OK, so we all know that a duck’s quack really does echo, and that there is no 3rd “-gry” word. But I ran across a webpage with “facts” that I have not seen before. The good thing is that most of them have sources. So which ones do you find difficult to believe? Perhaps you may even have proof that some are flat-out wrong.
Here’s the link: http://members.tripod.com/~earthdude1/fast_facts/index.html
The Alexander Graham Bell story is probably disputed. The sending bricks by mail story has been told often enough with different settings that a smell a myth. The sugeon Dr. Liston accidentally killing three people from one operation sounds unlikely – and Rhino Records is not my first idea of a source.
The lightning “fact” appears partially-true, partially false, according to howstuffworks.com
http://www.howstuffworks.com/lightning.htm
For the suspension bridge one, there may have been other factors leading to the collapse of the bridge like the thunderstorm that day or the abnormal oxidation of the wires.
http://www.vibrationdata.com/Newsletters/March2002_NL.pdf page 14.
Otherwise most of them seem true.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_251.html
(It’s the other gry word)
Never My Love? Really?
Huh.
The stuff about Weird Al is true, according to the FAQ on his site.
Smart feller…
The spinach one is true.
CNN shows that spinach is a good source of iron, but chickpeas, lima beans, and kidney beans are better.
I’ve heard that preparation H does’nt really have an effect on wrinkles.
The Liston story is often repeated… I think the BBC counts as a more reputable source than Rhino Records. There’s another account here.
They’re right that elephants aren’t afraid of mice. There’s no earthly reason for elephants to fear mice, and I sometimes (rarely) wonder how that got started (usually, I have better things to wonder about). And while I personally have never seen mice in elephant pens, it wouldn’t suprise me, since a cozy little bit of hay is a pretty super place for a mouse nest.
Ostriches do not, as Fast Facts points out, bury their heads in the ground. They frequently pick up tasty bugs off the ground, and I’ll bet they eat sand, like other birds, to help their digestion. So they may look to be sticking their heads in the ground, but they’re not.
Iron in Spinach: They’re a little off on this one - spinach has more iron than a lot of vegetables. In an article by Reed Mangles, PhD., R.D. available at http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm#table1 spinach is indicated as a good source of iron (though not the best), with 2.9mg in a 1 cup serving. Soybeans are an excellent source, with 8.8 mg/cup, and watermelon is at the low end of the spectrum, providing 1mg/ one-eighth medium melon. In general, leafy green vegetables provide plenty of iron, so whether the food analyst did indeed make a mathematical error, he got the gist of it right.
The Lindbergh/Alcock/Brown story is true only if you add the heavier-than-air caveat.
Lots of people flew across the Atlantic in the Graf Zeppelin before WWI.
The Vickers-Vimy used by Alcock and Brown was a converted WWI bomber.