Post by Joanna on Dec 2, 2015 0:21:06 GMT -5
People Believe in Things That Never Existed
There are certain things you can go through your whole life without questioning. Then one day your whole world comes crashing down when you find out they were not true. Today is about to be one of those days. After reading the following, you may very well think your entire childhood was a lie, you can no longer trust anybody and you just don’t know what to believe anymore. The sad fact is, these things never actually existed – at least not in the ways most commonly believed.
The Iron Maiden. Some people only know Iron Maiden as a heavy metal band out of England, but it was also one of the most gruesome medieval torture devices ever used. Or was it? The Iron Maiden (above) was essentially an iron cabinet with a hinged door lined with sharp spikes on the inside. As would imagine, when the door closed, it most likely did not end well for the human shoved inside. While the artifacts are undoubtedly authentic, they were most likely pieced together in a manner that is pure fiction. Some experts believe museums intentionally combined artifacts in order to make them appear more sensational. Though allegedly from the medieval age, there is no reference to these devices until the 1790s when German philosopher Johann Philipp Siebenkees claimed it was used to execute a criminal more than 200 years earlier. However, his story was later found to be fabricated.
Cow Tipping. No matter where you live, you’ve likely heard stories about people allegedly trespassing onto farms for this cattle-collapsing form of late-night hooliganism. The problem is these stories are almost definitely not true. The legends of cow tipping were so engrossing that it was the focus of a scientific study in 2005. The research concluded that more than 650 pounds of exertion would be required to tip over the average bovine. That would allow two people to accomplish the feat if the cow did not react to the invasion on its personal space. If and when the cow adjusted its footing, at least four to six people would be required. Even with four to six, it would have to accomplished extremely quickly and using the correct direction of force.
While the study suggested it is physically possible for a group of people to successfully bully a cow to the ground, there is no reason to believe cow tipping is actually something that happens. First and foremost, cattle do not sleep standing up, so you’d be hard pressed to find a cow in tip-ready positioning at night. Cows also have a remarkable sense of smell and hearing, allowing them to react quickly to approaching offenders. They are not the slowest animals or most mild-mannered when being threatened. There are also no Youtube videos of a single occurrence of successful cow tipping. While not the most scientific grounds for dismissal, it is hard to believe a single video would never have been posted.
Horned Viking Helmets. If you ask anyone to name a few notable characteristics of the Vikings, chances are the horned helmet would be at the top of the list. Despite the widely used imagery of Viking warriors bearing helmets affixed with horns, there is actually no evidence they ever existed. In fact, there is only one complete Viking helmet ever excavated and it looks like this:
This full helmet was found on a farm in Haugsbygda, Norway, and is believed to be from the 10th century. Though this is the only known complete Viking helmet, many fragments have been discovered, but never with any indication of horns. While it is possible the Vikings used more ornate helmets for ritual purposes, there is no evidence to substantiate the claim. The idea most likely originated from art and literature during the Romanticism period of the 1800s.
Pee-Activated Pool Dye. Despite what your parents or lifeguards told you when you were a kid, there is no dye that changes the color of water when you "inconspicuously" relieve yourself in the pool. In addition to your backyard or community pool, the concept was even used in films like Grown Ups and the TV show The Adventures of Pete & Pete, but it simply is not real. According to a Mason-Dixon survey, up to 52% of people believe a revealing pool dye exists and is prevalent in most pools. While a urine-detecting dye could possibly be produced, the hard part would be creating a dye that reacts only to the organic compounds in urine. There are generally a wealth of organic compounds present in pool water and a dye would react to all of them, rendering the product pointless. If the dye did exist, then just about every pool in the world would be a different color and it would probably traumatize easily embarrassed children so badly, they would never learn to swim.
Betty Crocker. When you bite into a deliciously moist piece of Betty Crocker fudge brownie, you can almost feel ol’ Betty right beside you whipping up a fresh batch. The only problem with this is that Betty Crocker was not a real person. The prominent image of Betty Crocker was created by Marjorie Husted as a campaign for the Washburn Crosby Company. The first name was chosen because it sounds wholesome and American. Crocker derives from the name of one of the company’s directors, William Crocker. Betty Crocker became an icon across all major mediums from radio to television. Starting in the 1920s, Betty Crocker had radio programs that were voiced by Agnes White through the early 1950s, followed by television appearances played by Adelaide Hawley Cumming for years thereafter.
Anti-Gravity Chambers. Maybe some of the more science-savvy skeptics already know this was fiction, but most people still seem to believe anti-gravity chambers on Earth can, and do, exist. Unfortunately, no such technology exists at this point that can neutralize the force of gravity. For the purposes of research, scientists are indeed working on ways to simulate the conditions of space including weightlessness. This is extremely important for the advancement of technology that would allow astronauts to live in space without severe health issues. The only current way to simulate weightlessness with Earth’s atmosphere is by hitching a ride on a plane that uses very specific parabolic maneuvers. When the plane is facing downwards, the passengers are able to float for a few seconds.
Source: BlitzLift.