From a newsgroup discussion a person made the wonderful statement beginning "everyone knows"; however, shared knowledge isn't always accurate.

Everyone knows that . . .

Wood is the best means of building ships.

    Until smooth planking became widely available, reed was easier to shape.

Dinosaurs were cold-blooded because they didn't have hair.

    Large mammals (i.e., warm-blooded ones) such as elephants and rhinos have minimal hair; in fact, the larger the mammal, the less likely the hair.
Hummingbirds can't fly across the Gulf of Mexico.
    From calculations taken from a hummingbird in a belljar, a scientist proved that the ruby-throated hummingbird didn't have the fat reserves for such a migration. But no one told this to the hummingbirds, which persist in their migration across the Gulf.
In the U.S., priority mail takes two days to reach a destination.
    No guarantee, no receipt, no proof.
Columbus discovered America.
    Long before Columbus, the Norse left enough remains to be considered the first documented discovers of America, not to mention any and all travlers who wouldn't have been documented by modern times.
Before Columbus "discovered" America, the world was flat.
    The Greeks were aware of the Earth being a globe, well back in the early B.C.
Mel Gibson is from Australia.
    The guy was born in New York. (What else would explain his accent?)

Contact       Look Out!