5 Lies You Were Told in School

Turns out, not everything you learned in school was true—especially when it comes to science! Join Stefan Chin for a fun episode of SciShow and uncover the truth behind those elementary school tall-tales.

----------
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:

Kevin Bealer, Jacob, KatieMarie Magnone, D.A. Noe, Charles Southerland, Christopher R Boucher, Alex Hackman, Matt Curls, Adam Brainard, Scott Satovsky Jr, Sam Buck, Avi Yashchin, Ron Kakar, Chris Peters, Kevin Carpentier, Patrick D. Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Sam Lutfi, charles george, Greg
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
----------

[ckl]

Sort of reminds me of a joke, "In primary school, I was taught the world is round. In high-school, I was taught that the world is a sphere. In college I was taught the world is an oblate spheroid. At work, I'm told to stack boxes."

[mikeprevitera]

I remember in sixth grade we were taught about the taste map on our tongue. I was laughed by everyone in the classroom when the teacher said I was wrong because I said I could taste all flavors on any spot on my tongue.

[TerryAVanguard]

It is important to let people know that things are more complex from the beginning. You dont have to explain how or show it but let them know that what they are being taught is a simplified version to begin with.

This will help them from feeling like they have been lied to and lossing trust in education

[johnopalko]

When I was in high school, a couple friends and I looked at the Bohr model and decided that our solar system was actually an atom of fluorine (there were still nine planets back then). We further hypothesized that our fluorine atom was part of a molecule of Freon in someone's refrigerator. Daylight happened when they opened the fridge door and the light came on.
We were wishing there were ten planets because then we could be a neon atom in a sign over a bar.
(Hey, weird kid, weird grownup. What can I say?)

[fat]

School in the 90s taught me that different parts of your tongue had receptors for specific types of taste (sweet, sour, etc.). It was only when I was a second year psychology student that I learned that this is not at all true; each part of the tongue has the potential to experience any or all different tastes. There are also taste receptors in your mouth and throat that were completely omitted in older models

[Nobody_Special]

"They're safe [in the International Space Station]-- I mean relatively. They're not as safe as I am." -Hank


OH HOW TIMES CHANGE

[ErdrickHero]

"The left hand is the Devil's hand! You can't write with it!" *Smacks me with a ruler.*

This actually happened in kindergarten. My Dad is left handed, and based on general dexterity, I'd say I'm probably left handed too. But I was forced to learn to write with my right hand, so my handwriting is just garbage.

This was public school in the year 2000. Pretty sure it was illegal for her to do that.

[penelopeclaire]

The way he exhaustedly tells us not to wash ourselves with pee at 13:21 is my favorite side of Hank.

[JBC]

Stefan, thank you for that intro. I’m grateful as an elementary school teacher who taught science without always checking the curriculum for possible errors or outdated info because there’s too much to do and too little time to do half of them. Also, this compilation really helps better remember the debunked myths so I know for the next time I need to teach their topics.

[farflebfarfle]

As a fifth-grade Science teacher, I approve of this video.

[cajintexas]

Even if urine were sterile, why would peeing on a wound help? I think someone just wanted a chance to pee on someone else.

[carolinechambers]

13:17 “wash it with soap and water... not with pee.” He looked like a tired dad

[Matt_The_Hugenot]

Almost everything we learn at every stage is a simplification. When we reach the most detailed level that's just the current model and there we find the researchers poking holes in models and building new ones.

[matthewcooke]

The problem with "5 senses" is that it depends how you define distinctive senses. A lot of people would lump those extra 3 into "touch", maybe because they're all related to how we physically interact with the world - for example you sense temperature when you 'touch' something warm or cold, even if it's the air.

I've seen articles that argue we have dozens of senses.

What about thirst, hunger, fatigue, the ability to sense the passage of time, pressure (the ability to pick up an egg without breaking it goes beyond the simple sense that you're touching it), the need to pee, the need the breathe (i.e. carbon dioxide levels in the blood), etc.?

And then there are senses that follow on from others. For example, you can get a sense of the physical space you're in by listening to how sounds in the environment reverberate. Blind people tend to be very tuned in to this - essentially it's like echolocation. Technically, it's just hearing, but you are 'sensing' a lot more than sound.

[thes]

Also, Christopher Columbus didn’t figure out the world was spherical. Everyone already knew that. The Ancient Greeks had calculated it with pretty decent accuracy. Columbus thought the world was smaller than it really is.

[alexlandherr]

My high school physics teacher (in the Swedish school system) actually took a great deal of time correcting for the simplifications of my prior teachers by going quite deep and showed an excerpt of a BBC interview with Richard Feynman titled “Why?”, try searching for it because it is good and topical to this video.

[WintrBorn]

My last science class was more than 20 years ago. I expect a *lot* changed. The good news is I have the internet, so I can improve my knowledge. 👍🏻

[arnavjain]

The only thing i learnt right was- *'Mitochondria is the powerhouse of a cell'*

[sagegray]

It brings me so much joy knowing that my dog could see my blue hair

[jjohnston]

I was taught in elementary school (in the early to mid '70s) that earth's gravity was generated by its spinning. "After all", the teachers would say, "if the earth stopped spinning you'd go flying off into space". I could never reconcile that claim with the opposite effect I experienced on the merry-go-round every day at recess. "That's because", the teachers would say, "that's just a merry-go-round. The earth is much bigger".