# Indisputably true things which aren't true
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 26, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954 "2015-01-26T21:36:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/61 "2015-01-30T19:28:45Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> Yes, just like the picture on the cover of the game, he uses his fist.
>
> [Imagine if he used his head](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SXs3JZgZtk)
Those videos are hilarious.
---
### Author:  [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/62 "2015-01-30T19:53:33Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#):
>
> Opera singers are fat.
No they’re not, they’re big-boned.
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### Author:  [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/63 "2015-01-30T21:27:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> “The Earth is round”… it’s technically an oval; it’s slightly flat at the poles.
It’s an oblate spheroid!
---
### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/64 "2015-01-30T21:42:45Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> Which is why I think this is the perfect example for this thread.
>
> Speaking specifically, numerous replicated studies have demonstrated that parents’ perception of their children’s activity level is highly correlated with whether the parent _believes_ that the child has had sugar (usually with a blind control of a sugar substitute, sometimes by the sugar (or not) being given “offscreen” from the parent), and correlates not at all with whether the child actually had the sugar.
>
> That’s not strictly the same as saying sugar has no effect on kids behavior, just that it has no effect on kids behavior that a sugar free equivalent wouldn’t have.
>
> This isn’t really in any doubt, scientifically (the study’s been replicated a number of times in different forms), but most parents find it really, really hard to believe.
Again, I won’t swear that my observations are unbiased or that everyone’s experience is the same as mine.
My son is given to regular bursts of uncontrollable hyperactivity whether or not he consumes much sugar. It’s certainly POSSIBLE that the outbursts I relate to sugar would have happened anyway, even if he’d been on the Atkins Diet.
I still see a strong correlation.
---
### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/65 "2015-01-30T23:23:27Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#):
>
> Opera singers are fat.
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#):
>
> No they’re not, they’re big-boned.
No…they’re fat. Not all of them, but some of them. Until fairly recently, a greater number than in the general population. Now the general population is fatter, and opera singers are getting slimmer, but for many decades, there was a definite imbalance.
Several reasons:
Breath support. Whether true or not, it was believed and taught for years that fatter people have better breath support with less work. Opera singers were encouraged to get fat to be better singers.
Core muscle development. The diaphragm and RA do the bulk of the work in breath support, and like any muscles, the stronger they get, the bigger they get. So even if a person isn’t full of fatty tissue, one with a stronger diaphragm and RA will look thicker than a person with weak muscles.
Lack of selective pressure to be thin. Audiences for many years didn’t care if the diva was fat, as long as she could sing well. This has changed, as have opera producers efforts to change their audience by reaching out to people who weren’t previously fans of opera. And so opera singers are starting to look more like rock singers and actors.
Erratic eating schedules. Most opera singers avoid eating for several hours before a performance, because they think food/drink “coats the vocal cords” and it’s just not comfortable to do that much deep breathing in a corset on a full stomach. So they go 6 hours or more before and during shows not eating, and then they’re ravenous when they’re done, so they binge on fattening foods.
Hormones. Increasing your oxygen levels with breath developing exercises and during performance releases cortisol. It causes you to burn fat while you’re doing it, but the cortisol decreases leptin release, and a lack of leptin release makes you very very hungry. See above re: binging.
Finances. With a very few exceptions, opera singers are pretty poorly paid. Since they’re also on the road a lot, they end up eating a lot of fattening restaurant meals, preferably cheap ones. There’s a strong correlation between poverty and obesity.
So basically, they’re fat for the same reason everyone else is fat - they eat more calories than they’re burning.
But hey, times are changing. If you’re a fan of willowy thin opera singers, you’re in the right time for it. [Fat-shaming is a real thing in opera today](http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/05/20/314007632/in-2014-the-classical-world-still-cant-stop-fat-shaming-women). ☹
---
### Author:  [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)
#### Post date: [January 30, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/66 "2015-01-30T23:27:56Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> Finances. With a very few exceptions, opera singers are pretty poorly paid. Since they’re also on the road a lot, they end up eating a lot of fattening restaurant meals, preferably cheap ones. There’s a strong correlation between poverty and obesity.
The link between poverty and obesity is very recent. You don’t have to go very far back into the past before the link runs the other way, and quite strongly. And Opera singers have been fat for much longer than this trend.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/67 "2015-01-31T00:32:52Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#):
>
> The link between poverty and obesity is very recent. You don’t have to go very far back into the past before the link runs the other way, and quite strongly. And Opera singers have been fat for much longer than this trend.
True. But so is the prevalence of poverty among opera singers. Used to be a rock star kind of job.
