35 Common Misconceptions You Probably Believe

Contrary to popular belief, this Founding Father and first president of the United States did not have wooden teeth. It's true that Washington wore dentures, but none of the four sets made for him were composed of wood. Instead, he had a gold pair, a pair carved from hippopotamus ivory, a pair fashioned with animal and human teeth, and a pair made from lead.

It takes seven years, according to the commonly repeated myth about digesting gum. But in reality, it doesn't take nearly that long, though. Your body can't actually digest it, but that doesn't matter much -- your body passes gum through the digestive system as it does any other food, and at at the same rate (several hours to a few days).

Scientists have known this one is a myth since the 1920s. But a lot of us have been slow to catch up. And that's because shaving makes it feel like hair has grown back coarse and dark -- but it's just a trick of the stubble. As your hair grows back, the end is blunt from the razor and that makes it appear thicker. As soon as it begins to grow a bit, it softens.

Ever wonder why your dog's paws smell like corn chips? It's because sweat is salty -- that's right, dogs primarily sweat through their paw pads. Although sweating is primarily how humans cool down, most of a dog's sweat glands are located in its paws. Panting, which isn't sweating, is really how dogs cool down. Panting allows water to evaporate from its tongue, nasal passages, and lungs, and that helps lower its body temperature.

The sun looks yellow, or sometimes orange or red in the sky, but that's just the Earth's atmosphere playing tricks on you. It's actually all the colors of the rainbow mixed together, which appears to the human eye as white. Although it's hard to see on Earth, it's much easier to see from space.

Many in the U.S. assume that when we're celebrating Cinco de Mayo with 2-for-1 margaritas, we're raising a glass on Mexico's Independence Day. However, we're not. Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain, which happened in 1810, on Sept. 16. The May 5 celebration is for the Mexican Army's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla during the French-Mexican War, after which Mexico's president proclaimed "Battle of Puebla Day" or "Battle of Cinco de Mayo" a national holiday.

Although many people may refer to this as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, it's actually neither of those two conditions that cause multiple personalities. Dissociative identity disorder (DID), which is also known as multiple personality disorder (MPD), is the mental health disorder that's characterized by a person having at least two distinct identities and personalities.

Think about it this way: If you buried your head in the sand, could you breathe? Neither could ostriches, and they don't do it. However, they do dig holes in which they build their nests, and it could appear the birds bury their heads when they are tending to their eggs or little ones in the nest.

If you were to cook your pasta in water that's as salty as the sea, it could make a difference. But adding a sprinkle of to fresh water can only help with flavor, not with the speed of the boil.

Everyone knows that one year for a human equals seven for a dog. Right? Except it turns out that's not how it works. Figuring out your dog's age will depend on the breed of your dog and its size. And, keep in mind that dogs mature faster than humans, too -- in fact one year of a dog's life equals about 15 human years, more than double what we assume.

Despite having "nut" right in the name, peanuts aren't actually nuts, like hazelnuts or almonds that grow on trees. Peanuts are legumes, and grow in pods -- below ground -- on peanut plants.

Every part of your brain is important, and your body needs the whole brain in order to function properly. Although rumor has it that humans only use 10 percent of our brains, we actually use 100 percent, with different areas firing up as needed.

Although you feel warmer when you have a hot toddy when it's cold outside, the reality is actually just the opposite. See, the alcohol in your body causes your blood vessels to dilate -- which is known as vasodilation. This makes you feel warmer, but it's only an illusion -- it's stealing heat from your body's core, and that makes you vulnerable to hypothermia. In addition, studies have found that alcohol can make your body less likely to shiver, which is its natural way of heating you up.

Despite living in water, dolphins aren't fish. They're warm-blooded aquatic mammals. They breathe air with lungs instead of fish gills, and have to frequently swim to the surface to breathe.

It's unlikely a mama bird will smell your scent on her offspring -- birds just don't have that good of a sense of smell for that. So it's unlikely she'll reject her baby birds if you help one (or a few) that have fallen out of the nest. While birds don't abandon their babies if you touch them, they will if they consider you a disturbance to their nest.

While our common belief is to wait 30 minutes after eating before going swimming, it's a myth. There is no evidence that a full stomach will increase your chance of drowning. And on the odd chance that you do get a stomach cramp, having recently eaten or not, experts advise you just float for a minute or two while it passes.

It's commonly believed that you can catch warts from toads -- and depending who you ask, maybe from other animals, too. But here's the thing. Those bumps you see on toads aren't warts. They're parotoid glands, which contain a poison that can cause skin irritation (but not warts). Human warts are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Depending on the strain of the virus, and there are many, it could cause genital warts, warts on your hands, or anywhere there's a small scratch on your skin where it can take hold.

