# Science Facts and Myths



## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

Fact or Myth: Some of these are easy, some are complicated

1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains

2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F

3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans

4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes

5.) Honey never spoils

6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

RobynC said:


> Fact or Myth: Some of these are easy, some are complicated
> 
> 1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains-myth, I saw a video on TED X that describes this better then I can unfortunately I do not have a link
> 
> ...


 do not know, but the heaviest element in Washington D.C. is stupidium


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## RobynC (Jun 10, 2011)

@vinniebob

This was meant to be somewhat serious... and there's no element as stupidium


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## ScientiaOmnisEst (Oct 2, 2013)

I'll take a stab at it:

1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains
Myth. 

2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F
Myth.

3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans
Fact.

4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes
Fact.

5.) Honey never spoils
Myth.

6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83
Fact.



I'm only certain of a few, others I took my best guess.


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## Scrabbletray (Apr 27, 2014)

*1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains*
Total bunk. The only way this would even be close to accurate is if it said, "humans only use to% of their brain AT A TIME". It's basically analogous to the way that we use our muscles. At any given time you might not be using your arm muscles or you leg muscles, or your back muscles, but obviously you need them all. If 100% of our brain was firing then nothing would be getting done just like if 100% of our muscles were contracting we would just be on the ground twitching.

*2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F*
Obviously not everyone is perfectly alike so no there are people with a set-point that is high and people with a set-point that is lower. Even the same person will have different set-points given their emotional state and health etc.

*3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans*
There are human chimeras that have the DNA from two different humans in them. This usually results when two eggs get fertilized but one of the expanding embryos ends up "swallowing" the other and so there is an island of another humans cells inside a normal functioning human body. It would be possible to make human chimeras, but so far I believe only test animals like mice have intentionally be made chimeras.

*4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes*
I'm almost certain this isn't true. Females have no Y chromosomes.

*5.) Honey never spoils*
I don't know anything on the subject but this makes no sense because honey contains a lot of sugar which all sorts of organisms would be able to live off of and spoil the honey.

*6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83*
Actually lead (element 82) is the heaviest stable element. Bismuth is very stable, but it does decay. Not very much though since it's half life is so long that even in the entire existence of the universe it's only decayed an imperceptible amount. Also, to be technical, even hydrogen has radioactive isotopes so technically there are no elements that aren't radioactive because any element can be made radioactive.


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## Word Dispenser (May 18, 2012)

1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains

Myth

2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F

Myth.  From wikipedia: *Normal human body temperature*, also known as *normothermia* or *euthermia*, depends upon the place in the body at which the measurement is made, the time of day, as well as the activity level of the person. (Different body parts have different temperatures)

3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans

Fact

4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes

Myth

5.) Honey never spoils

Fact. Actually, I don't think it does spoil. It crystallizes, though, but that doesn't affect the integrity of it.

6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83

Myth.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

a1b2c3d4 said:


> *5.) Honey never spoils*
> I don't know anything on the subject but this makes no sense because honey contains a lot of sugar which all sorts of organisms would be able to live off of and spoil the honey.
> /QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## Out0fAmmo (Nov 30, 2010)

Here's some: 

1) Humans can significantly affect the climate by releasing trace amounts of a common, nontoxic gas into the atmosphere.

2) The Sun is the primary factor in Earth's climate.

3) A recent decrease in sunspots (indicative of lower solar activity) actually foreshadows a cooler climate, not a warmer one.

4) Wind and solar energy are renewable, cost-effective and efficient, and environmentally friendly.



I could go on, but I don't want to kick the hornet's nest _too much_ :wink:


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## Riptide (Feb 13, 2014)

1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains-Myth

2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F-Myth

3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans-Fact

4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes-Myth

5.) Honey never spoils-Fact

6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83-Myth

Please tell me the answers as I really am a lazy axx.


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## PaladinX (Feb 20, 2013)

*1.) Humans only use 10% of their brains* - Myth

Humans do use 100% of their brain; though probably not consciously. Brains follow the same rule of atrophy that muscles do. If you don't use it, you lose it. If we only used 10%, we'd die.

*2.) All humans have a body temperature of 98.6 F* - Myth

Just a guess.

*3.) Chimerism actually exists even in humans* - Fact

Also a guess.

*4.) All human beings, male and female, have some cells with y-chromosomes* - Myth

A guess. Though I would not be surprised if it were fact.

*5.) Honey never spoils* - Fact

Guess.

*6.) The heaviest element on the periodic table that is not radioactive is element 83* - Myth

Guess.


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## Wellsy (Oct 24, 2011)

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology



> *1 BRAIN POWER Myth*
> #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Myth
> #2 Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Myth
> #3 Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Myth
> ...


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