Fact checks

75 fact checks

• Humans only use 10% of their brains.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Lightning is hotter than the surface of the Sun.

  Supported · science · easy

• Water drains in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Earth's seasons are caused by its distance from the Sun.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Old window glass is thicker at the bottom because glass is a slow-flowing liquid.

  Contradicted · science · medium

• The Moon has a permanently dark side.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Daddy longlegs are the most venomous spiders but their fangs can't pierce skin.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• You can't fold a piece of paper more than 7 times.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• A penny dropped from a skyscraper can kill someone.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Bats are blind.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Goldfish have a 3-second memory.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Chameleons change color to blend in with their surroundings.

  Mixed evidence · science · medium

• Lemmings commit mass suicide by jumping off cliffs.

  Contradicted · science · medium

• Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when scared.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Bulls attack because they hate the color red.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Different parts of the tongue taste different flavors.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Humans have exactly five senses.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Hair and fingernails keep growing after death.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Pure water is a good conductor of electricity.

  Contradicted · science · easy

• Mars is red because its surface is literally rusty.

  Supported · science · easy

• Natural diamonds are formed from compressed coal.

  Contradicted · science · medium

• Shaving makes hair grow back thicker and darker.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Eating sugar makes children hyperactive.

  Contradicted · health · medium

• Vaccines cause autism.

  Contradicted · health · hard

• The flu shot can give you the flu.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Being out in cold weather makes you catch a cold.

  Mixed evidence · health · medium

• Eating carrots dramatically improves your eyesight.

  Mixed evidence · health · easy

• Turkey makes you sleepy because of tryptophan.

  Contradicted · health · medium

• Microwaving food destroys its nutrients.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• MSG (monosodium glutamate) is dangerous to eat.

  Mixed evidence · health · medium

• Everyone must drink exactly 8 glasses of water a day.

  Mixed evidence · health · medium

• Vitamin C prevents the common cold.

  Mixed evidence · health · easy

• Sitting too close to the TV damages your eyes.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Detox diets and juice cleanses remove toxins from your body.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Antibiotics can cure viral infections like colds and flu.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Going outside with wet hair in winter makes you sick.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Drinking alcohol kills brain cells.

  Contradicted · health · medium

• Coffee stunts children's growth.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Swallowed chewing gum takes 7 years to digest.

  Contradicted · health · easy

• Einstein failed math in school.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• Napoleon Bonaparte was extremely short.

  Mixed evidence · history · medium

• Vikings wore horned helmets.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• People in the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• Columbus proved the Earth was round.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• The Egyptian pyramids were built by slaves.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• The Salem 'witches' were burned at the stake.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the building of the Great Pyramid.

  Supported · history · easy

• Europeans first reached America in 1492.

  Mixed evidence · history · medium

• Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen after death.

  Contradicted · history · easy

• People swallow an average of 8 spiders a year in their sleep.

  Contradicted · animals · easy

• You lose most of your body heat through your head.

  Contradicted · health · medium

• Feeding bread to ducks is harmless.

  Contradicted · animals · easy

• Only 300 Spartans fought at Thermopylae.

  Mixed evidence · history · medium

• Honey never spoils — archaeologists have tasted 3,000-year-old honey.

  Supported · science · easy

• A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.

  Supported · science · easy

• You must carry a credit card balance to build credit.

  Contradicted · money · easy

• A raise can push you into a higher tax bracket and leave you with less take-home pay.

  Contradicted · money · medium

• Billionaires legally pay zero income tax.

  Mixed evidence · money · hard

• You need a lot of money to start investing.

  Contradicted · money · easy

• All debt is bad and should be avoided.

  Mixed evidence · money · medium

• Renting is always throwing money away compared to buying.

  Mixed evidence · money · hard

• Using credit cards always hurts your finances.

  Mixed evidence · money · medium

• Fortune cookies are a traditional Chinese invention.

  Contradicted · food · medium

• Sushi means raw fish.

  Contradicted · food · easy

• Food picked up within 5 seconds is safe to eat.

  Contradicted · food · medium

• Swallowing a watermelon seed will grow a watermelon in your stomach.

  Contradicted · food · easy

• NASA invented Velcro (and Teflon, and the microwave).

  Contradicted · tech · easy

• Using a mobile phone at a gas station can trigger an explosion.

  Contradicted · tech · easy

• Incognito mode makes you anonymous on the internet.

  Contradicted · tech · easy

• Adding more RAM always makes a slow computer fast.

  Mixed evidence · tech · medium

• Charging your phone overnight destroys the battery.

  Mixed evidence · tech · medium

• 5G mobile networks are harmful to health at normal exposure levels.

  Contradicted · tech · hard