40 myths investigated, sources included
You’ve heard it
a hundred times.
Is it true?
Everyday beliefs about animals, food, space and history, checked against the evidence and given a clear verdict.
Science
Are diamonds the hardest substances known?
Animals
Do bees die after they sting you?
HALF-TRUE
Space · No. 0373 min read
Do black holes suck everything in like a vacuum cleaner?
A black hole’s gravity is the same as any other object of the same mass. Replace the Sun with one and Earth would keep orbiting normally. They even blow matter back out.
BUSTED
Myth of the day · Food
“Are fresh vegetables always healthier than frozen?”
Make your call before you read the verdict.
Truth-o-meter
BustedHalf-trueTrue
How we rate a myth
Four verdicts, used the same way on every page, so readers always know what a rating means.
TRUE
The claim holds up against the evidence.
HALF-TRUE
There’s something real in it, but it leaves out or bends part of the story.
BUSTED
The evidence says the claim is false.
UNPROVEN
There isn’t enough evidence to call it either way.
Ask the case files
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Type any claim. You’ll get the matching investigations from our case files, or you can send it to the research queue.