50 Fascinating Myths & Legends from Around the World

The platypus used to be considered a myth like Bigfoot and the Yeti.

27. The story of Thomas Edison electrocuting an elephant as part of the War of Currents is a myth. The elephant was killed as part of an unrelated Coney Island stunt, and Edison's name is only associated because Edison-brand film was used to record the elephant's death.

28. According to a Norse myth, one time Thrymskvida, Thor and Loki cross-dressed as wedding brides to retrieve the stolen Mjöllnir. The thieves got suspicious when the "ladies" ate everything in sight.

29. Left-brain vs. Right-brain dominance is a myth. Lateralization is unique in every individual and researchers cannot find any evidence that one side of the brain or another work by itself for functions of our personalities.

30. Needing to drink 8 glasses of water a day, and that coffee dehydrates you are both disproven myths.

Cow tipping is nothing but an urban myth. Cows do not sleep standing up, as they cannot keep their knees locked like some other animals that do sleep standing up.

32. The popular concept that "Humans only use 10% of their brain" is a myth and there is nothing to suggest that we don't use 100% of our brains.

33. Multitasking is a myth. What we call multitasking is actually 'switch-tasking.' There is actually a stop/start process that occurs in the brain when we switch between tasks. This process causes "more mistakes, and over time it can be energy sapping."

34. The "50% divorce rate" for all marriages is a myth. The number is closer to 30% and it varies among different groups.

35. It is unknown how the "Friday the 13th" myth arose, however, there is no written evidence for the superstition before the 19th century.

According to legend, Corgis are a gift from woodland fairies and that their markings are caused by saddles and stirrups placed on their backs.

37. Hainuwele is a mythical Indonesian girl who legend says magically defecated valuable objects before she was buried alive.

38. Fan Death is a well-known myth in the South Korean culture. According to the myth, running an electric fan in a closed room with no open windows can lead to death. Despite no concrete evidence to support the concept, the myth of fan death persists due to its popularity.

39. During the temperance and Prohibition movements, it was a commonly believed myth that alcohol abuse could lead to spontaneous combustion.

40. It is a myth that you need to or should wait 24 hours to report a missing person in USA.

Rabbits shouldn't regularly eat carrots or lettuce. It is a myth perpetuated by cartoons that these foods are part of their natural diets.

42. People started flipping one cigarette upside down in their packs because of a myth that early 'Lucky Strikes' contained marijuana.

43. According to legend, everyone in USA used to think tomatoes were poisonous, due to them being a member of the nightshade family. In 1820, New Jersey resident Robert Gibbon Johnson ate tomatoes in front of a large crowd to prove that they were edible.

44. Elasmotherium, an extinct genus of rhinoceros is thought to be the origin of unicorn myths and legends.

45. The "Empty Land Myth" is a myth that states South Africa was mostly empty before European colonization. The myth began in the 1830s. Historical records and archaeological evidence contradict this idea.

The belief that a dog's mouth is 9 times cleaner than a human's is a myth.

47. There is a Scottish myth involving a giant black cat fairy known as "Cat Sith". It was believed that Cat Sith would steal dead people's souls before the Gods could get them.

48. Arab traders in the 13th century created and perpetuated the myth that pepper cultivated in India was “guarded” by snakes to maintain their monopoly, keep their source a secret and inflate its price.

49. There is a Jewish myth, according to which Eve was Adam's second wife. His first wife was supposedly Lilith according to it.

50. The common statement by restaurants that alcohol cooks out of the food is generally a myth. It takes over 3 hours to boil off alcohol when cooking.