# Debunk these debunkings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928 "2003-04-02T09:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/61 "2003-04-02T20:53:15Z")
This one is patently false: > [@](#): > > Salmonella isn’t named after the fish. It’s named after the pathologist who discovered it, Dr. Daniel E. Salmon. It’s named after Dr Salmon, true, but he did not discover it: > [@](#): > > [http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/402.html](http://www.whonamedit.com/synd.cfm/402.html) > The Salmonella bacterium a was first described by Theobald Smith (1859-1934) and Salmon in 1885 in a strain isolated from pigs with hog cholera, in the paper Investigations on Swine Plague, published in the Second Annual Report of Bureau of Animal Industry. Salmon termed it Hog-cholerabacillus. It is now called Salmonella cholera suis, but is not the real cause of swine plague, which is a viral disease. **Salmonella was first discovered by Theobald Smith.** > > It was the French bacteriologist Joseph Léon Marcel Ligniéres (1868-1933) who, in 1900, suggested that the entire group of bacteria to which the swine pest bacillus belongs, should be termed Salmonella in honour of Salmon. [You wanna be nitpicky? Make sure you get it right!] ---
**Author:** ![Mike.V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Mike.V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike.V)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/62 "2003-04-02T21:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > The largest city—in area—in the U.S. is not Los Angeles. It’s Jacksonville, Florida Well, as long as Alaska is still a state, it’s wrong. Start at Nome (a whopping 28,276.30 square miles [23,012.66 land]) and work you’re way down. [Cite](http://www.placesnamed.com/n/o/nome.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/63 "2003-04-02T21:19:02Z")
> [@](#): > > The Man in the Iron Mask didn’t wear an iron mask—it was made of black velvet stiffened with whalebone and fastened behind the head with a padlock or steel springs. The man in the Iron Mask was a product of Dumas fiction based on the fellow in the velvet masked. Its like poinitng out that Hitler didn’t have a turtle shell, just becuase Yurtle was a Turtle ---
**Author:** ![sciguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/64 "2003-04-02T21:28:16Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no book of “Revelations” in the Bible. The book is “Revelation.” I always thought the title was “The Revelation of/to St. John”, although I don’t have a bible handy to check (and the ones I find online refer to the book as either). > [@](#): > > Harpo Marx was fully capable of speaking. Guess what, so was Charlie Chaplin.:rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Despite what many wrongly believe, the Statue of Liberty isn’t on Ellis Island. It’s on Liberty Island. Maybe watching the X-men movie will reduce this one. > [@](#): > > Although you might suspect otherwise, football isn’t the pro sport that draws the greatest number of spectators. Baseball is more than three times as popular. Are we talking **American** football or what the rest of the world calls football (soccer)? Based on [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174272) I’d think there are more rabid soccer fans than baseball 🙂 > [@](#): > > History books might say otherwise, but one of the primary reasons the Pilgrims on the Mayflower ended their trip at Plymouth Rock was because they ran out of beer. I’ve had college road-trips that ended that way too. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/65 "2003-04-02T21:30:18Z")
This one is false: > [@](#): > > There is no species of fish called the sardine. Usually small herring or pilchard are processed as sardines. Behold _Sardinops sagax_, the [Pacific **Sardine**](http://www.oceanoasis.org/fieldguide/sard-cae.html)! Besides which, a pilchard **is** a sardine. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/66 "2003-04-02T21:32:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember Atari games? The company isn’t Japanese, even though most people think so. The name was chosen so consumers would think the company, based in Northern California, was Japanese. WTF? [Atari](http://www.atari.com/) is still very much in existance although they dropped the console division many years ago, plus they moved their headquarters to Japan shortly after doing so. IIRC, the name was chosen simply because it means “prepare to be attacked” and that it sounds cool. > [@](#): > > You’ve probably heard that Podunk is in Idaho. Actually, it’s in Massachusetts. Ask Mapquest to find Podunk and it lists CT, NY, VT, two in MI, none in either ID or MA. > [@](#): > > Not all cats react to catnip. The reaction is inherited—some cats are totally unaffected by it. I don’t know about it being inherited but it’s possible for cats to become desensitized to catnip. > [@](#): > > Not surprisingly, Blackbeard wasn’t the real name of the infamous pirate—his real name was Edward Teach. Nobody can claim they know Blackbeard’s surname for certain. It might have been “Thatch”, not “Teach”. > [@](#): > > The comic strip “Peanuts” wasn’t always called that. Originally, it was originally called, “Li’l Folks.” No, Peanuts is sort of a sequel. While Li’l Folks used many of the same gags, that strip had no continuing characters. > [@](#): > > The London Bridge has never fallen down. No, but I believe the original had been sinking until it was relocated to Arizona. > [@](#): > > Aunt Jemima was not a fictional character as many think. She was a real person. Yep, [Aunt Jemima](http://www.toptags.com/aama/bio/women/ngreen.htm) was as real as Cecil is now. 