been the result of some other misunderstood or misinterpreted legitimate scientific findings, or even been the result of speculation by [[self-help]] gurus. While it is true that a small minority of neurons in the brain are actively firing at one time, the inactive neurons are important too.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm Snopes on brains]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Radford|first=Benjamin|date=March/April 1999|title=The Ten-Percent Myth|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|publisher=Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal|issn=0194-6730|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/9903/ten-percent-myth.html|accessdate=2009-04-15|quote=It's the old myth heard time and again about how people use only ten percent of their brains}}</ref>
* There is no single theory that satisfactorily explains [[myopia]]—in particular, studies show that "eyestrain" from close reading and computer games does not explain myopia. There is also no evidence that reading in dim light or sitting close to a television causes vision to deteriorate.<ref>{{cite
  | title = Myths about Vision and Eyes
  | publisher = The Eye Digest, University of Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary, Chicago, IL
  | date = 2009-05-19
  | url = http://www.agingeye.net/visionbasics/visionmyths.php Vision myths
  | accessdate = 2009-06-14
}}</ref><ref>{{cite
  | title = Does reading in poor light actually hurt vision
  | publisher = Google Answers
  | date = 2003-02-09
  | url = http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=159098
}}</ref>
* Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser or darker. This belief is due to the fact that hair that has never been cut has a tapered end, whereas, after cutting, there is no taper. Thus, it appears thicker, and feels coarser due to the sharper, unworn edges.<ref>[http://snopes.com/oldwives/hairgrow.asp snopes.com: Shaved Hair Grows Darker<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Hair can also appear darker after it grows back because hair that has never been cut is often lighter due to sun exposure.
* Hair and fingernails do not continue to grow after a person dies. Rather, the skin dries and shrinks away from the bases of hairs and nails, giving the appearance of growth.<ref>{{cite book | last = Graham-Brown | first = Robin | coauthors = Tony Burns | title = Lecture Notes on Dermatology | publisher = Blackwell | year = 2007 | page = 6 | isbn = 1-4051-3977-3}}</ref> 
* Although there are hair care products which are marketed as being able to repair split ends and damaged hair, there is no such cure.  A good conditioner might prevent damage from occurring in the first place, but the only way to get rid of split ends after they appear is by a simple hair cut.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hair Care Myths and Tips | url=http://www.disabled-world.com/health/dermatology/hair/hair-care.php | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Question of the Week | url=http://www.cbc.ca/streetcents/features/front_question_of_the_week.html | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Hair Myths: Don’t Believe Everything You Hear About Your Hair | url=http://www.glamour.com/beauty/2008/09/hair-myths | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref>
* Snapping or cracking one's knuckles does not cause arthritis.<ref>Prevention Health Books, ''Outsmart arthritis: expert-endorsed remedies for short-term relief and lifetime control'' (Macmillan, 2003), [http://books.google.com/books?id=_6vGMmPUDJsC&pg=PA15&dq=Snapping+or+cracking+one%27s+knuckles+does+not+cause+arthritis&lr=&ei=t4nFSfuuG5mGzgTDuLiQAg 15].</ref>
* Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.<ref name="festive myths">{{cite web | title=Festive Medical Myths | url=http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769}} Vreeman RC, Carroll AE. British Medical Journal 2008;337:a2769.</ref> [[Blind experiment#Double-blind trials|Double blind trials]] have shown no difference in behaviour between children given sugar full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with [[Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder|attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder]] or those considered "sensitive" to sugar. In fact, it was found that the difference in the children's behaviour was all in the parents' minds.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fullerton-Smith|first=Jill|title=The Truth About Food|publisher=Bloomsbury|date=2007|pages=115–117|isbn=9780747586852|quote="Most parents assume that children plus sugary foods equals raucous and uncontrollable behaviour.[...] according to nutrition experts, the belief that children experience a "sugar high" is a myth."}}</ref>
* A disproportionate amount of heat is ''not'' lost through the head.<ref name="festive myths"/> This myth originated from a poorly undertaken military study that went on to suggest that "40 to 45 percent of body heat"<ref>US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76: US Department of the Army, 1970:148.</ref> was lost through the head. Recent studies have shown that heat loss from the head is completely proportionate.
* Eating at night does not cause any more weight gain than eating the same amount of food during the day.<ref>{{cite web| title=Does Nighttime Noshing Make You Fat? |publisher=Healthy Lifestyle| author=Robert H. Shmerling, Kathy McManus|url= http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSI/9273/35323/432544.html?d=dmtHMSContent |accessdate=2009-05-02}}</ref> Some studies have shown a connection; however, it has since been shown that the "effects" were due to a [[Correlation does not imply causation|confusion between correlation and causation]].
* Prolonged exposure to cold weather such as rain or winter conditions does not increase the likelihood of catching a [[common cold|cold]].<ref>Zuger, Abigail [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E1DD163FF937A35750C0A9659C8B63  'You'll Catch Your Death!' An Old Wives' Tale? Well . . .] ''[[The New York Times]]'' (March 4, 2003). Retrieved on 12-17-08. </ref> Although common colds are seasonal, with more occurring during winter, experiments so far have failed to produce evidence that short-term exposure to cold weather or direct chilling increases susceptibility to infection, implying that the seasonal variation is instead due to a change in behaviors such as increased time spent indoors close to others.<ref name="NIAID2006">{{cite web | title = Common Cold | publisher = [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]] | date = [[2006-11-27]] | url = http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/healthscience/healthtopics/colds/ | accessdate = 2007-06-11}}</ref><ref name="pmid13559211">{{cite journal | author = Dowling HF, Jackson GG, Spiesman IG, Inouye T | title = Transmission of the common cold to volunteers under controlled conditions. III. The ehttp://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=List_of_common_misconceptions&action=edit&section=9ffect of chilling of the subjects upon susceptibility | journal = American journal of hygiene | volume = 68 | issue = 1 | pages = 59–65 | year = 1958 | pmid = 13559211}}</ref><ref name="pmid12357708">{{cite journal | author = Eccles R | title = Acute cooling of the body surface and the common cold | journal = Rhinology | volume = 40 | issue = 3 | pages = 109–14 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12357708}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Douglas, R.G.Jr, K.M. Lindgren, and R.B. Couch | title = Exposure to cold environment and rhinovirus common cold. Failure to demonstrate effect | journal = New Engl. J. Med | volume = 279 | year = 1968}}<!-- Please confirm, was the follow ref the correct one?--></ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Douglas RC, Couch RB, Lindgren KM |title=Cold doesn't affect the "common cold" in study of rhinovirus infections |journal=JAMA |volume=199 |issue=7 |pages=29–30 |year=1967 |pmid=4289651 |doi= 10.1001/jama.199.7.29|url=}}</ref>  A lowering of body temperature can, however, reduce the body's resistance to an infection that is already present. <ref name="FapPrac22:608-613">{{cite web | title = Johnson C, Eccles R. (2005) Acute cooling of the feet and the onset of common cold symptoms. Family Practice 22: 608-613 | publisher = Common Cold Centre, University of Cardiff | date = [[2005-11-14]] | url = http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/6/608 | accessdate = 2009-05-14}}</ref>
* It is a common misconception that [[Sleepwalking|sleepwalkers]] should not be awakened.  While it is true that a person may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, it is actually quite dangerous not to wake a sleepwalker as they may injure themselves if they trip over objects or lose their balance while sleepwalking.  Such injuries are common among sleepwalkers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/article.htm | title=Sleepwalking: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments | publisher=MedicineNet, Inc | accessdate=2009-05-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.4838975/k.983E/Sleepwalking.htm | title=Sleepwalking | publisher=National Sleep Foundation | accessdate=2009-05-10}}</ref>
* While the [[vitamin A]] in carrots does help to build healthy vision (among other things), it does not improve the eyesight of a person already in possession of healthy vision nor does it improve night vision. In fact, an excess of carrots can cause [[vitamin A toxicity]] and [[carotenemia]], although cases of this are rare. This misconception arose from an [[RAF]] attempt to hide the discovery of [[radar]] from the Axis forces by claiming that their pilots had gained vastly improved night vision from being fed carrots, rather than from any technological advancement.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/10/26/1392430.htm | title=Carrots & Night Vision | publisher=ABC Science | accessdate=2009-05-25}}</ref>

