Goldfish can only remember things for about three seconds.

Myth. Studies show goldfish can remember things for months and can even be trained.

Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

Myth. The Empire State Building is hit by lightning around 20 times a year.

Bananas are slightly radioactive.

Fact. They contain potassium, a tiny bit of which is naturally radioactive. It’s far too little to harm you.

You can see the Great Wall of China from space with the naked eye.

Myth. It’s long but very narrow, and astronauts say they can’t pick it out from orbit.

Sharks have been around longer than trees.

Fact. Sharks appeared over 400 million years ago, tens of millions of years before the first trees.

Bulls charge because the colour red makes them angry.

Myth. Bulls can’t see red well. It’s the movement of the cape that makes them charge.

You lose most of your body heat through your head.

Myth. Your head loses heat at about the same rate as any other uncovered part of you.

There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way.

Fact. Scientists estimate around 3 trillion trees, against a few hundred billion stars.

Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis.

Myth. The popping sound is gas bubbles in the joint, and studies have found no link to arthritis.

Wombats do cube-shaped poos.

Fact. Their gut shapes it into cubes, which stay put when wombats mark their territory on rocks.

Humans only use 10% of their brains.

Myth. Brain scans show we use virtually all of our brain, just not all at the same moment.

Swallowed chewing gum stays in your stomach for seven years.

Myth. Your body can’t digest it, but it passes through in a few days like anything else.

Bats are blind.

Myth. All bats can see. Many also use echolocation to hunt in the dark.

Eating carrots lets you see in the dark.

Myth. The idea was spread by the British in the Second World War to hide that their pilots were using radar.

Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they’re scared.

Myth. They lower their heads to turn their eggs, which sit in nests dug into the ground.

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth from base to peak.

Myth. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Hawaii’s Mauna Kea is taller.

Honeybees can learn to recognise human faces.

Fact. In experiments, bees learned to pick out a particular face photo when it came with a sugary reward.

Some turtles can breathe through their bottoms.

Fact. Australia’s Fitzroy River turtle can take in oxygen through its rear end while staying underwater.

Strawberries carry their seeds on the outside.

Fact. A strawberry has around 200 dotted over its skin. Each one is technically a tiny fruit with a seed inside.

Cows have best friends.

Fact. A study found cows were calmer when penned with a favourite companion than with a stranger.