😉 > [@](#): > > Contrary to what we’ve been told, it’s untrue that animal parents reject their offspring if humans handle them. It’s a myth. Rodents have been known to eat their offspring if a human handled them too much. > [@](#): > > Raindrops aren’t actually teardrop shaped as is popularly believed. They are rounded at the top and flat on the bottom. Doesn’t that violate the laws of physics? > [@](#): > > Leprosy isn’t only an affliction of humans. Armadillos can get it, too. Unless I’m mistaken, humans acquired it from amadillos. > [@](#): > > It’s not true that Gilligan (of Gilligan’s Island) only had one name. His first name was Willy. Also, the Skipper’s name wasn’t Skipper, of course. The Skipper’s real name was Jonas Grumby. The Professor’s real name was Roy Hinkley. Mary Ann’s last name was Summers. Not [that](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/gilligan.htm) again! > [@](#): > > There’s no connection between the Baby Ruth candy bar and Babe Ruth, the baseball player. At least that’s the claim of the folks that make Baby Ruths (the Curtiss Candy Company). The official company position is that the candy bar was named after the daughter of President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Ruth. (The official statement about the name has been that Ruth Cleveland “visited the Curtiss Candy Company…and this largely influenced the company’s founder to name the candy bar Baby Ruth.” Ruth Cleveland died in 1904. The Curtiss Candy Company wasn’t even founded until 1916.) Thanks to [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) for this item. So they _are_ aware of Snopes! Too bad they haven’t checked more of their “facts” there. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/67 "2003-04-02T21:39:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Our muscles can’t push, they can only pull. Muscles neither pull nor push - they _contract_. Depending on how the muscle in question is attached to the bone (via tendons, of course), that contraction can result in either a pushing or pulling motion on a limb. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/68 "2003-04-02T22:07:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Electric eels aren’t eels—they’re a fish. This one is just stupid: **all** eels are fish. However, electric eels aren’t considered “true” eels (which are members of Elopomorpha). Electric eels are, instead, members of clade Ostariophysi. Both groups are teleost fishes. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/69 "2003-04-02T22:20:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*\*\*Raindrops aren’t actually teardrop shaped as is popularly believed. They are rounded at the top and flat on the bottom. \* > > Doesn’t that violate the laws of physics?\*\* Nope, it’s actually caused by the laws of physics, drag, shear and all that. Good explanation [here](http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadRain.html). Note that I haven’t reviewed that site itself for bad science, but the basic explanation that droplets of some sizes will be deformed by drag forces and are not spherical or teardrop shaped is correct. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/70 "2003-04-02T22:23:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Raindrops aren’t actually teardrop shaped as is popularly believed. They are rounded at the top and flat on the bottom. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > **Doesn’t that violate the laws of physics?** [Nope.](http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadRain.html) From linked site: > [@](#): > > Small raindrops (radius \< 1 mm) are spherical; larger ones assume a shape more like that of a hamburger bun…This remarkable evolution results from a tug-of-war between two forces: the surface tension of the water and the pressure of the air pushing up against the bottom of the drop as it falls. When the drop is small, surface tension wins and pulls the drop into a spherical shape. With increasing size, the fall velocity increases and the pressure on the bottom increases causing the raindrop to flatten and even develop a depression. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/71 "2003-04-02T22:24:56Z")
I have got to learn to type faster! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/72 "2003-04-02T22:25:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by micco \* > \*\*Nope, it’s actually caused by the laws of physics, drag, shear and all that. Good explanation [here](http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadRain.html). Note that I haven’t reviewed that site itself for bad science, but the basic explanation that droplets of some sizes will be deformed by drag forces and are not spherical or teardrop shaped is correct. \*\* Thanks. The science textbooks all those years ago were obviously wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/73 "2003-04-02T22:43:14Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no record of Paul Revere having ever owned a horse. So what? You don’t need to own a horse to ride on one. > [@](#): > > Contrary to intuition, statistics prove conclusively that the poor are burglarized far more often than the rich. You can use statistics to prove anything. How many rich people are there? How many poor people are there? > [@](#): > > Jesus’ mother, Mary, was not the first woman to give birth as a virgin. According to dogma, Zoroaster’s mother achieved this same feat 500 years earlier. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > It may come as a surprise, but despite the widespread belief otherwise, more people attend professional opera performances than attend pro football games. Truth is, ticket buyers spend about twice as much on the arts than on sports. What were we saying about statistics, again? How much are theater tickets? How much are football tickets? Does “the arts” include concerts and movies? > [@](#): > > The Panama Canal does not cross the Isthmus east to west. Actually, it starts by going south, then takes a turn eastward. Its “western” or Pacific end is actually more than 20 miles east of its Atlantic beginnings. I had no idea that the Panama Canal was one way. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/74 "2003-04-02T22:45:11Z")
