home
Menu
Create
Random
0
0
0
thumbnail

Fact... or Misconception #2

Can you guess whether these statements are facts or misconceptions?
Some of the misconceptions are well-known, others I just made up
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Featured Quiz
Last updated: June 20, 2024
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedJune 20, 2024
Times taken22,588
Average score73.3%
Rating4.49
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
1. Reindeer exist in real life
Fact
Misconception
2. Someone once won the marathon at the Summer Olympics running barefoot
Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the 1960 Olympic marathon without shoes. He defended his title in 1964, this time wearing Pumas.
Fact
Misconception
3. The Sahara is the world's largest desert
The Antarctic and Arctic deserts are larger
Fact
Misconception
4. Sounds don't travel in the vacuum of outer space
Sounds can't travel without air
Fact
Misconception
5. The word "octopuses" is incorrect
"Octopuses" is the standard plural of octopus, although "octopodes" was used historically. More recently, people have started using "octopi" – adding the Latin plural on a Greek root.
Fact
Misconception
6. Facebook is banned in China
Fact
Misconception
7. A zillion is a number equal to 1000 trillion
Fact
Misconception
8. Most educated Europeans in the time of Christopher Columbus thought the world was flat
Fact
Misconception
9. Cats sleep more than horses
Fact
Misconception
10. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing since the start of the Industrial Revolution
Fact
Misconception
11. The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps has never been climbed
Fact
Misconception
12. The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice
Fact
Misconception
13. Winter is colder than summer because the Earth is further from the Sun
Fact
Misconception
14. Except for child mortality, life expectancy in 2024 is the same as it was in the Stone Age
Fact
Misconception
15. China exports more goods and services than any other country
Fact
Misconception
Your Next Quiz
• Countries with the Most Tourists Quiz
• Famous People - Alive or Dead?
• History - Did They Have It?
• Commonly Mixed-Up Countries - Multiple Choice
32 Comments
ItzIngenious
+8
Level 66
Jun 20, 2024
Missed the winter one, as I just assumed it was talking about hemispheres when I read “further”. People really believe that it’s because the Earth is farther, though?

Edit: just read the caveat

Thisisreal
+5
Level 92
Jun 20, 2024
I guess it’s commonsensical (though false) to think that it’s colder because you’re further away from the heat source.
Kingsfisher
+3
Level 66
Jun 21, 2024
Only if you apply everyday logic everywhere and do not know at all that when it's winter in the Northern, it should be summer in the Southern Hemisphere
Deathslayer
+2
Level 40
Jun 21, 2024
But isn't the earth actually farther, because of the elliptical orbit of the earth?
Mercatorix
+6
Level 75
Jun 21, 2024
Due to the elliptical orbit there are difference in the distance between earth and sun. But these do not correspond to winter and summer in the northern hemisphere at all. The earth is closest to sun at the beginning of the year (January). The difference in the distance to the sun between the closest and farthest point is about 5 million kilometers.
Moos1005
+6
Level 86
Jun 21, 2024
The earth´s orbit is slightly elliptical so there is a significant difference in distance to the sun during the year. What I remember from my old textbooks they did a terrible job of explaining that the elliptical orbit doesn´t coincide with winter in the northern hemisphere.
stylus
+7
Level 78
Jun 21, 2024
yeah, i think it's partly to do with the slightly sneaky wording - I, like you, read that it was because the hemisphere was further than the other one, rather than the whole Earth being further, and labelled it Fact. maybe more of a misreading than a misconception
lubi
+6
Level 78
Jun 21, 2024
Yes, if it's winter on one of the hemisphere, that hemisphere is further from the sun. But that's not why it's colder. The days are shorter and the angle of the sun is lower, that's all.
MarcelVos
+3
Level 66
Sep 26, 2024
Assuming a perfectly circular orbit with a radius of 150 million km, the north pole would only be a few thousand kilometers further away from the sun in the winter than in the summer, or about 0.002%.

