#myths
Questions about “myths”.
149 articles
What is the original song behind Japan’s “Hotaru no Hikari”?
In Japan, it’s the farewell tune of graduation ceremonies and the music that tells shoppers the store is closing. Across the sea, though, it is sung on a very different occasion.
Are mushrooms plants?
Mushrooms are sold next to the vegetables and sprout in the shade of the forest, so most of us lump them in with plants. Their true identity lies somewhere more surprising.
What is the oldest money in Japan?
Generations of Japanese students learned one coin as “Japan’s oldest money.” Then a single excavation shook its claim to the title.
Can you see the Great Wall of China from space?
“The only man-made structure visible from space.” Nearly everyone has heard it. So what do the people who have actually been to space have to say?
What is Rodin’s “Thinker” thinking about?
A man sits hunched, chin on hand. Everyone knows the pose for “deep in thought,” but surprisingly few people know what he is actually pondering.
Where do the colors of judo belts come from?
You start with a white belt and dream of one day tying on a black one. But when, where and how did this famous badge of skill come about?
Why is wombat poop cube-shaped?
On a rock in an Australian forest sits a little dropping shaped like a die. The people who cracked the mystery were, surprisingly, engineers.
What’s the difference between magnitude and seismic intensity?
Two numbers come up in every earthquake report. They look alike, but they actually measure completely different things.
Which is older, Oxford University or the Aztec Empire?
Stone temples on one side, a university students still attend on the other. Asked which is older, most people’s instincts lead them astray.
Does the word “salary” really come from salt?
“Roman soldiers were paid in salt.” It’s a trivia classic, but trace it back through the ancient records and a rather different picture emerges.
Is it true that a banana plant isn’t a tree?
It can grow far taller than a person, yet botanists file it with the grasses and herbs. And its fruit is more of a true “berry” than a strawberry.
Is the Japanese word “hotchikisu” named after a person?
The desktop tool that snaps papers together has a Japanese name no English speaker would recognize. And a famous story about an inventor goes with it. But is it true?
Is an atom mostly empty space?
Desks, air and our own bodies are all made of atoms. Peer inside an atom, though, and you find a landscape nothing like what you might imagine.
Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?
“No two snowflakes are alike,” people say. But has anyone actually checked? Each flake, it turns out, carries a record of its journey through the sky.
When was the bicycle invented?
The bicycle is so familiar that we rarely think of it as an invention at all. Yet the very first one looked quite different from the bikes we ride today.
Was Cleopatra closer in time to the pyramids or to us?
Say “ancient Egypt” and the queen and the pyramids seem to fit in a single picture. In reality, a staggering stretch of time separates the two.
Do plants grow better if you play them music?
Vegetables raised on classical music taste better—ever heard that one? We trace the relationship between plants and sound through the history of research.
Why are rainbows round?
A rainbow in the sky is always a half circle or a smaller arc. But that shape is only part of the picture. Where did the rest of the rainbow go?
Did people in the past really die young?
Hear that life expectancy in Edo-period Japan was in the thirties, and it sounds as if 40 was already old age. But was it really?
Is the wasabi at conveyor-belt sushi the real thing?
The packet beside your plate, the pot on the counter: that nose-tingling kick may not come from a Japanese mountain stream. The ingredients list holds a surprise.
Is the famous story of how potato chips were invented true?
A fussy customer and an irritated cook: the birth of the potato chip comes with a story you can’t resist retelling. But leaf through old cookbooks, and things get complicated.
Do sunflowers really follow the sun?
True to its name, it is the flower that turns its head to track the sun. Spend a whole summer day watching a sunflower field, though, and you may be surprised.
Did Vikings really wear horned helmets?
Norse warriors who crossed the seas and raided far and wide. Where did the fierce helmet we picture on their heads actually come from?
Did ninja really dress all in black?
A shadowy figure in black, melting into the night and racing silently across the rooftops. How much of the world’s favorite image of the ninja is true?
Is it true that the specks on a strawberry aren’t seeds?
That glossy red on top of a strawberry shortcake. Through a botanist’s eyes, the part we eat as the “flesh” of the fruit turns out to be something rather unexpected.
