14 Things Everyone Was Taught in School That Turned Out to Be Wrong
From history to science, here are the classroom "facts" we learned that didn't survive adulthood.
- Chris Graciano
- 3 min read
Education is supposed to give us a solid foundation of knowledge — but sometimes, even textbooks get it wrong. Over the years, the facts we were once taught with confidence have been debunked, revised, or proven outright false. This list rounds up some of the most common school teachings that didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
1. Christopher Columbus Discovered America
Sebastiano del Piombo on Wikimedia Commons
We were told Columbus bravely sailed the ocean blue and found the New World in 1492. However, millions of Indigenous people were already here, and Norse explorer Leif Erikson likely landed in North America centuries earlier.
2. Humans Only Use 10% of Their Brains
Brett Sayles on Pexels
This “fact” got repeated in science classes and Hollywood movies alike. However, neurologists confirm that nearly every part of the brain is active at some point during the day. Brain imaging shows a much more complex and engaged system than the myth suggests.
3. There Are Only Three States of Matter
Colin on Wikimedia Commons
Solid, liquid, and gas were the go-to trio in every science book. Turns out, plasma is a fourth state, and other exotic forms like Bose-Einstein condensates exist, too.
4. The Tongue Has Taste Zones
Bianca Mallia on Unsplash
Diagrams showed the tongue with clearly labeled sections for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. In truth, all taste buds can detect all flavors to some degree.
5. Einstein Failed Math as a Child
Siddharth Boss Sanchoree on Wikimedia Commons
It’s a motivational tale many of us heard: even Einstein struggled in school. However, the truth is, he was a top student, especially in math and science.
6. Water Spins Differently in Toilets Depending on the Hemisphere
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This idea is linked to the Coriolis effect but is wildly over-applied. The direction in which water spins in a toilet depends on the design, not your global location.
7. Bats Are Blind
Vikram Nair on Unsplash
“Blind as a bat” is catchy, but it’s not true. Bats can see, and some species even have excellent vision. They rely on echolocation for navigation but aren’t stumbling through the dark blind.
8. The Great Wall of China is Visible from Space
Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash
A staple of geography lessons, this claim doesn’t hold up. Astronauts say the Wall is extremely hard to see with the naked eye, even from low Earth orbit..
9. Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
Brandon Morgan on Unsplash
Teachers loved this as a metaphor for rarity. However, lightning frequently strikes tall structures, like skyscrapers or trees, multiple times. The Empire State Building gets hit dozens of times each year.
10. You Swallow Eight Spiders a Year in Your Sleep
Pixabay on Pexels
This nightmare fuel likely originated as a joke to show how easily misinformation spreads. Spiders avoid humans, and there’s no scientific basis for this claim.
11. Vikings Wore Horned Helmets
Helgi Halldórsson on Flickr
Textbooks and costumes alike embraced this dramatic image. However, there’s no archaeological evidence that Norse warriors wore horned headgear in battle.
12. The Five Senses Are All We Have
AbbythePup on Wikimedia Commons
Sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing were the basics. However, we also have senses for balance, temperature, pain, and body position. Neuroscience recognizes more than five senses.
13. Blood Is Blue in Your Veins
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This myth likely stems from how veins appear through the skin. In reality, blood is always red — just darker without oxygen. It never turns blue inside your body.
14. Dinosaurs Were All Cold-Blooded
Vaibhav Pixels on Unsplash
Science once lumped them in with lizards and assumed cold-blooded traits. New research shows many dinosaurs were likely warm-blooded, particularly those closely related to birds.