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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 17:49:40 GMT -5
15 Misconceptions There's a lot of popular ideas about... everything, really, that people think are true, but in fact are not. In this list, we'll cover just some of the common ideas you could have sworn were fact, but in fact are the result of misconceptions.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 19:41:50 GMT -5
15) Funeral Homes are Family Run BusinessesWell... not as many as you think. Turns out most Funeral Homes in the United States are actually run by a corporation called Service Corporation International; S.C.I. for short. Typically, they buy the smaller run funeral homes, and keep the original owners on as management; even retaining the original names of the Funeral Homes. They currently operate in 43 states and own more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 19:43:29 GMT -5
14) Napoleon was shortActually, he was approximately 5'6"; which at the time was considered average, or even a little taller than average. The idea he was short only comes from contemporary British War Propaganda
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 19:49:11 GMT -5
13) Mr. Rogers was a military sniperThis story circulates the internet quite a bit, and has attracted quite a bit of attention. But alas, the kind man we loved as the host of Mister Roger's Neighborhood, was never a sniper. In fact, he never served in the military.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 19:53:56 GMT -5
12) Christopher Columbus discovered America and proved the world was round.We've known the world was round since the Ancient Greeks, and people were already living here for millennia. The first Europeans to visit America were the Norse who found Newfoundland. The story we're familiar with is an exaggerated account written in the 1830s, when Washington Irving wrote the first English Language biography of him. Yes, the same Washington Irving who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 19:57:35 GMT -5
11) Wet Wipes are flush-ableHate to break it to you, they're not. Not only do these wipes not disintegrate in water like toilet paper does, but they are murder on sewer systems. In sewers, wipes mix with cooking oil and other junk and form fatbergs; these massive bodies cause backups and can wreck havoc on infrastructure. In 2013, London had to pull a 15 ton fatberg out of their sewers; it was the size of a city bus.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:01:19 GMT -5
10) 666 is the "number of the beast"Actually, that was a mistranslated number; review of the earliest manuscripts of the Book of Revelations reveals that the number is actually "616"
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:07:04 GMT -5
9) The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slavesNot the way you think. It only freed the slaves in the warring Southern States, not the 4 slave states loyal to the union. and it was a war time measure that would expire upon conclusion of the civil war.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:13:55 GMT -5
8) A vomitorium was where Romans would go to...well, vomit.While it is true that the word is derived from the Latin for "to spew forth" it actually refers to the passageways of coliseums where people would "spew forth" into the seats.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:16:57 GMT -5
7) Frankenstein is the monsterActually, Frankenstein is the scientist. Frankenstein's monster is the iconic monster.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:22:32 GMT -5
6) Sherlock Holmes' iconic lookThe iconic look we associate with the detective, namely his distinctive cap, was never specified in the words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Rather, it was a creative liberty taken by illustrator Sidney Paget. (Correct me if I'm wrong please, Biblically Accurate Angel)
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:26:28 GMT -5
5) Fortune Cookies are ChineseActually, they were invented in Japan, and made popular by a California restaurant in the 1960s.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:33:17 GMT -5
4) Cinco De Mayo is Mexico's Independence DayActually, it celebrates their victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. And surprisingly, outside of Puebla it is not considered as big a holiday in Mexico as it is in the United States.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:38:31 GMT -5
3) Purebred Dogs are the best dogsFar from it; purebred dogs are often the worst dogs. Often inbred in order to keep "a certain look" among the breed, purebred dogs often suffer from far more health problems than mutts.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:40:19 GMT -5
2) Cats like milkActually, most cats are lactose intolerant; they shouldn't be given milk at all.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 19, 2018 20:51:21 GMT -5
1) Diamonds are rare and valuableNot at all. They are actually quite common. They only reason they are "rare" is because one company that controls a substantial portion of the global diamond mining market, De Beers, artificially restricts the supply to jack up demand and prices. But really, these chunks of crystallized carbon are intrinsically worthless. "Diamonds are intrinsically worthless"-De Beers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer
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