8 'scientific' beliefs from the past that are incredibly funny and wrong

11/28/2020

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Science Story: 8 'scientific' beliefs from the past that are incredibly funny and wrong

When we look back at these beliefs held by prehistorics, they are not only outrageously hilarious but also quite embarrassing. Don’t just take our words for it, we'll show you some of these hard-to-admit ‘scientific’ beliefs so you can judge by yourself.

Honestly, we think that more effort should be put into studying how people came up with outrageous beliefs in the past.

I mean, how else can you explain why someone would ever think that by overplowing the farmland, they could make it rain. If we can hear you right now, you’re probably laughing your ribs off at that statement already.

#1 People lived on the sun

Can you believe this? William Herschel, the person who discovered Uranus, believed the sun had inhabitants. Now, if this were true, that would be one really hot race.

#2 We are living on ice

Maybe not literally, but Hans Hoerbiger, an Austrian engineer, thought the universe was made of ice. How cool could we get?

#3 Trains were believed to cause insanity

People from the Victorian era believed that trains could make people go nuts because the noise and jerky motions affected your brain.

#4 Queen bees were kings

For a long time, people believed the main guys in a beehive were definitely males. Afterall, it only seemed appropriate that the male species should get this honor… or does it? The idea changed with the publication of the book The feminine monarchie by Charles Butler, the Father of English Beekeeping.

#5 Tiny humans were preformed in sperm cells

Ever heard of the word Preformationism before? Well, it was this age-old phenomenon coined by scientists who believed that fetuses were already formed in sperm cells. If this were true, then female ova would be completely useless, right?

#6 Lambs sprouted from cotton plants

We're taking a moment to laugh because this one is totally hilarious. Medieval Euorpeans thought that lambs grew on plants. Don't blame them, they had never seen cotton, they just imagined the lambs grew from the ground covered in wool.

#7 Welcome to the Californian islands

For a very long time, Spanish explorers assumed that California was an island. Cartographers adopted this belief up till the 1700s.

#8 It is impossible to live on the equator

Apologies to those who live in the tropicals, but ancient Greek philosophers would argue that you never existed. According to them, it was just too hot to roam the tropics much less residing there.

We hope you enjoyed reading this. If you're sure you know much more than people of the past used to, try answering our fun trivia questions to prove it.

If you have heard of any other belief that is so funny but we didn't mention, let us know below.

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

24 Comments

Elsy O. Stromberg

At first I thought it's strange the Spanish thought Calif. was an island, then I remembered Baja Calif. is a peninsula, so that makes sense that's what they based that on.

lmoores

Some people still think that the earth 🌎 is flat 🤣🤣.

Vimala Padmaraj

dmarkc, THANKS FOR THAT BIT OF TRIVIA. WHY NOT CALL THEM "BAA BAA" (HA HA)

dmarkc

A group of sheep is called a bale.

Paulette Arnold

Denny Quigley, enough political correctness! Get over it!🤨

Paulette Arnold

Cindy Ursan, let children be children.

Paulette Arnold

Doris Dallaire, if it were flat, nothing would be on it because cats would push everything over the edge. Sorry, I couldn't resist it!😅😂🤣

Doris Dallaire

And some people still believe the Earth is flat - they haven’t evolved very much!

Cindy Ursan

That WAS fun- thank you! Having grown up believing in a lot of stuff, including Santa, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy, I can easily understand why these things were also believed!

Clarence Quismundo

The San Andreas fault makes No 7 an actual possibility. California is predicted to separate from the mainland in the future.

Donna Carder-Kummer

These are crazy, however, I kinda wish number 7 was true.

Paula Salem

Wow!! Crazy beliefs. People lived on the sun but not on our equator? That’s hilarious

Constance Murray

These were largely beliefs, without much science to them. Some time context would have been helpful.

deborahpmercer

Great article. Now I would say it was WAITING for trains that could cause insanity, if there are the wrong kind of leaves or snow!

ninakamwene

Fascinating article, and thankyou you for sharing. Here is my take on a few of them: 1. The Japanese call themselves the Sun people of Nippon. 2. Queen Bees are all of us mothers on the planet. 3. California will be an island when Andreas fall decides to make it so. I will have literary a beach front home. 4. I am from Kenya my village is a few miles north of the equator where humans have been for over 3 million years. Ask the first mother, Lucy or Mumbi in our culture. That was truly enjoyable and educational. Be well and keep breathing. I am laughing so hard-ha-ha-ha! Good job Quiz Folks.