You probably did a good job of dispelling the most common student myth in your first week at uni; no matter how hard you try you will not make it to 9am lectures after a night out. There are lots of other rumours and legends that I have come across whilst studying; mystical hangover cures, ducklings raised in student halls and the question ‘where girls actually pee from?’ are just a few that sparked debate in my house last year. Here are some of the most common myths dispelled for you – sorry if I ruin your fun.
Myths to me are like a red flag to a bull…wait are they? Here are a few sayings from the animal kingdom that are actually wrong. Firstly, bulls are colour-blind; it’s definitely not the colour red that makes them angry.
Disappointingly, the Alaska Department for Fish and Game reported that lemmings do not commit mass suicide. Apparently we just can’t trust Nintendo anymore; next you’ll be telling me plumbers don’t double in size when they eat mushrooms…honestly what’s the world coming to?
Bats too have been given a bad name, they aren’t blind, why would they have eyes if they were? However, as they hunt at night, they use echolocation to help find their prey.
Unlike students, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand when the going gets tough.
It’s not really a practical thing to do, especially not when they’re capable of running up to 40mph. This myth started because they often bend down to swallow sand and stones that help with their digestion. It isn’t behaviour I can recommend, but at least they’re not avoiding their problems.
As a medical student, there is one myth that plagues me more than most. Antibiotics do not cure colds, antibiotics cannot cure colds, antibiotics will not even help a cold the littlest, tiniest bit. Colds are caused by viruses and antibiotics get their name from killing bacteria.
Antibiotics won’t even help your body fight off the virus that caused the cold.
Chances are you’ll just end up with some nasty side effects like thrush or diarrhoea. Going to your doctor and asking for antibiotics for a cold is like saying ‘I don’t believe in fairies’ to Tinkerbell’s face; every time you do it, we die a little inside.
Another medical myth is that eating before swimming will cause cramp, which could lead to drowning. Studies show absolutely no link between eating and cramps. After pondering why my PhD mother would lie to me about this, I’ve come to a conclusion.
It must be a conspiracy by parents to keep their kids under control.
Now, here’s an interesting one for those of you concerned with personal appearance. Shaving will not cause hairs to grow back thicker or darker, although in fairness it can appear that way. In reality the regrowth appears darker because it has not been exposed to the bleaching power of sunlight and appears coarser simply because it is shorter and therefore less bendy. Waxing and plucking reducing hair growth however is true, it damages the hair follicles themselves overtime stopping any hair growing at all.
Diamonds are not formed from coal.
Coal takes millions of years to form from plant material and most diamonds predate first plant life on earth. Geographers reckon they’re probably formed by volcanic eruptions and other tectonic movement, who knew they didn’t just colour in? I’m saving this one for next time someone tells me that ‘feeing under pressure is a good thing, after all it’s what turned coal to diamonds’.
On the topic of under pressure, something I have wished for many times during exam periods is a photographic (eidetic) memory. Although some people have more visual memories that others, we have no proof that a person with a photographic memory actually exists or has ever existed. There are plenty of anecdotes floating round but many of the best memories in the world are down to the proven technique of attaching facts to a story. Sadly, this means you’re just going to have to study the hard way.
Enjoy annoying people with corrections! Try not to be too snide next time someone tells you you’re as blind as a bat or accuses you of burying your head in the sand.
Louisa Hepworth
