Myths Busted

The Leaflet 09.28.15 | Vol. 2 Issue 2

MYTHS

BUSTED

MYTH OR

FACT

myth issue It is easy to become captivated by a compelling and interesting story, whether it originates from ancient times or contains modern aspects. As a society, we are surrounded by myths that have left us on the edge of our seats, waiting to understand whether or not they are true. There are myths and legends that have been around for ages and there are

some that have developed in recent years and we want to know the truth about them all. In this issue, we cover all of the myths and legends that only a few know the answers to, everything from health and science myths to spooky stories and legends.

staff members

Sarah Abraham Jordan Baker Allyson Bonhaus Natalie Brinkman Caroline Bruns Emily Chien Adhiti Chundur Taylor Close William Coleman Amy Deng Meghan DiGiovanna Jake Englander Lilah Foley Hannah Frey

Max Fritzhand Yasmine Guedira Rujula Kapoor Alex Karev Stephanie Kidd Eshika Kohi Claire Lefton Hannah Loftspring Christine Macke Anne Marsh Maddie Marsh Zachary Max Hannah May

Leaflet Editors-in-Chief Zoe and Orion Schlosser Executive Editor in Chief Caroline Gao Executive Managing Editor Anna Zhou Print Co-Editors Brooke Landrum, Elizabeth Rickert, Elijah Zawatsky Web Co-Editors-in-Chief Caroline Bruns, Harsimran Makkad

Zachary Milliken Hajime Minoguchi Calliope Osborn Joshua Patterson Sam Ruskin Madeline Schramm Lauren Shassere Max Torem Caroline Veraldo Kamaria Walton Sydney Weiss Abhilash Yarlagadda Nathan Zhang

Associate Editors Jenna Bao, Lauren Kurtzer Managing Editor Sydney Evans Business Manager David Wertheim Social Media Director Ben Ruskin Broadcast Editor-in-Chief Sarah Horne

Orion and Zoe schlosser

This issue p2: What is a myth p3: types of myths p6: Animal myths p7: flushing the toilet p10: reading in the dark p14: No gravity in space p15: the 5 second rule p18: bloody mary The Leaflet, the official web newsmagazine of Sycamore High School, serves as an educational tool in the training of student journalists. We provide information and editorial leadership concerning school, national and world issues. We also provide a public forum for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints and give coverage to newsworthy events directly related to our diverse school population. These viewpoints are purely from the staff of The Leaflet, and not the administration.

Sycamore High School 7400 Cornell Road Cincinnati, OH 45242

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WHAT IS A MYTH? Legends, folklore, and fairy tales

MY

A legend is a story purported to be historical in nature, but without substantiation. A legend also refers to anything that inspires a body of stories or anything of lasting importance or fame. The story is handed down from earlier times, but will continue to evolve with time.

TH

A myth is a traditional story, which may describe the origins of the world and/or of a people. It is an attempt to explain mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural traditions.

Sometimes sacred in nature, a myth can involve gods or other creatures. It can also represent reality in dramatic ways.

LEG

END

A myth is a traditional story, which may describe the origins of the world and/ or of a people. It is an attempt to explain mysteries, supernatural events, and cultural traditions. Sometimes sacred in nature, a myth can involve gods or other creatures. It can also represent reality in dramatic ways.

le ta

k l Fo Design By Orion Schlosser 2 Information

by Kamaria Walton

Y R I FA

E L TA

A fairy tale may involve fairies, giants, dragons, elves, goblins, dwarves, and other fanciful characters and forces. Intended traditionally for children, fairy tales have also been drawn into the field of literary theory.

TYPES OF MYTHS

Creation Myths Creation stories are what develop cultures and interests. The real function of these myths is not to provide the culture with a list of concrete facts about the answers of the universe or a given society, but to provide a meaningful context that explains specific situations. Creation myths serve both as historical stories and functional allegorical lessons or warnings about proper human and societal behavior.

