Myths & Facts: Nature, Animals and Weather

Nature, so pretty, so breathtaking, so........unpredictable. There are so many myths about Nature (such as the Animals as well as the weather). So, this is what this wiki page will try to cover.

So, for this. I'll be wearing my *WildJohnny* hat and binoculars.

## Animal Myth #1

If you ever been to the Zoo or see Elephants and Hippos on television (such as in Cartoons) they're depicted as gentile, docile animals who wouldn't harm a fly.

### Fact

More than likely, you never saw an Elephant or a Hippo out in the wild, and they're a far cry from anything you ever saw in a Zoo or on TV. Elephants and Hippos are \*EXTREMELY\* temperamental and as equally territorial, and they have no qualms in ripping you apart if you tread onto their territory under any circumstances. So, be on the lookout for these guys if you decide to take your own track through the jungle.

Oh, here's another surprising fact about Elephants, they are \*not\* naturally scared of mice.

## Animal Myth #2

You may or may not heard on the internet that in America that the Dog population outnumber the Cat population.

### Fact

Dogs might be the more popular choice for a pet in America, but when it comes to the population of Dogs and Cats, it's the Cats that hold the advantage in the USA.

Now, here's another myth regarding to Cats and Dogs.

## Animal Myth #3

When we try to look through the point of view of Dogs or Cats, we often see everything "black and white" (literally).

### Fact

Animal experts have found that the vision of (at least) a Dog is around 1/7th of that of a human being. The Fact of the matter is that both Dogs and Cats have a much better perception of color then most people think. The colors Red and Pink look Green and Purple may look like Blue to Cats. Though experts are still unsure about how exactly how a Dog's vision works.

## Animal Myth #4

We often see on TV (such as Cartoons) that Ostriches hide their heads under the sand when they're scared.

### Fact

This is definitely a myth. In fact, they don't even hide when they feel scared or threatened nor do they run away. When they feel threatened, Ostriches usually lay on the ground and play dead.

Now, let's move on to the weather.

## Weather Myth #1

A myth that is as old as dirt. During a thunderstorm, lightning travels roughly 40,000 feet in the air to strike objects on the ground. However, tall objects such as a Tree or a Major city Skyscraper means that lightning will strike those first since it doesn't have a big distance to travel. That is why we were always told that standing underneath a tree during a thunderstorm is ill-advised as lightning will strike the Tree, and presumably you too if you're standing underneath it.

### Fact

Lightning tends to strike the tallest object, but this isn't always the case. You don't need to stand underneath a tree in order to get struck by lightning. You can just simply be out in an open field during a thunderstorm and you can still be in danger of being struck. That is why the best place to be during a Thunderstorm is either an infrastructured building such as a house (with wiring and pipes) or perhaps a car. If none of those are present, squat and make little contact with the ground as much as possible.

## Weather Myth #2

Another old myth about lightning. Usually, in a wide area, it's difficult for Lightning to strike the exact same place more than once.

### Fact

This might be true in a huge open area, but what about those Major City Skycarapers mentioned earlier? The Empire State Building in New York is struck (on average) around 25 times a year by lightning.

## Weather Myth #3

Back in the old days (where Tornado science was not fully understood) meteorologists would tell people living in Tornado prone areas to open the windows of the house before taking shelter.

### Fact

This myth was created because (again) Tornado science wasn't as understood like it is today and meteorologists back in the old days always thought that the reason why was because of an extreme difference in air pressure as Tornadoes would create very low pressure outside of the house, and the house would explode due to the high pressure inside the house. But, further studies have shown that a house isn't airtight, so the pressure is already balanced out, without opening windows. The real reason why Tornadoes destroy houses is due to its wind speed, not differences in air pressure. So, opening windows is just a waste of time where it can be spent getting to shelter.

## Weather Myth #4

Again, back in the old days. People were told that the southwest corner of their house was the safest place during a Tornado because the Tornado would move from southwest to northeast.

### Fact

But again, this is during the old days where Tornado Science was not fully understood. It has been proven that the southwest corner of your house isn't the safest place to go when a Tornado is coming. The best place is (obviously) underground. But, what to do when you don't have a basement. Well, the best place in your house is a bathroom with interior walls and away from the windows, or better yet the closet, and covering yourself with something that can protect you from flying debris.

## Weather Myth #5

   As we have seen in the video above (which was recorded in Kansas in April of 1991) when storm chasers were trying to tape a tornado while they were underneath an overpass. This would soon be released around the world, this would lead to the myth that Overpasses are safe during a Tornado.

### Fact

Meteorologists do their research, ever since the famous video, they have studied the overpass and how effective it is against Tornadoes. What they discovered shocked and discredited the overpass being a safe shelter during a tornado, it's actually counterproductive far as tornadoes are concerned, and that is because the Tornado itself isn't the only thing that is deadly, it's the debris that it carries with it, and overpasses don't provide protection from flying debris. Plus, it also causes total gridlock on highways as people abandon their cars to take shelter under an overpass.

That will do it for this wiki page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.