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### Author:  [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/68 "2015-01-31T01:58:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> No…they’re fat. Not all of them, but some of them. Until fairly recently, a greater number than in the general population. Now the general population is fatter, and opera singers are getting slimmer, but for many decades, there was a definite imbalance.
Can you provide any sort of numbers to back that up? Because in my experience, even old timey opera singers were not overwhelmingly fat.
> [@](#):
>
> Breath support. Whether true or not, it was believed and taught for years that fatter people have better breath support with less work. Opera singers were encouraged to get fat to be better singers.
Never met a teacher who believed that there was a connection between fat and ability. There may be a correlation (not causation!) between certain body types and certain voice types, but no more than that.
> [@](#):
>
> Core muscle development. The diaphragm and RA do the bulk of the work in breath support, and like any muscles, the stronger they get, the bigger they get. So even if a person isn’t full of fatty tissue, one with a stronger diaphragm and RA will look thicker than a person with weak muscles.
Proper singing involves the entire core group of muscles, not just the diaphragm and abs. I’m not sure that people with strong core strength generally look “thicker” and anyway, that’s not what we’re talking about.
> [@](#):
>
> Lack of selective pressure to be thin. Audiences for many years didn’t care if the diva was fat, as long as she could sing well. This has changed, as have opera producers efforts to change their audience by reaching out to people who weren’t previously fans of opera. And so opera singers are starting to look more like rock singers and actors.
The original Violetta was quite portly. Audiences chuckled when she died of consumption at the end. Voice was always supreme, but people have always cared to some degree about appearance.
And anyway, that wouldn’t account for a prevalence above the rest of the population. There’s no selective pressure to be thin among lawyers either.
> [@](#):
>
> Erratic eating schedules. Most opera singers avoid eating for several hours before a performance, because they think food/drink “coats the vocal cords” and it’s just not comfortable to do that much deep breathing in a corset on a full stomach. So they go 6 hours or more before and during shows not eating, and then they’re ravenous when they’re done, so they binge on fattening foods.
I know exactly one opera singer who refuses to eat before he sings, and that’s because of heartburn. Almost everyone eats normal meals at relatively normal times. Any opera singer who thinks food/drink “coat the vocal cords” needs an anatomy lesson.
> [@](#):
>
> Hormones. Increasing your oxygen levels with breath developing exercises and during performance releases cortisol. It causes you to burn fat while you’re doing it, but the cortisol decreases leptin release, and a lack of leptin release makes you very very hungry. See above re: binging.
I won’t argue with you about hormones (your area, not mine), but most singers I know don’t binge.
> [@](#):
>
> Finances. With a very few exceptions, opera singers are pretty poorly paid. Since they’re also on the road a lot, they end up eating a lot of fattening restaurant meals, preferably cheap ones. There’s a strong correlation between poverty and obesity.
True about the pay, but most of them manage by having supplementary jobs. Some live with their parents. Most aren’t getting by by eating fast food.
We’re not talking about normal chubbiness here. The stereotype is opera singers as 300 pound behemoths, which has never been the norm.
---
### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/69 "2015-01-31T02:14:03Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#):
>
> Can you provide any sort of numbers to back that up? Because in my experience, even old timey opera singers were not overwhelmingly fat.
I don’t have numbers, no. But I’ve spent quite a bit of (delightful) time pawing through old costume collections. Many of the old ones fit me (fat). Most of today’s don’t.
> [@](#):
>
> Never met a teacher who believed that there was a connection between fat and ability. There may be a correlation (not causation!) between certain body types and certain voice types, but no more than that.
I don’t believe it to be true, either. But I was taught that as late as the 1990s.
> [@](#):
>
> And anyway, that wouldn’t account for a prevalence above the rest of the population. There’s no selective pressure to be thin among lawyers either.
Sure there is. Lawyers spend a lot of time concerned with their appearance. When was the last time you saw a morbidly obese lawyer giving a press conference?
> [@](#):
>
> I know exactly one opera singer who refuses to eat before he sings, and that’s because of heartburn. Almost everyone eats normal meals at relatively normal times. Any opera singer who thinks food/drink “coat the vocal cords” needs an anatomy lesson.
I agree. But again, I’ve heard it a lot. What people think is not necessarily what’s so. Which is kind of the point of this thread.
> [@](#):
>
> I won’t argue with you about hormones (your area, not mine), but most singers I know don’t binge.
>
> True about the pay, but most of them manage by having supplementary jobs. Some live with their parents. Most aren’t getting by by eating fast food.
Granted, I live in a very fat city. But burritos and pizza are common post-show meals here.
> [@](#):
>
> We’re not talking about normal chubbiness here. The stereotype is opera singers as 300 pound behemoths, which has never been the norm.