CookingWithGas: > [@](#): > > If you adhere to that definition then there’s really no rhyme nor reason to what is easternmost and what is westernmost. That definition was established by international convention. It may have been an arbitrary selection, but once selected, referring to it is not “without rhyme or reason.” I agree that your definition is very reasonable. But I wouldn’t say, like you did, that the other definition is not at all reasonable. That’s all I’m saying. Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/75 "2003-04-02T22:54:08Z")
## \>Wet sand actually weighs less than dry sand. \>I can’t see how this is possible. Adding water to sand to the \>extent that voids between the grains are filled adds weight \>withouth increasing volume. How can this one be true? I can’t see it either, although humid air is lighter than dry air. ---
**Author:** ![Gelaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Gelaan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gelaan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/76 "2003-04-02T23:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > That definition was established by international convention. While the location of the Prime Meridian certainly was established by international convention, the designation of parts of the Earth’s surface as “easternmost” or “westernmost” was not, much less exactly where these areas are. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/77 "2003-04-02T23:03:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > **Yep, [Aunt Jemima](http://www.toptags.com/aama/bio/women/ngreen.htm) was as real as Cecil is now. 😉** Ironically, that article contains the following egregious error: > [@](#): > > The Davis Company prospered, and by 1910, the name of “Aunt Jemima” was known in all 48 states The USA included only 46 states in 1910. Arizona and New Mexico weren’t admitted to the Union until 1912. From [Dribbleglass.com](http://Dribbleglass.com): > [@](#): > > In England, corn means wheat. In the Bible, corn means grain. In my dictionary, one definition of “corn” is “the leading cereal crop in a particular place, as wheat in England or oats in Scotland and Ireland”. The Biblical “corn” could have been barley, rye, or wheat. > [@](#): > > The names we know for the Marx brothers weren’t their real names. Their real names were Leonard (Chico), Herbert (Zeppo), Julius (Groucho) and Arthur (Harpo). Actually, Harpo was Adolph before he was Arthur, but the name change was not effected by the rise of Hitler. Once again, our friends at Snopes have the skinny: [http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/harpo.htm](http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/harpo.htm) > [@](#): > > Mount Everest isn’t really the tallest mountain in the world. If you start from the ocean floor, Mauna Kia in Hawaii is the tallest at 33,476 feet. (Everest is, however, the tallest above sea level at 29,028 feet.) 1. The correct spelling of the Hawaiian peak’s name is Mauna _Kea_ 2. If you take the Earth’s “midriff bulge” into account, Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo grabs the crown at 36,000 feet. [http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-30-2002-9769.asp](http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-30-2002-9769.asp) 1. The exact height of Everest has long been in dispute. I’ve heard that an actual measurement of exactly 29,000 feet was made, only to be revised upward in order to look less approximate. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/78 "2003-04-02T23:07:02Z")
“It’s untrue that the “rings” under our eyes darken. Experts say this effect is actually caused by the rest of the face getting lighter.” I’m no “expert”, but I’m pretty sure this one’s bunk. My bags have been purple at times. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/79 "2003-04-02T23:12:24Z")
“Karl Marx, the founder of Russian Communism…” WTF? He didn’t found “Russian Communism.” He founded Communism/Marxism, whatever. It wasn’t Russian by nature. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Monk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/48db29/32.png) [@Flying\_Monk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Monk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928/80 "2003-04-02T23:15:26Z")
“Karl Marx, the founder of Russian Communism, was never in Russia in his life.” “Russian Communism”? Huh? “Contrary to popular belief, Man is not the world’s largest polluter. A single volcanic eruption causes many, many times more atmosphere-depleting pollution than we have throughout human history.” “The sound you hear when you hold a seashell to your ear isn’t coming from the shell. The sound is that of the blood coursing through your ear.” Ok, I’m stopping now…guess they should have checked them with the Dopers first… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debunk-these-debunkings/165928.md?page=5)