Did Michelangelo paint the Sistine ceiling lying down?
Stories from the Old Testament spread across a ceiling some 20 meters overhead. The way most of us picture Michelangelo painting this masterpiece turns out to be wrong.
Was the word “quiz” really invented for a bet?
A Dublin theater owner bets he can make a meaningless word catch on in no time. That is the famous origin story of “quiz.” The records tell a different tale.
What makes the fizz in a carbonated drink?
The hiss when you crack the cap, the fine bubbles streaming up from the bottom of the glass. Where exactly are those bubbles born?
Is it true that honey never spoils?
A jar of honey forgotten for years at the back of the cupboard often seems surprisingly fine. The secret of its staying power lies in the bees’ handiwork.
Why are keyboards laid out QWERTY?
On computers and smartphones alike, the top row starts Q, W, E, R, T, Y. It is not alphabetical, so where did this odd arrangement come from?
Why do koalas sleep all day?
Visit a koala at the zoo and it is almost always curled up asleep in a tree. It isn’t just laziness. The length of a koala’s sleep has a lot to do with what it eats.
Does the Japanese word “saboru” come from French?
To “saboru” a class or a day at work. The word looks thoroughly Japanese, yet it spread about 100 years ago, sparked by one particular event.
Were the pyramids built by slaves?
Overseers cracking whips over crowds of slaves dragging huge stones. That scene is familiar from the movies, but did it ever really happen?
Did Edison invent the light bulb?
The light bulb is the first thing people name when they think of the great inventor. But trace the story of its birth, and a slightly different picture emerges.
Does bamboo really flower only once every 120 years?
Bamboo is everywhere in Japan, yet almost no one has seen it bloom. And when it finally does, whole groves can wither away.
How smart are crows?
Crows have a reputation as pests that raid garbage bins. But peek into researchers’ experiments, and a surprisingly rich world opens up inside those small heads.
Do goldfish really have a three-second memory?
Every lap around the bowl wipes the slate clean—or so the story goes. Let’s hold that familiar claim up against what experiments with goldfish actually found.
Was Napoleon really short?
His name is still shorthand for the short man with big ambitions. But the record of his height hides a surprising trap.
Do identical twins have the same fingerprints?
If two people share exactly the same genes, surely their fingertips should match too. It’s a tempting thought, but a different drama was playing out in the womb.
Is glass a liquid?
“Old church windows in Europe are thicker at the bottom, because glass is a slow-flowing liquid.” You’ve probably heard it. But is it true?
Did athletes at the ancient Olympics compete naked?
The athletes painted on Greek vases and carved in marble are almost always naked. Was that just artistic license, or is that really how they competed?
Are cactus spines actually leaves?
Green stems bristling with sharp spines, and not a leaf in sight. Yet a cactus’s leaves are right there in front of you, in disguise.
What is the figure in Munch’s “Scream” screaming about?
Under a blood-red sky, a figure presses its hands to its face, mouth wide open. What that famous pose means is spelled out in a note the painter wrote himself.
Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green?
Red means stop, green means go. When and how did this rule, understood all over the world, come about?
How old is the Japanese word “yabai”?
“Yabai” is often held up as the ultimate youth slang. But leaf through old books and you find this word’s ancestor in a most unexpected era.
How many smells can humans tell apart?
Fresh coffee, earth after rain, bread straight from the oven. Just how many different smells can our noses tell apart?
Do penguins have knees?
Penguins waddle along on stubby little legs. But peek at the skeleton beneath the feathers, and you find a posture you would never guess from the outside.
Where does the word “shampoo” come from?
We use shampoo almost every day. In Japanese the word is a loan from English, but trace it back and you end up in India. And at first it didn’t even mean washing hair.
What is the largest lake in the world?
Look up “the world’s largest lake” in an atlas and you land on a slightly surprising name. The line between a lake and a sea is blurrier than you might think.
What is the white fog from dry ice?
Drop the dry ice from a cake box into water and white smoke comes billowing out. It certainly looks like a cloud of carbon dioxide. But is it?
Why are chili peppers hot?
