⚛️ Physics & Chemistry
68 entries on file
If You Pee in the Pool the Water Turns Blue or Purple
There's no dye that changes colour when urine is detected
The Earth Is the Centre of the Universe
Heliocentrism replaced geocentrism in early modern era
Combustion Releases Phlogiston, an Invisible Fire-like Substance
Lavoisier's oxygen theory replaced 100 years of phlogiston doctrine
5G Towers Cause Cancer
Non-ionising radio waves below the threshold to break a chemical bond, let alone a DNA strand
A Penny Dropped from a Skyscraper Can Kill Someone
Terminal velocity of a penny is too low to cause fatal injury
Bees Shouldn't Be Able to Fly Aerodynamically
Bees fly via complex wing mechanics, not defying aerodynamics
An Apple Fell on Newton's Head, Inspiring Gravity Theory
An apple inspired him, but there's no evidence it hit him; Newton saw it fall
Albert Einstein Failed Mathematics in School
Einstein was an excellent mathematics student throughout his education
Chemtrails are secret chemical spraying for population control
Contrails are water vapour; chemical spraying would be impractical and visible
Quicksand is a Major Real-World Danger You'll Encounter
Quicksand is rare, survivable, and much less dramatic than movies suggest
Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
Lightning can and does strike the same location repeatedly
Nuclear Fusion Achieved at Room Temperature
Cold fusion claims were not independently verified
Vaccines Contain Dangerous Levels of Mercury (Thimerosal)
Thimerosal was removed from most vaccines, but remaining traces pose no health risk
You Lose Most of Your Body Heat Through Your Head
Your head loses heat in proportion to its size, like any bare patch of skin
Phlogiston Is the Element of Fire
Replaced by oxygen theory and modern combustion chemistry
Light Travels Through the Luminiferous Aether
Special relativity showed aether unnecessary; light is electromagnetic radiation
The Universe Is in a Steady State
Big Bang theory supported by cosmic microwave background radiation
Microwave Ovens Emit Dangerous Radiation
Microwaves use non-ionizing radiation; properly designed ovens are safe
Glass Is a Slow-Flowing Liquid
Glass is an amorphous solid, not a liquid
High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Uniquely Unhealthy
HFCS is metabolically similar to other sugars
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) Damages Taste Buds
MSG is safe; it's umami, a naturally occurring taste
Bananas Are Radioactive and Dangerous
Bananas are mildly radioactive but far too weak to cause harm
Chili Peppers Taste Burning Because They Are Hot
Capsaicin triggers pain receptors; no actual heat is involved
Pop Rocks Will Explode in Your Stomach
Pop rocks are harmless candy with just popping candy
Diamonds Are Just Compressed Coal
Diamonds and coal have different origins
The Earth is flat and governments hide this fact
Earth's spherical shape confirmed by multiple independent methods
Astronauts float in space because there's no gravity
Astronauts are in constant free-fall; gravity still exists
Glass is a liquid that slowly flows over time
Glass is amorphous solid; it doesn't flow at room temperature
Toilet water swirls opposite directions by hemisphere due to Coriolis
Coriolis effect is too weak at toilet scale; design determines swirl
Mentos in stomach causes violent explosion
Mentos effect requires specific beverage and scale; harmless in stomach
An asteroid was the sole cause of dinosaur extinction
Asteroid impact combined with volcanism created perfect extinction conditions
Sauropods needed to live in water to support their massive weight
Sauropods were terrestrial; skeletal features show land-based weight support
Heat Is a Fluid Substance Called Caloric
Joule's mechanical equivalence of heat proved heat is energy, not a conserved fluid
Living Matter Contains a Special Vital Force That Chemistry Cannot Explain
Synthetic urea disproved vitalism; organic chemistry emerged as a normal science
Alchemy Is a Legitimate Path to Transmuting Base Metals into Gold
Alchemy's transmutation claims were false, but it contributed pragmatic laboratory techniques
Electricity Is a Weightless Fluid That Flows Between Bodies
Electron theory displaced single-fluid models of electricity
Wifi Is Slowly Cooking Your Brain
Wifi is non-ionising radio at about a thousandth of the power of the sun on your face
The Sun Is Yellow
It emits roughly all colours at once, which our eyes read as white
The Sun Is a Giant Ball of Fire
There is no burning; it shines by nuclear fusion, which needs no oxygen
A Duck's Quack Doesn't Echo
It does; the echo is just hard to pick out, and acousticians tested it
Searing Meat Seals In the Juices
It builds flavour through browning, but it does not seal anything
A Silencer Makes a Gun Almost Silent
A suppressed gunshot is still as loud as a jackhammer
Water Conducts Electricity
Pure water is a poor conductor; the dissolved minerals do the conducting
Using Your Mobile Phone at a Petrol Station Can Spark a Fire
There is no documented case; the real, rare risk is static electricity
Mirrors Reverse Left and Right
Mirrors reverse front-to-back, not left-to-right; perception bias causes confusion
Water Always Boils at 100 Degrees Celsius
Boiling point varies with atmospheric pressure and altitude
Wet Dog Smell Is Just Water
Smell comes from bacterial and fungal compounds on skin
Birds Navigate Using Iron Deposits in Their Beaks
Birds likely use quantum entanglement in cryptochromes; mechanism still debated
Black Holes Always Cause Immediate Spaghettification
Spaghettification occurs at event horizon; timing depends on black hole size
Fire Requires Only Oxygen, Heat, and Fuel
Fire requires a chain reaction; oxygen alone is insufficient
Space Is Completely Silent
Space has sound waves in plasma; silence is accurate in vacuum
Electric Eels Generate Electricity Underwater
Electric eels do generate electricity but freshwater complicates it
Stars Twinkle Because They're Moving
Stars twinkle due to Earth's atmosphere
Icebergs are all made of fresh water that could be used for drinking
Most icebergs contain salt water; brine pockets make them unsuitable
Adding Salt to Water Makes It Boil Faster
Salt raises the boiling point, making water take longer to boil
Dinosaurs went extinct suddenly overnight due to asteroid impact
Extinction occurred over years to decades, with ecosystem collapse rather than instant death
Dinosaur extinction was caused by volcanism, not an asteroid
Evidence supports both factors working together, not volcanism alone
N-Rays Are a New Form of Radiation
N-rays were a false discovery, never replicated
Polywater Is a New Form of Water
Polywater was a contamination artifact
N-Rays: A New Form of Radiation Emitted by Living Organisms and Metals
N-rays were an experimental artifact; no physical phenomenon corresponds to the claimed effect
Aluminum in Vaccines Is Toxic
Vaccine aluminum levels are tiny and quickly excreted; dietary aluminum exposure is 100x higher
Cold Fusion Achieved at Room Temperature (Fleischmann-Pons, 1989)
The 1989 announcement of nuclear fusion in a tabletop apparatus could not be replicated despite worldwide attempts
Meteorites Are Burning Hot When They Hit the Ground
Many are cold, sometimes frosty, by the time they land
Humans cannot see infrared light at all
Some humans perceive near-infrared at extreme intensities
Black holes will eventually suck in the entire universe
Black holes have localized gravity; universe expansion prevents capture
The Earth Is Continuously Expanding
Expanding earth theory rejected by plate tectonics
Combustion Occurs When Oxygen Combines with a Substance's Fundamental Essence
Modern chemistry explains combustion via exothermic oxidation reactions
Jan Hendrik Schön's Bell Labs Physics Discoveries Were Fabricated
16 papers retracted; spectacular claims of superconductivity and organic semiconductors were fraudulent