1446 published verifications avg. score 5.1/10 578 rated true or mostly true 851 rated false or misleading
“Consuming ginger after eating sushi kills most of the parasites that may be present in the sushi.”
This claim is false. While lab studies show ginger compounds can kill certain parasites at specific concentrations, there is no clinical evidence that the small amount of pickled ginger served with sushi achieves parasiticidal effects in humans. Public health authorities consistently identify freezing — not condiments — as the reliable method for controlling parasites in raw fish. The ginger served with sushi is traditionally a palate cleanser, not a food safety measure.
“It is possible to use artificial intelligence to develop an investment strategy that consistently outperforms the stock market.”
The claim that AI can "consistently" outperform the stock market is not supported by the available evidence. While AI-driven strategies have shown impressive results in specific contexts — competition rankings, single strong years, and research frameworks — no source demonstrates durable, net-of-fees outperformance across multiple market regimes. Academic research and institutional analysis indicate that as AI adoption spreads, the very edges it exploits tend to erode through increased market efficiency, transaction costs, and crowding effects.
“Abyssinian cats learn tricks faster than all other cat breeds.”
This claim is false. While Abyssinians are widely regarded as one of the smartest and most trainable cat breeds, no scientific study has ever demonstrated they learn tricks faster than all other breeds. Multiple sources highlight Bengals, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, and Siamese as comparably quick learners. Veterinary experts also emphasize that trainability varies more by individual cat than by breed, making the absolute superlative "faster than all other breeds" unsupported.
“Blue light emitted from smartphones causes permanent retinal damage.”
This claim is false. While high-intensity blue light can damage retinal cells in laboratory settings, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Harvard Health, and a 2023 NIH review all state there is no evidence that blue light from smartphones causes permanent retinal damage under normal use. Studies cited in support either used unrealistic exposure intensities, animal models, or showed only statistical associations — not causation. The primary proven harms of prolonged screen use are digital eye strain and sleep disruption, not permanent retinal damage.
“Sugar-free drinks cause cancer in humans.”
The claim that sugar-free drinks cause cancer in humans is not supported by the scientific evidence. The strongest classification any authority has issued — IARC's Group 2B for aspartame — means only "possibly carcinogenic" based on limited, unconvincing evidence. A 2025 umbrella meta-analysis found no significant association between artificially sweetened beverages and cancer risk (RR: 0.98), and a 2025 systematic review found no consistent link for any sweetener or cancer type. The claim overstates uncertain, preliminary signals as established causation.
“Squats are more effective than leg press exercises for muscle hypertrophy.”
The claim that squats are categorically more effective than leg press for muscle hypertrophy is misleading. While one peer-reviewed study found squats superior in an 8-week protocol, the broader scientific evidence indicates that when training volume and intensity are matched, both exercises produce comparable overall muscle growth, with each favoring different muscle regions. Squats recruit more total muscle mass, but this does not automatically translate to greater hypertrophy in any specific muscle group. The blanket claim oversimplifies a nuanced, context-dependent reality.
“Yawning occurs to increase oxygen intake before sleep.”
This claim is false. The idea that yawning exists to increase oxygen intake has been largely abandoned by the scientific community. Controlled experiments show that changing oxygen or CO₂ levels does not affect yawning frequency. While yawning does involve a deep breath, this is not its purpose. Current research points instead to brain cooling, sleep-wake state transitions, and arousal regulation as the primary functions of yawning. The "before sleep" framing adds an additional unsupported specificity.
“Nuclear fission will continue to be used as an energy source over the next 20 years.”
This claim is clearly true. With approximately 440 nuclear fission reactors currently operating worldwide, over 70 under construction, and every major energy forecasting body (IAEA, IEA, World Nuclear Association) projecting continued and growing nuclear capacity through at least 2050, nuclear fission will unambiguously remain in use as an energy source over the next 20 years. Even the most pessimistic credible analyses acknowledge record nuclear output and hundreds of reactors operating well into the 2040s.
“Drinking milk contributes to increased height growth in humans.”
Multiple observational studies show a consistent association between milk consumption and greater height in children and adolescents. However, the strongest causal evidence — a meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials — found no statistically significant effect of milk interventions on height, and a systematic review of controlled trials calls results "inconclusive." Genetics accounts for roughly 80% of height variation. The claim that milk "contributes to" height growth overstates what the experimental evidence supports, presenting an observed correlation as an established causal relationship.
“Statistical data shows that women have worse driving records than men.”
This claim is false. The most authoritative data — from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and peer-reviewed research — consistently shows that men have higher crash rates than women when properly adjusted for driving exposure. Men's fatal crash involvement per 100 million miles is 63% higher than women's. The argument that women have "worse records" relies on poorly defined per-capita metrics from low-authority law-firm blogs, which lack valid denominators and conflict with rigorous, exposure-controlled studies.
