The Talking Point series provides an opportunity to discuss things in English, exchange ideas, and learn from each other.
According to Wikipedia, a fact is an occurrence in the real world. For example, “This sentence contains words.” is a linguistic fact, and “The sun is a star.” is an astronomical fact. Further, “Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States.” and “Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.” are both historical facts. Generally speaking, facts are independent of belief.
Do you know of some commonly accepted “facts” that are false?
Let’s share what we know.
I’ll get the ball rolling: Rabbits love carrots! No, they don’t! Yes, they can eat carrots, but it is not that good for them. In fact, Wild rabbits don’t look for carrots as part of their daily diet. So where did this myth originate from? Thank Bugs Bunny! Generation after generation have watched Bugs eating his carrot in cartoons. But why did the animators give Bugs a carrot to eat in the first place? Some say they wanted to mimic (and make fun of) the cigar smoking habits of classic movie stars of the ’30s and ’40s. Bugs’ carrot was… Read more »
Well, I am happy to be back:) I actually ran out of imagination and no matter how much I pressed my teeth together and scratched my head, I couldn’t come up with an original example. I guess I am getting old :). Anyways, I looked up one claim that has been my issue since forever; is Organic Food better for you? It is an issue of concern when you go to your grocery store and find yourself having another option called Organic whatsoever, and you think to yourself if it’s really worth paying the difference and getting the Organic stuff.… Read more »