Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries; the main subject articles can be consulted for more detail.
Astronomy and spaceflight There is no scientific evidence that the motion of stars, planets, and other celestial bodies influences the fates of humans, and astrology has repeatedly been shown to have no explanatory power in predicting future events. Astronauts in orbit have the sensation of being weightless because they are in free fall around the Earth, not because they are so far away from the Earth that its gravitational pull is negligible. For example, on the International Space Station the Earth's gravity is nearly 90% as strong as at the surface. Objects orbiting in space would not remain in orbit if not for the gravitational force, and gravitational fields extend infinitely, though the strength of the gravitational force is attenuated with distance. There is no limit to the distance across which two objects exert gravitational forces upon one another. The dark side of the Moon receives about the same amount of light from the Sun as the near side. Since the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth due to tidal locking, the far side had not been seen until Luna 3 photographed it in 1959. Hence, "dark" refers to the far side being unseen from Earth, not to any lack of illumination by the Sun. a. b. c. Black holes have the same gravitational effects as any other equal mass in their place. They will draw objects towards them according to distance and mass, just as any other celestial body does, except at very close distances to the black hole, comparable to its Schwarzschild radius. If, for example, the Sun were replaced by a black hole of equal mass, the orbits of the planets would be essentially unaffected. Seasons are not caused by Earth being closer to the Sun in the summer than in the winter, but by the effects of Earth's 23.4-degree axial tilt. Each hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun in its respective summer, resulting in longer days and more perpendicular sunlight, with the opposite being true in the winter. Earth reaches the point in its orbit closest to the Sun in January, and it reaches the point farthest from the Sun in July, so the slight contribution of orbital eccentricity opposes the temperature trends of the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. When a meteor or spacecraft enters the atmosphere, the heat of entry is not primarily caused by friction, but by adiabatic compression of air in front of the object. Egg balancing is possible on every day of the year, not just the vernal equinox. The Fisher Space Pen was not commissioned by NASA at a cost of millions of dollars, while the Soviets used pencils. Pencils posed a major risk to astronauts due to the release of substances such as shavings and pencil lead being a flight hazard. The pen was independently developed by Paul C. Fisher, founder of the Fisher Pen Company, with $1 million of his own funds (equivalent to $ million in )."Fisher Space Pen – Our story" Retrieved on February 4, 2019 NASA tested and approved the pen for space use, then purchased 400 pens at $6 per pen ()."NASA – The Fisher Space Pen" Retrieved on February 4, 2019 The Soviet Union subsequently also purchased the Space Pen for its Soyuz spaceflights. Tang, Velcro, and Teflon were not spun off from technology originally developed by NASA for spaceflight, though many other products (such as memory foam and space blankets) were. The Sun is not yellow; rather, it emits light across the full spectrum of visible colors, and this combined light appears white when outside of Earth's atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths of light, particularly blues and violets, more than longer wavelengths like reds and yellows, and this scattering is why the Sun appears yellow during the day or orange or red during sunrise and sunset. The scattered blue/violet light, appearing to come from all directions, is what makes the rest of the sky look blue. The Great Wall of China is not the only human-made object visible from space or from the Moon. None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any specific human-made object from the Moon, and even Earth-orbiting astronauts can see it only with magnification. City lights, however, are easily visible on the night side of Earth from orbit. The Big Bang model does not fully explain the origin of the universe. It does not describe how energy, time, and space were caused, but rather it describes the emergence of the present universe from an ultra-dense and high-temperature initial state. Archival site: "The Universe Forum's role as part of NASA's Education Support Network concluded in September, 2009."
