Sunday November 15th, 2009 Misleading Statements

Misleading statements are frequently made. A strongly worded statement in a crowded room will often be accepted as truth, even when the speaker may not be sure of his facts. We all are guilty of saying things that are misleading, incorrect, or flawed. Here are some commonly told myth-leading phrases, that you may have said yourself.

“Everyone has to stay out of poison ivy.”

Poison ivy isn’t a poison or an ivy. It is an allergen that affects some people causing severe itching and swelling. Roughly half of the world’s population is allergic to poison ivy. Poison ivy is not a true ivy, it is a member of the cashew family. To learn more, read Magill’s Encyclopedia of Science: Plant Life.

“Beware of toxic chemicals.”

By itself, this is a meaningless phrase. Many chemicals are both safe and toxic, it is dependent on the quantity, strength and how that chemical combines with others. Take aspirin for example. In small doses, it can be used to treat a heart attack, but an overdose in a child can cause death. Does this make it a toxic chemical or a valuable medicine? Read more about chemicals and health in An Apple a Day by Joe Schwarcz.

Neil Armstrong when he stepped out onto the moon surface said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

This quote is missing one small word which was erased by the static of the transmission, one word that changes the meaning of the quote. Armstrong insisted that he had said “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Newspapers of the time printed the correction, but he is misquoted to this day. For other misquotes, check out They Never Said It by Paul Boller and John George.

“Canadians are better at saving money than Americans.”

While this may once have been true, as Canadians have become wealthier, they have developed an instinct to spend. According to Canadian statistics, since 2007 Canadians are saving less money than the Americans. We can no longer think of ourselves as the more frugal country. To study more on Canadian- American relations, read American Myths: What Canadians think they know about the United States edited by Rudyard Griffiths.


“The human brain is fixed by age 3.”

While it is true that babies’ brains make synapses at a furious rate until about age 10 months, the brain actually grows and changes thoughout life. During the teen years and early 20’s, a crucial part of the process is pruning those synapses to make them work faster. This is the stage in life when humans begin to think in high-level abstractions and systems. So keep learning and growing your brain, search in our Virtual Collection through articles on neurology such as “7 Brain Myths” from Toronto Star writer Alanna Mitchell.

“Have you heard that bananas imported from the Caribbean are contaminated with necrotizing faciitis, a bacteria that consumes human flesh?”

If you have, don’t repeat it, because you will be passing along another urban legend. These stories can be humourous, intriguing, bizarre or disgusting, they surface from time to time and are repeated endlessly. Read The Baby on the Car Roof and The Cat in the Dryer both by Thomas J. Craughwell, you will chuckle at your own gullibility!

“Sebastian Cabot was the first explorer to reach Hudson’s Bay in the search for the Northwest Passage."

The truth of this statement is still under question. Sebastian’s father, John Cabot, made a voyage to North America in 1497 and claimed the whole continent for England. By the mid 1550s any record of John Cabot’s travels or writings had disappeared. Similarly, when Sebastian Cabot traveled in 1508, he left no original documents, there are only fragments of the account in seventeen documents. These are third or fourth hand accounts of his travels. Some people believe that Sebastian’s accounts of his journey are totally fictional and that he never left England at all. To learn more about the history of the discoverers, read Great Exploration Hoaxes by David Roberts.


This week’s column is submitted by Roberta Casella, Librarian