Although 41 percent of U.S. adults believe that humans and dinosaurs lived alongside each other, scientific evidence supports that that's not true. In fact, we've puzzled together through fossils, carbon dating, and other methods that dinosaurs and people missed each other by about 60 million years -- dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago, and our earliest human ancestors didn't start walking our Earth until about 6 million years ago. Humans did, though, co-exist with saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths.

Cracking your knuckles is not going to cause you to develop osteoarthritis -- and the same goes for noisy elbows, hips, and knees. The pop is caused by an air bubble that's in the fluid around your joint. And as long as the pop isn't painful, it's probably harmless.

Although many people believe chameleons change their color based on their surroundings or the object they are touching, that's actually one time they don't change color. Instead, you can expect chameleons to change color in response to their mood, to the temperature, and as a form of communication.

Although most people blame sugar for causing kids to bounce off the walls, there isn't much, if any, scientific evidence to support that kind of behavior from a sugar high. Sugar, though, is linked to obesity, diabetes, and cavities.

Although many kinds of sharks give birth to live young like mammals do, they actually aren't mammals. They're fish, part of a group known as elasmobranch fish. A shark skeleton is entirely made of cartilage, not a bony skeleton like mammals, and they breathe through several gills located on the sides of their head. Their skin, you might not know, is actually smooth with no scales.

It's common knowledge that camels store water in their humps, right? Well, actually, it's fat in those humps, like the fat you have below your skin, not water. The fat, though, does help camels survive in the desert -- and under the desert sun -- for a few days at a time without stopping to eat.

It's a myth that our beloved dogs (and cats) are colorblind. However, since we can't just ask them, we have to estimate -- and scientists believe dogs don't see colors the same way humans do. Dogs can see in blue and in green, but because their eyes have fewer cones, which sense color, the colors aren't as vivid as they are for us.

Foods that are high in sugar, like candy and soda, spike your insulin levels and raise levels of inflammation in your body. And that rise in insulin and inflammation can make your skin oily, clog your pores, and ruin your complexion. No study has linked chocolate, though, to breakouts. Dark chocolate, 70% to 99%, is the healthiest choice -- with the least amount of sugar and the most heart-healthy benefits.

If your hangover cure includes a greasy breakfast with a lot of coffee and a few aspirin, you can do better. Although the only real "cure" for a hangover is to wait it out, some studies have found that working out may help your hangover go away a little faster. Or, you can go the classic route: rest, hydrating with water or a sports drink, and aspirin (but never acetaminophen because that can damage your liver).

Unfortunately, begging your physician for a round of antibiotics to help ease your flu won't help your body's fight against the flu -- and that's because it's a virus. Antibiotics are worthless against infections caused by a viral infection, such as influenza or the common cold. And don't be tempted to ask, just in case. Taking antibiotics when you don't need them can throw off the good bacteria in your gut, and it can also contribute to the growing "superbug," drug-resistant, bacteria.

Although matadors use red cloth to anger bulls in the arena, bulls can't see the color red. Scientists believe bulls are colorblind, and that it's the motion of the cloth rather than the color of the cloth that causes them to charge.

It's not the turkey, or the tryptophan in turkey, that makes you sleepy after eating a traditionally large Thanksgiving dinner. It's the plates of carb-tastic foods we eat that day, not the bird, to blame. After all, cheddar cheese has more tryptophan than turkey does, and you've never blamed it for your nap.

According to the "five-second rule," yes, go ahead and eat it. However, according to science, there actually isn't any safe amount of time between your food hitting the floor and the amount of bacteria that contaminate it. Moist foods have been found to attract more bacteria than dry, but that's about it.

Lightning likes to strike tall objects, because it's the shortest distance for the bolt to travel. Not only can lightning strike the same place twice, it absolutely does. In fact, the Empire State Building is struck roughly 100 times every year. Plus, a single bolt of lightning can branch out and strike in two places at once.

Dropping a penny from the Empire State building's 102nd floor Observation Deck is not life-threatening to the people below. A penny, which weighs about one gram (the same as a paperclip), would only hit about 50 mph as it fell, tumbling toward the ground. Throwing something larger, however, just might cause injury.

There is no scientific evidence that drinking your drinks in a specific order can cause or prevent you from getting sick. It's the amount of alcohol you've had to drink that makes you sick, not beer before liquor.

Scientists haven't pinpointed the cause or causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but they have ruled a few things out -- and that includes vaccines. Although fears and rumors persist about a link, the connection is based off fraudulent, manipulated data that has since been debunked -- and the study retracted. What research does suggest, though, is that a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, factors all influence ASD onset.

Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. But what about pain, such as a headache? Okay, six. Angular velocity and linear acceleration? Hunger and thirst? It turns out that experts don't always agree on the number of senses we have, but they do agree it's more than those five. Some estimate about nine, while others suggest it's closer to 21.