Rumors are like forest fires! You would hardly find the source of its origin but eventually know about its existence with the outrageous dissemination that it acquires. And once such ingenuine facts get circulated among the citizenry it doesn’t take much time to spread to the other places. At the end what we have is a creation of a myth that establishes its roots strong and firm in the minds of the people. These myths over a period of time when passed onto generations through folklores and inscriptions get to be designated as misconceptions! The sad part is even after the misconceptions are clarified with justifications corroborating against them, they tend to sustain in the society due to their far flung rootage.

10. Chameleons don’t change their color to match surroundings

So, now you know all that your had read in your school biology textbook is actually a misconception! Calm down and let me explain. Chameleons are naturally camouflaged as per their habitat which makes us find them similar to the surroundings they live in. Although the color changing ability of the chameleons can be attributed to the physical and physiological changes as per their mood, emotions and sometimes as a sign of communication! So the next time you see the chameleon turning black over an old wooden block, deduce that she is frightened!

9. Shaving does not make your hair grow stronger and thicker

Stop making faces at the fact! It is indeed false that shaving continuously would enable hair to grow back stronger and thicker. So those who try that out are fooled out here! Then why does that seem to happen? The answer is simple. The hair tapers as it reaches its length while growing outwards. When you mow down the thin shaft you expose the thicker part of the hair closer to skin which grows as the tip. Thus making it look thicker. Yes, you read me right!

8. Napoleon wasn’t a short man!

Upon asking any kid who has probably read it in his history textbook would say that Napoleon was a short man. Well apparently he wasn’t! I am not saying he was gigantically tall, but not short as he has been portrayed. Measured shortly after his death in 1821, Napoleon was recorded at 5ft 2in in French feet, which corresponds to 5ft 6.5in in Imperial feet, or 1.69m. This makes him slightly taller than the average Frenchman of the 19th century. Time for the rectification of History books!

7. Einstein never failed in Mathematics!

How dare you to even ‘mis-conceptualize’ that! You doubted the genius himself and I bet you, he must have been annoyed! Einstein was actually annoyed when he came to know about the myth. As part of his annoyance Albert Einstein stated that he had mastered the integral and differential calculus even before he was 15! He never failed in Mathematics although he did fail in history, geography and language subjects his university exams when he was 17.

6. George Washington did not have wooden teeth!

Ah! Could you believe that? The famous American myth about one of its legends turns out to be a hoax! George Washington wearing wooden dentures remains to be one of the most widespread stories in American history! Indeed it is just a story. While Washington certainly suffered from dental problems and wore multiple sets of dentures composed of a variety of materials including ivory, gold, and lead-wood was never used in Washington’s dentures nor was it commonly employed by dentists in his era.

5. Bulls are not enraged by Red color!

Ever seen the famous Spanish Bull Fighting? The next biggest common misconception that still prevails today is that Bulls get enraged by the bright red color. Well that is not the case. Bulls are not enraged by the color red, but rather the movement of the matador’s cape. This has been unequivocally proved as trials have shown bulls are largely color blind, and therefore the shade of the cape can in no way affect its mood. It’s a bull! Never do the dancing steps before it again!

4. Columbus did not find the mainland America!

Columbus never reached any land that now forms part of the mainland United States of America as the misconception goes. Most of the landings Columbus made on his four voyages, including the initial October 12, 1492 landing (the anniversary of which forms the basis of Columbus Day), were in the Caribbean Islands. Columbus was not the first European to visit the Americas: at least one explorer, Leif Ericson, preceded him by reaching what is believed to be the island now known as Newfoundland, though he never made it to the mainland.

3. Bats are not blind!

It is a very common misconception that Bats are blind and they cannot see. Well they can see things perfectly although their eyes are sensible to too very bright light which makes them harder to visualize. However, bats do often use echolocation in situations where their eyesight fails them, such as times of darkness.

2. The Great Wall of China isn’t visible from space!

Heartbreak? is it? Remember the days while you were a kid and get fascinated while attending quizzes when the visibility of The Great wall from space was asked! Well sorry to disappoint you again, it is a hoax! No man made structure is completely demarcated is visible from the space. The unglamorous truth is that the wall is only visible from low orbit under a specific set of weather and lighting conditions. A viewer would still require a visual acuity of 8 times better than normal to see it from low earth orbit!

 1. Humans evolved from Monkeys

Time for the most common one! Charles Darwin would have felt so ashamed when he would have heard about this misconception still prevailing. Even today people believe that humans evolved out from monkeys. This myth was actually spread by religious zealots during the 19th century in order to try and discredit Darwin and promote anti-evolutionism among the religious. Monkeys are similar to us as they too have the similar ancestral origin but their evolutionary branching deviated from the humans. Humans are rather believed to have evolved from Chimpanzees which have striking resemblance with humans on the basis of DNA (greater than 98% matched).

Start working on your misconceptions! The world that you see your own way might not actually look like what you perceive! Think different, stay amazed!