===Biology===
* [[Stereotypes of Native Americans|The indigenous people of ''North'' America]] can grow facial hair, contrary to the misconception that they cannot. Many tribes culturally shaved at a time when men of European descent often did not. <ref name=indian_facial_hair>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/memorial/68/aipics.html
 | title = Amerindian Pictures Painted by Those Who Were There
 | publisher = Hutchison Research Center
 | accessdate = 2008-05-08
}}
</ref><ref name=indian_facial_hair2>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/faq2.html
 | title = Frequently Asked Questions - Page 2
 | publisher = WWW Virtual Library - American Indians, Index of Native American Resources on the Internet
 | accessdate = 2008-05-08
}}
</ref>
* [[Wart]]s on human skin are caused by viruses that are unique to humans ([[Human papillomavirus]]). Humans cannot catch warts from [[toad]]s or other animals; the bumps on a toad are not warts.<ref>[http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/FocusOnHealth/Fall2002/Warts.htm www.londondrugs.com: ''Putting an End to Warts'']</ref>
* The claim<ref>[[Mythbusters]] Does a Duck's Quack Echo? (Season 1, Episode 8)</ref> that a [[duck]]'s quack does not [[Echo (phenomenon)|echo]] is false, although the echo may be difficult to hear for humans under some circumstances.<ref>[http://www.acoustics.salford.ac.uk/acoustics_info/duck/ University of Salford Acoustics]</ref>
* The notion that [[goldfish]] have a memory of only three seconds is completely false<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/19/2166204.htm</ref>. They have been trained to navigate mazes and can recognize their owners after an exposure of a few months.<ref>[http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/18/SA_schoolboy_explodes_fishmemory_myth www.livenews.com.au: ''SA Schoolboy Explodes Fish Memory Myth'']</ref><ref>[http://nootropics.com/intelligence/smartfish.html nootropics.com: ''Goldfish Pass Memory Test'']</ref>
* [[Lemming]]s do not engage in suicidal dives off cliffs when migrating. They will, however, occasionally, and unintentionally fall off cliffs when venturing into unknown territory, with no knowledge of the boundaries of the environment. The misconception is due largely to the [[Disney]] film ''[[White Wilderness (film)|White Wilderness]]'', which shot many of the migration scenes (also staged by using multiple shots of different groups of lemmings) on a large, snow-covered turntable in a studio. Photographers later pushed the lemmings off a cliff.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp Snopes - Lemmings]</ref><ref>http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x64745</ref>
* [[Bats]] are not blind.  While most bat species do use [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]] to augment their vision, all bats have eyes and are capable of sight.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/bats/miscon.htm | title=Common Misconceptions About Bats | accessdate=2009-04-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=59&articleID=745 | title=The Truth About Animal Clichés | accessdate=2009-04-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.collegenews.org/x2682.xml | title=Blind as a Bat? | accessdate=2009-04-07}}</ref>
* Mammal [[blood]] is bright red or scarlet when oxygenated and a darker red when not oxygenated. It is never blue. [[Vein#Colour|Veins appear blue]] through the skin because of differential absorption of wavelengths of the blood's color by the overlying skin and flesh.<ref>http://www.imt.liu.se/edu/courses/TBMT36/pdf/blue.pdf</ref>
* An [[earthworm]] does not become two worms when cut in half. An earthworm can survive being bisected, but only the front half of the worm (where the mouth is located) can survive, while the other half dries out or starves to death. If one cuts the worm too close to the saddle (the fat pink section where all of the worm's vital organs are located) then the worm may die.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/didyouknow_worms.shtml BBC: Gardening with children - Worms]</ref> On the other hand, species of the [[planaria]] family of [[flatworm]]s actually ''do'' become two new planaria when bisected or split down the middle.
* According to urban myth, the Daddy Long-Legs Spider (''[[Pholcus phalangioides]]'') is the most venomous spider in the world, but it is harmless to humans because its fangs cannot penetrate human skin. This is false as ''[[Pholcus phalangioides]]'' can pierce human skin, however, the toxicity of this spider's venom has just a weak effect on insects, let alone humans. In addition, there is also confusion regarding the use of the name Daddy Long Legs, because Harvestmen (order ''[[Opiliones]]'', which are not spiders) and [[crane fly|crane flies]] (which are insects) are also commonly referred to as Daddy Long Legs, and share (also incorrectly) the myth of venomousness.<ref> {{cite web | title=UCR Entomology Spiders - Daddy Long Legs | url=http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Spider Myths - If it could only bite | url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/daddyvenom.html}}</ref>
* It is sometimes stated as a fact that "there are more people alive at this moment than have ever lived"<ref>{{cite book | last = Finlay| first = Paul N. | authorlink =  | coauthors = | title = Strategic Management: an introduction to business and corporate strategy | publisher = Pearson Education | date = 2000 | location =  | nopp =  | page = 207 | url =  | isbn = 0201398273}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Dobson  | first = James | authorlink =  | coauthors = John Sander, Judith Woodfield | title = Living Geography | publisher = Nelson Thornes | date = 2001 | location =  | nopp =  | page = 23 | url =  | isbn = 0174343256 }}</ref>. Although there is no definite starting point for the human species, estimates of the total number of people who have ever lived have been made, and range from 45 to 125 billion people. Even the lower estimate of 45 billion far outnumbers the 6.6 billion people alive today.<ref>{{cite web | last =  | first =  | authorlink =  | coauthors =  | title = Myth Busters > "There are more people alive today than have ever lived" | work = Sustainable Development New Zealand Programme of Action | publisher = Statistics New Zealand | date =  | url = http://www.population.govt.nz/myth-busters/MoreAliveThanLived.htm | doi =  | accessdate = }}</ref> See also [[World population#Number of humans who have ever lived|World population: Number of humans who have ever lived]]. This fact was well known to [[Arthur C. Clarke]] who remarked on it in the opening sentence of his [[1968]] novel [[2001: A Space Odyssey]]: "Behind every man stand thirty ghosts, for that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the living."

