The Myth Busters Episode 2

The Myth Busters

Episode 2

1. Bulls become very angry when they see the colour Red.

The popular myths that bulls become angry when they see red or are unusually violent animals, comes from the tradition of bullfighting, where a matador waves around a red cape, or a muleta, and the bull charges the cape with fervour.              However, it's not the colour of the cape that angers the bull but it’s the movement of the cape. We know this based on many experiments with different coloured capes being stationary and being moved and the bull favoured movement over the colour of the cape every time. We also know that bulls are actually red-green colourblind and would have a hard time distinguishing red from green, orange, and brown.

2. Mice love Cheese!

If you’re trying to capture a mouse, cheese isn’t necessarily the best thing to use as bait. While it is true that mice will eat cheese, it’s not necessarily true that they prefer or even like it. Mice will eat anything that has some sort of nutritional value, including cheese. However, studies show that given a choice, a mouse would pick a sweeter food choice like fruit or candy over cheese.        The popular science myths that mice or other small animals, love cheese originated in medieval times when families didn’t have refrigerators. They hung meat from the ceiling and stored grain in silos, but the cheese was simply wrapped in a thin layer of wax or cloth, making it much easier for rodents to find and eat the cheese. In fact, during the bubonic plague, it was common practice to forgo cheese in diets as to not attract mice because people thought they were attracted to it when, actually, it was just the easiest thing to find in an average house.

3. Veganism is the healthiest way to eat.

Plant-based diets have become fashionable in recent years. The number of vegans in the UK has quadrupled between 2014 and 2019, with purported benefits for our health, as well as for animal welfare and the environment. 

Veganism is good news for other animals and for the environment. But in terms of health benefits, the science is not so clear. Although some studies show that plant-based diets appear to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, this does not increase the lifespan of vegans compared to non-vegans. A UK study that analysed 5,200 deaths found vegetarians and non-vegetarians had similar death rates. The food industry has latched on to the popularity of veganism, producing many plant-based alternatives. They are often highly processed and full of salt, sugar and preservatives – one ‘vegan fish finger’ I looked at contained 40 artificial ingredients. There are many compelling reasons to consider lowering your intake of meat and dairy. Most people don’t require as much protein as we are led to believe, and our planet’s future depends on us all eating less meat. Just don’t be fooled into thinking that vegan is a byword for healthy.

 Although vegans can get all the protein they need from pulses and grains, they do tend to suffer from reduced levels of vitamin B12 and iron. Children who are brought up as vegan are often smaller and have low levels of certain key nutrients. The most positive feature of any vegan diet is the high consumption of plants, which are essential for good providing high levels of the fibre that’s beloved by our microbes. But plants can be added to vegetarian or meat-eating diets to obtain the same benefits. So, we cannot say that veganism per se is healthier.

4. Human Beings evolved from Apes.

The most rabid critics and the most rabid supporters of evolution can agree on this point. The standard evolutionary account is that human beings and the higher apes evolved from a common ancestor often referred to as the "missing link". Humans did evolve from an ancestor that was far more ape-like than humans. But this is far from saying that humans evolved from apes.

5. Watching television in bed is a good way to relax before sleep.

A survey of U.S. adults found that 50% of respondents reported watching television in the 30-minute period leading up to bedtime. Evidence confirms a relation between television watchers and short sleepers. Screen time of any form exposes you to "artificial blue light." Blue wavelengths during natural daylight are beneficial and boost attention. But artificial blue light from screens, especially before bedtime, suppresses the body's ability to secrete melatonin, according to a Harvard study. Look for ways to protect your eyes from the effects of blue light by avoiding screens two hours before bed or using blue-light-blocking glasses.                                  Keep these debunked myths in mind next time you decide to take a nap or watch your favourite Netflix show right before bed, and remember how much better you feel the next day.

See you all next Tuesday, till then

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