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Science & Nature Fact-Checks

Science and nature fact-checks for claims about space, biology, animals, memory, senses, and physics. These pages focus on the exact wording of popular myths, explain the evidence burden, and distinguish a useful shortcut from a factual claim.

Home › Fact-Checks › Science & Nature
86 fact-checks
48 debunked
38 verified true
FALSE
Humans have exactly five senses
97% confidence 504 views
→ TRUE
Honey never spoils and has been found edible in ancient Egyptian tombs
97% confidence 484 views
→ TRUE
Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood
99% confidence 444 views
→ TRUE
Australia is wider than the moon
99% confidence 438 views
→ FALSE
Bats are completely blind
99% confidence 417 views
→ TRUE
Honey never expires or spoils
95% confidence 417 views
→ FALSE
Goldfish have a 3-second memory
97% confidence 414 views
→ FALSE
Lightning never strikes the same place twice
99% confidence 409 views
→ FALSE
Antibiotics are effective against viral infections
99% confidence 408 views
→ FALSE
Bulls are enraged by the color red
98% confidence 390 views
→ FALSE
Diamonds are formed from compressed coal
94% confidence 371 views
→ FALSE
The Great Wall of China is visible from space
98% confidence 269 views
→ FALSE
The tongue has different zones for different tastes
97% confidence 169 views
→ TRUE
The Eiffel Tower gets taller in the summer
98% confidence 132 views
→ TRUE
Bananas are berries but strawberries are not
97% confidence 127 views
→ FALSE
Adults grow a completely new skeleton every ten years through cell replacement
90% confidence 118 views
→ TRUE
Sharks existed before trees
96% confidence 117 views
→ TRUE
Octopuses have three hearts
99% confidence 113 views
→ TRUE
Honey never spoils if stored properly
95% confidence 113 views
→ FALSE
Bulls get angry when they see the color red
97% confidence 109 views
→ FALSE
Goldfish have a three-second memory
97% confidence 109 views
→ FALSE
A penny dropped from the Empire State Building can kill a person
96% confidence 103 views
→ FALSE
Glass is a liquid that flows slowly over time, which is why old windows are thicker at the bottom
97% confidence 99 views
→ FALSE
Toilets flush in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect
92% confidence 95 views
→ FALSE
Bats are blind
99% confidence 95 views
→ FALSE
Ostriches bury their heads in the sand to hide from predators
98% confidence 91 views
→ FALSE
Different areas of your tongue detect different tastes exclusively
98% confidence 87 views
→ FALSE
Chameleons change color primarily to camouflage with their surroundings
90% confidence 84 views
→ FALSE
Cats always land on their feet no matter what
95% confidence 76 views
→ FALSE
The Coriolis effect determines which way water drains in your sink
92% confidence 74 views
→ FALSE
You can see individual stars' true colors with the naked eye the same as in telescope photos
92% confidence 71 views
→ FALSE
Einstein developed the theory of relativity entirely alone with no outside input
95% confidence 71 views
→ FALSE
Genetically modified foods currently sold are unsafe to eat
90% confidence 67 views
→ TRUE
The Sahara Desert was once a lush green landscape
92% confidence 65 views
→ FALSE
Glass windows in old cathedrals are thick at the bottom because glass flows over centuries
95% confidence 59 views
→ FALSE
Evolution is 'just a theory' meaning scientists aren't sure it's true
98% confidence 55 views
→ TRUE
Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun
90% confidence 55 views
→ TRUE
A group of crows can remember individual human faces for years
88% confidence 48 views
→ TRUE
The human body contains enough iron to make a small nail
85% confidence 43 views
→ FALSE
Lemmings commit mass suicide by jumping off cliffs
97% confidence 30 views
→ FALSE
Seasons are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun in summer
99% confidence 29 views
→ FALSE
Humans are born with a natural instinct to swim
85% confidence 27 views
→ TRUE
Cats are unable to taste sweetness
90% confidence 26 views
→ TRUE
Chameleons can see two different things in two directions at once
88% confidence 26 views
→ FALSE
Water always boils at 100 degrees Celsius no matter where you are
98% confidence 24 views
→ FALSE
Cracking open a glow stick releases toxic radioactive material
95% confidence 24 views
→ TRUE
Astronauts age slightly slower than people on Earth due to time dilation
85% confidence 23 views
→ TRUE
The universe's background temperature is a few degrees above absolute zero, a relic of the Big Bang
97% confidence 20 views
→ FALSE
The Boiling Frog myth is true: a frog placed in slowly heated water will not jump out and will boil to death
92% confidence 20 views
→ TRUE
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, hotter than Mercury
95% confidence 20 views
→ TRUE
Peanuts are actually legumes, not nuts
98% confidence 20 views
→ TRUE
Neanderthals interbred with early modern humans
97% confidence 19 views
→ TRUE
The human brain feels no pain because it lacks pain receptors
85% confidence 19 views
→ FALSE
Only humans use tools among all animal species
99% confidence 18 views
→ TRUE
The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate
95% confidence 18 views
→ TRUE
Chewing willow bark inspired the active ingredient in modern aspirin
90% confidence 16 views
→ TRUE
Water can be superheated past its boiling point in a microwave without visibly boiling
95% confidence 15 views
→ TRUE
The human eye can only perceive a small fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum as visible light
98% confidence 10 views
→ FALSE
The Moon has a dark side that never receives sunlight.
97% confidence 9 views
→ TRUE
The Dead Sea is so salty that people can easily float on its surface
98% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Daddy longlegs spiders are the most venomous spiders in the world but their fangs cannot bite humans.
97% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Humans evolved from chimpanzees.
98% confidence 8 views
→ TRUE
Reindeer eyes change color between seasons to adapt to changing light conditions
90% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Sharks must keep swimming constantly or they will die
90% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Camels store water in their humps
90% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
The 'Big Bang' theory states that the universe exploded outward into empty pre-existing space
92% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Humans and dinosaurs coexisted at the same time on Earth
99% confidence 8 views
→ TRUE
Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
99% confidence 7 views
→ FALSE
The tongue-rolling ability is determined by a single dominant gene.
93% confidence 7 views
→ FALSE
Shooting stars are actually stars falling to Earth.
99% confidence 7 views
→ TRUE
Wombats produce cube-shaped droppings.
96% confidence 7 views
→ TRUE
Butterflies taste food through receptors on their feet
95% confidence 7 views
→ FALSE
Spiders are insects.
99% confidence 6 views
→ TRUE
Lightning can strike the same place more than once, and the Empire State Building is hit about 20 to 25 times per year.
88% confidence 6 views
→ TRUE
The Earth's seasons are caused by the tilt of its axis.
97% confidence 5 views
→ TRUE
Sunlight takes about eight minutes to reach Earth.
98% confidence 5 views
→ FALSE
The Earth is a perfect sphere.
97% confidence 5 views
→ FALSE
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth when measured from base to peak.
96% confidence 5 views
→ FALSE
Penguins live at the North Pole.
99% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
The Earth's core is as hot as the surface of the Sun.
85% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
Lightning heats the air around it to temperatures several times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
93% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
Glass is made primarily from sand.
96% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
Ice is less dense than liquid water, which is why it floats.
99% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
Sound travels faster through water than through air.
99% confidence 4 views
→ FALSE
Dogs see the world only in black and white.
97% confidence 4 views
→ FALSE
Thunder and lightning are produced at different times, which is why you see the flash before hearing the sound.
93% confidence 3 views
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