Eat a fiery dish and the sweat pours out as your mouth seems to burn. Yet nothing is actually heating up. A little mix-up is happening on your tongue.
What is the hardest material in the world?
Scratch it, press it, hit it: “hard” can be measured in many ways. The race for the world title turns out to be surprisingly tangled.
When did Japanese people start saying “itadakimasu” before meals?
Hands together: “itadakimasu.” It feels like a Japanese tradition centuries old, but trace its history and a surprising picture emerges.
Are elephants really afraid of mice?
The largest land animal cowering before a creature that fits in your palm. How much truth is there in this cartoon classic?
What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
The biceps? The thighs? Surprisingly, this question doesn’t have one fixed answer.
Where does the Japanese word “baka” come from?
From playground squabbles to doting parents, Japanese speakers hear it daily. In kanji it is oddly written “horse” and “deer.” What did those animals do?
Do your tears change with your feelings?
Tears of sadness and tears from chopping onions look like the same drops. But are they the same inside? A story of research on tears spanning more than 40 years.
Is Everest really the tallest mountain in the world?
There may be more than one answer to “What is the world’s tallest mountain?” Move the yardstick, and a different peak takes the throne.
Was Gutenberg the first to print with movable type?
Gutenberg’s printing press is a fixture of every world history class. But look east, and the idea of setting type to print a page turns out to have a much older story.
What exactly is a shooting star?
A flash across the night sky, the kind people make wishes on. What causes it turns out to be nothing like the stars shining overhead—and astonishingly small.
Where does the Japanese word “zubon” (trousers) come from?
Japanese speakers wear “zubon” every day without knowing what language the word comes from. Look into it, and a small mystery with a petticoat awaits.
What do the colors of the Olympic rings mean?
Blue, yellow, black, green and red: everyone knows the Olympic symbol. But trace what its designer actually wrote about the colors, and a surprising answer emerges.
Where does the Japanese word “arigatō” come from?
Japanese speakers say “arigatō” many times a day. Yet the word originally expressed something quite different from gratitude.
Do mirrors really reverse left and right?
Raise your right hand in front of a mirror, and the person in the glass seems to raise their left. So why doesn’t a mirror flip you upside down?
Did Van Gogh really sell only one painting in his lifetime?
Today a single Van Gogh can fetch tens of millions of dollars. But while the artist was alive, the world saw his work very differently.
Did tempura come from Portugal?
Tempura is a star of Japanese cuisine, yet its name sounds oddly un-Japanese. Its roots lead to Portuguese ships and a misunderstanding about a shogun’s death.
Why do stars twinkle?
Just as the nursery rhyme says, the stars in the night sky twinkle. Yet in that same sky, some lights barely twinkle at all.
Does “Wi-Fi” actually mean anything?
We say “Wi-Fi” almost every day, and many of us assume it is short for something. One of the people who was there when it was named gives a surprising answer.
Why do comet tails point away from the Sun?
A long tail sweeping across the night sky like a broom. It is tempting to think a comet trails its tail behind it as it flies, but that isn’t always the case.
Are Olympic gold medals made of solid gold?
Gleaming on the podium, it is the crystallized dream of every athlete. Learn what makes it shine, and you may never see a medal the same way again.
Is muscle soreness caused by lactic acid?
Two days after your first workout in ages, your legs scream every time you walk down the stairs. But is the usual suspect really the one to blame?
Why doesn’t ice cream in Japan have a best-before date?
Pick up a tub of ice cream from the freezer and search the lid and the bottom: there’s no date anywhere. Did the maker simply forget?
Are all Somei-yoshino cherry trees really clones?
Every spring, the cherry trees in a given area burst into bloom all at once. Behind that remarkable timing lies a secret dating back to the Edo period.
Do astronauts get taller in space?
Is it really true that going to space makes you taller? A Japanese astronaut’s “9-centimeter incident” offers a good place to start.
How does a microwave oven heat food?
No flame, no hot plate, yet your food is steaming in minutes. What on earth is going on inside that box?
Can a turtle climb out of its shell?
In cartoons, turtles slip out of their shells and dash around unencumbered. So what is really going on inside a real turtle’s shell?