“Birds flying at low altitudes is a reliable indicator of an approaching storm.”
There is genuine science behind the idea: birds have baroreceptors that detect falling air pressure before storms, and some species do fly lower in response. However, calling this a "reliable indicator" overstates the evidence. Birds also fly low for feeding, migration, and other non-weather reasons, creating a high false-positive rate. Even the National Environmental Education Foundation notes that low-flying birds "do not always foretell bad weather." No field study has established a validated predictive accuracy rate across species or conditions.
“Shaving hair causes it to grow back thicker and darker than before.”
This is a longstanding myth with no scientific support. Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or darker. Major medical authorities (Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic) and controlled human studies dating back to 1928 confirm that shaving has no effect on hair thickness, color, or growth rate. The "thicker and darker" appearance people notice is an optical illusion: shaving creates blunt-cut tips that feel coarser and look darker compared to naturally tapered, sun-lightened hair ends.
“SPF 50 sunscreen is stronger than necessary for most people.”
This claim is misleading. While it's technically true that SPF 30 blocks ~97% of UVB rays versus ~98% for SPF 50 under ideal lab conditions, most people apply only 20–50% of the recommended amount. That means an SPF 50 sunscreen may deliver only ~SPF 25 in real-world use, making it a practical necessity rather than overkill. Major dermatology organizations recommend SPF 30 as a minimum, not a ceiling, and the Skin Cancer Foundation recommends SPF 50+ for extended outdoor exposure.
“Short distance driving without allowing the engine to warm up increases engine wear.”
The claim is largely accurate. It is well-established in automotive engineering that cold starts cause elevated engine wear due to insufficient oil circulation, loose metal tolerances, and fuel dilution — and short trips multiply cold-start frequency per mile driven. However, the claim oversimplifies: the severity varies significantly by oil type, ambient temperature, engine age, and vehicle design. Modern synthetic oils and engine management systems have substantially reduced (though not eliminated) this effect. Idling to "warm up" is itself counterproductive; gentle driving is the recommended approach.
“The mathematical equation 1+1 equals 2.”
The claim is mathematically true. Multiple credible sources confirm that 1+1=2 within standard mathematical systems (Peano arithmetic, set theory), including rigorous proofs from Russell and Whitehead's foundational work. The equation holds in ordinary mathematics as universally understood.
“Environmental factors have a greater influence on human development than genetic factors.”
This claim significantly oversimplifies the science. While environmental factors are important, peer-reviewed research shows the balance between genes and environment is highly trait-specific: genetics accounts for 50–80% of variance in cognition/intelligence, and the broadest meta-analysis (14.5 million twin pairs) found only a roughly 51/49 split that includes measurement error. Modern behavioral genetics emphasizes gene-environment interplay, not the dominance of either factor. The blanket claim of environmental superiority is not supported by the weight of evidence.
“The Earth has a flat shape rather than a spherical shape.”
The claim is false. Multiple independent, repeatable observations (satellite/space imagery, Earth’s consistently round shadow during lunar eclipses, horizon and latitude/star-visibility effects, and circumnavigation) confirm Earth is an oblate spheroid. The cited sources unanimously refute flat-Earth arguments; no credible evidence in the record supports a flat Earth.
“The ABC conjecture has been proven as of March 18, 2026.”
The ABC conjecture has not been proven in any broadly accepted sense as of March 18, 2026. While Mochizuki's proof was published by RIMS in Kyoto, leading mathematicians including Peter Scholze and Jakob Stix identified a serious, unfixable gap that remains unresolved. The RIMS publication carries a conflict of interest, and Joshi's subsequent defense is explicitly conditional on acceptance of enhancements the community has not endorsed. As of early 2026, the conjecture remains "a theorem in Kyoto, a conjecture everywhere else."
“Electric vehicles have a higher total carbon footprint than gasoline-powered cars.”
This claim is false. While electric vehicles do have higher manufacturing emissions — particularly from battery production — every major lifecycle assessment from authoritative sources (US EPA, EU Climate Action, peer-reviewed studies) finds that these are typically offset by lower emissions during the vehicle's use phase. Over a full cradle-to-grave lifecycle, EVs produce significantly less CO₂ than comparable gasoline cars on most electricity grids. The claim cherry-picks production-phase data and misapplies unrelated macro-level studies to reach an unsupported conclusion.
“Some species of baleen whales, including the blue whale, are the largest known animals in the world.”
This claim is true. The blue whale, a baleen whale, is widely recognized by authoritative sources—including Britannica, NOAA Fisheries, and Guinness World Records—as the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, measured by mass and overall body size. The phrasing "some species of baleen whales, including the blue whale" is logically satisfied by the blue whale alone. The only minor caveat is that by linear length, the bootlace worm exceeds the blue whale, but "largest" conventionally refers to overall size, not length.