Photo by: G. Georgiev

Do you think that pigeons and other birds really will blow up if they eat rice? Since both the Simpson’s and Ann Landers have warned us against throwing rice at weddings just for this reason then it must be true, right? Wrong; no explosions due to rice consumption have ever been recorded or documented. As a matter of fact most birds actually eat rice grains as a way of keeping a healthy body mass during the cold months.

Did you know that technically Napoleon really wasn’t short? Although nicknamed “Le Petit Caporal” according to the Imperial system he was actually average height (5’6”) for the men of his country. The nickname was really given because he was said to have a respectful and friendly attitude toward the soldiers.

Some of you may be disappointed to learn that shaving/cutting hair really does not make it grow back thicker or faster. It is like seeing special effects: the hair that you can see is not alive (since the living part is under the skin) so naturally cutting it will not change its texture or how fast it grows; you are just seeing the hair at a different stage of growth.

Did you know that the Salem witches were never really burned? While there were over 150 arrests and about 20 of them were executed these accused witches were not burned at the stake. Some of the European laws did actually encourage burning after they were dead so that they may be cleansed of their witchcraft but this was forbidden in Massachusetts. All of them (except one that was crushed because they would not enter a plea) were hanged.

Did you know that there really is gravity in space? Yep, although the astronauts do seem to be weightlessly floating around in zero gravity that is not the case. The reason that space gives this impression is because the astronauts are gravitating towards Earth at the exact rate that the ships are.