Things You Think You Know but Really Don't

Some Common Misconceptions are Debunked

There's a tremendous amount of information out there that is commonly accepted, but patently untrue. And I'm not even talking about the link between Saddam and 9/11! I'm talking about somewhat less important myths that are accepted as reality. With that in mind, I offer up some conventional wisdom that doesn't make you particularly wise should you choose to follow convention.

Myth: Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits was named after Popeye the Sailor Man.
Reality: The deliciously spicy chicken well-loved throughout the South was in fact named after another character that was named after the spinach-loving sailor. The chicken franchise actually got its name from Popeye Doyle, the character played by Gene Hackman in The French Connection movies.

Myth: Toilet water flows in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Reality: One of the all-time great episodes of the Simpsons is based on this myth. Bart dials up Australia to find out if the toilet water flows in the opposite direction, leaves the phone off the hook and winds up with a huge phone bill to explain. His punishment involves apologizing to the Australian people. If only Bart hadn't listened to Lisa, who in this particular case wasn't as smart as usual. The Coriolis Effect is central to this myth; the effect involves the deflection of moving objects based on the rotation of the earth. It can be seen in the fact that tornadoes rotate in opposite directions whether they are north or south of the equator. But the effect simply isn't strong enough to affect water going down a drain. The direction of the water depends upon plumping, not the Coriolis Effect. If you so desire, you can renovate your bathroom fixtures so that the water swirls down the drain opposite to the direction it goes down the drains of all your friends. Blow their minds, man!