Myths of Gods and Goddesses Many classical civilizations, like Greek and Egyptian, developed mythologies centered around the actions of gods and goddesses. Gods usually personified both natural phenomena like the sun or thunder as well as human attributes such as wisdom, music and beauty. The way stories between the gods are connected is dramatic and romanticized. Also, harmonious or disharmonious actions between gods served as metaphors for the reasons behind certain events.

Myths of Death, the Underworld and Resurrection Another common mythological theme is the experience of death, something that everyone experiences. Mythological stories about heroes or normal individuals pay a visit to the land of the dead and return to the real world with new ideals and beliefs about life and death.

Modern Myths Nowadays, there are myths that are more related to everyday happenings that occur around the world, whether it involves food, relationships, science, and so on. These questionable facts are sometimes proven to be myths while others are proven to actually be factual.

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Random M

Design By Zoe Schlosser

My ths

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BATS ARE

GOLDFISH HAVE

BLIND

A THREE SECOND

Bats are actually not blind, they can see and often their vision is good. Vision is used by microbats to navigate over long distances, beyond the range of echolocation.

Although bats can not see color, they can see better than we do at night.

MEMORY

SHARKS DON’T

GET CANCER

Sharks can develop cancer, but it happens very infrequently. Cartilage inhibits the development of blood vessels, which are crucial to the growth of cancerous tumors and since shark skeletons are made of cartilage, that they can’t get cancer. While the incidence of cancer in sharks and related fishes such as rays does seem to be low, cancerous tumors, have in fact been found in sharks.

This is a myth. In fact, goldfish actually have very good memories for fish. They can be trained to respond various ways to certain colors of light, different kinds of music, and other sensory cues.

Chameleons blend

into their surroundings There is this myth that chameleons change color to blend in with their surroundings, but this is actually not true. Most of the reason chameleons change color is as a signal, a visual signal of mood and aggression, territory and mating behavior. A calm chameleon might be a pale green color. When it gets angry, it might go bright yellow, and when it wants to mate, it basically turns on every possible color it can which shows that it’s in the mood. They are able to do this because they have specialized cells called chromatophores.

If you cut an earthworm in half it will become two worms...

Kids for generations have justified their violence against worms with the myth that if cut in half not only will a worm survive, but it will become two entirely different new worms. This is a myth. Worms are not long tubes with indescernable body parts; they have designated heads and tails. If cut behind their midsection also known as the clitellum, the front half can grow a new tail. However, the back half can not grow a new head and vital organs, so it will die.

Mouth

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Design by Claire Lefton and Orion Schlosser Information by Max Fritzhand, Max Torem, Annie Marsh, Claire Lefton, Zach Milliken and Sam Ruskin

Tail

Clitelium Source from Discovery

THE DIRECTION OF THE FLUSH OF A TOILET CHANGES DIRECTIONS IN EACH HEMISPHERE The earth is subject to Coriolis forces which determine how moving objects are deflected off the inside of rotating objects. This force is best observed at a large scale, for example with tornadoes or hurricanes; toilet water, in so many ways, is small-scale.

At your house in your tub or shower, such factors as any small asymmetry of the shape of the drain will determine which direction the circulation occurs. Even in a tub having a perfectly symmetric drain, the circulation direction will be primarily influenced by any residual currents in the bathtub left over from the time when it was filled. Therefore, this can be considered a myth, however it is true that the direction of a toilet’s flush can change depending on hemisphere if there are various drains playing a role.

FINGERNAILS GROW AFTER DEATH After death, skin around finger nails retracts as it becomes dehydrated, making them appear longer.

Therefore, this is a myth.

CRACKING KNUCKLES LEADS TO ARTHRITIS This is a myth. While cracking knuckles does not lead to arthritis, it does cause a variety of other problems: - swollen hands - tissues to break down - reduced grip strength Source from BBC

Design by Hannah Frey Information by Lilah Foley and Jenna Bao

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Design By Zoe Schlosser

My

yt s

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Does reading in the dark cause blindness?

any a time have I been sitting in my room, lights off, reading a book, only to be interrupted by the yellow light of a lamp. Accompanying this, of course, is the yell of “reading in the dark is bad for your eyes!”

