長見識了！一些你以為的事實，其實不是那樣滴！

　　抽水馬桶沖水時，水流會產(chǎn)生一個旋渦流下排水空。有理論稱，在北半球，水流旋渦是朝順時針方向的;而在南半球，則是逆時針旋轉(zhuǎn)的。而之所以出現(xiàn)這種現(xiàn)象，是由于地球自轉(zhuǎn)的緣故。其實，地球自轉(zhuǎn)的作用很微弱，因此難以影響水流動的方向。你可以在一些盥洗室中輕易地驗證這一點，無論是逆時針還是順時針，水流旋渦的方向取決于水槽的結構，而非南北半球。

　　Water drains backwards in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Earth's rotation Not only is the Earth's rotation too weak to affect the direction of water flowing in a drain, tests you can easily perform in a few washrooms will show that water whirlpools both ways depending on the sink's structure, not the hemisphere.

　　2、雞沒有腦袋也能存活

　　正確!而且雞在被“斬首”之后絕不只是能“茍延殘喘”幾分鐘而已。事實證明，曾有一只精力充沛的家伙在被斬首后，居然搖搖擺擺、跌跌撞撞地活了整整18個月!雞沒有腦袋也能存活的秘密就在于，被砍頭后，雞的腦干通常會有一部分保存完整，而它可以控制雞的大部分條件反射。

　　Chickens can live without a head

　　True, and not just for a few minutes. A chicken can stagger around without its noggin because the brain stem, often left partially intact after a beheading, controls most of its reflexes. One robust fellow lived a full eighteen months. Likely he was a real birdbrain, however.

　　3、人類的大腦只開發(fā)了十分之一

　　這一被媒體廣泛關注的理論已至少存在了1個世紀。但幸運的是，這個理論并不正確。核磁共振圖象明確地顯示出，即使是在打瞌睡的時候，人們都很好地利用了其大部分的大腦皮層，人腦并沒有被荒廢。

　　Humans use only 10 percent of their brains

　　This media darling has been around for at least a century. Fortunately, it's just not true. MRI imaging clearly demonstrates—with fancy colors no less—that humans put most of their cerebral cortex to good use, even while dozing.

　　4、太空無重力

　　這是個普遍的誤解，事實上重力無處不在，即使在太空也是如此。宇航員之所以看起來無重力是由于他們處于向地球的持續(xù)下落中，而保持高高在上則是由于他們的水平運動所致。重力的影響會隨遠離而減小，但它絕不會真正地消失殆盡。

　　There is no gravity in space

　　Blame the term "zero-gravity" for this common misconception. Gravity is everywhere, even in space. Astronauts look weightless because they are in continuous freefall towards the Earth, staying aloft because of their horizontal motion. The effect of gravity diminishes with distance, but it never truly goes away.

　　5、高處落下的一分硬幣可致人死亡

　　從高處落下的一分硬幣并非最能體現(xiàn)空氣動力學的武器。將硬幣的形狀和下落時的空氣摩擦力結合起來考慮，即使從1250英尺(約合375米)高的紐約帝國大廈上扔下一枚硬幣，它所帶來的快速沖擊力僅僅是讓一個不幸的過路者感到一陣刺痛而已。

　　A penny dropped from the top of a tall building could kill a pedestrian

　　A penny isn't the most aerodynamic of weapons. A combination of its shape and wind friction means that, tossed even from the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, it would travel fast enough merely to sting an unlucky pedestrian.

　　6、消化口香糖需要7年時間

　　或許，我們的腸胃消化口香糖會比消化有機食物稍困難一些。但實際上，口香糖并不會從我們的消化系統(tǒng)那里得到什么特殊的待遇。醫(yī)生們認為，上述這種不正確的說法之所以會出現(xiàn)，可能是因為人們?yōu)榱瞬蛔尯⒆觽儗⑦@種橡膠性物質(zhì)吞咽到肚子里，所想出來的辦法。

　　It takes seven years to digest gum

　　While it may prove a bit more difficult to break down than organic foodstuffs, chewing gum gets no special treatment from the digestive system. Doctors figure this old wives' tale was invented to prevent kids from swallowing the rubbery substance.

　　7、打哈欠會傳染

　　幾乎我們每個人都遇到過“打哈欠被傳染”的情況，因此從經(jīng)驗上來講，我們很難否認這種說法。真正的問題在于，這其中究竟有沒有什么生理學上的依據(jù)在起作用，而答案很可能是肯定的。科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)，就連黑猩猩之間，打哈欠也是會相互傳染的。

　　Yawning is "contagious"

　　Empirically, this is tough to deny; perhaps you'll yawn while reading this. The real question is whether there's actually something physiological at work here, and the answer is likely yes: even chimpanzees mimic each other's yawns.

　　8、成年人不會再長出新的腦細胞

　　人類腦部許多至關重要的發(fā)育都集中在孩童時期。過去人們曾普遍認為腦細胞在成年后就會基本保持靜態(tài)，應對新情況時，結構也不會發(fā)生改變。但有最新研究結果顯示，在人們步入成年之后，腦部的神經(jīng)細胞仍會繼續(xù)生長并發(fā)生變化。

　　Adults don't grow new brain cells

　　Much of a human's crucial brain development happens during childhood, but it isn't all downhill from there. Studies have shown that neurons continue to grow and change well into the adult years.

　　9、喝雞湯能治感冒

　　相關研究已證實，雞湯中確實含有某些抗炎成分，能有助于減少因感冒引起的喉嚨充血。因此，世界范圍內(nèi)的媽媽們在孩子感冒不舒服時，還是應該強迫他們喝下對身體有益的雞湯。

　　Chicken soup can cure the common cold

　　Cure is a strong word, but science suggests Moms around the world are still right in forcing spoonfuls of chicken soup down their kids' throats. Studies have found that the broth actually contains anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce congestion.

　　10、人死后指甲和頭發(fā)會繼續(xù)生長

　　盡管看起來確實如此，人死后他們的手指甲和頭發(fā)反而更長了，但這種恐怖的現(xiàn)象僅僅是種錯覺而已。要知道，人死后尸體會嚴重脫水，皮膚發(fā)生收縮后，就會露出更多的指甲和頭發(fā)。

　　Hair and fingernails continue growing after death

　　Though hair and fingernails appear to keep growing after death, this is merely a morbid optical illusion at work. In death the human body dehydrates severely, retracting enough skin to expose more nail and hair.