35 False 'Facts' That You Wrongly Believe (And 1 That You Should)

19. Mount Everest Is The Tallest Mountain In The World

No, surprisingly enough it technically isn't, though this could be a contentious point. At 8,850m above sea level, Mount Everest actually has the highest altitude of any mountain on earth - altitude referring to height above sea level. However, if a mountain's base is below sea level, then its actual height - the distance between its base and its summit - usually includes a fairly significant portion lurking below the waves. With that in mind, the world's tallest mountain is actually Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It's altitude of 4,250m is less than half that of Mount Everest, but with 60% of the mountain actually below sea level, Mauna Kea measures 10,100m from base to summit. With very little of Everest's bulk below sea level, its base-to-summit measurement is actually about 1,600m less than Mauna Kea's. So, technically, while Mount Everest has the highest altitude of any mountain on earth, Mauna Kea is actually the tallest.

18. Fortune Cookies Are A Chinese Tradition

As odd as it might seem, they're actually not. Fortune cookies are an American creation, though exactly who came up with the idea and where they emanated from is an ongoing source of some contention for Californians. One story has a Cantonese immigrant to Los Angeles inventing fortune cookies in 1918 as a means of taking pity on the poor and homeless he saw near his shop every day. He would insert a piece of paper containing an inspirational message - typically Bible scripture written for him by a minister - before sealing the cookies and handing them out to the less fortunate. The second story has fortune cookies invented by a Japanese man in 1914. He was the designer of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park who was fired from the job by a mayor said to be anti-Japanese. Later reinstated to the role by a different mayor, he created a cookie that included a "thank you" message inside, as a means of showing how grateful he was for the support shown him whilst out of work. He distributed the cookies at the Japanese Tea Garden and they were eventually shown at San Francisco's world trade fair the following year. Though debate over the specifics of who and where continues to rage, one thing is universally agreed: fortune cookies are, undeniably, not Chinese.