One of the things that I loved the most when I was a kid was learning about the world. With a bright and eager gaze, I’d gobble down new and interesting facts about the world. Though, now that I’m a grown-up (at least theoretically, on paper; I’m still a six-year-old at heart), I’m sad to learn that some of the fun facts I was so amazed by are actually false. Oh, they’ll capture your attention all right. It’s just a pity there’s not a kernel of truth to them.
Our fact-loving team here at Bored Panda has collected a whole host of fun ‘facts’ that, unfortunately, are anything but. They’re lies! Open up your eyes, Neo-- errr I mean, dear Readers! Have a read through some of the most common bits of trivia that actually aren’t true and let us know which ones you really believed in (the one about seeing the Great Wall of China from space got me, I’ll admit).
While these false facts might seem completely innocent, it’s been shown that we tend to believe that which is repeated the most. That’s concerning for obvious reasons because it means that fake news and conspiracy theories can spread like wildfire if left unchecked and if you believe everything blindly. All it takes is constant re-pe-ti-tion.
I spoke about the illusory truth effect, propaganda, cognitive bias, good and bad news sources, and media literacy with Lee McIntyre. Lee is a published author and a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He was kind enough to give Bored Panda some fantastic insights into how to separate the signal from the noise and how much constant repetition affects what we perceive to be the truth. You can read my full interview with him below.
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Benjamin Franklin didn't publicly or seriously advocate for the turkey to be the national bird of the United States. According to the Franklin Institute, Franklin "defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle" in a private letter to his daughter, but his pro-turkey leanings didn't go any further than that. In the letter, Franklin criticized the design of the bald eagle on the Great Seal of the United States, pointing out that it resembled a turkey. He then went straight for the bald eagle's jugular, writing that it is, "a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly…[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.” The noble turkey, in comparison, is "a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America. ... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage." Ultimately, Franklin kept his reservations about the honor of the eagle out of the public sphere.
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Image credits: fi.edu
