URBAN LEGEND OR SCIENCE?

In a small group, discuss each of the following statements. Using your science knowledge, decide if it is true (T), false (F) or undetermined (U).

T / F / U
  1. Water that is boiled in a microwave can suddenly explode.

  1. If you tap the side of a shaken can of pop you will prevent the contents from foaming over when you open the can.

  1. The only human-made object on Earth that is visible from the Moon is the Great Wall of China.

  1. The average person swallows eight spiders per year.

  1. Hair and fingernails continue to grow for a period of time after a person dies.

  1. A penny placed on train tracks will derail a train.

  1. Lemmings commit suicide by jumping off cliffs.

  1. Spontaneous human combustion is real. People can suddenly burst into flames.

  1. A cockroach can survive for up to a month with its head cut off.

  1. Sharks do not get cancer, so eating shark cartilage can prevent cancer in humans.

URBAN LEGEND OR SCIENCE?

In a small group, discuss each of the following statements. Using your science knowledge, decide if it is true (T), false (F) or undetermined (U).

T / F / U
  1. Water that is boiled in a microwave can suddenly explode.

  1. If you tap the side of a shaken can of pop you will prevent the contents from foaming over when you open the can.

  1. The only human-made object on Earth that is visible from the Moon is the Great Wall of China.

  1. The average person swallows eight spiders per year.

  1. Hair and fingernails continue to grow for a period of time after a person dies.

  1. A penny placed on train tracks will derail a train.

  1. Lemmings commit suicide by jumping off cliffs.

  1. Spontaneous human combustion is real. People can suddenly burst into flames.

  1. A cockroach can survive for up to a month with its head cut off.

  1. Sharks do not get cancer, so eating shark cartilage can prevent cancer in humans.

T / F / U
  1. Water that is boiled in a microwave can suddenly explode.
Superheated, slightly above boiling point /
  1. If you tap the side of a shaken can of pop you will prevent the contents from foaming over when you open the can.
Shaking the can force the bubbles out of the solution to break loose at the first opportunity. Tapping the can does not scare the bubbles back into the solution. The time it takes to tap may be the key. /
  1. The only human-made object on Earth that is visible from the Moon is the Great Wall of China.
Can you stand on top of the school’s roof and see a thread in the parking lot? /
  1. The average person swallows eight spiders per year.

  1. Hair and fingernails continue to grow for a period of time after a person dies.
Dehydration
  1. A penny placed on train tracks will derail a train.

  1. Lemmings commit suicide by jumping off cliffs.
1950’s Disney movie where lemmings were placed in Alberta, not their natural habitat, spun around on a wheel and sent flying. Lemmings do go looking for food and can swim and accidents do happen.
  1. Spontaneous human combustion is real. People can suddenly burst into flames.

  1. A cockroach can survive for up to a month with its head cut off.
Neck would clott, breathe through spiracles in their bodies, require less food
In addition, humans breathe through their mouth or nose and the brain controls that critical function, so breathing would stop. Moreover, the human body cannot eat without the head, ensuring a swift death from starvation should it survive the other ill effects of head loss. /
  1. Sharks do not get cancer, so eating shark cartilage can prevent cancer in humans.
Sharks do get cancer. Some substances may inhibit, but not one study has had success. /