Food & Drink
Carrots were purple when they were wild.
True
Wild carrots were purple, yellow, and white. The familiar orange carrot was cultivated in the Netherlands during the 17th century.
Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
False
Elephants, hippos, rhinos, and sloths are all physically unable to jump. Elephants are simply the most famous example.
Humans are the only animals with fingerprints.
False
Koalas also have fingerprints, and they are so similar to human fingerprints that they have occasionally confused crime scene investigators.
The most expensive spice in the world by weight is vanilla.
False: it's saffron.
A snail can sleep for up to three years.
True
Snails can enter a long dormancy period when weather conditions become too hot or dry.
Your nose and ears never stop growing.
True
While most bones stop growing after adolescence, cartilage continues to grow slowly throughout life. Ears and noses are largely made of cartilage.
Bananas are radioactive.
True, but the amount of radiation is extremely small and harmless.
Octopuses have three hearts.
True
All three stop beating when an octopus swims, which is why they prefer crawling.
Adults have fewer bones than babies.
True
Babies are born with around 300 bones. Many fuse together during childhood and adolescence, leaving adults with 206 bones.
Honey never expires.
True
Archaeologists have found 3,000-year-old honey in Egyptian tombs that was still edible. Its low moisture content and acidic pH prevent bacteria from growing.
Crocodiles cannot stick out their tongues.
True
A crocodile’s tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth by a membrane and cannot be extended.
Humans are born with all the neurons they will ever have.
False
The brain continues to produce new neurons throughout life, particularly in the hippocampus,
Coca-Cola was originally invented not as a soft drink. It was patented as a brain and nerve tonic.
True.
Invented by a pharmacist, the original formulation was designed as a cure-all to relieve headaches and calm the nerves.
A goldfish has a memory span of only three seconds.
False
This is a common myth. Goldfish can actually remember things for months.
The human eye can detect a candle flame from about 14 miles away on a clear, dark night.
True
Human vision is extremely sensitive in low-light conditions and can detect even very small amounts of light at great distances.