Sure, Swan got rich in the end, but Edison purchased the right to claim he invented the lightbulb. Of course, there’s a whole laundry list of inventors Edison stepped on, bul ied, exploited, or convinced to name their price. But what do textbooks say about him?
THE FIVE MOST FREQUENTLY QUOTED BULLSHIT STATISTICS
EVERY once in a while, we hear a statistic so startling we can’t believe it’s true. Our first impulse is to repeat it, because knowing interesting things tends to make people like us better. That’s why facts tend to survive based on how interesting they are, rather than whether they’re true.
The five most quoted “too awesome to be true” stats that are as fake as they sound: 5. YOU ONLY USE 10 PERCENT OF YOUR BRAIN
You’ve heard it since you were a child: We only use 10 percent of our brain. Just think what we’d be capable of if we could tap into the rest! It’s appealing because it means that if we worked hard enough, we’d be able to set fires with the power of our minds.
Why is it a load of crap?
The parts of the brain are specialized, so trying to use all of it at once isn’t going to make you smarter, just more confused. That’s like trying to become a better writer by using every key on your keyboard all at once.
A series of neurologists over the past few hundred years figured out that a human can survive when parts of the brain are removed, which over time was misinterpreted to mean that the brain uses little of its potential, and the 10 percent statistic was born.
Who was fooled?
Not only do people still believe it, in 2006 Psychology Today even ran an article on how to access the lazy 90 percent of your gray matter.
One of the tips was to replenish the brain with nutrients, but we’re assuming we get plenty with all the spiders we’re eating every night. Oh, you didn’t know?
4. YOU ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOW APPROXIMATELY EIGHT SPIDERS A YEAR
This commonly believed statistic has been fed to us by countless Internet chain emails: When you sleep, you open your mouth to breathe and supposedly this is the ideal window of opportunity for all the spiders who hang out near your bed, hoping to be eaten alive.
Why is it a load of crap?
Back in 1993, PC Professional columnist Lisa Holst decided to prove that you could make up anything on the Internet and people would believe it.
She did this by putting together some utterly ridiculous “facts,” the spider myth (taken from a col ection of insect folklore that dates back to the 1950s) among them, and unleashing them on the world in the form of an email.
As Holst’s email was forwarded from inbox to inbox, it began to evolve. The spider thing stayed, but somewhere along the line someone just “happened” to forget to include the fact that these facts were completely fake.
Who was fooled?
In 2006, the UK’s Daily Mirror warned that “the average person will swal ow anything from eight to 20 spiders before they die.”
The Mirror then upped the ante by adding, “A spider is also likely to drink from your eye at least three times in your life. Some experts have suggested they are attracted by the vibrations of snoring and the smel of undigested food—a good reason to floss your teeth before bedtime.”
Real y, is that what it takes to get the UK to worry about dental hygiene?
3. MEN THINK ABOUT SEX EVERY SIX SECONDS
As we all know, men do nothing but think about sex with their girlfriend or ex-girlfriend or friend who happens to be a girl/friend’s sister. It fol ows, then, that on average men think about sex every six seconds, right?
Why is it a load of crap?
Hey, fel as, when you were reading the spider-eating segment, did you think about sex? Were you imagining a massive spider orgy? If so, you’re alone (obviously). According to the Kinsey Institute, close to half of the men they surveyed said they don’t even think about sex every day, let alone every six seconds. Even if men did think about sex that frequently,
THE FIVE MOST FREQUENTLY QUOTED BULLSHIT STATISTICS
EVERY once in a while, we hear a statistic so startling we can’t believe it’s true. Our first impulse is to repeat it, because knowing interesting things tends to make people like us better. That’s why facts tend to survive based on how interesting they are, rather than whether they’re true.
The five most quoted “too awesome to be true” stats that are as fake as they sound: 5. YOU ONLY USE 10 PERCENT OF YOUR BRAIN
You’ve heard it since you were a child: We only use 10 percent of our brain. Just think what we’d be capable of if we could tap into the rest! It’s appealing because it means that if we worked hard enough, we’d be able to set fires with the power of our minds.
Why is it a load of crap?
The parts of the brain are specialized, so trying to use all of it at once isn’t going to make you smarter, just more confused. That’s like trying to become a better writer by using every key on your keyboard all at once.
A series of neurologists over the past few hundred years figured out that a human can survive when parts of the brain are removed, which over time was misinterpreted to mean that the brain uses little of its potential, and the 10 percent statistic was born.
Who was fooled?
Not only do people still believe it, in 2006 Psychology Today even ran an article on how to access the lazy 90 percent of your gray matter.
One of the tips was to replenish the brain with nutrients, but we’re assuming we get plenty with all the spiders we’re eating every night. Oh, you didn’t know?
4. YOU ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOW APPROXIMATELY EIGHT SPIDERS A YEAR
This commonly believed statistic has been fed to us by countless Internet chain emails: When you sleep, you open your mouth to breathe and supposedly this is the ideal window of opportunity for all the spiders who hang out near your bed, hoping to be eaten alive.
Why is it a load of crap?
Back in 1993, PC Professional columnist Lisa Holst decided to prove that you could make up anything on the Internet and people would believe it.
She did this by putting together some utterly ridiculous “facts,” the spider myth (taken from a col ection of insect folklore that dates back to the 1950s) among them, and unleashing them on the world in the form of an email.
As Holst’s email was forwarded from inbox to inbox, it began to evolve. The spider thing stayed, but somewhere along the line someone just “happened” to forget to include the fact that these facts were completely fake.
Who was fooled?
In 2006, the UK’s Daily Mirror warned that “the average person will swal ow anything from eight to 20 spiders before they die.”
The Mirror then upped the ante by adding, “A spider is also likely to drink from your eye at least three times in your life. Some experts have suggested they are attracted by the vibrations of snoring and the smel of undigested food—a good reason to floss your teeth before bedtime.”
Real y, is that what it takes to get the UK to worry about dental hygiene?
3. MEN THINK ABOUT SEX EVERY SIX SECONDS
As we all know, men do nothing but think about sex with their girlfriend or ex-girlfriend or friend who happens to be a girl/friend’s sister. It fol ows, then, that on average men think about sex every six seconds, right?
Why is it a load of crap?
Hey, fel as, when you were reading the spider-eating segment, did you think about sex? Were you imagining a massive spider orgy? If so, you’re alone (obviously). According to the Kinsey Institute, close to half of the men they surveyed said they don’t even think about sex every day, let alone every six seconds. Even if men did think about sex that frequently,
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