THE GREAT WALL FROM SPACE

No, you cant see the Great Wall of China from outer space Buzz Aldrin repeatedly tried to end this urban myth. Only from a few hundred kilometres above Earth can shuttle astronauts see the Great Wall when the sun hits it at the right angle. You can see plenty of other objects from low orbit, such as airports, dams, bridges, big highways and Dubais reclaimed Palm Islands. See

Do the Yupik and Inuit have exceptional numbers of words to describe snow? Thats debatable, because it depends how you define a word. Eskimo-Aleut languages, like German, create compound words, for example for snow that is falling or snow suitable for sleds that are short phrases but still shared concepts in English. English incidentally has 30-something words for snow and ice. See

No, not that one. Its the Great Pyramid of Cholula near Puebla in Mexico, whose volume of 3.3 million cubic metres is almost 50 per cent greater than that of Egypts largest pyramid. Its base is four times larger. The Mexican pyramid can probably claim to be the largest monument ever built. However, much of it remains buried, and its now topped with a church. See

Your parents probably warned you about swimming right after lunch; the theory is that blood rushes to your stomach so your limbs just flop, and youll drown. Actually, normal meals create no problem for swimmers, although heavy meals can cause discomfort after any vigorous exercise. Just before they set off, marathon swimmers tuck into meals high in carbohydrates without sinking to the bottom. See

Ships and aircraft are said to mysteriously vanish into this section of the North Atlantic in a myth that can be traced back to American newspaper and magazine articles from the 1950s. Credible research from the likes of the US Coast Guard, Lloyds shipping insurers and scientific investigators have found no disproportionate disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle, only plenty of inaccurate, exaggerated and inventive reporting. See

Many people assume the famous Cape of Good Hope is Africas southernmost point. In fact, the less-well-known Cape Agulhas is 55 kilometres further south and the geographic tip of Africa, as well as the official divider between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The name means Cape of Needles in Portuguese and its a notorious shipping hazard thanks to storms and rogue waves. See

This legend arose when the Earl of Carnarvon, who financed the discovery of King Tuts tomb in 1923, died shortly afterwards. The death rate of others associated with the discovery was no more than normal. Archaeologist Howard Carter lived another 16 years and tomb guard Richard Adamson survived until 1982. Arthur Conan Doyle was a prominent voice in promoting the curse, but he also believed in fairies. See

Marco Polo didnt introduce pasta from China in the thirteenth century. His book never mentions noodles, and writing about pasta in Italy predates his return from China. This myth has been traced to an article in the American Macaroni Journal in the 1920s. Pasta almost certainly originated in Sicily under its ninth-century Islamic rulers, likely thanks to the influence of Persian and Arab cuisine. See

Its frequently said that medieval Europeans and even 1492 explorer Christopher Columbus feared falling off the Earth. Rubbish. The ancient Greeks knew the Earth was spherical Aristotle proved it in 330 BCE and so did early Christians and early Muslim scholars. This myth was promoted in the nineteenth century by prominent writers such as Washington Irving, often in an attempt to discredit the Catholic Church. See

Okay, this wont be a myth until mid-2023, but it will be an ongoing one if we dont update our general knowledge. The United Nations says India will soon have a population of 1.42 billion, three million more than Chinas. The figures are inexact, since no Indian census has been carried out since 2011, but Indias population continues to rise, while Chinas is shrinking. See

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Dont be fooled: 10 of the biggest travel myths, busted - Sydney Morning Herald