Humans have 5 senses

Humans have 5 senses
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We all learned the sight, sound, smell, touch, taste model of senses in school. This theory dates back to Aristotle, around 300 B.C. But science has advanced a bit since then. Experts still debate the exact number but most agree that humans have at least ten senses and some claim the number is as high as 22. Harvard School of Medicine, for example, sites six additional senses to the original five, including the sense of balance, the sense of pain and the perception of time.

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Eating carrots will help your vision

Eating carrots will help your vision
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Only if you have a really, roundabout way of looking at things. Vitamin A does help your eyesight, and while carrots don’t have any Vitamin A in them, they do have beta-carotene which the body does convert into Vitamin A. Other foods with beta-carotene? Sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, squash, butternut pumpkin, apricots, rockmelon and even pumpkin pie. Eggs and milk are also great sources of Vitamin A.

Don’t ever wake up sleepwalkers

Don’t ever wake up sleepwalkers
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If a sleepwalker isn’t in any danger, it is still probably best to let them keep sleeping, but the danger of waking them has nothing to do with their safety, it has to do with yours. It is fairly common for sleepwalkers to attack the person waking them, so if possible, the National Sleep Foundation recommends either gently turning them back in the direction of their bed, or walking near them for a while to ensure they do not get into a car to drive off while still asleep or run into something that could seriously hurt them. If you are unable to return the sleepwalker back to bed, use loud sharp noises from a distance to wake them up.

Dogs only see black and white

Dogs only see black and white
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Not true! Dogs are not quite capable of seeing the full-colour spectrum that humans can, but it isn’t just shades of grey for your favourite pups. Dogs see the colours of the world in yellows, blues, and greys. So you may be better off getting a bright yellow toy for your dog than the more common red and orange. Your dog will also have about 20 to 40 percent of human’s visual acuity, so anything you can see in the distance is going to look pretty blurry to them. But it’s not all downhill for them. Dogs see better in dimmer light and can detect any sort of movement or motion far better than we can.

You can see the Great Wall of China from space

You can see the Great Wall of China from space
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This is sort of true, but mostly not. According to NASA, visitors to the moon can expect to catch a glimpse of the Great Wall of China… with telescopic lenses and zooming features, but certainly not with the naked eye. You can sometimes see the Great Wall in low Earth orbit, but at those heights, there are plenty of man-made structures you’ll catch a glimpse of, like the pyramids. “The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white, some blue, and patches of yellow, and every once in a while, some green vegetations. No man-made object is visible at this scale,” Alan Bean, an astronaut on the Apollo 12, told NASA.

Adam and Eve ate an apple

Adam and Eve ate an apple
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We see it in artwork, TV shows and movies that the forbidden fruit referenced in the bible was an apple, right? Not so much. It is never actually referred to as any specific fruit. Many theologists theorise that, given the other geographical landmarks referenced, the fruit was likely a pomegranate, fig or quince.

You have to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person

You have to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person
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Don’t do this! Please! While a police officer or other emergency personnel might advise this in some instances – like if someone is late coming home from work, or they haven’t texted or called you back in a while – if you have reason to believe someone is in trouble, you should call the police immediately. There’s a world of difference between reports that someone coming home from a date isn’t back on time, and someone who is late coming back home from meeting up with someone who has habitually abused them or made them feel scared for their safety isn’t responding to any contact. If you’re worried about someone’s safety, call the police. They can advise you on what to do next for your particular situation, and get involved if need be.

Penguins are monogamous

Penguins are monogamous
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We’re really sorry to burst your bubble – this one makes us pretty sad too. Research shows that while many penguin species are monogamous during the mating season, they generally find a new mate each year. In addition, while many males tend to stick with their female friend for the season, female penguins are known to have up to three partners each season, and some males are chosen by up to two females. The New York Times even tested the DNA of penguins in captivity and found that 20 percent of the time, female penguins stray from their long-term partners.

You only use 10 percent of your brain

You only use 10 percent of your brain
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Not all of your synapsis are firing at once (can you imagine the chaos that would cause?!) but the rest of your brain isn’t just sitting there doing nothing. Your brain is working at full capacity all the time to keep you alive. Neurologist Barry Gordon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said the following, “It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time.”

You swallow 7 spiders a year

You swallow 7 spiders a year
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We couldn’t be more thrilled that this turned out to be a lie! Scientific American reports that while most homes have a handful of spiders living in them, spiders would not want to go anywhere near your bed as it offers no prey (unless you have bedbugs!) and spiders definitely wouldn’t just crawl into your mouth and wait to die. The likelihood of this happening ever in your life is virtually zero, so you can stop worrying about it!

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Source: RD.com

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