====Evolution====
* Biological [[evolution]] does not address the [[origin of life]]; for that, see [[abiogenesis]]. The two are commonly and mistakenly conflated. Evolution describes (and through the [[theory of evolution]], endeavors to explain) the changes in gene frequencies that occur in populations of living organisms over time, and thus, presupposes that life already exists. Evolution likewise says nothing about [[cosmology]], the [[Big Bang]], or the origins of the universe.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hccfl.edu/dm/clubs--organizations/journal-club/organic-evolution.aspx | title=Organic Evolution |accessdate=2009-04-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/02/state-of-the-art-evolution.ars | title=Misperceptions meet state of the art in evolution research | accessdate=2009-04-07}}</ref>
* The word "[[theory]]" in "the theory of evolution" does not imply [[doubt]] in mainstream science regarding its validity; the words "theory" and "hypothesis" are not the same in a scientific context. While "theory" in conventional usage tends to denote a "hunch" or conjecture, a ''[[scientific theory]]'' is a set of principles which, via logical [[induction]], explains the ''observations'' in nature in [[naturalism (philosophy)|natural]] terms.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.msu.edu/~pennock5/research/papers/Pennock_TeachingEvoNatureSci.pdf | title=Evolutionary Science and Society: Educating a New Generation | accessdate=2009-04-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/chronicle/0308/theo/index.html | title=It Is Not Just a Theory... It Is a Theory! | accessdate=2009-04-08}}</ref> Evolution is a theory in the same sense as the [[theory of gravity]] or the [[theory of relativity]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://evoled.dbs.umt.edu/lessons/miscon.htm#3 | title=Misconceptions about the Nature of Science | accessdate=2009-04-08}}</ref>  (See [[Objections to evolution#Evolution is just a theory.2C not a fact|Evolution is just a theory, not a fact]].)
*The truth of the statement that "Humans are descended from monkeys" depends on whether the [[last common ancestor]] of the parvorder [[Catarrhini]] could be described as a [[monkey]]. Humans did not evolve from any current (non-human) [[ape]]s.<ref>[http://anthropology.si.edu/HumanOrigins/ha/primate.html Smithsonian]("...chimpanzees and humans are more closely related to each other than either is to gorillas. However, it must be stressed that ''humans did not evolve from living chimpanzees'')(emphasis in original);[http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/Teaching_Activities/Human%20Evolution%20and%20Darwin.pdf Smithsonian 2]{"Fossil, molecular, morphological, behavioral, and genetic evidence all support the idea that humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, gibbons (hylobatids), old world “monkeys” (cercopithecids), new world “monkeys” (platyrrhines), tarsiers, and lemurs and lorises (strepsirrhines) all share a common ancestor, which lived nearly 95 million years ago (Shoshani et al. 1996)."; Shoshani, J. et al., 1996. "Primate phylogeny: Morphological vs molecular results." ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 5: 102-154; {{cite book | title = The New Cognitive Neurosciences: Second Edition | first = Michael S. | last = Gazzaniga|publisher= MIT Press| date= 2000| pages = 1220 et seq.| isbn= 0262071959}} (tree of life chart showing divergence of "monkeys" and common ancestry);{{cite book | title = Human Evolution: Trails from the Past| first = Camilo José Cela | last = Conde|publisher = Oxford University Press| date= 2007| pages = chapter 1| isbn= 0198567804}}(tree of life in broader detail and discussion);</ref> (Some scientists say that humans are a type of ape, biologically speaking, but that is not common word usage.) Rather, humans and other modern [[simian]]s—[[chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s, [[orangutan]]s, [[baboon]]s, etc.—all share an [[extinct]] [[common ancestor|common early ancestor]]. Humans are more closely related to modern fellow apes than to monkeys, and humans and other apes share a later common ancestor that lived around 7 million years ago in the late [[Miocene epoch]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brunet M, Guy F, Pilbeam D, ''et al.'' |title=A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa |journal=Nature |volume=418 |issue=6894 |pages=145–51 |year=2002 |pmid=12110880 |doi=10.1038/nature00879}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Brunet M, Guy F, Pilbeam D, ''et al.'' |title=New material of the earliest hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad |journal=Nature |volume=434 |issue=7034 |pages=752–5 |year=2005 |pmid=15815627 |doi=10.1038/nature03392}}</ref> However, fossil discoveries of "recently" (as in, only millions of years ago) extinct species are, in the experience of paleontologists, rarely direct ancestors of living species (cf. [[missing link]]). Clarity here is affected by people who are unaware of recent taxonomic shufflings-around of the biological names and taxa in the [[Anthropoidea]]: for example, in former times the [[Hominidae]] only included the genus ''[[Homo]]'' and the most man-like of the extinct genera.
* The process of biological evolution is not necessarily slow. Millions of years are not necessarily required to see [[speciation]] (a change in characteristics of a kind of organism, typically rendering offspring infertile with the previous species). The length of time for speciation to occur depends strictly on the number of generations that have gone by. For this reason, organisms with shorter lifespans such as fruit flies will evolve much more quickly than animals with longer lifespans. Indeed, it has been observed multiple times under both controlled laboratory conditions and in nature.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jiggins CD, Bridle JR |title=Speciation in the apple maggot fly: a blend of vintages? |journal=Trends Ecol. Evol. (Amst.) |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=111–4 |year=2004 |pmid=16701238 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2003.12.008}}<br />*{{cite web|author=Boxhorn, J|year=1995|url=http://talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html|title=Observed Instances of Speciation|publisher=The TalkOrigins Archive|accessdate=2008-12-26}}<br />*{{cite journal |author=Weinberg JR, Starczak VR, Jorg, D |title=Evidence for Rapid Speciation Following a Founder Event in the Laboratory |journal=Evolution |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=1214–20 |year=1992 |doi=10.2307/2409766}}</ref>
* Evolution is not a progression from "lower" to "higher", and evolution does not require an increase in complexity (see ''[[Evolution of complexity]]''). A population can evolve to become simpler with less genetic information, and have a smaller [[genome]]—often called "[[Biological devolution|devolution]]", but that is a [[misnomer]].<ref>[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-the-human-race-evolvin Scientific American: Is the human race evolving or devolving?], see also [[biological devolution]].</ref><ref name="pmid11893328">{{cite journal |author=Moran NA |title=Microbial minimalism: genome reduction in bacterial pathogens |journal=Cell |volume=108 |issue=5 |pages=583–6 |year=2002 |pmid=11893328 |doi=10.1016/S0092-8674(02)00665-7}}</ref>
* The claim that "almost all mutations are harmful" is strictly speaking false. In fact, most mutations have no noticeable effect, mainly because most mutations do not occur within coding or regulatory regions of the genome. One study gives the average number of mutations that arise in a human conception to be around 128, with an average number of ''harmful'' mutations per conception of 1.3. However, most mutations that have an effect on [[phenotype]] are indeed detrimental to the organism.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mutation Rates in Humans. II. Sporadic Mutation-Specific Rates and Rate of Detrimental Human Mutations Inferred from Hemophilia B|author=F. Giannelli, T. Anagnostopoulos, and P. M. Green|date=1999-09-15|url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/botrender.fcgi?blobtype=html&artid=1288368}}{{Dead link|date=January 2009}}</ref>
* The claim that evolution makes no meaningful [[falsifiability|predictions]] is not true &mdash; for example the discovery of the relationship between [[chromosome 2]] and chimpanzee chromosomes at the end of the completion of the [[human genome project|human]] and [[chimpanzee genome project|chimp]] genome projects was predicted, and makes meaningful sense as evidence of a common ancestor.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
* The characterization of evolution as the "[[survival of the fittest]]", in the sense of "only the best-adapted organisms will prevail" (a view common in [[social Darwinism]]), is not consistent with the actual [[theory of evolution]]. In this context, fitness is strictly defined as the capacity of reproducing. In other words, a species (and not an individual) is "fit" if it is able to reproduce on an ongoing basis. Nothing is said about the "fitness" of any individual  organism, which may actually include non-inheritable traits. A more accurate characterization of evolution would be "survival of the fit enough".<ref>''[http://books.google.com/books?id=03b_a0monNYC&pg=PA37&dq=%22survival+of+the+fit+enough%22&sig=3MzPHIVm2LR7jIB-AahJeAjsqyo Evolution Vs. Creationism: An Introduction]''. Eugenie Carol Scott, University of California Press, 2005, ISBN 0520233913</ref><ref>"Stephen Jay Gould, [http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/gould_tautology.html Darwin's Untimely Burial]", 1976; from Michael Ruse, ed., Philosophy of Biology, New York: Prometheus Books, 1998, pp. 93-98.</ref>

===Physics===
* The [[centrifugal force]] an object moving in a circular path "feels" is actually [[inertia]], the tendency of an object to move in a straight-line path. The centrifugal force is a [[pseudoforce]] which appears if you draw a force-body diagram from the frame of reference of the object, but since it is undergoing [[centripetal acceleration]], it is not an [[inertial reference frame]]. In fact, the only true force that exists in this case is the [[centripetal force]], the force acting to keep the object moving in a circular path.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Centrifugal Force |url=http://phun.physics.virginia.edu/topics/centrifugal.html}}</ref>.  For example, the Earth revolves around the sun, and in the rotating frame of the Earth there is a centrifugal pseudoforce which pushes the Earth outwards.  This is balanced against the centripetal force of gravity from the sun.  
* The [[Coriolis effect#Draining bathtubs and toilets|Coriolis effect]] does not determine the direction that water rotates in a bathtub drain or a flushing toilet. The Coriolis force is relatively small; it appears over large scales (like weather systems) or in systems such as the [[Foucault pendulum]] in which the small influence is allowed to accumulate over time. In a bathtub or toilet, the flow of the water over the basin itself produces forces that dwarf the Coriolis force. In addition, most toilets inject water into the bowl at an angle, causing a spin too fast to be affected by the Coriolis effect.<ref>{{cite web | title=Which way will my bathtub drain | url=http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/bathtub.html | publisher=Usenet Physics FAQ | accessdate=2008-08-07}}</ref>
* [[gyroscope|Gyroscopic forces]] are not required for a rider to [[bicycle and motorcycle dynamics#Other hypotheses|balance]] a [[bicycle]].<ref name="whitt">{{cite book
| title = Bicycling Science
| edition = Second
| last = Whitt
| first = Frank R.
| coauthors = David G. Wilson
| year = 1982
| publisher = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| isbn = 0-262-23111-5
| pages = 198–233}}</ref><ref name="klein">{{cite web
| url = http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/default.aspx?Lev=2&ID=34
| title = Bicycle Science
| last = Klein
| first = Richard E.
| coauthors = et al.
| accessdate = 2006-08-04}}</ref><ref name="jones">{{cite journal
| journal = Physics Today
| volume = 23
| issue = 4
| year = 1970
| pages = 34–40
| title = The stability of the bicycle
| last = Jones
| first = David E. H.
| url = http://socrates.berkeley.edu/%7Efajans/Teaching/MoreBikeFiles/JonesBikeBW.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-08-04
| doi = 10.1063/1.3022064
}}</ref> However, the stability of a bicycle is improved by gyroscopic forces as well as by its geometry and the rider's ability to counteract tilting by steering.