How much truth does this claim hold?

Does straining to read in dim light really detriment our most vital sense?

Let’s check the facts.

Sydney Myopia’s Study and a systematic review of multiple related studies found that, rather than reading in the dark, lack of time spent outdoors may have a negative effect on vision.

This may be due to the effect daylight has on developing depth of field, and increasing ability to focus clearly.

These findings apply specifically to Myopia, or shortsightedness, but may still be the source of this rumor.

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Informatin and design by Elijah Zawatsky Source from BBC.comdark

COFFEE CAN CAUSE ULCERS An ulcer is an open sore or lesion in the skin or mucous membrane areas of the stomach.

Primary causes for ulcers are stomach acids such as pepsin and hydrochloric acid.

Caffeine stimulates acid secretion in the stomach which can aggravate pain of an existing ulcer. But the stomach acid is not solely from caffeine.

Therefore, coffee causing ulcers is merely a MYTH.

HUMANS ONLY USE 10% OF THEIR BRAIN This is in fact a MYTH. Many believe that the idea that humans only use 10% of their brain comes from the psychologist and author William James. Or perhaps, it could have originated from Albert Einstein, where many claimed this 10% was the reason behind him being a genius.

People tend to believe this myth as a way to explain their own shortcomings. This theory is not true because your brain performs all the major functions- conscious and unconscious.

Source from hopkinsmedicine.org and scientificamerican.org

Information by Lauren Kurtzer and Meghan DiGiovanna Design by Hannah Frey 11

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Science M Design By Zoe Schlosser

h

h Myyths

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by Zoe Schlosser 14 Design Information by Christine Macke and Zachary Milliken

Source from Earthsky.org and YaleScientific.org

A PENNY DROPPED FROM A SKYSCRAPER

CAN KILL A PEDESTRIAN This is a myth. Due to the penny tumbling while in air and it being extremely light (1 gram), there is so much air resistance that the penny would not gather enough speed to kill a person. Pennies could hurt and injure you, but it would not kill you.

FACT OR MYTH? This is a tricky one. It can be considered both a fact and myth depending on the type of person you are.

Food retrieved just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time. However, bacteria can attach to the food as soon as it hits the floor.

Source from Time

FIVE

SECOND

RULE

Is food still safe to eat if dropped on the floor for only five seconds?

Design by Hannah Frey and Emily Chien Information by Nathan Zhang and Lilah Foley

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Scary Myt

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Design By Zoe Schlosser

ths

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SCARY STORY BLOODY MARY

The history of this game is based on mixed legends. The most common story told is that Mary Worth was a witch that lived over 100 years ago who participated in the black arts.

She was discovered and executed for her actions. Others believe that “Bloody Mary” refers to Mary I, Queen of England, who was known as “Bloody Mary” for burning and executing people at the stake for heresy.

MYTH According to the legend, you must stand in a bathroom with one lit candle and say the name “Bloody Mary” into the mirror three times in a row. The story says that once you say her name three times, you will summon her ghost.

If you happen to see her ghostly face in the mirror, there are a few consequences that might occur. Some consequences might include your eyes being ripped out, disappearing mysteriously from the bathroom and ending up trapped in the mirror for eternity, or Bloody Mary herself could appear and haunt you.

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Design by Hannah Frey Information by Natalie Brinkman

The Killer in the Back Seat 1

One night a woman was driving home on a deserted highway. After a few minutes on the road she noticed a pair of headlights in her rear-view mirror. The car would pull up close behind her and then drop back, continuing to flash the brights of the car.

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She figured her only hope was to make a mad dash into the house and call the police. As she flew from the car, so did the driver of the car behind her — and he screamed, “Lock the door and call the police! Call 911!”

