值得一看:破解50個現代常見誤解(下)
21. A toilet's flush will change direction depending upon which hemisphere it is in
The real cause of 'backwards'-flushing toilets is just that the water jets point in the opposite direction.
“向後”的真正原因僅僅只是沖洗廁所的水柱指向相反的方向。22. Mars is red
火星是紅色的
The red colour we see in images of Mars is just the result of iron rusting.
我們看到的紅色火星圖像只是鐵生鏽的結果。23. Sunflowers track the sun across the sky
向日葵追着太陽生長A common misconception is that sunflower heads track the sun across the sky when in full bloom. The uniform alignment of the flowers does result from heliotropism in an earlier development stage, the bud stage, before the appearance of flower heads so technically they follow the sun before they have bloomed, not after.
一個常見的誤解是向日葵盛開時花盤會跟着太陽轉動。向日葵在萌芽階段還沒長出花盤時就已經具有向日性了，所以從技術上講，它們在盛開前就已經追着太陽生長了，而不是盛開後才追着太陽生長。24. People use just 10 per cent of their brain
人們僅僅使用了大腦的10%Neurologists describe the myth as false and state we use virtually every part of the brain, and that (most of) the brain is active almost all the time.
神經學家認爲這種觀念是錯誤的，並且指出我們幾乎使用了大腦的每一部分，大腦（大部分）基本上一直是活躍的。25. Your fingernails continue to grow after you die
你的指甲在你死後繼續生長The dehydration of the body after death can cause retraction of the skin around hair and nails, giving the illusion that they have grown. However, all tissues require energy to sustain their functions, and no such thing is possible once the mechanism that promotes normal growth shuts down at death.
在人死後，身體的脫水可引起頭髮和指甲周圍的皮膚收縮，造成指甲生長的錯覺。然而，所有的組織都需要能量來維持他們的功能，一旦促進正常生長的機制在死亡時關閉，任何組織都不可能再生長。26. Bats are blind
蝙蝠是瞎子Despite the tiny eyes and nocturnal lifestyle, none of the roughly 1,100 bat species are blind.
儘管它們的眼睛很小而且總在夜間活動，但所有1100種蝙蝠都不是瞎子。27. Dropping a penny from the Empire State building would kill someone
從帝國大廈拋下一分錢硬幣會砸死人A penny only weighs about a gram and it tumbles as it falls. Because of the tumbling and the light weight, there's so much air resistance that the penny never really gathers that much speed before it hits its terminal velocity. A gram of weight travelling at a relatively slow speed might hurt a little if it hit you on the head, but it's not going to kill you.
一分錢，只重約1克。所以當它下落時，因爲翻滾和重量輕，又有這麼大空氣阻力，就算是達到最大速度也沒有多快。一克重量以相對較慢的速度砸到你頭上可能會讓你有點疼，但它不至於會殺了你。28. Handling a baby bird will make its mother reject it
被人養過的幼鳥會被母親拋棄Most birds have a very poor sense of smell, so in most cases are unable to even notice human scent on baby bird.
大多數鳥類的嗅覺都不太靈敏，所以在大多數情況下甚至無法察覺到在幼鳥身上的人類氣味。29. You need to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person to the police
一個人失蹤24小時以後才能向警方報案There is no rule that states you have to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person. The person will be recorded as missing and their details made available to other UK police forces within 48 hours.
沒有任何規定要求你必須等待24小時後才能報失蹤案。失蹤的人將被記錄在案，並且案件細節必須在48小時內被傳達到英國其他警察部隊。30. Your blood is blue before its oxygenated
你的血液在氧化前是藍色的While many believe that de-oxygenated blood is blue, it is actually a myth because human blood is always red - although the level of redness does differ depending on how oxygenated it is.
很多人都會認爲去氧血是藍色的，這是錯的，因爲人類血液永遠會是紅的，而紅色的程度則取決於不同的含氧量。31. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds
金魚只有三秒鐘的記憶This is not true as goldfish do actually have very good memories for fish. They can be trained to respond various ways to certain colours of light, different kinds of music and other sensory cues.
這實際上不是真的，金魚是一種記憶力很好的魚，經過訓練它們能對特定顏色的光、不同種類的音樂和其他感官信號做出各種反應。32. You need to wait an hour after eating before you can swim safely
你吃飯一小時後游泳才安全As with any exercise after eating, swimming right after a big meal might be uncomfortable, but it won't cause you to drown. However, it is good advice to stay out of the pool right after a big meal as the digestive process does divert the circulation of the blood towards the gut and to a certain extent, away from the muscles, meaning swimming could feel harder.
與其他任何運動一樣，大餐一頓之後馬上游泳可能使胃會不舒服，但這不會使你溺水。然而，它確實值得注意，當大餐一頓後，消化過程在一定程度上確實將一部分血液循環從肌肉轉移到腸道，這就意味着游泳會感覺到困難。33. Bulls are enraged by the colour red
公牛是被紅色激怒了It is a proven fact that bulls only see blues and yellow. They only react to the red cape because of the movements that flutter around.
事實證明，公牛隻能看到藍色和黃色。他們有反應是因爲紅色斗篷不停地顫振。34. Seasons are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun
地球向太陽靠近造成季節的變換As Earth orbits the sun, its tilted axis always points in the same direction. So, throughout the year, different parts of Earth get the sun's direct rays.
地球在圍着太陽旋轉時，其傾斜軸總是在同一個方向。因此，全年不同地區得到太陽的直接輻射不同導致季節變化。35. Eating lots of chocolate will give you spots
吃太多巧克力會導致你長斑There is no concrete evidence that suggests eating more chocolate can cause spots.