[[Image:Equal transit-time NASA wrong1.gif|thumb|right|250px|An illustration of the equal transit-time fallacy.]]
* It is not true that air takes the same time to travel above and below an aircraft's wing.<ref>[http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/wrong1.html Incorrect Lift Theory]</ref> This misconception, illustrated at right, is widespread among textbooks and non-technical reference books, and even appears in pilot training materials. {{See|Equal transit-time fallacy|List of works with the equal transit-time fallacy|Lift (force)}}
* Similarly, sailboats are not propelled by wind "pushing" the sails. In reality, sails are vertical airfoils, which is what allows ships to sail into the wind. {{See|Sailing}}
* Some textbooks state that [[electricity]] within wires flows at nearly (or even exactly) the [[speed of light]],<ref>http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/eleca.html</ref> which can give the impression that [[electrons]] themselves move almost instantly through a circuit. The electrons in a typical wire actually move at a [[drift velocity]] on the order of centimeters per hour<ref>[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/miccur.html hyperphysics]</ref> (much slower than a snail). The random thermal motions of the electrons are much faster than this, but still much slower than light, and with no tendency to occur in any particular direction. It is the ''[[Signal (electrical engineering)|electrical signal]]'' that travels almost at the speed of light. The information that a light switch has been turned on propagates to the bulb very quickly, but the charge carriers move slowly.<ref>{{citation|title=Network analysis|page=3|author=Mac Elwyn Van Valkenburg|year=1955|http://books.google.com/books?id=kOpSAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>  
{{See|Speed of electricity}}
* The blue color of lakes and oceans is not a reflection of the blue sky. Water also looks blue because water ''is'' blue; the water molecules do absorb some light, and they absorb red frequencies more than blue.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.hko.gov.hk/education/edu06nature/ele_water_e.htm
 | title = What is the colour of water? }}</ref> The effect is small, so the blue color only becomes obvious when observing layers of water many meters (or more) thick. (This effect is noticeable to a lesser amount in white-painted [[swimming pool]]s.) In salt water or mineral-laden fresh water, the color of dissolved minerals can also be seen. Sky-reflection does play a role, but it is not the only factor.  See [[Colour of water]].
* Some believe that the sky looks blue because it reflects the color of the ocean.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=eInnwg77gbkC&printsec=frontcover#PPA39,M1 Philip Plait, ''Bad Astronomy'']</ref> The sky actually looks blue because the color of air varies with the viewing angle to the illumination source.  Sunlight reflected (scattered) from the air is of shorter wavelengths toward the violet end of the [[visible spectrum]], while the remaining transmitted sunlight has longer wavelengths of the red end of the spectrum.  In fact, the sun appears reddish in the evening because the transmitted sunlight has lost much of its blue wavelengths because of scattering, leaving only the long wavelength red light to reach the observer. This phenomenon is referred to as [[Rayleigh Scattering]].
* It is commonly believed{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} that airplanes flying long distances between two places usually take less time flying west-to-east than east-to-west because of the [[earth's rotation]]. This is false. The difference is accounted for by [[jet stream]]s and [[trade wind]]s, which usually flow in an eastward direction (because of the rotation of the earth).<ref>[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream//global/jet.htm National Weather Service on jet streams]</ref>
* Astronauts in orbiting spacecraft are not in a location where there is [[zero gravity]] in the simple sense. They accelerate along with the spacecraft. The [[principle of equivalence]] shows that accelerating [[free-fall]] environment is exactly the same in every respect as zero-gravity. NASA refers to near free-fall conditions with low G-force acceleration as [[microgravity]]. Earth's gravitational effects are very strong at the low orbit altitudes used by the [[space shuttle]], where the acceleration due to gravity is about 85% of what it is at Earth's surface. Gravity falls off rapidly as one leaves the Earth's surface, but one can never completely escape the gravitational pull even at vast distances, though the effect will become negligible. A free-fall situation is sometimes called "simulated zero-gravity", and can be experienced in any near-freefall situation, including extremely fast elevators. Astronauts ride inside free-falling airplanes for training (see [[Vomit Comet]]).{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
* While the Earth's [[north magnetic pole]] is near the geographic north pole, it is in physics terms a south magnetic pole. By accepted convention, a compass needle is a magnet whose magnetic-north pole is termed the geographic-north-seeking end of the magnet. Therefore, because magnetic poles are attracted to their opposites, the compass needle points to the magnetic ''south pole'' of the [[Earth's magnetic field]]. The Arctic pole is a south-type pole, while the Antarctic pole is a north-type pole. The poles have undergone [[geomagnetic reversal]] in the past, the last being the [[Brunhes-Matuyama reversal]] of 780,000 years ago. Earth also has a more complicated magnetic field than one might get from a simple [[dipole]]. The earth has a strong overall dipole which is superposed on a weaker [[quadrupole]], as well as higher-order [[magnetic moment]]s. Not only have the magnetic poles moved to opposite geographic poles in the past, but they also drift around more or less randomly, presumably because of the movements of the molten nickel-iron alloy in the Earth's core.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
* Introductory science courses often teach that the [[periodicity|period]] of a [[pendulum]] is independent of its [[amplitude]] (this is called [[Isochronous|isochronism]]), and students often mistakenly believe that is precisely true. It is only approximately true and only for small amplitudes, (see [[small angle approximation]]), for which a pendulum approximates [[simple harmonic motion]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
* Putting a teaspoon in the neck of an opened bottle of champagne will not help it retain its fizz.<ref name="Jefford"> {{cite web
  | last = Jefford
  | first = Andrew
  | title = Bubble and Chic
  | work =
  | publisher =
  | date =
  | url = http://www.waitrose.com/drink/wine/winearticles/0103086.aspx
  | doi =
  | accessdate = 2008-07-18}}
</ref> The misconception may arise from the fact that few people have two bottles of champagne open and unfinished at the same time to perform an accurate comparison.<ref name="OHare"> {{cite book
  | last = O'Hare
  | first = Mick
  | authorlink = Mick O'Hare
  | coauthors =
  | title = How to Fossilize Your Hamster: And Other Amazing Experiments for the Armchair Scientist
  | publisher = Holt Rinehart and Winston
  | date = 22 January 2008
  | location =
  | page = 256
  | url = http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Fossilize-Your-Hamster-Experiments/dp/0805087702
  | doi =
  | id =
  | isbn = 0805087702}} </ref> and likely suffer from [[subjective validation]] bias.
* It is not true that [[paper]] can be folded in half a maximum of seven, eight, ten, or indeed any selected number of times. It is true, however, that there is a [[mathematics of paper folding|loss function]] associated with each fold, and thus there is such a practical limit for a normal sized (letter or [[A4 paper size|A4]]) sheet of writing paper.
[[Image:Crookes radiometer.jpg|thumb|right|100px|A [[Crookes radiometer]]]]
* Several incorrect explanations have been circulated for what causes a [[Crookes radiometer]] (pictured) to turn.  The earliest incorrect explanation – that its motion is caused by [[radiation pressure]] – was posited by its inventor, [[Sir William Crookes]].<ref>http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/LightMill/light-mill.html</ref>  A common subsequent explanation, still offered by references such as ''[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]'',<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/489199/radiometer#ref76722</ref> is that its motion is caused by expansion of gas near the black side of the vanes, due to its absorbing more radiation and passing on that heat to gas molecules that strike it.  This explanation only explains a part of the force exerted on the radiometer.<ref name="scandurra">http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0402011</ref>  A fuller explanation includes the effect of [[thermal creep]] – the tendency of a gas to flow from hot to cold areas (in this case, around the edges of the vanes).<ref name="scandurra"/><ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997APS..PC...J206K</ref><ref>http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/CrookesRadiometerAComedyOfErrors/</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=1AsFdUxOwu8C&pg=RA1-PA511</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=Nc0rAAAAYAAJ&dq=crookes+radiometer+%22radiation+pressure&q=radiometer+%22radiation+pressure%22&pgis=1#search_anchor</ref>
* [[Glass]] is not a high-[[viscosity]] liquid at room temperature: it is an [[amorphous solid]], although it does have some chemical properties normally associated with liquids.  Panes of [[stained glass]] windows often have thicker glass at the bottom than at the top, and this has been cited as an example of the slow flow of glass over centuries.  However, this unevenness is due to the window manufacturing processes used in earlier eras, which produced glass panes that were unevenly thick at the time of their installation.  It is not uncommon to find old windows that are thicker at the sides or the top.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/29glass.html</ref><ref>http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html</ref>
* It is not true that a mirror reverses left and right. It actually inverts front and back.<ref name="European Journal of Physics"> [http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0143-0807/14/1/009 Plane-mirror inversion]</ref> The left and right sides of a person's mirror image seem to be reversed because we are actually accustomed to everyone else's left and right being reversed when they turn around to face us. If, instead of rotating on the spot to face us, people instead flipped over into a handstand, we would see their left and right remain the same, but their top and bottom being reversed from our own. The mirror image faces us without its left and right or top and bottom being reversed in this sense, which is why it is the reverse of what everyone else sees when they look at us.<ref>http://science.howstuffworks.com/question415.htm</ref> Another way to understand this is the following. The misconception arises because one compares the image in the mirror to an object already 180° rotated around a vertical axis on the plane of the mirror, and then notices a left-right reverse. However, if one takes this (subconscious) rotation also into account, the rotation plus the left-right reverse together actually mean a front-back inversion. (Imagine a rubber mask being pushed inside-out, as opposed to being turned around.)