Why is the sea blue?
The sea is blue because it reflects the sky—or so we’re often told. But when one scientist put that to the test aboard a ship, it turned out to be only part of the story.
Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit?
It stars in salads, yet some varieties are sold as “fruit tomatoes.” The question of what this red globe really is once went all the way to a national supreme court.
Why is the sky blue and the sunset red?
Blue by day, red at dusk. It is the same sunlight all along, so why does the sky change color with the time of day?
Is spaghetti Napolitan an Italian dish?
Sweet, red spaghetti stir-fried with ketchup. Its name points to the Italian port city of Naples, but try ordering it there and you will be met with puzzled looks.
Why does metal feel colder than wood?
On a winter morning, playground bars feel icy but the wooden bench doesn’t. Yet a thermometer says they’re the same temperature. So what is your hand feeling?
Is the Japanese word “donmai” made-in-Japan English?
It’s what Japanese teammates shout after a mistake. It sounds like English, but shout it in an English-speaking country and it may not land as you expect.
Did Beethoven name the “Moonlight” Sonata?
A quiet rocking accompaniment, a slow melody rising above it: the famous first movement. Where its lovely title came from has been the subject of a recent discovery.
Did Archimedes really shout “Eureka”?
A genius makes a great discovery in the bath and runs into the street naked. The most famous story in the history of science comes with more than a few question marks.
Who was the Caesar in Caesar salad?
Romaine, grated cheese and croutons. Is the “Caesar” behind this familiar salad really the great Roman general? The story leads to an unexpected border town.
Why can’t we see the far side of the Moon?
For thousands of years, humanity has looked up at the same lunar markings. There’s a good reason the Moon’s other half stays hidden.
How do airplanes fly?
Hundreds of tonnes of aircraft held up by nothing but air. And the familiar explanation you learned in school may be a little shaky.
Why doesn’t the Mona Lisa have eyebrows?
Study the world’s most famous portrait closely and you notice something missing. What could have happened to it over 500 years?
How many cells are in the human body?
The number you learned in school and the number in today’s reference books don’t match. In the 21st century, scientists sat down and counted the body’s cells again.
Why is the sour umeboshi called an “alkaline food”?
Japan’s pickled plums are sour enough to make you pucker, yet they’ve long been held up as a model “alkaline food.” The reason involves setting food on fire.
Is a baobab’s trunk full of water?
A massive, stubby trunk topped with branches that look like roots. What exactly is packed inside the bulk of a baobab standing on the savanna?
Why is ice slippery?
Almost everyone has lost their footing on an icy path. Yet the reason behind something so familiar is a puzzle physicists have argued over for more than 170 years.
Is pencil lead made of lead?
We call it “lead,” and the Japanese word for pencil contains the character for lead. But trace that black core back and you reach 16th-century English shepherds.
Did goats really discover coffee?
Goats eat some red berries and start to dance: the world’s favorite coffee origin story. Follow it back and you find a late record and people praying all night.
Why does a round of golf have 18 holes?
Not 10, not 20, but 18. The number written into every golf course plan grew out of a small decision by the golfers of one Scottish seaside town.
Did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone?
Behind the name in the textbooks stand a rival who filed papers at the patent office on the very same day, and a man who tried to send voices down a wire years earlier.
Who wrote the Iroha poem?
The Iroha is a poem that uses every Japanese kana sound exactly once. For centuries it was attributed to one famous monk. Does that story hold up?
Was Einstein bad at math?
Even the great genius was hopeless at school math, or so the encouraging story goes. How much of it is true?
Do sea otters hold hands while they sleep?
Floating on their backs, holding paws as they doze: sea otters are internet stars for this pose. But is it something you would actually see out on the open sea?
How many times can you fold a piece of paper?
“No matter how hard you try, you can’t fold paper more than eight times.” The person who took on that old saying was a high school student given a math assignment.
Is blood type linked to personality?
“You’re so organized—you must be type A.” In Japan this is everyday small talk. But when, and from where, did the idea take hold?
Was the croissant born in France?
