Misconceptions About Popular Animals

The animal kingdom is full of interesting creatures with incredible abilities. Unsurprisingly, humans often find facts about unique animal characteristics and behaviors to be irresistible, whether they're about the worst ways they evolved or the creepiest facts about them. These bits of information tend to get passed around as trivia, which in turn become general knowledge with frequent repetition.

That said, many of these so-called "facts" don't quite hold up to scrutiny. Take sharks, for example: There are plenty of false stories about these fish that have been perpetuated by pop culture. At best, this type of misinformation can cause people to become unfairly biased against sharks; at worst, it can severely hamper conservation efforts and cause an irrational fear of a creature that's less likely to harm people than lightning (via the Australian Museum).

Of course, sharks are far from the only animals who have been the subject of widespread misinformation. Here are some of the most common and oft-repeated misconceptions about popular animals.

Think of an animal associated with forgetfulness. Chances are, the first thing that would come to mind is an animal that you might even have in your aquarium at home: the goldfish. This fish is so infamous for being bad at remembering things that "You have the memory span of a goldfish" has become an insult typically hurled at forgetful people. However, this piece of so-called common knowledge isn't actually accurate. Scientific findings over the past few decades don't even support this notion. In fact, considering its scatterbrained reputation, the role of the goldfish in memory research is rather ironic.

In an interview with the BBC, professor and fish behavior researcher Felicity Huntingford shared that, even in recent times, hundreds of studies have looked at goldfish learning and memory and did not find anything that would suggest that these popular pets have particularly bad memories. "Goldfish can perform all the kinds of learning that have been described for mammals and birds," she stated, adding that the goldfish's memory and learning ability are precisely why scientists have used it as a "model system" for various studies on memory formation and learning in animals.

In a 1994 study in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, scientists gradually trained eight goldfish to use a lever that dispensed food, eventually limiting the feeding window to just one hour a day. They found that the goldfish actually remembered the feeding schedule, even after they disabled the food dispenser.

The belief that most bats have very poor eyesight is a longstanding mistake that eventually birthed an idiomatic expression. Ironically, this couldn't be further from the truth: Not only do many bats see quite well, but some even have better vision than human beings.

According to Dr. Christopher S. Baird, an assistant professor of physics at West Texas A&M University, the fact that bats have advanced ears and can "see" in the dark via echolocation does not necessarily mean that they have poor eyesight. Their echolocation abilities come in handy at night, when food sources are harder to spot. However, most species are more than capable of finding food with their own eyes in broad daylight. A number of frugivorous bat species can even perceive and distinguish visual patterns, making it easier for them to spot fruits or sources of nectar.

While small bats (microbats) typically have smaller eyes, they're still able to spot food and other objects beyond the normal echolocation range (36 to 66 feet). On the other hand, large bats (megabats) possess larger peepers, which help them stay properly oriented when they're flying. Moreover, some of the larger bat species can see up to three times better than the average human being, per National Geographic. Interestingly, bats of all sizes take advantage of their eyesight, whether to protect themselves from approaching predators, travel safely, or even interact with one another.

Think of any cartoon that features a mouse, and odds are that it would have a scene with the rodent either snacking on a slice of cheese or getting caught because of one. Indeed, pop culture portrayals have helped perpetuate the idea that mice specifically chase after such dairy products. However, there's a rather cheesy explanation regarding the strong association between mice and cheese — and it has little to do with the rodent's palate.

In an interview with Popular Science, urban rodentologist Robert Corrigan explains that mice aren't really picky about the food they grab. Rather, they're optimal foragers, meaning that their approach to obtaining grub is basically minimum effort, maximum gain. In other words, a mouse would be more likely to go after a high-calorie cup of mixed nuts than a relatively low-calorie slice of cheese, simply because the former provides more energy than the latter.

Experts believe that the myth about mice loving cheese may have started because, in the old days, people kept cheese in places around the house that were easily accessible to pests. In contrast, grains were kept in containers and meat was hung from high places. That said, if you really wanted to set an effective mousetrap, ditch the cheddar and go for something with lots of sugar, such as chocolates or fruits (via How Stuff Works). 

Up until now — and despite the abundance of evidence supporting the idea — the theory of human evolution remains an incredibly divisive topic for discussion. Oftentimes, one side would present the facts and studies that back it, while the other would cite their personal beliefs and outright reject it. Some even claim that it's just not possible that humans evolved because monkeys are still around; if Homo sapiens really did branch out from simian roots, then why haven't the monkeys all disappeared? The answer, while straightforward, isn't really that simple: Humans didn't evolve from monkeys but do share a common ancestor with them.

According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the similarities in genetics and physical appearance between modern-day humans and great apes such as gorillas and orangutans suggest that at least 6 million years ago, apes and humans went on separate evolutionary paths from a single progenitor. In fact, almost 99% of the human genetic sequence is the same as that of bonobos and chimpanzees (via National Geographic).

This is also the reason why there is no such thing as a "missing link" between humans and apes: There can't be a missing link, because one family didn't turn into another.

Owls are magnificent creatures with one admittedly freaky ability: they can turn their heads in either direction, to a degree that would otherwise snap a human being's neck. According to Backyard Chirper, it's easy to mistake this as the owl "turning its head in a complete circle," based on the angle from which you're looking at the bird.

As impressive (and somewhat creepy) as it may be, however, the owl's ability to turn its head does still have its limits: 270 degrees, to be precise. And that's only because its eyes are also restricted from movement to begin with. Unlike the eyes of human beings, owl eyeballs can't rotate because their eye sockets are fixed. In other words, if they want to look for potential prey or approaching threats within their general area, they must turn their heads and stretch their necks accordingly (via National Geographic). The owl owes its remarkable flexibility to the fact that only one socket pivot connects its head. Meanwhile, because human beings have two socket pivots, the ability to turn one's head is largely restricted. Additionally, owls can safely twist their heads due to the multiple vertebrae in their necks and spines.

Still, the particulars of how an owl can survive such a neck-twisting remained largely unknown. That is, until 2013, when a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine collected data from dead owls and discovered unique arteries that allow them to turn their heads nearly 360 degrees without harming themselves (via Science Daily).

It's an undeniably cartoonish sight: a gigantic, flightless bird with a long neck, desperately trying to dig a hole in the sand to hide its head in. As it turns out, this ridiculous — and certainly inaccurate – depiction of ostriches likely originated from a misinterpretation of one of its signature defensive moves.

As National Geographic explains, ostriches attempt to make themselves less conspicuous when they sense danger nearby. By pressing their long necks to the ground and sticking as close to the soil as possible, they become harder to spot, especially since the color of their plumage allows them to blend in better.

All things considered, though, a bird as large and well-equipped as the ostrich shouldn't have much of a reason to fear for its life. After all, it holds the record for the world's largest bird and weighs as much as two adult men (via National Geographic Kids). Plus, it has extremely powerful legs and feet with sharp claws that can kill any approaching predators — whether it's a lion, a leopard, or a human — with a single kick.