It's the second day quiz installment on the blog. Today, we concentrate on myths and facts. Sometimes myths become stories that are passed around the entire country. For many trusting reasons, we tend to believe these falsehoods and become gullible humans passing them off to friends and other acquaintances around us. Often, later we find out the truth but still persist to hold that the lie is honest because we have heard it retold so many times. Trivia also makes for great speculation.

Here are 32 statements for you to label "True" or "False." The answers are provided at the end of quiz. Record and report your scores to be crowned King or Queen of Disputed Statements. Don't cheat and look at the answers. Have fun and good luck! Maybe something here will even amaze you or draw a comment or two.


1. A dog’s mouth is generally cleaner than a human’s.


2. Humans only use about 10% of their brains.

3. Left handed people are twelve times as likely to be dyslexic than right-handers. 

 
4. A person's hair and nails continue to grow after one dies.


5. The average person swallows about 8 spiders per year.

6. It is impossible for anyone to verbally count up to the number 1 trillion.

7. A penny dropped from a skyscraper could kill a pedestrian.


8. At least 12 Iraqi barbers have been executed by Islamic militant gangs in recent times because they provided Western-style haircuts.

9. Cold temperatures increase the risk of cold infections.


10. The Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure visible by the naked eye from space.

11. An IMAX projector's bulb is so powerful that if it was pointed upward, it could be seen by astronauts on the International Space Station. 

 
12. Drinking water keeps your skin from drying out.  

13. Having a tan means you are more protected from the sun.  

14. Chimpanzees have a much better short-term memory than humans.

15. Scientists claim that sleep lost due to daylight saving time increases injuries on the job.

16. The average distance a dandelion seed travels through the air is 6 miles.

17. The risk of dying from cancer is increasing in the U.S. 

18. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. 

19. The higher the octane rating, the more power the fuel will produce.

20. Bulls are not attracted to the color red.

21. Birds will reject their young if touched by humans.

22. If you cut off the head of a cockroach, it can still survive for about a month without its head.

23. If hot water is suddenly poured into a glass, that glass is more apt to break if it is thick than if it is thin.

24. The United States is the only developed nation where medical bankruptcies occur. 

25.  Frederic J. Baur, the designer of the Pringles potato chip can, died recently, and his cremated remains were buried in one of those cans.

26. On average, now there are six job seekers for each job opening in the United States. 

27. The odds are 1 out of 290 (.35%) that a person in America is an illegal alien. 

28. The shamrock is the official emblem of Ireland.

29. Water drains out of a sink or toilet in a different direction in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere.

30. Frogs can't drink.

31. Rubber is one of the ingredients in bubble gum.

32. Coca-Cola was originally green in color.

ANSWERS:

1. F  It may be true that a dog’s mouth contains fewer of the type of bacteria found in a human’s, but a dog’s mouth is merely filthy in a different way to a human’s.

2. F  MRI scans of the human brain shows that most of the human brain is always active, even when asleep.

3. T - San Diego Union, 11/21/06

4. F  This is merely an optical illusion: after death, one’s body dries, causing the skin to retract, thus exposing more of one’s hair and nails.

5. F  First published in a 1993 PC Professional article, it was made up by Lisa Holst to demonstrate the fact that many people will believe anything they read on the internet. She adapted it from a collection of commonly believed myths printed in a 1954 book on insect folklore.

6. T  It would take about 31,668 years to accomplish. www.funtrivia.com

7. F Whether it falls four stories or four thousand stories, it would cease to accelerate at the same (harmless) terminal velocity, due to its small weight relative to its surface area. (NOTE: In a vacuum, it could be pretty lethal, though)

8. T  - Seattle Times, 2/23/05   

9. F  The common cold (Echinacea purpurea/Echinacea angustifolia/Echinacea pallida) thrives in warm conditions, rather than in the cold. You are only more likely to catch a cold in the winter as that is the time of year when many people are huddled together indoors in close proximity to one another to stay warm, allowing the virus to spread more easily.

10. F  For the human eye to see an object, it must be visible in at least two dimensions.  

11. T - Discover Magazine, 6/09

12. F  It seems obvious that water would help to hydrate the skin. However, if you wash your hands frequently they become dry and rough. Water helps to hydrate and keep internal organs functioning, while application of moisturizer helps keep the external organ, skin, moisturized.

13. F  You might not get sun burnt with a tan, but your tan does not protect against dangerous ultraviolet rays. Tanned skin is damaged skin, so further tanning injures the skin and increases the risk of skin cancer.

14. T - BBC, 12/3/07

15. T - Journal of Applied Psychology, Sept. 2009

16. T  - San Diego Union, 9/21/06  

17. F  Nearly seven in 10 people surveyed (68%) incorrectly believed this to be true.

18. T  Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

19. F   Octane-boosting substances in gasoline actually retard the burning rate so that the heat of compression won't pre-ignite the mixture, causing "knock" or "ping." There is no measurable performance improvement to be gained by using higher-than-specified octane fuel in your car. 

20. T  Bulls are colorblind. ask.yahoo.com

21. F  Birds have a poor sense of smell and will not reject a baby based on this. British Columbia Society for Prevention of Cruelty for Animals

22. T  www.bio.umass.edu

23. T  This is why test tubes are made of thin glass.  answers.yahoo.com

24. T  - Newsweek, 9/21/09

25. T -  CNN.com, 6/2/08

26. T - Fortune, 10/26/09

27. T - Time Magazine, 9/4/06  

28. F   The Harp is the official Emblem of Ireland, not the Shamrock. 

29. F  The direction of the water spin depends on a lot of factors. The Coriolis Force, rumored to make the water spin differently has no effect on the way water drains. 

30. T  Frogs absorb water from their surroundings through their skin (by osmosis). latham.dropbear.id.au  

31. T  www.madsci.org/posts/archives

32. F  Coca-Cola original formula called for caramel to give Coca-Cola its rich brown color.