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.

The CIA is shrouded in mystery, but there are some things we do know about the agency, and many things we all get wrong. On this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd takes a closer look at some common myths and falsehoods about the CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency. If you were hoping for the Culinary Institute of America Misconceptions video, you’re just going to have to wait.

On this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd, unpacks some myths about menstruation, from the idea that people who have their periods are unusually unclean, to whether or not menstrual blood is to blame for animal attacks.

People often confuse the Arctic with Antarctica. Both are cold and icy, but that’s basically where the similarities end. On this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd corrects some myths about the Arctic, from its wildly varying temperatures to its complete lack of a certain bird.