True or False
Instructions: Read each statement carefully and mark whether it is True (T) or False (F).
- 1.
The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye.
- 2.
Honey never spoils. Archaeologists have found 3,000-year-old honey in Egyptian tombs that was still edible.
- 3.
Goldfish have a memory span of only three seconds.
- 4.
The human body contains more bacterial cells than human cells.
- 5.
Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
- 6.
Octopuses have three hearts.
- 7.
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth when measured from base to peak.
- 8.
Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not.
- 9.
The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world.
- 10.
Humans share about 60% of their DNA with bananas.
- 11.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
- 12.
A group of flamingos is called a 'flamboyance.'
- 13.
Water drains in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres due to the Coriolis effect.
- 14.
Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun.
- 15.
Humans use only 10% of their brains.
- 16.
Scotland's national animal is the unicorn.
- 17.
Sound travels faster through water than through air.
- 18.
The Amazon River is the longest river in the world.
- 19.
A jiffy is an actual unit of time, not just a figure of speech.
- 20.
Napoleon Bonaparte was unusually short for his time.
Answer Key
This is a common myth. The Great Wall is very long but too narrow to be seen from space without aid. Astronauts have confirmed this.
Honey's low moisture content and acidic pH create an inhospitable environment for bacteria, so it can last indefinitely if sealed properly.
Goldfish can actually remember things for months. Scientists have trained goldfish to navigate mazes and respond to signals over long periods.
Recent estimates suggest the ratio is roughly 1.3 bacterial cells for every human cell, with most bacteria residing in the gut.
Lightning frequently strikes the same place multiple times. The Empire State Building, for example, is struck about 20-25 times per year.
Octopuses have two branchial hearts that pump blood to the gills and one systemic heart that pumps blood to the rest of the body.
Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller from base to peak at about 33,500 feet, but most of it is underwater. Everest is the highest above sea level.
Botanically, a berry develops from a single ovary. Bananas qualify, but strawberries are 'accessory fruits' formed from the receptacle.
Antarctica is technically the largest desert, as a desert is defined by low precipitation. The Sahara is the largest hot desert.
Humans and bananas share roughly 60% of the same genes. Many fundamental cellular processes are common across all living things.
Edison improved upon existing designs and made the light bulb commercially practical, but Humphry Davy and others created earlier versions.
Yes! A group of flamingos is indeed called a flamboyance, which suits their vibrant pink appearance perfectly.
The Coriolis effect is too weak to influence water draining in a sink or toilet. The direction depends on the basin's shape and water movement.
Venus's thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide creates an extreme greenhouse effect, making its surface temperature about 900°F (475°C).
Brain scans show that we use virtually every part of the brain, and most of the brain is active most of the time.
The unicorn has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century. It was chosen because in Celtic mythology, the unicorn symbolized purity and power.
Sound travels about 4.3 times faster in water than in air because water molecules are packed more closely together.
The Nile River in Africa is generally considered the longest river at about 4,130 miles. The Amazon is the largest by volume of water.
In physics, a jiffy is 1/100th of a second. In computing, it refers to the duration of one tick of the system timer.
Napoleon was about 5'7", which was average or slightly above average for Frenchmen in the early 1800s. The myth arose from confusion between French and English inches.