I was sure the Great Wall of China was visible from space, until a kid's book set me straight

I found out from a children's fact book at the library that the Great Wall is actually way too narrow to see from orbit with the naked eye. The book cited astronaut Chris Hadfield, who said from the ISS it just blends into the landscape. I'd argued this point for years based on something a teacher told me. Has anyone else had a 'common knowledge' fact completely fall apart on them?

4 comments

4 Comments

ray_martinez821mo ago

Ngl, I totally believed that one too. It was just something everyone said, so I never questioned it. Seeing an actual astronaut say it's a myth really changed my mind for good. Makes you wonder what else we all just accept as true without checking.

hollyl251mo ago

Honestly, what other "facts" from teachers turned out to be total garbage? Mine said we only use 10% of our brains.

jakejones1mo ago

Yeah, the "only use 10% of our brains" one is a classic. What were they even teaching us, @hollyl25? Guess we should have just trusted the kids' books all along.

murphy.mason1d ago

Seeing an astronaut say it's a myth really did change things.