I wasn’t aware a particular weight point had been put forward. Tara Erraught is certainly nowhere near 300 pounds, and she’s constantly slammed for being fat.
---
### Author:  [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/70 "2015-01-31T02:26:03Z")
> [@WhyNot](#):
>
> I don’t believe it to be true, either. But I was taught that as late as the 1990s.
Genuinely curious: who was teaching you this?
> [@](#):
>
> Sure there is. Lawyers spend a lot of time concerned with their appearance. When was the last time you saw a morbidly obese lawyer giving a press conference?
Most lawyers don’t give press conferences. Most sit around an office and shuffle papers around. Anyway lawyers aren’t the point.
> [@](#):
>
> I agree. But again, I’ve heard it a lot. What people think is not necessarily what’s so. Which is kind of the point of this thread.
From whom? I’m talking about what opera singers actually do. And most don’t fast before shows.
> [@](#):
>
> Granted, I live in a very fat city. But burritos and pizza are common post-show meals here.
We tend to go out after shows, sure. But the thing is, singing burns a lot of calories. So we’ve “earned” it, as it were. The issue isn’t whether we occasionally have a fatty, high-calorie mean, but whether that results in a fat prevalence above and beyond the rest of the population.
> [@](#):
>
> I wasn’t aware a particular weight point had been put forward. Tara Erraught is certainly nowhere near 300 pounds, and she’s constantly slammed for being fat.
Well, I’m the one who put the point forward, so I’m pretty sure I know what I meant.
And “constantly”? Other than the Glydebourne incident (which was, frankly, as much the result of terrible costuming as it was her actual weight) I haven’t heard anyone mention her at all, let alone mention her weight.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/71 "2015-01-31T05:44:25Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#):
>
> Dreams are \
>
> Despite the best efforts of a whole bunch of Brain Scientists, we really don’t know what they mean, or even when they occur (it’s ~90% during REM sleep, ~10% other)
The most common theory I’ve read about lately is that dreaming is the brain’s way of “housecleaning”, sifting through old memories to decide what can be discarded.
I don’t buy that for one millisecond.
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### Author:  [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/72 "2015-01-31T17:28:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> “The Earth is round”… it’s technically an oval; it’s slightly flat at the poles.
> [@August\_West](#):
>
> It’s an oblate spheroid!
Once, when someone I knew admitted he had a strong tendency (to put it mildly!) to verbal one-upmanship, we agreed to play a game. I would say something and he would counter it.
I said “the earth is round.”
He countered that it was an oblate spheroid.
I called him on it. I pointed out that I had not said it was a sphere, only that it was round.
Even a flat disk, which many of the ancient swore by, would technically come under the definition of round. (In a single dimension.)
Spherical is merely what one may assume when hearing “round” applied to a solid. It’s a connotation, but an oblate spheroid is certainly under the denotation.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/73 "2015-01-31T21:08:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> The most common theory I’ve read about lately is that dreaming is the brain’s way of “housecleaning”, sifting through old memories to decide what can be discarded.
>
> I don’t buy that for one millisecond.
Yeah, especially since a lot of dreams involve places, people, things, words you’ve never encountered before, so they can’t be memories.
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### Author:  [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/74 "2015-01-31T21:51:54Z")
As I get older, the more emotionally-laden ones bother me the most. For example:
HITLER WAS AN ATHEIST! :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/75 "2015-02-01T01:49:39Z")
A common “trick question” is to ask someone which is heaver, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold. And, obviously, they weigh the same: a pound.
Except that a pound of gold is actually lighter than a pound of feathers. And, confusingly, an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of feathers.
[Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_ounce)
---
### Author:  [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/76 "2015-02-01T02:11:44Z")
Isn’t that why the metric system was invented in the first place?
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/77 "2015-02-02T21:00:43Z")
That Smurfs are six apples tall. Bullshit. Three apples tall, at best.
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### Author:  [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/78 "2015-02-02T21:12:50Z")
Root canals are painful.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/79 "2015-02-02T22:28:24Z")
> [@FUTBOL!](#):
>
> As I get older, the more emotionally-laden ones bother me the most. For example:
>
> HITLER WAS AN ATHEIST! :rolleyes:
I can see why an atheist would hate hearing that Hitler was an atheist (maybe true, but who knows?), just as we Catholics don’t like hearing that Hitler was raised Catholic (definitely true).
I don’t know what the adult Hitler believed or didn’t believe, but I don’t think it fits neatly into either the Catholic or Atheist categories.
---
### Author:  [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indisputably-true-things-which-arent-true/710954/80 "2015-02-03T16:00:02Z")
You can’t have a percentage greater than 100.
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