16 Things We Were Taught In School That Are Actually Totally False

9. Humans didn’t evolve directly from apes

No, we humans aren’t the direct descendants of the apes you see clambering about in the zoo. The truth is humans just share the same distant ancestor with some types of ape, so you could call us very distant relatives. And that’s why apes are still around today, and presumably why they’ll eventually take over the world. Planet of the Apes was a documentary, right?

10. Isaac Newton didn’t discover gravity after an apple clonked him on the head

At least, there’s no proof that the tasty fruit did actually drop on Newton’s head. Instead, it’s far more likely that the 17th-century scientist’s findings on gravity were inspired simply by watching an apple fall to the ground. Indeed, that’s the story published in Newton’s biography, penned by William Stukeley in 1752.

11. Chameleons change hue to communicate, not to camouflage

Chameleons may be able to change color at a whim, but it isn’t actually to adapt to their environment and camouflage themselves. Instead, they change to communicate their mood – whether it’s a calm green, fiery yellow or even a smorgasbord of hues to express its desire to mate. Color us surprised. (Sorry.)

12. Ferdinand Magellan wasn’t the first person to circumnavigate the globe

Ferdinand Magellan might well have been the first to circumvent the world, had he not died halfway round. Indeed, one ship from his original expedition made it back to Spain in September 1522, three years after it first set sail. Magellan wasn’t with it, however, having been killed during a fracas with natives in the Phillippines. In fact, only 18 members of the 260-strong crew that set out made it back alive.