===Earth Science===
* Claims <ref>[http://www.wholeperson-counseling.org/doc/earthquakes.html Earthquakes on the increase]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20061209131008/http://www.michaelmandeville.com/polarmotion/spinaxis/vortex_correlations2.htm Eight Charts which Prove That Chandler's Wobble Causes Earthquakes, Volcanism, El Nino, and Global Warming]</ref><ref>[http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/13772.asp Exponential Increase in Earthquakes Continues to Escalate]</ref> that the number and intensity of [[earthquake]]s are increasing are unfounded. The number and intensity of earthquakes vary from year to year but there is no increasing trend.<ref>[http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html USGS Earthquakes Hazards Program: Earthquakes Facts and Statistics]</ref><ref>[http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/7up.html USGS Earthquakes Hazards Program: Number of Earthquakes per Year, Magnitude 7.0 or Greater]</ref>

===Scientific Method===
* There is no single, strict [[Scientific method]] used by all scientists, a misconception popularized by elementary science textbooks. The rigid "Hypothesis/Experiment/Conclusion" model of science is an important part of many fields, particularly basic sciences like Physics and Chemistry, but is not the only way to perform genuine science. Many sciences do not fit well into this mold ([[astronomy]], [[paleontology]], [[mathematics]]), and much important scientific work has come from curiosity and unguided exploration, for example, the [[discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation]], or the development of the [[Atomic force microscope]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Berkeley understanding science: how science works|url=http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/howscienceworks_01|accessdate=2009-05-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=W. I. Beveridge |title=The Art of Scientific Investigation|publisher= Vintage|date= 1960 |isbn= 0394701291}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Recurring science myths in K-6 textbooks|url=http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/miscon/miscon4.html#meth| accessdate=2009-05-14}}</ref>

==Religion==
* [[Albert Einstein]]'s position on God has been widely misrepresented by people on both sides of the atheism/religion divide.<ref>{{cite web | title=Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref> In truth, Einstein was neither religious (in the traditional sense) nor an atheist.  He did not believe in God in a "personal" sense and discounted the existence of a creator; rather, he was a [[rationalist]]ic [[pantheist]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Subtle are Einstein's thoughts | url=http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/23008 | accessdate=2009-04-13 }}</ref> Many people misinterpreted his words in public, to which Einstein himself responded by saying: "It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."<ref>{{cite web | title=The God Delusion | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/books/chapters/1022-1st-dawk.html?pagewanted=print | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref>
* Charles Darwin did not convert to Christianity on his deathbed<ref>[http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/ladyhope.html Simon Yates - The Lady Hope Story, a widespread falsehood]</ref>, as alleged in a story by British evangelist [[Lady Hope]].
* The phrase "[[separation of church and state]]" does not occur in the U.S. Constitution. It was first used in a letter [[Thomas Jefferson]] wrote to the [[Danbury Baptists|Danbury Baptist Association]] of Connecticut, reassuring them that religious minorities (such as Baptists) would be protected under the Bill of Rights. His expression "wall of separation between church and state" was a description of an intended effect of the First Amendment's [[Establishment Clause|Establishment]] and [[Free Exercise Clause|Free Exercise]] provisions, not a quotation therefrom.<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists]</ref>

===[[Abrahamic Religions]]===
*Nowhere in the [[Bible]] is the fruit eaten by [[Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] specified to be an apple. The fruit is called the "fruit of the tree" (that is, the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]]), and neither the fruit nor the tree is identified by species. In [[Middle English]], as late as the 17th century "apple" was a generic term for all fruit other than berries but including nuts.<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=apple&searchmode=none ''Apple'' at the Online Etymology Dictionary]</ref> However, in continental European art from that period representing the [[Fall of Man]] the fruit is often depicted as an apple. The apple myth comes from a Latin word likeness: Latin ''mălus'' = "bad", ''mălum'' = "an [[evil]]", ''mālus'' = "[[apple tree]]" and "[[mast]] of a ship", ''mālum'' = "[[apple]] (fruit)". Other traditional claims for the fruit include [[grape]]s, [[fig]]s, [[wheat]] and [[pomegranate]].

*The Bible does not state that God took a rib from Adam to make Eve. The Hebrew word used translates as "side."

*Many people confuse the [[Immaculate Conception]] with the [[Virgin Birth of Jesus]] when in fact, they are two different things.  Immaculate Conception is the belief that [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] was conceived without [[original sin]] and therefore her conception was immaculate.  [[Virgin Birth of Jesus|Virgin Birth]] is the belief that Mary gave birth to [[Jesus]] while remaining a virgin.<ref>{{cite web | title=BBC - Religion & Ethics - Beliefs: The Immaculate Conception | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/immaculateconception.shtml | accessdate=2009-05-08}}</ref>

* Nowhere in the Bible is [[Mary Magdalene]] ever referred to as a [[prostitute]]. Before her seeing the risen Jesus, the only other mention besides the listing of her name is the mentioning in [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 8:2<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%208:1-3;&version=9; Luke 8]</ref> that she had been possessed by seven demons.  In fact there are several sinful women mentioned in the gospels, one of whom is "caught in adultery". The earliest recorded mention of this connection was in a sermon of [[Pope Gregory]].

