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Have you ever been warned against shaving your arm hair, with the reasoning being that it would just grow back thicker? Well, you're in luck, because we're about to debunk that myth. Shaving your hair doesn't make it change in color, rate of growth, or thickness, says the Mayo Clinic. All it does is give the hair a blunt tip, which might feel more coarse as it grows out. But while it may appear more noticeable or thicker during this time, it isn't in reality.
Chameleons change colors to blend in with their surroundings.
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Yes, chameleons do have the ability to change colors, but the falsity here lies in why they do so. According to Wired, chameleons change colors to regulate their temperatures or communicate with other chameleons, not to camouflage themselves.
The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th.
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Of course, you know that the Fourth of July is a national holiday during which Americans celebrate their country's independence—but don't get that confused for the actual date on which the Declaration of Independence was signed. While Congress indeed approved the final declaration on July 4, 1776, the document wasn't signed until Aug. 2 of that year.
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We all know that money doesn't grow on trees, but many of us believe that bananas do. Sadly, we're mistaken again. Though they may look similar to trees, the Rainforest Alliance says that the plants bananas grow on are in fact "giant herbs related to lilies and orchids."
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Since most dogs' tongues hang when they pant, many people think that's how canines sweat. But, according to the American Kennel Club, dog's merocrine sweat glands function similarly to humans' and are located on their paw pads. They also have apocrine sweat glands, but these are located all over the body, not solely on their tongues. The reason why dogs pant is to evaporate moisture from their tongues, nasal passages, and the lining of their lungs, which does help to cool them down.
It's safe to eat food that's been on the floor for five seconds or less.
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Don't adhere to the five-second rule and take your chances with food that's fallen on the floor. When researchers at Clemson University left bologna and bread on a surface contaminated with salmonella in a 2017 study, they found that "a substantial amount of bacteria transferred to the food within five seconds."
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Deserts are not defined by their temperatures, but by their lack of precipitation. And while most of the world's most famous deserts are indeed hot, there are some deserts that also experience brutal cold. Known as polar deserts, these arid areas can be found in Iran (called Dasht-e Lut) and Northern Greenland, for example.
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Today, you're likely to receive a fortune cookie—stuffed with a proverb and some lucky numbers—at the end of every meal at a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. But the National Museum of American History points out that the creator of the fortune cookie was Suyeichi Okamura, a Japanese immigrant who ran a confectionary store in Northern California during the early 1900s. When Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II, Chinese Americans took over the fortune cookie industry, and that's why you see so many of these treats in Chinese restaurants today.
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According to the Stanford Solar Center, "it is a common misconception that the sun is yellow or orange or even red." In reality, "the sun is essentially all colors mixed together, which appear to our eyes as white." The reason we see the sun as yellow or orange most of the time is because those colored wavelengths, which are longer, are the only ones that make it to our eyes. The other short-wavelength colors—green, blue, and violet—become scattered by the atmosphere, which is what makes the sky look blue during the day!
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The Cinco de Mayo revelry has nothing to do with Mexican independence, but rather celebrates a military win. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army successfully defeated France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Though the country's victory was short-lived, people all around the globe partake in celebrations commemorating this battle each year with fireworks and fiestas.
