The Most Popular Myths in Science

1. You get less wet by running in the rain - Actual mathematical equations
devoted to this popular question have suggested it is true, though not for the
simple reasons you might think. Complexities include factoring in the number
of rain drops hitting the walker's head versus smacking the runner's chest.

2. 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. 10 Amazing Things You Didn't Know about Animals -
- Crocodiles Swallow Stones for Swimming
- Whale Milk Not On Low-Fat Diets
- Birds Use Landmarks to Navigate Long Journeys
- For Beavers, Days Get Longer in Winter
- Mole-Rats aren't Blind
- Baby Chicks and Brotherhood
- Many Fish Swap Sex Organs
- Giraffes Compensate for Height with Unique Blood Flow
- Elephants Do Forget, but They're Not Dumb
- Parrot Talk More than Just Squawking

4. Lightning never strikes the same place twice - In fact lightning favors
certain spots, particularly high locations. The Empire State Building is
struck about 25 times every year. Ben Franklin grasped the concept long ago
and mounted a metal rod atop the roof of his home, then ran a wire to the
ground, thereby inventing the lightning rod.

5. 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.