A collection of urban myths reveals how each has been disproved, sharing hundreds of facts about myth origins, their historical significance, and the ways they were investigated by scientific debunkers.

Includes index.

Swallowing spiders -- Eight more spider myths busted! -- Earth's orbit -- Pigs are filthy -- Porcupines throw quills -- Poinsettias are poisonous -- Dog years -- Five of the oldest-living animal species -- Dinosaurs brought back to life -- Women talk more than men -- Acne goes away with age -- Five-second rule -- Seven things dirtier than your toilet -- Eggs balance on end during equinox -- bad-luck pennies -- "Luke, I am your father" -- Duck quacks don't echo -- purple pool water -- Bats are blind -- Six more bat myths busted! -- Lightning never strikes twice -- Humans use 10% of their brains -- Killer sharks -- Ten things more likely to kill you than a shark -- Full-moon behavior -- George Washington's teeth -- Five more weird facts about presidential bodies -- Water drains opposite ways -- Cats land on their feet -- Your heart stops when you sneeze -- Pop rocks and soda -- Turkey makes you sleepy -- Bird bellies explode if they eat rice -- Hair and nails grow after death -- The great wall of China -- Six human-made things you can see from space -- Pennies from the Empire State Building -- Napoleon was short -- Tilt your head back to stop a nosebleed -- Sitting too close to the TV -- Six more sight myths busted! -- Alligators in sewers -- Six animals that do live in NYC sewers -- A toad can give you warts -- Bigfoot exists -- Ten more creatures that most likely don't exist -- Dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans' -- Never let a black cat cross your path -- Digesting chewing gum -- Bull charge when they see red -- Mother birds reject babies -- Opossums hand by their tails -- Ten other animals that hand around in trees -- Penguins fall backward -- Elephants are afraid of mice -- Don't open an umbrella indoors -- Goldfish have a three-second memory -- A camel's hump holds water -- Fortune cookies come from China -- Eight more things that didn't come from where you think they did -- Tapping a soda can -- Hold your breath passing a graveyard.