Biology
Mammals
Bats are not blind. While about 70% of bat species, mainly in the microbat family, use echolocation to navigate, all bat species have eyes and are capable of sight. In addition, almost all bats in the megabat or fruit bat family cannot echolocate and have excellent night vision.a. b. Bulls are not enraged by the color red, used in capes by professional bullfighters. Cattle are dichromats, so red does not stand out as a bright color. It is not the color of the cape, but the perceived threat by the bullfighter that incites it to charge, along with the spearing of the bull, mental agitation and abuse it endures beforehand.a. b. c. Camels do not store water in their humps, but rather fatty tissue which can be used as a reserve source of calories. While they can go long periods without water, the water is stored in the animal's bloodstream, not their humps. Domestic cats' behavioral and personality traits cannot be predicted from their coat color. Rather, these traits depend on a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Not all cats are attracted and intoxicated by catnip, which affects only about two thirds of them. Alternatives exist, such as valerian root and leaves. Dogs do not sweat by salivating.a. b. c. d. e. f. Dogs actually do have sweat glands, but not on their tongues; they sweat mainly through their footpads. However, dogs do primarily regulate their body temperature through panting. (See also: ) Dogs do not consistently age seven times as quickly as humans. Aging in dogs varies widely depending on the breed; certain breeds, such as giant dog breeds and English Bulldogs, have much shorter lifespans than average. Most dogs reach adolescence by one year old; smaller and medium-sized breeds begin to age more slowly in adulthood.a. Spadafori, Gina (1996). Dogs for Dummies. IDG Books. b. Siegal, Mordecai (Ed.; 1995). UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Book of the Dogs; Chapter 5, "Geriatrics", by Aldrich, Janet. Harper Collins. . c. Old elephants near death do not leave their herd to go to an "elephants' graveyard" to die.a. b. The hippopotamus does not produce pink milk, nor does it sweat blood. The skin secretions of the hippopotamus are red due to the presence of hipposudoric acid, a red pigment which acts as a natural sunscreen, and is neither sweat nor blood. It does not affect the color of their milk, which is white or beige. Lemmings do not engage in mass suicide by diving off cliffs. The idea was popularized by the 1958 Disney documentary film White Wilderness, in which the lemmings were repeatedly shoved off a cliff by the filmmakers to create the illusion of a mass suicide. The misconception itself is much older, dating back to at least the late 19th century, though its exact origins are uncertain. Mice do not have a special appetite for cheese, and will eat it only for lack of better options; they actually favor sweet sugary foods. The myth may have come from the fact that before the advent of refrigeration, cheese was usually stored outside and was therefore a food easy for mice to reach. Porcupines do not shoot their quills. They can detach, and porcupines will deliberately back into attackers to impale them, but their quills do not project. Rabbits are not especially partial to carrots. Their diet in the wild primarily consists of dark green vegetables such as grasses and clovers, and excessive carrot consumption is unhealthy for them due to containing high levels of sugar. Tomato juice and sauce are ineffective at neutralizing the odor of a skunk. Rather, due to olfactory fatigue, a person sprayed by a skunk loses sensitivity to the smell over time.Cosier, Susan (July 26, 2006). Is it true that tomato sauce will get rid of the smell of a skunk? . Scienceline. Retrieved on April 5, 2012. Effective treatments for skunk odor involve artificial compounds rather than household remedies. There is no such thing as an "alpha" in a wolf pack. An early study that coined the term "alpha wolf" had observed only unrelated adult wolves living in captivity. In the wild, wolf packs operate like families: parents are in charge until the young grow up and start their own families, and younger wolves do not overthrow an "alpha" to become the new leader. The phases of the Moon have no effect on the vocalizations of wolves, and wolves do not howl at the Moon., p. 59 Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances., p. 38
Birds A human touching or handling eggs or baby birds will not cause the adult birds to abandon them. The same is generally true for other animals having their young touched by humans as well, with the possible exception of rabbits (as rabbits will sometimes abandon their nest after an event they perceive as traumatizing). Eating rice, yeast, or Alka-Seltzer does not cause birds to explode and is rarely fatal. Birds can flatulate and regurgitate to expel gas, and some birds even include wild rice as part of their diet. The misconception has often led to weddings using millet, confetti, or other materials to shower the newlyweds as they leave the ceremony, instead of the throwing of rice that is traditional in some places. Birds are not stupid. A wide variety of cognitive abilities have been observed in birds, particularly corvids and parrots. Tool use is also present in woodpecker finches.
The bold, powerful cry commonly associated with the bald eagle in popular culture is actually that of a red-tailed hawk. Bald eagle vocalizations are much softer and chirpier, and bear far more resemblance to the calls of gulls.Jessica Robinson, "Bald Eagle: A Mighty Symbol, With A Not-So-Mighty Voice "; NPR, July 2, 2012; accessed 2019.08.23. Despite the saying "dumb as a dodo", the dodo's intelligence was above average for an avian, as it was a member of the family Columbidae. The perceived stupidity of the dodo is due to naivety and passivity from living in isolation without significant predators. Many believe that the dodo was hunted to extinction by European settlers due to its high culinary value. However, the dodo's meat was stated to be inedible by historical accounts, as one of its early names given by the Dutch was (repulsive bird).https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/01/22/digging-for-dodos#:~:text=(A%20nineteenth%2Dcentury%20naturalist%20commented,flesh%20was%20tough%20and%20oily . The dodo's decline was caused more by predation of their eggs from invasive species as opposed to direct predation from humans. A duck's quack actually does echo, (Season 1, Episode 8). MythBusters. Discovery Channel. December 12, 2003. although the echo may be difficult to hear for humans under some circumstances. Despite this, a British panel show compiling interesting facts was named Duck Quacks Don't Echo.