* The canon of the [[New Testament]] was not selected by [[Constantine I|Constantine]] at the [[First Council of Nicaea]]. Constantine did not personally have a vote on the council, and the canon had been settled mainly by common consent among the clergy from the early second century. Furthermore, the council did not consider the matter of canon in its proceedings. (See [[Development of the New Testament canon]].){{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

* Nowhere in the Bible does it say exactly three wise men came from afar to visit "Baby Jesus", nor that they rode on [[camel]]s. It was assumed that there were three [[Biblical Magi]] because three gifts are described. Additionally, the wise men did not visit on the day Jesus was born, but they saw Jesus as a child, in a house as much as two years afterward. (Matthew 2:11)<ref> {{cite web | last = Mikkelson | first = David and Barbara | title = Snopes.com  - Three Wise Men | url= http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/3wisemen.asp | accessdate = 2009-04-07 }} </ref><ref name=Zeolla>{{cite web | last = Zeolla | first = Gary | title = Nativity Scene Misconceptions | url = http://www.dtl.org/jesus/christmas/nativity.htm | accessdate = 2009-04-07 }} </ref><ref name=christmasmisconceptions>{{cite web | last = Taylor | first = Paul S. | title = Christian Answers - What are some of the most common misconceptions about Jesus Christ’s birth? | url = http://www.christiananswers.net/christmas/mythsaboutchristmas.html | accessdate = 2009-04-07 }} </ref>
*The Gospel accounts of Jesus' birth say nothing about a stable or an inn-keeper.  The Greek word for an inn is ''pandocheion,'' while the word used to describe where Jesus was born is ''kataluma'', which is better translated as "guestroom". <ref name=Zeolla/><ref name=christmasmisconceptions/> What is mentioned is that Jesus lay in a [[manger]] but nothing else (Luke 2:7). <ref name=Zeolla/>

* The [[Qur'an]] (surah 56 ([[Al-Waqia]]), verse 036 [http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/056.qmt.html#056.036])  promises [[martyr]]s will be awarded bounties of heaven, including virgins - if one so prefers; the verse however, specifies no number. There is a Da'eef (weak) [[Hadith]] [[Isnad|attributed]] to [[Muhammad]]<ref>Salahuddin Yusuf, Riyadhus Salihin, commentary on Nawawi, Chapter 372, Dar-us-Salam Publications (1999), ISBN 159144053X, ISBN 978-1591440536</ref> stating that there will be 72.<ref>[http://www.livingislam.org/fiqhi/sp2-gfh_e.html#9 How Many Wives Will The Believers Have In Paradise?] - Questions answered by Islamic scholar [[Gibril Haddad]]</ref>

* The [[Niqāb]] veil (and by extension, [[Burqa]]) is not considered by all<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/niqab_1.shtml '' 'Religion and Ethics - Islam. The Niqab'']</ref> Islamic scholars to be [[Fard|obligatory]]. Some view it as a voluntary show of piety. The passage in the Quran instructing women to "''…not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to…''" is interpreted by some to require covering off the hair, while others say it simply calls for modesty of dress.<ref>[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/024.qmt.html#024.031 '' 'The Qu'ran, translation by Yusuf Ali '']</ref>
* [[Allah]] does not refer to a Muslim, as opposed to a Christian, God. It is simply the Arabic word for "The God". Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as "Allah".<ref name="Britannica"> "Allah." [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica</ref>
* [[Jihad]] is not an "Islamic war on the western world" but rather a verb meaning to struggle or to strive. One can have an internal jihad, family jihad, or religious jihad, which may or may not include violence towards non-Muslims.<ref>[http://www.truejihad.com/pages/true-jihad.php Some words about True and False Jihad]</ref> A comparison may be made with the term "[[crusade]]", which is sometimes considered by Muslims to mean Western violence against Islam, when it is more often used as a metaphorical struggle; for example, "a crusade against drugs".<ref>BBC Documentary Series ''After Rome'', episode 2</ref> 
* A [[fatwā]] is a religious opinion on [[Sharia|Islamic law]] issued by an [[Ulema|Islamic scholar]], not a death sentence. The popular misconception<ref>  {{cite web | last= Isbister | first= William H | title = A “good” fatwa | url = http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1124693 | accessdate = 2009-04-08 }} </ref> likely stems from the death sentence pronounced as a fatwā on the author [[Salman Rushdie#The Satanic Verses controversy|Salman Rushdie]] in 1989 by Ayatollah [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] of Iran, when fatwās first gained widespread media attention in the west.<ref> {{cite web | author = CBC News | title = INDEPTH: ISLAM, Fatwa FAQ |  url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/islam/fatwa.html | accessdate = 2009-04-08 }} </ref>

===Hinduism===
* [[Hinduism]] is not one distinct religion, but was considered to be so since at least AD 1323, as attested by South Indian and Kashmiri texts,<ref> David Lorenzen, Who Invented Hinduism? New Delhi 2006, pp. 24-33; Rajatarangini of Yonaraja</ref> and increasingly so during the [[United Kingdom|British]] rule. Since the end of the 18th century the word has been used as an umbrella term for most of the religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions of the sub-continent, excluding the distinct religions of [[Sikhism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Islam]]. Despite this, many traditions considered "Hindu" today draw their validity from core texts called the [[Vedas]], though in various degrees; some traditions assert that their own texts supersede the Vedas. The traditions that reject the Vedas are considered ''nastika'' (heterodox), as opposed to ''astika'' (orthodox). Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma are now seen as trinity; that is, highest in the order of Hindu Gods (See ''[[Astika and Nastika]]''). Nastika is often translated as "[[atheist]]", though it does not exactly correspond to the English word.<ref>{{cite book | last = Klostermaier | first = Klaus K. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A Survey of Hinduism | publisher = SUNY Press | year = 1989 | location = | pages = 47 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0887068073}}</ref>

===Paganism===
*Not all pagans are [[polytheists]]: some are [[pantheists]] and others are [[monotheists]].<ref>[http://www.catanna.com/paganism101.htm Catanna.com - Paganism 101]</ref><ref>[http://www.entheology.org/POCM/pagan_origins_monotheism.html Entheology.org - Pagan Monotheism Origins]</ref>

==Technology==
===Inventions===
*[[Johannes Gutenberg]] was not the first to invent the [[printing press]] or [[movable type]]; these were in use in China and Korea centuries before (See [[History of typography in East Asia]]). Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type, and he probably invented it independently; the printing press did have a larger influence on Western than on Eastern culture.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
*[[Thomas Crapper]] did not invent the [[flush toilet]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snopes.com/business/names/crapper.asp |title=Thomas Crapper |work=[[Snopes]] |date=2007-02-22 |accessdate=2008-12-13}}</ref> which was invented by [[John Harington (writer)|Sir John Harrington]] in 1596. Crapper, however, did much to increase its popularity and came up with some related inventions, such as the [[ballcock]]. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several [[Royal Warrant]]s. He was not the origin of the word "[[crap]]".
*[[Thomas Edison]] did not invent the [[light bulb]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Robert |first=Friedel |coauthors=Paul Israel |origyear=1987 |title=Edison's Electric Light: Biography of an Invention |location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey]] |publisher=Rutgers University Press |pages=115–117}}</ref> He did, however, develop the first practical light bulb, contemporaneously with [[Joseph Swan]].
*[[Henry Ford]] did not invent the [[automobile]] or the [[internal combustion engine]].<ref name="IdeaFinder1">{{cite web |url=http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/automobile.htm |title=Automobile History - Invention of the Automobile |year=2005 |month=March |accessdate=2008-12-13 |work=[http://www.ideafinder.com/ The Great Idea Finder]}}</ref> He added [[conveyor belts]] to the [[assembly line]] for automobile production,<ref>[http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/assbline.htm Ideafinder - Assembly Line]</ref> and used it to bring the cost of automobiles into reach of many more people.
<!--*Neither did [[Guglielmo Marconi]] invent the radio; a patent was filed before him by [[Nikola Tesla]], a claim that was ratified by the US Supreme Court in 1943 in Tesla's favor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/tesla.html |title=Nikola Tesla |work=[http://web.mit.edu/invent/i-archive.html Inventor of the Week Archive] |accessdate=2008-12-13}}</ref>-->
* [[George Washington Carver]] did not invent [[peanut butter]], although he developed many other uses for peanuts.