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4

She started to get nervous as the car continued to follow her even as she turned to get off her exit. Flashing the lights periodically, it would not stray from her route. The car followed her at every stoplight and turn, all the way until she pulled into her driveway.

When the police arrived the horrible truth was finally revealed to the woman. The man in the car had been trying to save her.

As he pulled up behind her and his headlights illuminated her car, he saw the silhouette of a man with a butcher knife rising up from the back seat to stab her, so he flashed his brights and the figure crouched back down.

Design by Zoe Schlosser Information by Lauren Shassere and Jordan Baker

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Cincinnati My 20

Design By Orion Schlosser

s yths/ 21

The Loveland Frog Man The story of the Loveland Frogmen began in May of 1955, just outside of Loveland, Ohio on a road that runs along the Miami river. This was where an unnamed business man claimed to see three bipedal reptilian looking creatures on the side of the road. The man pulled over and watched them for a few minutes, and says they were 3 or 4 feet tall, had webbed hands and feet, and leathery skin.

There haven’t been any other ‘official’ reports of Frogmen sightings, but the legend has persisted anyway. As far as what or who the Frogmen were supposed to be, no one knows. Some say aliens, others that they were some sort of genetic experiment that escaped.

The Powder Factory Named the Peters Cartridge Powder Factory, this now abandoned location has become something of a legend over the years. Located on Grandin Road in Kings Mill, Ohio right, the Loveland Bike Trail passes this old, deserted building. This building was built sometime between the 1860s and 1880s, known for supplying cannonballs and ammunition to the Union Army in the Civil War. While it is commonly referred to as the “Powder Factory,” no gunpowder was actually made there. What it actually produced was shotgun shells and pistol and rifle cartridges. This factory is known for its many random explosions and accidents, resulting in several deaths. It is referred to as the “Ghost Factory” because it is said that the ghosts of the workers that died in the factory still remain and haunt whoever pays the factory a visit.

Kings Island The stories of the ghost that haunts Kings Island have been around for a few years now. There are multiple legends that float around this amusement park, however, there is one that stands out among them.

This legend originates from a true story that occurred back in 1983.

On Friday the 13th, a man named John Harter climbed up the Eiffel Tower and fell to his death, decapitated by wire cables. To this day, people say Tower Johnny haunts both the Eiffel Tower and the Beast roller coaster, because that is where the old cable wires are stored.

Many have mentioned seeing a ghost late at night when visiting Kings Island, while others believe this story to be completely fake.

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Design By Orion Schlosser Source from legendscincinnati.com

Spring Grove Cemetery Over 733 acres, Spring Grove Cemetery is the second largest cemetery in the United States. There are many supposed hauntings associated with this Cincinnati cemetery.

The most well known involves the Dexter Memorial. This memorial located in Spring Grove Cemetery was designed in the 1860s, inspired by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, France. It is the resting place of German immigrant Mr. Dexter and his family. Rumor has it that if you sit on the stairs of the memorial, two glowing white dogs will run by, sometimes stopping to stare at you.

The Abandoned Subway It is not well known, but Cincinnati is the site of the country’s largest abandoned subway tunnel. Construction of this subway slowed to a stop in the late 1920s before even half of the 16 mile line was completed. The incomplete Cincinnati line sat unused through the Great Depression and WWII. Nearly everything above the subway has been bulldozed to make way for portions of I-75 and the Norwood Lateral in the 1950s and 1970s. The mute two mile tunnel that remains is unknown to many Cincinnati natives and many do not believe that there is a subway system in Cincinnati at all.

Music Hall There have been many stories of ghosts living in Music Hall and they are all legendary. Throughout history, excavations in and around Music Hall have made discoveries of human bones. It is believed that these bones have left souls and spirits that wander Music Hall, upon occasion making their presence known. It is thought that these bones are leftover from people who had been in attendance at specific events, possibly dying or passing away at these gatherings.

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