All Questions
1,824
questions
51
votes
4
answers
18k
views
Have more deaths occurred after Covid-19 vaccines than from vaccine injuries in the previous 15 years in total?
Health Impact News claims that many people are dying of COVID-19 vaccine injuries.
Side by side comparison of 15 years of recorded vaccine injuries and deaths vs. 4 months of recorded COVID vaccine ...
- 2,706
50
votes
3
answers
41k
views
Does regularly drinking from a plastic container cause cancer?
I drink water from my plastic cup regularly and a friend commented that it could cause cancer.
He also added that I should not heat food in plastic containers or wrappings in the microwave as that ...
- 831
45
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Has most peer-reviewed research on homeopathy given positive results?
I was surprised by the following claim from NaturalNews:
Most clinical research conducted on homeopathic medicines that has been published in peer-review journals have shown positive clinical ...
user5194
40
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Is it possible to "boost your immune system"?
I often hear claims that some activities, nutrients, ... "boost" your immune system. My understanding of the immune system is that it is a finely tuned machine with enormous destructive power. If ...
- 43.6k
40
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Is refilling water bottles bad for you?
On a lot of bottles of so called mineral water, it is advised not to refill the bottle (with ordinary tap water, or any other drink e.g. cola) as doing so may present a health hazard. Is there any ...
- 11.9k
35
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is secondhand smoke dangerous?
There seems to be little doubt in public opinion that second hand smoke is dangerous, and I can see why. But many smokers have claimed to me that it is not dangerous at all and it is all media hype. ...
- 11.9k
34
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Can an average person be involuntarily hypnotised?
Often hypnotism is accomplished by convincing an audience member to play along, or by selecting out someone who is suggestible. Can an average person be involuntarily hypnotised?
Update: Let us ...
- 10.2k
32
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Can HAARP affect weather or earthquakes?
Project HAARP is a favorite target of conspiracy theorists. It has been blamed for causing the Haiti earthquake, the recent Japanese earthquake and many, many other events.
The High Frequency ...
- 425
30
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Does drinking milk lead to osteoporosis?
The China Study authors state that:
osteoporosis is linked to the consumption of animal protein because animal protein, unlike plant protein, increases the acidity of blood and tissues. They add ...
- 747
26
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Does CO₂ cause Global Warming?
I know there is global warming, and I know that it is caused by human activity, but is carbon dioxide the cause of it? I read somewhere that apparently increase of CO₂ doesn't cause the increase in ...
- 6,135
25
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Can we end poverty for $US175 billion per year?
A recent question brought up the claim that poverty can be eliminated for 175 billion a year. I found this claim
To end extreme poverty worldwide in 20 years, Sachs calculated that
the total ...
- 9,089
24
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do those hologram bracelets do anything at all?
Bracelets such as Energy Force and Power Balance bracelets claim to improve balance, agility, strength, etc. The demo at the health expo seemed pretty convincing but how can it possibly work?
- 351
21
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Does Masaru Emoto's experiment show human consciousness affects the aesthetics of water crystals?
Japanese author and doctor of alternative medicine, Masaru Emoto claims that water can react to intentions. Talk nice to water and you get nice looking ice crystals from it. Mention Adolf Hitler near ...
- 319
18
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is sleep training a form of neglect or harmful?
Some people claim that "crying it out" is harmful. For example, the article on PhD Parenting states that crying it out is harmful to a child. I've heard others suggest that it's neglectful. I expect ...
- 18k
15
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Does earthing reduce oxidative stress and inflammation?
The other day my friend asked what I think about "earthing" claiming that their products provide electrons we used to get from walking barefoot on the earth surface and that they have positive (...
- 245
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is aluminum in pans, soda cans and antiperspirants correlated to Alzheimer's?
I have not only heard the soda can theory since I was a kid, but more recently when researching the topic I have found many websites that claim pans made of aluminum and antiperspirants are correlated ...
- 243
236
votes
4
answers
33k
views
Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?
Is it true that hot water freezes faster than cold water and if so, what practical applications have there been found for this phenomenon?
- 4,277
116
votes
1
answer
17k
views
Can every grain of sand be addressed in IPv6?
I was once watching a slideshow about the new IPv6, and it mentioned that it is large enough for every grain of sand on earth to be IP addressable.
Is there any grain of truth behind this? (no pun ...
- 3,117
111
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Do we only use 10% of our brain?
I've heard claims that the average person uses only 10% of their "brain power," whatever that means. The implication, though, is that there the majority of our brain's potential is untapped. However, ...
- 5,923
107
votes
6
answers
15k
views
Is smoking weed bad for your health?
Some people believe that smoking marijuana (without any tobacco) is harmful to your health and may cause problems. Examples of things I've heard weed supposedly causes:
All the health problems of ...
- 2,783
107
votes
3
answers
45k
views
Do coal plants release more radiation than nuclear power plants?
As a response to the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant I've heard the claim that fossil-fuel power plants using coal release more radiation than a nuclear power plant. I searched for some ...
- 43.6k
107
votes
5
answers
17k
views
Is the Earth 6000 years old?
