All claims
Every claim we’ve published, with the verdict and sources behind it.
Goldfish have a memory span of only three seconds.
A piece of folk wisdom holds that goldfish forget everything within three seconds, making them effectively immune to boredom in their bowls.
Childhood vaccines cause autism.
A persistent claim, originating from a 1998 Lancet paper that has since been retracted, asserts that the MMR vaccine and other childhood immunizations are linked to autism spectrum disorder.
Humans only use 10% of their brains.
A widely repeated claim — used in self-help books, films like Lucy and Limitless, and casual conversation — suggests that the brain has vast untapped capacity and that humans use only a small fraction of it.
The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye.
A common piece of trivia holds that the Great Wall of China is the only human-made structure visible from space without aid.
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