5 Animal Facts That Are Wrong

5 Animal Facts That Are Wrong

1. Elephants are the only animals that can't jump. Well, they can't jump, which is why you never see them playing basketball. However, stick them on a bouncy castle and those things can launch themselves into space. Although it's true that elephants can't jump, they aren't the only animals. Hippos can't jump, neither can rhinos, giraffes, penguins, and white men.

2. Blind as a Bat. Yep, bats are blind. Nope, they actually aren't. It's so confusing. They don't have great eyesight, but all species of bats can see. They have adapted to use their sense of smell and hearing to get around, and use a sophisticated and very accurate echo-location to navigate the treacherous tunnels of Wayne Manor. In fact, their inbuilt sonar is better than the sonar arrays on a naval warship. It's probably why the Australian Navy haven't developed their own SONAR, and instead duct-tape thousands of bats to the bottom of their ships wearing SCUBA gear.

3. Toads give you warts. Oh, boy, never ever touch a toad, or a frog, for that matter. Those little devils can give you warts. Sheesh, the lies you're told as a child. There is no evidence whatsoever that touching a toad will give you warts. In fact, if you stroke a toad, you'll be safe on the road. Yeah, some people will believe anything. Warts are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus and is passed on by touching other humans. So stay away from those creatures, they're friggin dangerous. HPV is actually very contagious, and you don't even need to touch someone else who has it to get it yourself.

As the NHS website says: The infection can also be transmitted indirectly from contaminated objects or surfaces, such as the area surrounding a swimming pool. You are more likely to get infected if your skin is wet or damaged. After you become infected, it can take weeks or even months for a wart or verruca to appear.

4. Ostriches will bury their heads in the sand when they are frightened. Not sure how this myth became a fact, but it isn't true in the slightest. If an ostrich, or any other animal, including a human, were to bury their head in the sand when scared or threatened by an attacker, it would only serve two purposes: One, you wouldn't be hiding from the predator which is about to eat you. Out of sight, out of mind, doesn't work. It just lets the predator get to you quicker. Two, the ostrich wouldn't be able to breath if it had its head buried in the sand. Not unless it had some elaborate breathing apparatus.

5. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on the planet. Nope, not even close. That title goes to a fat man who hasn't eaten in three days chasing a cheeseburger that's been left on a car's roof. But, in all seriousness, cheetahs are actually the fastest land animal, and clock speeds of up to 68 miles an hour. The spine tailed swift has achieved speeds of 69 mph at level flight, which makes it faster than the cheetah. The fastest fish is the sailfish, and has equalled the cheetah's speed of 68mph.