Few things say “Paris morning” like this crescent pastry. Trace its family tree, though, and you meet a legendary siege of Vienna and a former officer’s bakery.
Why is “The Last Supper” so badly damaged?
On a monastery wall in Milan is the world’s most famous supper scene, and its surface is astonishingly battered. What happened to it over 500 years?
Is there sound in space?
In sci-fi movies, spaceships explode with a deafening roar. Is real space silent? Mostly, yet in some places an unimaginably deep “song” rings out.
Why are sloths so slow?
They hang from trees most of the day and move in slow motion. Behind the animal named for laziness lies a thoroughgoing energy-saving strategy.
Did people in the Middle Ages think the Earth was flat?
Sailors terrified of falling off the edge of the sea, and Columbus insisting the world was round. Everyone knows the picture, but who painted it, and when?
Do naked mole-rats never grow old?
Wrinkled, hairless and decidedly odd-looking, this small rodent has become a favorite of aging researchers around the world. Why do some call it the animal that doesn’t age?
Is the tongue “taste map” real?
Sweet at the tip, bitter at the back. Remember that diagram from a textbook? It’s the story of a small misunderstanding that began with a paper more than a century old.
Why do chameleons change color?
Chameleons are famous for shifting color to melt into their surroundings. But when researchers took a closer look, the story turned out to be rather different.
What does the “short” in shortcake mean?
In Japan, the strawberry cake is a fixture of birthdays and Christmas. But is the “short” in its name about size? A dictionary turns up an unexpected answer.
Who really said “Let them eat cake”?
A queen dismissing a starving people with one careless remark: it is one of history’s most famous lines. Trace it to its source, though, and the story stops adding up.
Did the paint tube give birth to Impressionism?
Unscrew the cap, squeeze, and the paint is ready to use. This everyday tool is often said to have changed the history of art. How true is that?
Why do we sneeze?
Once your nose starts to tickle, there’s no stopping it. Bright light can set it off, and some claim sneezes are as fast as a bullet train. How much of that is true?
Was carbonara really a charcoal burners’ dish?
Egg, cheese and black pepper: Rome’s famous pasta carries a name that means “charcoal burner.” Follow that name back, and some unexpected people and times come into view.
What makes the sound when you crack your knuckles?
Plenty of us were warned that cracking our knuckles would make them swell. Scientists have pursued the source of that satisfying pop with surprising determination.
Did the Romans really have a “vomitorium” for throwing up?
Stuffed at a banquet, you slip off to a special room, empty your stomach, and go back for more. A famous tale of Roman excess hides a surprising trap.
How long will footprints last on the Moon?
More than half a century ago, Apollo astronauts left footprints on the Moon. They are often said to last for millions of years, but a spacecraft that has kept watch over the lunar surface revealed something unexpected.
Was rugby born from a schoolboy breaking the rules?
A boy grabs the ball mid-game and runs with it, and a new sport is born. It is the origin story every rugby fan knows, but it has some serious holes.
Can water stay liquid below 0°C?
Tap a bottle of water fresh from the freezer, and it turns to slush before your eyes. Behind this magic trick lies a surprising property of water.
Can tardigrades survive in space?
A tiny animal about half a millimeter long that lives in moss. Sometimes called the toughest creature on Earth, it has actually been sent into space. What happened when it got there?
Why did ukiyo-e become so popular in Europe?
Woodblock prints bought casually in Edo captivated Monet and Van Gogh. And the famous “packing paper” story of how it all began—is it true?
Were carrots originally purple?
Carrots are bright orange, surely. Yet if you could peek into a carrot field a few centuries ago, the roots you pulled up might have been a very different color.
Did Mozart write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”?
Children everywhere sing this melody, and a rumor says Mozart composed it. Trace its real origins and some surprising lyrics appear.
Was the Statue of Liberty once copper-colored?
The Statue of Liberty is famous for its blue-green color. But that color was never chosen by the sculptor.
How many ants are there in the world?
Ants bustle around underfoot almost everywhere. If you could count every ant on Earth, what would the total be? Here is what a serious attempt at an “ant census” found.
Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?
