这20个我们深信不疑的事情其实都是错的
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Napoleon Was Short 拿破仑很矮 A tall tale. At five six, he was slightly above average height for a Frenchman of the time. 一个被夸大的故事。他的身高为5英尺6英寸（约1.67米），略高过当时法国男子的平均身高。
Dropped Pennies Kill 掉落的硬币会砸死人 Terminal velocity of a penny is 30 to 50 mph. not fast enough to kill—but it sure would sting. 硬币的自由下落速度为每小时30至50英里，不够快，砸不死人——但是可以肯定的是，被砸到会疼。
Dogs Sweat by Salivating 狗通过流口水排汗 No—they regulate temperature through panting. They actually sweat through their footpads. 不——它们通过喘气来调节体温。实际上，它们通过脚垫来排汗。
Einstein Failed Math 爱因斯坦数学不及格 Nope. He failed an entrance exam for a school but still excelled in math. 这是错的。他只是没通过某间学校的入学考试，他数学成绩还是很优秀的。
Humans and Dinosaurs 人类和恐龙 Despite 41% of U.S. adults thinking we coexisted, we actually missed each other by 64 million years. 尽管美国有41%的成年人认为人类曾和恐龙共存过，其实我们和恐龙前后差了6,400万年。
Missing-Persons Reports 失踪人口报案 Police don’t require a 24-hour waiting period before accepting missing-persons report. 警察在接案前不需要等待24小时。
Wake Sleepwalkers? 唤醒梦游的人？ They’ll be really confused, but it’s OK. They’re more likely to hurt themselves if they’re not awoken. 唤醒他们后他们会非常困惑，但是这是没问题的。如果不把他们叫醒，他们更有可能伤害到自己。
Bats Are Blind 蝙蝠是瞎的 Not only can bats see, but they also use echolocation. That’s why they’re so awesome! 蝙蝠不仅能看见，还会回声定位。所以它们才那么厉害！
Goldfish’s 3-Second Memory 金鱼只有3秒钟的记忆 While not the smartest creatures, goldfish boast a memory span of three months. 虽然不是最聪明的动物，但是金鱼的记忆时长有3个月。
Shaving Thickens Hair 刮毛会让毛发更浓密 Regrown hair isn’t thicker, coarser, or darker; it just appears so because it grows back with a blunt tip. 新长出的毛发不会更浓密、更粗或更黑；它们之所以看起来这样是因为它们的末端是尖的。
Viking’s Horns 维京人的角 The helmets were created by a costume designer for a 19th-century Wagner opera. 这些带角头盔是19世纪瓦格纳歌剧院的服装设计师为一部剧设计的。
Bulls Hate Red 公牛不喜欢红色 Bulls are color-bind. They actually perceive the motions of the bullfighter’s cloth as a threat. 公牛是色盲。实际上，它们是将斗牛士抖动红布这个动作视作威胁。
Bagpipes Are Scottish 风笛是苏格兰的 Sorry, Braveheart fans: They were prevalent in the Middle East centuries before Western Europe. 《勇敢的心》的粉丝们，很抱歉告诉你们：早在西欧之前的几个世纪，风笛就已经在中东盛行了。
Your Hair and Nails Keep Growing After Death 你死了之后头发和指甲还会继续生长 Wrong—but your skin tissue does recede, making them appear longer. 这是错的——你的皮肤组织会萎缩，才让头发和指甲看起来变长了。
SOS=“Save Our Ship” SOS=“救救我们的船” It doesn’t stand for anything. SOS became a Morse code distress signal because it’s so easy to transmit: three dots, three dashes, three dots. SOS不代表任何意思。它之所以成为摩斯密码求救信号是因为它很容易转换：三个点、三个横杆、三个点。
Adam and Eve Ate an Apple 亚当和夏娃吃了苹果 They ate the forbidden “fruit” of the tree of knowledge—nowhere in Genesis does it say it was an apple. 他们确实吃了智慧树上的禁果，但是书里并没有说那是苹果。
Everest Is the Tallest Mountain 珠穆朗玛峰是最高山峰 Only above sea level. If you measure Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano from its underwater base, it stands more than 33,000 feet tall—4,000 above Everest. 只是海拔高度（海平面以上高度）最高。如果你从夏威夷莫纳克亚火山的水下山脚开始测量，你会发现它有3,3000英尺（约10058.4米）——比珠穆朗玛峰高了4,000英尺（约1219.2米）。
Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear for a Lover 梵高为了爱人割了自己的耳朵 It was just a small piece of lobe, and he did it during a violent spat with Paul Gauguin. Whether Van Gogh then gave it to a local call girl remains unknown. 只是割了一小块耳朵。和保罗•高更激烈争吵时割的。梵高后来有没有把那一小块耳朵送给当地一个女孩，没有人知道。
Slaves Built the Pyramids 金字塔是奴隶建造的 Egyptologists says this ancient construction job was a great honor granted only to respected laborers, who remain entombed near the site today. 埃及考古学家说这项古代建造工程是无比荣耀的，只有受尊敬的劳动者才能参与。他们至今还埋葬在金字塔旁边。
Ninjas Wore Black 忍者穿黑衣服 This “uniform” comes from years of fiction and folklore. Real ninjas wore anything that would help the blend into daily life. 忍者黑色的“制服”起源于多年的小说和民间传说。真正的忍者穿的是能让他们融入日常生活的各类衣服。 |
