"False facts"

[Chilcotin]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before.
One frequently sees the same recurring false statements in Survival Manuals and on Survival Forums.
One is that you can induce a magnetic field in a needle by rubbing it through your hair. Rubbing a needle through your hair will induce an electrostatic charge in the needle which is not the same as a magnetic field. You cannot magnetize a needle and thus cannot make an improvised compass in this fashion.
Another is that you can accurately determine an East-West line by the shadow stick method. You can determine a rough East-West line by this method but in some instances the error can be as much as 20 degrees. A 20 degree error would result in one being off course by about one mile in every three!
Just my two bits worth.

[Potantsuem]

The Shadow stick method isn't for an exact direction method, just a rough estimate.

Another fun false fact that I always get a kick out of. Moss always grows on the north side of a tree.

[NectarNook]

Gardening is easy.

Pocket chainsaws can cut up all the firewood you need.

That fence is strong enough to keep a ram from wandering.

Putting a wad of chewed up gum in a chipmunk hole will kill it.

Throw your head back and pinch your nose if you get a nose bleed.

Yeah... we've all heard some doozies. :D

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

And I still dont think that solar still is worth much. I have done one, and for the litres of water I lost digging a hole I got bugger all back.

[speedofl33t]

When I was a small child and we went hiking I was told it is fine throwing an apple core in the woods because it would turn to dirt. But you couldn't with a banana peel, because they never rots. I mean sure, they have a different structure, and also treated with chemicals, but they do disappear over time, not fast though. I really believed banana peels were truly immortal.

Also told never throw used gum in nature. Because then a bird would think it was food and try to eat it, its beak would become all clogged and the bird would starve to death. I mean, maybe gum can actually harm birds, but the way I understood it, a bird would inevitably die because of your gum. It wasn't something that could happen, it actually would with certainty. LOL.

[Texas Patriot]

When I was a child I was told not to swallow watermelon seeds or they would sprout and grow in my stomach! I also was told "IN THE FUTURE" we'd have flying cars kinda like the Jetsons! TP

[bloodwynd]

mom told me not to run with scissors or i would poke my eye out.

[garethw]

My nan used to tell me not to swallow chewing gum as it would wind around my heart!!!

[CMDRSTP]

Hairy palms...

I have proved this theory wrong extensively!

[Coyote Brown]

While the needle may not be magnatized it does have a charge which has a + and - pole.

Going to float a "charged" needle on a leaf next to a compass tomorrow to test its viability.

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

Originally Posted by bloodwynd

mom told me not to run with scissors or i would poke my eye out.

But then I could never catch her with them.

[Chilcotin]

Originally Posted by Coyote Brown

While the needle may not be magnatized it does have a charge which has a + and - pole.

Going to float a "charged" needle on a leaf next to a compass tomorrow to test its viability.

Try the experiment on the same needle both before and after stroking the needle through your hair or on silk. The idea became widely accepted because some needles are already magnetized, perhaps because of the method of production. Also try it with a paper clip. Amazingly this wrong idea is propagated in chapter 18 of one of the best wilderness survival references known. "The U.S. Army Survival Manuel".

[kjohn1]

Originally Posted by CMDRSTP

Hairy palms...

I have proved this theory wrong extensively!

Thats funny sh**!!

[huntercook15]

Drinking water from the fastest part of the stream will guarantee that it is clean.... now, while in a true emergency without a filter I would follow this advice, I'll tell you that it can ALL make you sick...

[Technologist]

Originally Posted by Chilcotin

Forgive me if this has been discussed before.
One frequently sees the same recurring false statements in Survival Manuals and on Survival Forums.
One is that you can induce a magnetic field in a needle by rubbing it through your hair. Rubbing a needle through your hair will induce an electrostatic charge in the needle which is not the same as a magnetic field. You cannot magnetize a needle and thus cannot make an improvised compass in this fashion.

Spend some time reading up on the relationships of Electrostatics and Magnetostatics and you'll have your answers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetostatics

[suburbanite]

I was told I would go blind........

[Just Jeff]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

I was told I would go blind........

......so I just did it until I needed glasses real bad.

[Karnus]

Moss only grows facing(whatever direction take your pick) on trees.

[Just Jeff]

Moss grows in the shade. On trees in the northern hemisphere, the sun hits the southern face of the tree so the northern face is almost always in shade...so if moss will grow on that tree, it's generally on the northern side. The problem is that people often look at a tree in the middle of a forest that's shaded by other trees...so the moss can grow anywhere on that one. But if you pick a small copse of trees that appear to get quite a bit of sun, and they all have moss on only one side...that's probably roughly north.

There's a whole line of trees on my drive into work planted in a nice little row in the median, and they all have moss on only one side, and it's the north side.

Like many things, you just can't make generalizations b/c things aren't true in all circumstances...but knowing the circumstances when they ARE reliable can really help.

[dontbuypotteryfromme]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

I was told I would go blind........

Fixed that for you.