沒有確切的證據表明多吃巧克力會導致長斑。36. Shaving your leg hair will make it grow back quicker
剃掉你的腿毛會讓它長得更快Many believe shaving body hair makes it grow back quicker but shaving hair doesn't change its thickness, colour or rate of growth. Shaving facial or body hair simply gives the hair a blunt tip which might feel coarse or 'stubbly' for a period of time as it grows out.
許多人認爲剃體毛讓它長得更快，但剃頭髮並不會改變其厚度、顏色或生長率。剃掉臉上或身上的毛髮僅僅給毛髮留下鈍形頂端，直到它長長之前，它在一段時間內會又粗又短而且硬。37. Frankenstein was the name of the monster in Mary Shelley's book 'Frankenstein'
弗蘭肯斯坦是瑪麗·雪萊的書《弗蘭肯斯坦》中怪物的名字Frankenstein was the name of the monster's creator.
弗蘭肯斯坦是怪物的創造者的名字。38. Microwave radiation can cause cancer
微波輻射能引發癌症。Most experts say that microwave ovens don't give off enough energy to damage the genetic material (DNA) in cells so they can't cause cancer.
很多專家認爲，微波爐所釋放的能量是不足以損害細胞內的基因物質的，所以它們不會引發癌症。39. Men think about sex every seven seconds
男性每隔七秒就會想到性While some men might think about sex this often, there is no real evidence to support this statement.
一些男性也許經常會想到性，但沒有切實的證據證明這個觀點。40. Ostriches bury their head in the sand when they are scared
鴕鳥害怕的時候，往往會把自己的頭部埋入沙中。Ostriches swallow sand and pebbles to help grind up food in their stomachs. This means they have to bend down and briefly stick their heads in the earth to collect the pebbles. It is not because they are scared.
鴕鳥會大量吞嚥沙子和卵石，以此來磨碎他們胃裏的食物。這也就意味着他們會彎腰並低下頭來到地面去收集卵石，並不是因爲它們害怕了。41. Waking sleepwalkers harms them
叫醒夢遊者會對他們造成傷害Waking a sleepwalker won't cause them any physical harm but but could leave them startled or disoriented which is why many people believe it is best not to disturb them.
叫醒一個夢遊者，不會對他們造成身體上的傷害，但卻會使他感到驚恐以及分不清方向，所以很多人認爲，面對夢遊病患者，最好的辦法就是不去打擾他們。42. Albert Einstein failed maths at school
阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦在上學期間數學考試曾經不及格He failed one entry exam to a school but in fact, he actually excelled at mathematics throughout his schooling and even considered becoming a mathematician for a time.
阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦曾經在一次升學考試上失敗了，但實際上，通過他在學校期間的表現，可以看出他在數學方面十分有天賦，甚至有一段時間想過成爲一名數學家。43. Salty water boils quicker
鹽水更容易被煮沸The salt water requires more exposure to the heat in order to boil than water alone, so the boiling point is elevated and the time it takes to get the water to boil increases.
鹽水需要吸收更多的熱量才能煮沸，所以鹽水的沸點更高，煮沸的時間也比純水更長。44. Carrots help you see in the dark
胡蘿蔔能讓你在黑暗中看清東西Carrots contain vitamin A, or retinol, and this is required for your body to synthesise rhodopsin, which is the pigment in your eyes that operates in low-light conditions. If you have a vitamin A deficiency, you will develop nyctalopia or night blindness. Eating carrots would correct this and improve your night vision, but only to the point of an ordinary healthy person - it won't ever let you see in complete darkness.
胡蘿蔔內含有維生素A，也就是所說的視黃醇，它是你體內綜合視網膜紫質的必需物質，是你眼睛裏的一種色素，這種色素能讓你在光線較暗的環境下看清東西。如果你缺少維生素A，你可能會形成夜盲症。吃胡蘿蔔能夠改善這種情況，並能提高你的夜市能力，但這種方法只針對於普通的健康人羣，並且也不能讓你在完全漆黑的環境下看清東西。45. Houseflies only live for around 24hours
家蠅僅能存活大約24小時The adult housefly can live up to one month in the wild.
家蠅成蟲在野外能存活一個月。46. Eating cheese before bed will give you nightmares
睡覺之前吃奶酪會讓你做噩夢Cheese is believed to give you more emotionally charged dreams but not necessarily nightmares.
據認爲，奶酪會讓你的夢情感更充沛，但不一定是噩夢。47. The capital of Australia is Sydney
澳大利亞的首都是悉尼The capital of Australia is, in fact, Canberra.
實際上，澳大利亞的首都應該是堪培拉。48. Tomatoes are a vegetable
西紅柿是一種蔬菜Tomatoes are a fruit
西紅柿是一種水果。49. Going out in the cold with wet hair will make you ill
頂着溼漉漉的頭髮在寒風中出門會使你生病There is no evidence to support this, it is regarded as an old wives' tale.
沒有證據證明這個觀點，它通常被看做婦人之見。50. Alcohol keeps you warm
酒精使你溫暖Alcohol may make your skin feel warm, but this apparent heatwave is deceptive. A nip or two actually causes your blood vessels to dilate, moving warm blood closer to the surface of your skin, making you feel warmer temporarily. At the same time, however, those same veins pumping blood closer to the skin's surface causing you to lose core body heat.
酒精能使你的皮膚感到溫暖，但這種表面上的溫度是具有欺騙性的。一兩口酒確實會讓你的血管擴張，讓熱血流向皮膚表面，使你感到暫時的溫暖。但與此同時，這些給皮膚表面供血的血管也會使你失去核心的體溫。