This is far too small a percentage to make any meaningful difference. It's like sitting 3 meters away from a campfire and then moving another 6 millimeters further away.

hi111223
+1
Level 67
Jun 21, 2024
If you are going to do a part 3 to this series you should do; Carrots make your eyesight better. The myth was actually created so Germany wouldn't find out that the British were intercepting their bombers during night raids in World War II.
fuanacdc
+1
Level 88
Jan 13, 2025
Vitamin A is essential to maintain healthy eyes. Carrots very much can contribute to good eye sight. It isn't going to stop you from wearing glasses, but saying its a complete myth is just incorrect.
sumguy
+3
Level 86
Jun 21, 2024
Apparently 23% of Jetpunkers aren't aware that when it's summer in one hemisphere, it's winter in the other. If summer and winter were based on distance from the sun, it would be the same season everywhere.
MayaB
+6
Level 73
Jun 23, 2024
In the very first comment and the following thread there are some people who explain why they chose "fact" for this one. It's not necessarily that they don't know, it's more that there brains took some shortcuts to answer more quickly which didn't work out this time.
Djilas
+7
Level 85
Jun 22, 2024
Most educated Europeans think that most educated Europeans in the time of Christopher Columbus thought the world was flat.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Jun 26, 2024
Haha
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Jun 26, 2024
Just missed marathon one
NotaRealPerson
+3
Level 63
Jun 28, 2024
The facebook one is incorrect as facebook is not banned in Hong Kong or Macau.
Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
Jun 28, 2024
Cool.
SlimeBlobFLYING
+1
Level 70
Jun 28, 2024
Got tripped up on #13 - I originally thought that it was a fact as I mistakenly thought it referred to Earth's tilted axis, and how the hemisphere that is tilted away from the sun will therefore be colder, therefore meaning that part of Earth will be farther away from the Sun
HyddenRizz
+1
Level 67
Jul 2, 2024
The only one I missed was the Matterhorn, which an overwhelming amount of people got correct.

Why did I think the Matterhorn was so insurmountable, where does this misconception come from?

3000 climb the summit each year!

Ceasstricat
+1
Level 63
Sep 26, 2024
now depends who says those facts are indeed facts. 9 11 is a fact..but is it?:))
DanteRich
+2
Level 28
Sep 26, 2024
Damn it I knew about Antartica, but I wasn't sure if it counted considering that under the ice there's a number of islands and not uninterrupted land.
RoosterIllusion
+2
Level 46
Sep 26, 2024
Question 13: it should be "farther". "Further" refers to abstract distance, such as time.
Ferbin
+3
Level 78
Sep 26, 2024
The flat Earth one being the second least guessed is sad. That myth is still very much alive and kicking.
ofonildao
+1
Level 49
Sep 26, 2024
I knew about Antarctica, but didn't even know about the Arctic desert. Wikipedia puts it at 161,400 km2, which would be considerably smaller than the Sahara, is that right?
DomsWay
+1
Level 19
Sep 27, 2024
I did surprisingly well for me. 12/15. I'm proud of this score :D
ImjaTse
+1
Level 54
Sep 27, 2024
Sound can surely travel without air, just not without matter. Maybe the answer could be adapted accordingly.
jonh
+1
Level 56
Sep 29, 2024
I would change Facebook being "banned" to "blocked." It is certainly blocked on any network, but you can't get arrested, fined or punished in any way for using it. Using a VPN can get you in small amounts of trouble (ie., a fine), but using Facebook isn't a crime. Banned to me implies that you are not allowed to use it, which isn't true here. It's like saying people without a Jetpunk account are banned from creating quizzes; they aren't, they just need to get the account to do so. On the otherhand, accessing piracy sites is incredibly easy and not blocked in the West, and yet is also banned in most countries.
sekoilu
+1
Level 36
Sep 30, 2024
typerä
guuburr
+1
Level 16
Sep 30, 2024
yay this is my first ever comment, reached level 15 with this quiz. (-:
greenfishies
+2
Level 28
Jan 19, 2025
the amount of people who were unaware that people knew the earth was round before Christopher Columbus is almost disturbing.
mOctave
+1
Level 63
May 19, 2025
I am mildly disappointed in the 50% of JetPunkers who were totally ignorant of the word "octopuses"...

Great quiz, though!

Save Your Progress
Similar Quizzes by Tag
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2025
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Mobile Site