Inventions and technology
A refrigerator makes food cold by producing cold air
Fake!
A refrigerator works by removing heat from its interior and transferring it outside. That's why the back or sides of a refrigerator can become warm.
Your brain completely stops working when you fall asleep.
Fake!
Your brain remains active during sleep.
There is no gravity anywhere in space except Earth
Fake!
Gravity is a natural force that pulls objects toward one another, and any object with mass has gravity. However, the strength of that gravity changes depending on the planet's mass and size.
The first email was sent after the invention of the World Wide Web.
Fake!
The first network email was sent in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. The World Wide Web was invented much later, in 1989.
Sharks do not naturally consider humans their food.
Correct!
Humans are not part of the natural diet of sharks, and most shark species pose no threat to people.
Bubble Wrap was originally invented as wallpaper.
Correct!
Its inventors initially tried to create textured plastic wallpaper, not packaging material.
Your nose plays a major role in how food tastes.
Correct!
When you have a blocked nose, foods can seem to lose much of their flavour.
Astronauts become permanently taller after returning from space.
Fake!
Astronauts can temporarily become taller in space because their spinal discs expand without Earth's normal gravitational compression. They generally return to their usual height after coming back to Earth.
The first computer programmer is often considered to have been a woman who lived in the 1800s.
Correct!
Ada Lovelace wrote an algorithm for Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine in 1843, long before modern computers existed.
"No cap" means "no lie"
Correct!
The word cap is used in slang to mean a lie.
The famous yellow colour of Post-it Notes was chosen because a nearby laboratory had leftover yellow paper.
Correct!
It wasn't originally a carefully planned branding decision.
Your taste buds are continuously replaced throughout your life.
Correct!
Taste cells are constantly renewed, although the ability to taste can change with age.
A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
Correct!
Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once but only 225 Earth days to travel around the Sun.
When forks first became popular associated them with the devil.
Some religious figures among Europeans criticized their use at the dinner table
"Ghosting" means sending someone messages from a fake account.
Fake!
Ghosting means suddenly stopping communication with someone without giving an explanation.
The microwave oven was invented after a chocolate bar melted in a man's pocket.
Correct!
Engineer Percy Spencer was working with radar technology when he noticed it.
The fingerprints of a person completely disappear after their skin gets burned.
Fake!
Fingerprints can sometimes be damaged by burns, but they may return if the damage is not deep enough to destroy the skin's fingerprint-producing structures
One of Jupiter's moons is bigger than the planet Mercury.
Correct!
Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system.
The first traffic lights were invented after cars became common.
Fake!
The first traffic signal was installed in London in 1868, before cars became common. It was designed for horse-drawn vehicles and pedestrians.
"Brain rot" is a medical disease caused by watching TikTok for more than three hours.
Fake!
Brain rot is an informal expression for the perceived negative effects of consuming too much trivial or low-quality online content.
The world's first alarm clock wake people at any time.
Fake!
The famous early American alarm clock patented by Levi Hutchins in 1787 could only ring at one fixed time: 4 a.m.
Your brain itself cannot feel pain.
Correct!
Brain tissue does not have pain receptors, although surrounding structures do.
The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth every year.
The Moon is actually moving away from Earth at approximately 3.8 centimetres per year.
The first successful light bulb became widely practical before the first telephone call happened.
Fake!
Bell made his call in 1876; Edison's practical long-lasting lamp followed in 1879
YouTube is used more frequently than TikTok among American teenagers.
Correct!
Around 75% of US teens say they use YouTube daily, compared with 61% for TikTok.