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'Facts' that are not true

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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 5,692
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    SaturnV wrote: »
    It's more a case of if enough people not understanding the meaning of a word misuse it then the meaning changes.

    Like when both the words were used with no problems until Robert Baker came along a couple of hundred years ago and made up a rule that contradicts both historical and modern day usage.
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    zx50zx50 Posts: 91,270
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    On the subject of movie misquotes, Darth Vader never said "Luke, I am your father" as is popularly quoted.

    He doesn't say his name, but he does say "no, I am your father" though.
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    SaturnVSaturnV Posts: 11,519
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    GeoBa92 wrote: »
    Like when both the words were used with no problems until Robert Baker came along a couple of hundred years ago and made up a rule that contradicts both historical and modern day usage.

    Yes pretty much the same way Webster did with spellings.
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    Toby LaRhoneToby LaRhone Posts: 12,916
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    Bob Holness played the sax riff on "Baker Street"
    Fact.
    Now you can't refute it.
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    Brass Drag0nBrass Drag0n Posts: 5,046
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    jjwales wrote: »
    Ingrid Bergman never said "Play it again, Sam" in the film "Casablanca". She actually said "Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By".

    Yeah, but it is the next bit where the "misquote" comes from.

    After Ilsa and Sam's exchange Rick says -

    "You played it for her, you can play it for me. ... If she can stand to listen to it, I can. Play it."

    Which is the part where the where people think the "Play it again, Sam" line goes.
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    Jambo_cJambo_c Posts: 4,672
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    That you can't drink alcohol when on antibiotics is a myth believed by a huge amount of people. There's actually only a small group of antibiotics that you shouldn't drink on, most of them are fine.
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    InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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    I'm surprised that the theory that you taste different flavours with different areas of the tongue isn't true.

    Surely it's a very easy thing to prove or disprove?
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    RobinOfLoxleyRobinOfLoxley Posts: 27,040
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    Patti-Ann wrote: »
    Looking at google, Napoleon was 5 feet 6. If that was classed as 'above average', what was the height of the average male - not very tall :o

    On a recent historical programme on TV, they said that doorways in olden times weren't small because people were smaller then, but because they were expensive to build.
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    Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    zx50 wrote: »
    He doesn't say his name, but he does say "no, I am your father" though.

    Agreed.
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    LostFoolLostFool Posts: 90,660
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    13 is interesting. People like to tell me off when I use "less" and "fewer" haphazardly.

    I'm one of those who is rather pedantic over the use of "less" and "fewer" but I'll also agree that it is not a fixed grammatical rule and there are often grey areas where it is simply a case of one sounding better. However, the words aren't always interchangeable.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,279
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    Patti-Ann wrote: »
    Looking at google, Napoleon was 5 feet 6. If that was classed as 'above average', what was the height of the average male - not very tall :o
    It's not so strange - people are getting taller all the time.
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    Kiko H FanKiko H Fan Posts: 6,546
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    I can say that 15 is correct, as I've tested it.

    Also, Captain Pugwash never had crew members called Seaman Stains, Master Bates, nor Jack The Cabin Boy.
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    ShrikeShrike Posts: 16,607
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    31. Eating turkey*doesn't make you any more sleepy*than most other foods.

    I had never heard that one anyway!

    It was on mythbusters - turns out the myth comes about as the classic time to eat turkey (christmas and thanksgiving) is also a time when we tend to gorge on food and drink anyway. We end up sleepy but its not due to the turkey - its being boozy greedy-guts!:D
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    Jambo_cJambo_c Posts: 4,672
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    I can say that 15 is correct, as I've tested it.

    Also, Captain Pugwash never had crew members called Seaman Stains, Master Bates, nor Jack The Cabin Boy.

    Was it not supposedly Roger The Cabin Boy? Yes, complete myth though.
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    ShrikeShrike Posts: 16,607
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    I can say that 15 is correct, as I've tested it.

    Also, Captain Pugwash never had crew members called Seaman Stains, Master Bates, nor Jack The Cabin Boy.

    And the slang term "Pugwash" post-dates the cartoon too;-)

    Pugwash's creator, John Ryan, got so pissed off with this rumour and that the cartoon was banned that he resolved to sue the next publication that repeated it - turns out he sued The Guardian back in the '90s, but thats not really stopped the myth - I think some "facts" are just too funny to bother to check :)
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    jjwalesjjwales Posts: 48,572
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    I can say that 15 is correct, as I've tested it.

    Also, Captain Pugwash never had crew members called Seaman Stains, Master Bates, nor Jack The Cabin Boy.

    I thought it was Roger the Cabin Boy in popular mythology! (It was actually Tom.)
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    Kiko H FanKiko H Fan Posts: 6,546
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    Jambo_c wrote: »
    Was it not supposedly Roger The Cabin Boy? Yes, complete myth though.

    They myth could've been Roger, although I always remember Jack.

    In fact, his name was the very safe Tom.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,249
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    Voltaire's famous quote in defence of free speech... well, he never actually said it.
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    JurassicMarkJurassicMark Posts: 12,871
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    On the subject of movie misquotes, Darth Vader never said "Luke, I am your father" as is popularly quoted.

    Another common movie misquote: Dirty Harry never said "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,889
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    mount everest isnt tallest mountain
    Mauna Kea is


    and humans have way more than 5 senses
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    bri160356bri160356 Posts: 5,147
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    Kiko H Fan wrote: »
    I can say that 15 is correct, as I've tested it.

    Also, Captain Pugwash never had crew members called Seaman Stains, Master Bates, nor Jack The Cabin Boy.

    ....it didn't stop him trying though.....:o
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    Jambo_cJambo_c Posts: 4,672
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    Another common movie misquote: Dirty Harry never said "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

    I think it's

    "You've got to ask yourself a question. 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"
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    Carlos_dfcCarlos_dfc Posts: 8,262
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    On the subject of movie misquotes, Darth Vader never said "Luke, I am your father" as is popularly quoted.
    On a side note - I was amazed that the reveal was such a big shock.
    I guessed this towards the end of watching 'New Hope' for the first time - long before 'Empire' was released.
    Leaving the cinema after New Hope I even said to a mate that I bet Vader turns out to be Skywalker's dad.

    The fact that 'Vader' is Dutch for Father, was a BIG hint.
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    Carlos_dfcCarlos_dfc Posts: 8,262
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    On a recent historical programme on TV, they said that doorways in olden times weren't small because people were smaller then, but because they were expensive to build.

    It also meant that people had to stoop as they enter - A bonus which meant that someone standing just inside the door, to one side, could defend the entrance more effectively.
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    njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    Carlos_dfc wrote: »
    It also meant that people had to stoop as they enter - A bonus which meant that someone standing just inside the door, to one side, could defend the entrance more effectively.
    And the requirement for an agile assailant to negotiate these small doors before emerging victorious is the origin of the phrase "stoop to conquer".
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