10 Lies We Learn In School

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.", said Albert Einstein. Wasn't he right?

There are things we learn in school that aren't exactly true, but we could still find them in our books.

Take a look:

10) There is no gravity in space.

Though weaker, gravity is responsible for holding the moon in orbit. Objects that appear weightless are actually in a state of free fall.

9) Diamonds are formed from compressed coal.

Carbon trapped inside the Earth at the planet's formation is the most likely source. Most diamonds are dated older than the plants that went on to form coal.

8) Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

Edison bought the patent for Heinrich Goebel's incandescent bulb from the inventor's widow. 22 others had already experimented light, like Nicola Tesla.

7) Van Gogh sliced off his ear while suffering mental illness.

Fellow artist Paul Gauguin cut it off with a sword during a fight. The truth only surfaced after his death because the pair swore a pact of silence.

6) Chameleons hide by changing colour to camouflage with their surroundings.

Color change is a method of communicating threats or mating behavior. Also used to regulate.

5) Columbus proved the world was round rather than flat.

Ancient Greek mathematicians has found that the world was round 2000 years earlier. Colombus didn't discover America either, it was founded by viking Leif Erikson in 1000 AD.

4) Sweet, salt, bitter and sour are detected on different parts of the tongue.

The entire surface equally detects 5 tastes, including Umami - the taste of glutamate. A protein living on the tongue detects sourness, warning us of rotten food.

3) Abraham Lincoln was strongly opposed to slavery.

In 1862 he wrote: "If I could save the union without freeing any slave I would do it". His proclamation that all slaves should be free applied only to those in confederate states.

2) Newton discovered gravity after an apple fell on his head.

Newton devised his theory after witnessing an apple falling from a tree. He had already realized objects could not move unless affected by some force.

1) Humans are descended from chimpanzees.

We share a common ancestor with chimpanzees, however the 2 species diverged into 2 lineages. The 2 species began to form separately up to 6m years ago.

Sources: News247, Nasa, Geology, Business Insider / Whose Choice Is It? by Dawill Estimable, The Telegraph, Live Science, Wired, BBC, President Lincoln by John Forbes Ludlow, The Independent, LiveScience, Science Mag, YouTube

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