===Computing===
* [[ENIAC]], (1946), was not the first ''digital'' computer; rather, it was the first ''general-purpose all-electronic'' computer. The [[Atanasoff-Berry Computer]] (ABC) (1942), was the first digital electronic binary computer.<ref>[[Honeywell v. Sperry-Rand]]</ref> The partly electromechanical [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]] (1941), was also among the earliest digital and general-purpose computers.  The first electronic computer was the [[Colossus computer]] (1943), but was not general-purpose, being designed only for particular applications.<ref>Jack Copeland, ''Colossus and the Dawning of the Computer Age'', in {{cite book | last = Smith | first = Michael | authorlink =  | coauthors = Ralph Erskine | title = Action This Day | publisher = Bantam | date = 2002 | location =  | nopp =  | page =  | url =  | isbn = 0593049829 }}</ref>
* The clock rate of a CPU is not a good measure of its performance. [[Computer performance]] is affected by many things, especially the design of the CPU's [[instruction pipeline]]s, [[branch prediction]], [[computer memory|memory subsystem]], and [[CPU cache|caches]]; the number of [[processor core|cores]]; and the ability of software to take advantage of a given [[CPU architecture]]'s features. This is known as the [[megahertz myth]], and was largely driven by marketing considerations.<ref>{{cite book | last = Warford | first = J. Stanley | authorlink =  | coauthors =  | title = Computer Systems | publisher = Jones & Bartlett | date = 2005 | location =  | nopp =  | page = 647 | url =  | isbn = 0763732397 }}</ref><ref>http://www.forbes.com/global/1999/1227/061_01.html</ref><ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/08/BU137328.DTL</ref>
*Most Internet traffic travels via fiber-optic cables, not satellites. <ref>http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/who-protects-intrnet?page=1</ref>
* A [[byte]] is not necessarily 8-bits, it simply refers to the smallest field that can be independently addressed in a particular system (though most current common place computer systems do use an 8-bit byte).
* [[HTTP cookie|Web cookies]] cannot execute code on a recipient's computer, nor can they modify or otherwise access files or settings on the computer (at least not in the absence of security flaws in the web-browser application, see for instance [[Buffer overflow]]). They can, however, be used for limited tracking of a recipients activity on the web.
* The [[Internet]] and [[World Wide Web]] are ''not'' synonymous. The Internet is a physical (albeit highly amorphous) entity composed of interconnected computer systems and other devices. The World Wide Web is the non-physical collection of all [[hyperlink]]ed content available from the Internet through the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]]. Properly, the Web is just one of many services accessible over the Internet.

===Gaming===
* ''[[Pong]]'' was not the first video game.  In fact, [[OXO]], created in 1952, was one of the first electronic games to use a graphical display, utilizing a cathode ray tube on the EDSAC computer. There are also patent records for an earlier game using a CRT, but no existing physical records of it. The first commercially sold coin-operated video game, ''[[Computer Space]]'', was created in 1971 by the future founders of [[Atari]].  Fearing that Computer Space had not been popular because of its complexity, [[Nolan Bushnell]] and [[Allan Alcorn]] created Pong in 1972 after Bushnell had seen a [[Magnavox Odyssey|similar game]] at a trade show.<ref>{{cite book |title=Video Games: In The Beginning |publisher=Rolenta Press |location=New Jersey |month=April |year=2005 |page=81 |isbn=0-9643848-1-7 |author=Ralph H. Baer.}}</ref>

===Transportation===
* The ship ''[[Mary Celeste]]'' was not called ''Marie Celeste''. [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] used the ''Marie Celeste'' spelling in his fictional story ''[[J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement]]'', based on the incident.<ref>[http://www.online-literature.com/doyle/captain_polestar/2/ Text of the story "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement"]</ref>
* The first heavier-than-air craft was not flown by the [[Wright brothers]]. Human-flown [[Unpowered aircraft|gliders]] and [[kites]] had been flown far earlier.  The Wright brothers did fly the first heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled and sustained powered flight.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers/ | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | title = The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age}}</ref> There is even some evidence to show [[Clément Ader]] was the first to fly a heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled and sustained powered flight in 1890.<ref>[http://www.flyingmachines.org/ader.html Link to web site about Clément Ader]</ref>{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
*[[Charles Lindbergh]] was not the first man to fly the Atlantic Ocean, although he was the first to have flown across it solo.  The first flight had been done first in stages between May 8 and May 31, 1919, by the crew of the Navy-Curtiss [[NC-4]] [[flying boat]] which took 24 days to complete its journey. The first truly non-stop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by [[Alcock and Brown|John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown]] in a modified [[Vickers Vimy]] bomber<ref>http://www.aviation-history.com/airmen/alcock.htm</ref>
* The United States [[Interstate Highway System]] was not designed with airplane landings in mind.  A common urban legend states that one out of every five (or ten) miles of highway must be straight and flat to allow emergency (or military) airplane landings, but this is not the case.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp
|title=Landing of Hope and Glory
|publisher=snopes.com
|accessdate=2007-12-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/mayjun00/onemileinfive.htm|title=ONE MILE IN FIVE: Debunking the Myth|last=Weingroff|first=Richard F.|date=May/June 2000|work=Federal Highway Administration|accessdate=2006-06-29}}</ref> However, several parts of the German and later the Swiss Autobahn system were indeed designed to be auxiliary military airports, both during World War II and the Cold War.<ref>
{{Citation
|url=http://www.lostplaces.de/cms/content/view/113/33/
|title=Autobahn-Flugplätze (NLP-Str)
|publisher=lostplaces.de
|accessdate=2008-12-16}}</ref>
[[Image:Fdr sidefront.jpg|thumb|A "black" box]]
* The [[Autobahn|German Autobahn]] was not designed by [[Adolf Hitler]] or the [[Third Reich#Cabinet and national authorities|Third Reich cabinet]]. It came into design 20 years before Hitler's reign, and was first implemented a year before he came to power.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth08.htm | publisher = German About.com | title = German Myth 8 — Hitler & the Autobahn}}</ref>
* The [[Black box (transportation)|Black box]], used for aviation accident investigation, is actually painted bright orange as to aid in recovering it from the crash site.<ref name="blackboxgb">{{cite book|first=George Bibel|title=Beyond the Black Box: The Forensics of Airplane Crashes|publisher=JHU Press|date=2007|isbn=0801886317|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=B3ng54W3sQ8C&pg=PP4&dq=Black+box+is+orange+%2Baviation#PPP4,M1}}</ref><ref name="blackboxhsw">{{cite web|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/black-box8.htm|title=How Black Boxes Work |first=Kevin Bonsor|publisher=HowStuffWorks|accessdate=2009-04-04}}</ref> 
* Toilet waste is not dumped overboard in aircraft. All waste is collected in tanks which are emptied on the ground by special toilet waste vehicles. A vacuum is used to allow the toilet to be flushed with less water and because plumbing cannot rely on gravity alone in an aircraft in motion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.howstuffworks.com/question314.htm |title= How does the toilet in a commercial airliner work? |author=How Stuff works|accessdate=2008-06-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/11/19/on-world-toilet-day-let-us-praise-the-airline-lav/ |last=Philips |first=Matt |title=On World Toilet Day, Let Us Praise the Airline Lav |work=The Middle Seat Terminal (Wall Street Journal) |accessdate=2009-04-02}} </ref> The infamous "[[Blue ice (aircraft)|blue ice]]" is caused by accidental leakages from the waste tank.

== Music ==

* Contrary to the self-perpetuated popular myth, [[Louis Armstrong]] was not born on [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4]], [[1900]]. It was not until mid-[[1980s]] that his real birth date was revealed &ndash; [[August 4]], [[1901]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/louis/scrapbook/bio/bio_detail.html|title=Louis Armstrong Bio|publisher=[http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/aboutus/ ArtsEdge, Kennedy Center]|quote=''Although it would be fitting for American icon Louis Armstrong to be born on July 4, 1900, which Armstrong himself stated was his date of birth, evidence from a baptismal certificate indicates that his true birthday was August 4, 1901.''|accessdate=Jun. 25, 2009}}</ref>
* Although included in [[Charlie Parker]]'s "Omnibook" and eventually copyrighted under Parker's name, the [[jazz standard]] "[[Donna Lee]]" was actually composed by [[Miles Davis]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis|last=Chambers|first=Jack|authorlink=Jack Chambers|year=1998|publisher=De Capo Press|isbn=0306808498|page=61|url=http://www.amazon.com/Milestones-Music-Times-Miles-Davis/dp/0306808498|accessdate=Jun. 25, 2009}}</ref>
* [[Jaco Pastorius]] is often misquoted to have invented the [[fretless bass]] by removing the [[fret]]s from a fretted [[bass guitar]] that he had, instead of replacing his [[upright bass]] that had been ruined due to [[humidity]]. Actually, [[Fender]] started marketing fretless [[Fender Jazz Bass|Jazz Bass]] models as early as [[1964]]. The previous owner of that guitar (a [[Florida]]-based [[saxophonist]] named Ben Champion) had already taken out the frets himself, but Jaco was less than satisfied by his overall work, thus finishing the job by filling the gaps with [[plastic wood]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lucaspickford.com/transinterview.htm|title=Lament for Linus|publisher=[[Guitar Player Magazine]]|author=Bill Milkowski|quote=''When I got the bass, the cat who had it had taken the frets out himself, and he did a really bad job of it &ndash; left all kinds of nicks and chunks taken out of the fretboard. So I really had to fix it up, I filled in all the chunks with Plastic Wood.''|accessdate=Jun. 25, 2009}}</ref>

