Mental Floss: Misconceptions

If you spent hours playing The Oregon Trail on the computer back in the day, there’s probably one sentence you’ve seen a lot: “You have died of dysentery.” But what are the things we get WRONG about the infamous trail? In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd debunks myths about the Oregon Trail. So grab your food, ammunition, and spare wagon parts, and let's get rolling.

Does searing a steak really lock in its juices? Will cast-iron pan be unusable if you wash it with dish soap? And what pasta water practices do you actually need to follow? In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd breaks down some myths about cooking, from the terrifying ordeal of cleaning a cast iron skillet to whether or not microwaves are as harmful as people say. Preheat the oven, grab your mixing bowl, and subscribe to Mental Floss on YouTube for new videos every week.

There are a lot of mysterious things about Earth’s icy continent, Antarctica. Like, why aren’t there any polar bears? In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd takes a look at a few more misconceptions about Antarctica, from its alleged populations of bears to its current ownership.