List of Common Misconceptions
Wikipedia has a list of common misconceptions. How many of them surprise you? For instance:
George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter.
Gyroscopic forces are not required for a rider to balance a bicycle.
John F. Kennedy's words "Ich bin ein Berliner" are standard German for "I am a Berliner".
Comments
fiat-knox on Jan. 6, 2011 1:17 PM — Misconceptions
Can I assume that means you've seen XKCD 843 then? :)
desfontaines on Jan. 6, 2011 2:32 PM
Aw, they don't have the Ring-Around-The-Rosie PROBABLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH the Black Plague. The first references to the song are from the 19th century in the Appalachian region, if I remember correctly. There's not one peep about the song during any of the repeated waves of the plague throughout the middle ages and Renaissance. Plus there's the whole Catholic attitude on cremation for most of history, which was seen as sacrilege. That kind of makes the idea that "Ashes, ashes" refers to the burning of the dead plague victims pretty ridiculous.
What's really, really sad is how much of this bullshit gets into textbooks and thus perpetuated. I try really hard to nail it when it shows up, trying to get the kids to understand that textbooks are not 100% correct. Very few of them seem to be able to wrap their brains around the idea, though -- I suspect that the ability to see shades of gray is a cognitive development that happens a lot later in life for most people.
matt-arnold on Jan. 6, 2011 3:50 PM
You know, Wikipedia is something you are able to contribute to!
desfontaines on Jan. 6, 2011 5:01 PM
A very, very good point!
graywyvern on Jan. 6, 2011 6:03 PM — jelly doughnut
i read the one about "ich bin ein Berliner" in the Reader's Digest sometime in the 60's. there is a long discussion of it here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/262xnp5
m.
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