In the age of sensational news, it becomes difficult to trust what we see and read on the Internet. Even the most reliable media can sometimes publish unverified stories and data. Therefore, before using something for your university work, it is better to check the information carefully from different sources. Many online resources already help users to separate “the wheat from the straw”, such as Facebook, which puts only first-hand verified information into relevance and is constantly studying ways to improve its algorithms for verifying the results. facts.
O awesome.club recommends that you be critical of the information you absorb online and not blindly trust the first news item you read. To illustrate, our team researched famous rumors that circulated on the Internet, but that were nothing more than great myths. In the bonus, we’ll show you how you can take an amazing photo without using photoshop. Check out!
Myth № 1: the giant slug
A few years ago, a frightening story circulated on the Internet: this photo, in principle, would show a slug of gigantic proportions. But the truth is, it’s not a slug, and there’s nothing unusual about the slug. This is a Japanese giant salamander — which was also confirmed by the caption of the user who posted the photo on his social network.
Myth № 2: It is forbidden to park on the streets of Japan
Netizens like to argue that the real reason for the beautiful pictures we see of Japan is just because there are no cars on the streets. However, this is only partially true. According to a 1957 Japanese law, parking on the street is actually prohibited. However, there are often signs with signs that regularize the stopping of vehicles in certain areas of the road. In other words, cars still park on the streets, but not anywhere.
And a curious fact: before buying a car, a Japanese citizen needs to prove to the authorities that he will have a place to park the vehicle. That is, it is not uncommon for a person to need to buy or rent a parking space in advance, which can sometimes cost the price of a small apartment.
Myth #3: Babies born during a plane flight can fly all over the world for free
In fact, this is a very complex legal issue, as different countries have differing legislation on the subject. But, in general, if a child is born on board an airplane, he will have the right to claim two types of citizenship: by right of soil and by right of blood. The first means that the child can become a citizen of the foreign country where the plane has landed, as long as the country follows this system. The second will be able to claim the citizenship of the parents, by blood.
There are rumors that airlines would offer babies born on board the right to travel for free. Unfortunately, this is just a legend. We can cite just a few cases where some Asian airlines have gifted newborns with free travel until they turn 21, but these are exceptions.
Myth № 4: the mountain that looks like a dog
Avid internet users are fascinated to see this mountain that resembles the shape of a dog. To the disappointment of many, however, this is a photoshop job. The author who created the work published the photo on his social networks, and the original mountain is nothing unusual (photo below).
Myth № 5: the castle on the rock
The beautiful castle, which many would dream of visiting, is nothing but a great farce. The rock is located in Ao Phang Nga National Park in Thailand and the castle in Germany.
Myth #6: The “lion’s mane” mushroom that is the size of a man
In February of this year, a tweet of a huge “lion’s mane” mushroom, which allegedly grew in a swamp, went viral. Such mushrooms do exist, and they grow singly, but usually on trees. Furthermore, their habitats are in North America, Europe and Asia. Although under favorable conditions the mushroom can grow to the size of a football, it is still not able to grow as large as in the photo.
In fact, the first photo is part of Susie Brister’s art installation and is called “613 Silky Straight in Swap”, which the artist created in 2013.
Myth #7: Chewing gum takes 7 years to digest in the stomach
In childhood, many of us believed that if we swallowed a gum, it would stay in our body for 7 years until it was completely digested. This phrase is still used by many mothers in order to prevent their children from chewing gum too often. But wait, this is just a myth. Scientifically, it is very easy to debunk this fallacy.
Chewing gum consists of a gum base, sweeteners, flavorings, preservatives and coloring. The only thing the stomach is unable to digest is this gum base, the “rubber”. However, this does not mean that it will remain in the stomach for years: it will just not be absorbed and will eventually leave the body through the digestive tract.
Myth № 8: the elephant tree in the UK
Although it is an obvious case of photoshop, many netizens believed that this photo was real. It’s supposed to be a tree in the UK, but actually the place is a park in Kosovo. Below you can see what the original location looks like.
Myth № 9: the chameleon that changes color when passing through colored pencils
In 2020, a video of a chameleon changing colors while walking through several colored pencils circulated on social media. The post reached almost 1.5 million likes and popularized on the Internet. However, in case you didn’t know, we regret to inform you that the video has been manipulated. The post first emerged on Instagram in June 2020, and the author himself made it clear in the caption that this was a digital composition work.
While many people believe that chameleons change color according to their surroundings, that’s not quite how it works. In fact, the color change depends on the animal’s mood at the moment: this is how the pet communicates with the world.
Myth #10: Baby giraffes playing in the park
In October 2020, a video appeared on the Internet in which, allegedly, baby giraffes were running freely through a park. The publication received about 75,000 retweets and more than 340,000 likes. The video, however, is fake.
It was created by artist Vernon Manlapaz, who posted it to his Instagram in August 2020. The artist’s page features similar content such as flying turtles and huge dachshunds (the “sausage” dog).
Myth № 11: the octopus that walks very fast on the sand
In July 2020, netizens went wild over a video in which an octopus moved quickly across the sand. The confusion created is because the octopus is not real. The animal was digitally made by a Qatari visual effects artist. In the original recording, users can see a hashtag that indicates that the video is just an animation. Other published material by the artist confirms the same: the author shows a digital octopus that has not yet been finished.
Myth № 12: the canals of Venice flooded by flamingos
The photo shows a canal in Venice that was allegedly flooded by flamingos. Of course, it is possible to find these animals in Italy, but not in this quantity and certainly not in this location. The photo was a work by artist Kristina Makeeva. In the comments, she emphasized a few times that the photo was not real.
Bonus: not all illusions require photoshop
You don’t always need photoshop to create a spectacular photo. Often, just the right camera placement and the right perspective choice, as in the image above. Cool, huh?
Now it’s your turn, don’t hide the game: which great myth spread on the Internet did you believe and only later found out it was a lie? Tell us!