Some people assume the tower was built leaning on purpose. The real story is an 800-year saga of whether it would fall or stand.
Why did Leonardo da Vinci write backwards?
A genius who filled thousands of pages with reversed writing. You may have heard it was a secret code to keep his ideas safe. What is the real story?
What happened to the Venus de Milo’s arms?
Armless, she became one of the most famous sculptures in the world. Where did the Venus de Milo’s arms go—and what were they doing in the first place?
Why does your stomach growl?
A silent meeting room, and then it happens: that unmistakable rumble. The embarrassing noise turns out to be the sound of a very regular habit your gut keeps.
Why does Swiss cheese have holes?
The cartoon mouse always clutches a wedge full of holes. But who made them? The answer involves a tiny ingredient that went overlooked for almost a century.
Who was the “Elise” of Beethoven’s Für Elise?
Almost everyone who has taken piano lessons has played it. Yet the identity of the woman whose name is in the title has puzzled scholars for 200 years.
Why does bowling use ten pins?
Knock down all ten pins in their triangle with one ball and it’s a strike. But that familiar number “ten” comes with a rather dubious legend attached.
Did the Olympic torch relay exist in ancient times?
Fire kindled from sunlight in Greece, then carried to the host city by thousands of hands. It looks ancient, but its origins are surprisingly recent—and complicated.
What is the “curse of the ninth”?
Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler: one great composer after another left a Ninth Symphony as his last. Is it really a curse?
Why was the Mona Lisa stolen?
In the summer of 1911, the world’s most famous painting vanished from the Louvre. Except that, before it was stolen, it wasn’t yet the world’s most famous painting.
Why does the Moon look bigger near the horizon?
A full Moon just rising over the hills can look astonishingly large. Yet in a photo, it somehow shrinks. It’s a puzzle that has baffled people for more than 2,000 years.
Are sunsets on Mars blue?
Mars is known as the Red Planet. When a rover photographed the Sun setting in its sky in color, the scene it captured looked nothing like a sunset on Earth.
Who was the model for Girl with a Pearl Earring?
A girl glances back over her shoulder, straight at us. For more than 350 years she has held viewers spellbound, yet she has no name—and, in a sense, not even a pearl.
Is it true that pure water doesn’t conduct electricity?
We’re taught never to touch an outlet with wet hands, yet we also hear that pure water doesn’t conduct electricity. So which is it?
Was the Palace of Versailles really built without toilets?
Behind the glittering facade, the story goes, courtiers relieved themselves in the gardens and hallways. What was it really like at Versailles?
Would your blood vessels really wrap around the Earth two and a half times?
Lay your blood vessels end to end and they’d circle the Earth two and a half times, or so we’re told. Trace the figure back, and you find an imaginary 140-kilogram man.
Do all shaved ice syrups taste the same?
Strawberry, melon, lemon: the syrups lined up at a summer festival stall. That moment of agonizing over which one to choose is said to hide a little trick.
Why did samurai wear the chonmage topknot?
The familiar samurai hairstyle from period dramas: the top of the head shaved, the rest tied into a topknot. Come to think of it, why shave just part of your head?
Why do runners go counterclockwise around the track?
From school sports days to the Olympic 400 meters, runners always bend to the left. But at the very first modern Olympics, they went the other way.
Were fortune cookies born in Japan?
The folded cookie with a fortune inside arrives at the end of countless Chinese-American meals. It is often taken for a traditional Chinese sweet, yet you rarely see it in China. So where did it come from?
Can you swim any stroke in a freestyle race?
Say “freestyle” and everyone pictures the front crawl. So what would happen if you entered a freestyle race and swam breaststroke or backstroke? Would you be disqualified?
Do we really use only 10 percent of our brains?
Wake up the other 90 percent and you’ll become a genius. It’s a favorite of movies and self-help books, but what do the scientists who study the brain make of it?
Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches?
Day after day, woodpeckers slam their beaks into trees. It would leave any of us seeing stars. So how do their heads cope?
Is the curse of Tutankhamun real?
The tomb of the boy king famous for his golden mask. Have you heard that, after it was opened, the people involved died one after another in mysterious ways?