Myth: The Sahara is the biggest desert on Earth.
Reality: Antarctica fits the bill since it receives only two inches of precipitation a year and has few land animals. At… more
Myth: Tectonic plates move because volcanism pushes them apart.
Reality: Older edges of a tectonic plate are cooler and denser, causing them to sink into the mantle where they’re… more
Myth: There was a global warming pause.
Reality: Earth’s average surface temperature hasn’t really budged since the start of the 21st century, but 70% of the planet is… more
Myth: Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth.
Reality: The world’s tallest mountain technically is not Mount Everest. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain above sea level, but… more
Myth: The moon’s gravity pulling on water causes the tides.
Reality: The moon does pull on ocean water, but that tug at any one point is about 10 million times weaker… more
Myth: Humans got HIV because someone had sex with a monkey.
Reality: HIV probably didn’t jump to humans through human-monkey sex. It probably jumped to humans through the hunting of monkeys for… more
Myth: Poinsettias contain deadly poison.
Reality: Poinsettias won’t kill you or your pets, though you still shouldn’t eat them. The flowers might make you a… more
Myth: Giraffes sleep for only 30 minutes a day.
Reality: To debunk this one, researchers closely monitored a herd of five adults and three young giraffes for 152 days,… more
Myth: People get warts from frogs and toads.
Reality: Frogs or toads won’t give you warts but shaking hands with someone who has warts can. The human papillomavirus is… more