THINGS WE THINK WE KNOW

Someone once said that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. It could also be said that misinformation that passes for fact can be a dangerous thing because it can distort issues and prejudice our thinking. Below is a list of nine items that our "common wisdom" has ordained as fact. Some are serious, others are silly. How many of the nine have you regarded as fact?

Myth 1: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women.
Fact: While 43,000 women a year die of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease kills a half million women annually.

Myth 2: Cinderella's slipper was made of glass.
Fact: In the original version of Cinderella written in Old French, her slippers were made of white squirrel fur, or "vair." Subsequent translations mistook "vair" for "verre," which means glasss; hence, Cinderella has been wearing glass slippers ever since.

Myth 3: Our forests are swiftly disappearing.
Fact: We have more forest acreage than  a century ago. According to the US Forestry Service, the US grows 22 million cubic feet of wood a year, while cutting down 16.5 million cubic feet a year, a net increase of 36% annually.

Myth 4: Teen smoking is on the rise.
Fact: Recent studies have found that 15% of current high schooler seniors smoke at least a half pack daily, compared to 20% of seniors in 1979.

Myth 5: The number of police officers killed in the line of duty is increasing.
Fact: Figures from the US Bureau kof Statistics show that in 1973, 134 police officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide. Forty years later that number fell to 51 officers killed.

Myth 6: Sharks must keep moving or die.
Fact: While most species of shark breath by swimming with their mouths open, other species, such as the sandtiger, bull and lemon sharks can breath without having to swim.

Myth 7: The term "shyster" is derived from Shylock, the Shakespeare character.
Fact: "Shyster" is actually derived from the name of an unscrupulous American lawyer named Scheuster, who practiced law in the 1840's.

Myth 8: Urban sprawl is rapidly overtaking our nation.
Fact: Cities and suburbs comprise a mere 3% of the total US land area. In fact, according to the Pacific Research Institute, the amount of government protected land has tripled in the past 30 years.

Myth 9: Lemmings are furry little animals who leap off cliffs.
Fact: Lemmings, which are members of the rodent family, do not follow one another into the sea to drown. Being migratory animals, they leave their home areas when food grows scarce, and will forge rivers and streams in search of food. Unfortunately,  sometimes they attempt to swim across bodies of water that are too deep for them to negotiate. The result is that large numbers of the animal perish.