== Sports ==

* There are several misconceptions related to the colored belt ranking system in [[martial arts]]. First, the system was invented in the early 20th century, contrary to the myth that it is based on the ancient practice of students starting with a white belt and gaining a [[black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] through accumulated dirt, sweat, and blood on an unwashed belt.<ref>{{cite web | last =Ohlenkamp | first =Neil | title =The Judo Rank System | date = January 5, 2009 | url = http://www.judoinfo.com/obi.htm| accessdate = 2009-01-15 }}</ref> Second, receiving a black belt usually does not mean mastery, as there are always several levels of black belt for each martial art, and standards for attaining a belt can vary greatly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://judoinfo.com/bb.htm|title=What Does a Black Belt Really Mean?|last=Ohlenkamp|first=Neil|date=June 1, 2004|accessdate=2009-02-23}}</ref> Third, a prevalent American myth is that black belts must register their hands as a deadly weapon with law enforcement agencies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=460|title=Martial Arts Myths & Misconceptions: Black Belts Having To Register As Deadly Weapons|last=Maberry|first=Jonathan|accessdate=2009-02-23}}</ref>
* Contrary to popular myth, [[Abner Doubleday]] did not invent [[baseball]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Cole | first=Diane | url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060806/14ball.htm | title=Contrary to myth, baseball may have had no single inventor | publisher=US News and World Report |date=1990-10-04 |accessdate=2009-08-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Fox | first=Butterfield | url=http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/04/nyregion/cooperstown-hoboken-try-new-york-city.html | title=Cooperstown? Hoboken? Try New York City | publisher=The New York Times |date=1990-10-04 |accessdate=2009-04-03}}</ref> (See [[Origins of baseball#The Abner Doubleday myth|The Abner Doubleday myth]].)
* The [[ice hockey]] term "[[Original Six]]", contrary to its implication, does not refer to the six original members of the [[National Hockey League]]. It actually refers to the six teams which formed the entire league from 1942 to [[1967 NHL expansion|1967]]. Only two of them were actually charter NHL members, but all six were founded within the NHL's first decade.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
* Another common ice hockey misconception is that the game known as the "[[Miracle on Ice]]" in the [[Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics|1980 Winter Olympics]] clinched the gold medal for the [[United States men's national ice hockey team|USA team]]. Even though Team USA stunned the heavily favored [[Soviet Union national ice hockey team|Soviet team]] in that game, it did not clinch the gold medal. Under Olympic hockey rules at that time, the medal round was contested in a round-robin format. Team USA went into its final game against [[Finland men's national ice hockey team|Finland]] with the mathematical possibility of finishing in any position from first to fourth. The Americans defeated Finland to secure the gold medal.<ref>{{cite web | title=Miracle | url=http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=131849&Tab=reviews&CID=13 | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=College kids perform Olympic miracle | url=http://espn.go.com/classic/s/miracle_ice_1980.html | accessdate=2009-04-13}}</ref>

== Language ==
* The term "[[Romance Language]]" is not derived from the word "romance" in the sense of a "romantic relationship".   It actually comes from the Latin "Romanus," meaning "Roman" or "of Rome."{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
* The [[Inuit]] do not have an unusually large number of [[Eskimo words for snow|words for snow]].  In fact, English has many unrelated [[root word]]s for snow, such as: snow, sleet, powder, flurry, drift, slush, whitewall, avalanche and blizzard.  Each [[Eskimo-Aleut language]] has a similar number of unrelated root words.  Since these languages are [[polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]], arbitrarily complex thoughts such as "snow with a herring-scale pattern etched into it by rainfall" can be expressed in a single long word each, but this feature of the language is by no means restricted to snow.<ref>{{cite web|title=The snow words myth: Progress at last|url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004003.html|last=Pullum|first=Geoffrey K.|work=[[Language Log]]|date=4 January 2007}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Conventional wisdom]]
* [[Counter-intuitive]]
* [[Drug urban legends]]
* [[Factoid]]
* [[List of cognitive biases]]
* [[List of fallacies]]
* [[List of memory biases]]
* [[List of misquotations]]
* [[List of topics related to public relations and propaganda]]
* [[Misnomer]]
* [[Mythbusters]]
* [[Old wives' tale]]
* ''[[Pseudodoxia Epidemica]]''
* [[Urban legend]]
* [[QI]]
* [[Straight and Crooked Thinking]]
* [[common misunderstandings of genetics]]

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Diefendorf|first=David|title=Amazing... But False!: Hundreds of "Facts" You Thought Were True, But Aren't|publisher=Sterling|date=2007|isbn=9781402737916}}
*{{cite book|last=Green|first=Joey|title=Contrary to Popular Belief: More than 250 False Facts Revealed|publisher=Broadway|date=2005|isbn=978-0767919920}}
*{{cite book|last=Johnsen|first=Ferris |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Misconceptions: The Ultimate Debunker's Guide to Widely Accepted Fallacies|publisher=Carol Publishing Group|date=1994|isbn=9780806515564}}
*{{cite book|last=Kruszelnicki|first=Karl |coauthors=Adam Yazxhi|title=Great Mythconceptions: The Science Behind the Myths|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|date=2006|isbn=9780740753640}}
*{{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=John|coauthors=John Mitchinson|title=The Book of General Ignorance|publisher=Harmony Books|date=2007|isbn=9780307394910}}
*{{cite book|last=Tuleja|first=Tad|title=Fabulous Fallacies: More Than 300 Popular Beliefs That Are Not True|publisher=Galahad Books|date=1999|isbn=978-1578660650}}
*{{cite book|last=Varasdi|first=J. Allen|title=Myth Information: More Than 590 Popular Misconceptions, Fallacies, and Misbeliefs Explained!|publisher=Ballantine Books|date=1996|isbn=978-0345410498}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

<!--
==External links==
{{External links|date=May 2009}}
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~etrnsfer/water.htm The color of water, J. Chem. Education, 1993, 70(8), 612]
* [http://amasci.com/miscon/opphys.html List of children's misconceptions about science]
* [http://amasci.com/miscon/miscon4.html Misconceptions taught by science textbooks]
* [http://scienceinquirer.wikispaces.com/misconception Science Misconceptions Podcast]
* [http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~siegel/warning.html Common Misconceptions about Science]
* [http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadScience.html Bad Science]
* [http://www.princeton.edu/~lehmann/BadChemistry.html Bad Chemistry]
* Hershey, D.R., 2003. http://www.botany.org/bsa/psb/2003/psb49-3.html#Misconceptions
*From ''Listverse: Ultimate Top 10 Lists'':
**JT, "[http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/top-10-common-misconceptions/ Top 10 Common Misconceptions]," ''Listverse: Ultimate Top 10 Lists'' (December 1, 2007).
**JFrater, "[http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/10-more-common-misconceptions/ 10 More Common Misconceptions]," ''Listverse: Ultimate Top 10 Lists'' (December 3, 2008).
**"[http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/another-10-common-misconceptions/ Another 10 Common Misconceptions]," ''Listverse: Ultimate Top 10 Lists'' (February 23, 2008).
** JFrater, "[http://listverse.com/miscellaneous/10-misconceptions-about-common-sayings/ 10 Misconceptions About Common Sayings]," ''Listverse: Ultimate Top 10 Lists'' (March 23, 2009).
-->

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Common Misconceptions}}
[[Category:Society-related lists|Misconceptions]]
[[Category:Science activism]]

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