9 'Amazing Facts' That Are Totally Untrue

5. If Your Drop A Penny From The Eiffel Tower

...or the Empire State Building or anything else high, then it will reach such speeds that it will tunnel through you from apex to anus upon impact. Never mind the fact that a penny reaches terminal velocity after about 50 feet.

Don't worry, you can walk the streets of any highrise city safe in the knowledge that, should some spare change slip from the pocket of a despairing banker on a window ledge, it is more likely to flutter to the ground like a leaf than transform itself into a deadly missile.

The shape of the penny means that the drag force air resistance will slow it down to a fairly leisurely 25mph. If it struck you, it would probably feel like getting flicked on the forehead.

Falling pens, however, could very well bore a hole in your cranium, reaching speeds of around 200mph, so it's them that you want to look out for.