myths Flashcards
Standing on your head cures hiccups
hiccups pass by themselves
No cure has been sufficiently proven to work
Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis
doesn’t give arthritis
no evidence that it causes or worsens arthritis
Wet, cold weather causes colds and the flu
weather not responsible those diseases are caused by multiple viruses/germs
but some virusus can survive and spread more easily in cold dry air and cold weather makes us stay indoor which increases person to person transmission
“Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker, or coarser.”
no
might give the illusion because a small amount of hair on a clean shaven surface is more obvious + the blunt stubby ends of new growth look more coarse and thick
“We use only 10% of our brains.”
Although it’s true that we aren’t using every region at the same time we still use 100% of our brain, there is no place for wasted space
Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
flesh shrinks as it dries out,retracting the skin to make the nails and hair appear longer.
(altough cells that use less oxygen can live a ilttle longer so nails and hair could grow a teeny tiny bit)
“People should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.”
wrong, people need to drink around 1,5-2 litres of fluid.
This doesn’t have to be water and can also come from food (except alcohol)
“Reading in dim light harms your eyesight.”
it will however tire out your eyes more quickly
“You should wait an hour after eating before you go swimming.”
can be uncomfortable and, if excessive, can lead to vomiting, it’s unlikely to put you at greater risk of drowning.
“Children who eat a lot of sugar become hyperactive.”
not true but it’s usually the circumstances like parties, etc that make the child act out like that
(sugar will give energy when blood sugar is low but doesn’t really do anything when that isn’t the case)
“Chewing gum takes 7 years to pass through your system.”
gum is indigestible but won’t stay longer than seven days IT CAN HOWEVER BLOCK THE INTESTINES WHEN LARGE AMOUNTS ARE SWALLOWED
“Having sex before playing sports reduces your performance.”
there is no detrimentalor beneficial effect of sexual activity before competition
but if you are losing sleep because of it that might impact it
also the nocebo effect that if you think it’ll do harm it might
