The 1920s
15 entries on file
Things people believed and taught during the 1920s.
Prohibition. The radio era. Eugenics at its peak in respectable journals. Cigarettes marketed to women as a slimming aid. Electric belt cures for nervous exhaustion. The 1920s carried a lot of confidence into a lot of empty corners. The decade's myths run from harmless (mood rings, ouija boards as actual spirit communication) to consequential (forced sterilisation laws based on IQ pseudoscience, lobotomies as legitimate psychiatric treatment by decade's end). The flapper got a lot of attention. The patent medicine cabinet got a lot of arsenic.
Blood Is Blue Until It Hits Air
Blood is always red due to iron oxyhemoglobin
Cigarettes are safe and doctors recommend them
Cigarettes are highly addictive and cause cancer; doctors now universally recommend against smoking
Velociraptors were human-sized predators
Velociraptors were turkey-sized; Jurassic Park heavily exaggerated their size
Sydney Is the Capital of Australia
Canberra is the capital; Sydney is the capital of New South Wales
Great Wall of China from Space
The wall is too narrow to be distinctly visible from orbit
You Must Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Swimming
The risk of cramping from swimming after eating is minimal
Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brain
We use virtually all of our brain throughout the day
Hydrogen peroxide is best for cleaning wounds
Damages healthy tissue; saline or water is better
Vegemite Has Always Been Australian
The recipe is a direct response to a British shortage; the original target was Marmite
Marco Polo Brought Pasta to Italy From China
Italians were eating pasta well before Polo ever left Venice
Henry Ford Invented the Car
He perfected the assembly line; Karl Benz built the car decades earlier
Pachycephalosaurus used its dome head for head-butting combat
Dome likely served display functions; head-butting role remains uncertain
The Laughing Cow Cheese Logo Wears Earrings Made of Cheese Boxes
The iconic cow's earrings are made of small versions of the product boxes in a recursive design
Vegemite Was Invented by Australians
Vegemite was created in Australia but designed to replicate British Marmite
Fairy Bread Is a Uniquely Australian Invention
The recipe is a 1929 British appropriation; we just made it the national children's birthday food