Dr Kent Hovind, a noted American Young Earth creationist, claims that the Earth is only 6000 years old.
When I was growing up, I was taught in school that dinosaurs come from at least millions of ...
- 11.3k
95
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Is a vegetarian (vegan) diet more healthy?
According to Wikipedia,
Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal ...
57
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Any Scientific Basis for Neuro Linguistic Programming?
Over the years, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) has been creeping into popular culture. It is used by a lot of self-help gurus, and also in context of the right way to educate and learn (e.g., ...
- 681
53
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do the Left Brain and Right Brain have different functions?
I've heard that the left brain controls the logical aspects of the thought and right brain controls the creative. Is there any truth to such claims?
- 1,241
53
votes
1
answer
21k
views
Can standing in front of a microwave oven give you cancer?
I was heating up some lunch in the microwave oven at work a few weeks ago, and peered into the window to see if my soup was bubbling yet. At that point a coworker walked into the lunch room and ...
- 1,751
51
votes
1
answer
14k
views
Is there any harm in forcing/re-educating a left-handed child to use their right hand?
Backstory:
Many of my relatives were subjected by their parents to a "training process" to "prevent" left-hand-dominance. This method started at a very young age and basically consisted of politely ...
- 8,028
48
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Does child rearing by homosexual couples have any measurable negative effects?
There is a widespread belief that there are adverse effects on children reared in same-sex-parents households compared to male+female household (I can add random googled cites if necessary, but the ...
- 31.1k
45
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Are men smarter than women?
I recently stumbled across the following article:
Sorry, men ARE more brainy than women (and more stupid too!) It's a simple scientific fact, says one of Britain's top dons, in which the author claims:...
- 3,136
44
votes
6
answers
6k
views
What risks exist with GMO, but not with selective breeding?
Anytime you hear Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) come up, someone always pipes in that it's perfectly safe because we've been doing it for thousands of years through selective breeding. ...
- 12.9k
44
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Does the Quran advise men to beat their wives if they disobey them? [closed]
I found this post on Reddit in which it is mentioned that the Quran advises men to beat their wives if they do not obey them.
This is a quote from the link:
Surah 4:34: "Men are in charge of women ...
- 2,479
42
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Are electronic cigarettes a healthier alternative to regular cigarettes?
Electronic cigarettes pose as a replacement of cigarettes. It is claimed that they help in quitting smoking. They do come in flavors, and in various levels of nicotine.
But, are they less harmful? Do ...
- 531
38
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Does eating carrots improve your eyesight?
A common belief in Sweden is that carrot improve your eyesight and I was told many times when I was little to eat carrots. Although anecdotaly I have perfect vision without carrot-gluttony.
Is there ...
- 18.6k
35
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Can we grow enough crops to feed all people on Earth?
Vegetarianism is heavily promoted. But let's say all people on Earth stop eating animal products. Can we grow enough crops so all people on the Earth are provided with enough healthy, nutritious food? ...
- 3,409
34
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Can swimming after having eaten make you drown?
Some people, including my mom, believe that it's very dangerous to bathe after having eaten without waiting approximately 1 hour (the amount of time depends on what you have eaten).
I have two ...
- 2,783
34
votes
4
answers
17k
views
Did the Quran predict the speed of light?
It appears to be popular to claim that the Qur'an predicted the speed of light before it was scientifically well understood. Although none of the sources state that outright, that is what they imply.
...
- 1,874
34
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Did a nocebo study find that rashes could swap hands?
In an answer to another question, the following story was cited.
Another interesting one that demonstrates both the placebo and nocebo effect in one study is a study done by Japanese researches on 57 ...
- 138k
33
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Did Muhammad exist?
What contemporary historical records of the existence of Muhammad, the
prophet of Islam, exist or are known to have existed at some point?
- 359
33
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Organic food is worse for the environment because it requires more land than non-organic food
I've heard that organic crops and husbandry are worse for the environment than non-organic equivalents because in the absence of pesticides and fertilizers much more land is required for an organic ...
- 18k
32
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is nuclear power economically untenable?
One of the arguments I've seen levied against nuclear power is that it's not economically viable.
In the 1970s nuclear power cost half as much as electricity from coal burning: by 1990 nuclear power ...
- 3,796
31
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Does this graph show climate-change predictions don't meet observations?
Dr. Roy Spencer, a climate change contrarian, posted this graph on his blog claiming that observed temperature trends are much lower than what climate models predict:
Is Spencer misrepresenting what ...
30
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Does a surgical mask help prevent catching COVID-19?
According to the Mayo clinic:
"The current recommendations regarding masks are that if you yourself are sick with fever and cough, you can wear a surgical mask to prevent transmission to other ...
- 10.8k
30
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Do surgical masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19 from infected members of the public?
One of the most politicised scientific issues of 2020 was the question about whether face-masks stop the spread of COVID-19.
Here are some specific examples:
Australian Department of Health (...
- 138k
30
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Is there any strong evidence of alien life?
I know that there has been found evidence pointing to simple life on Mars, but has any of the projects like SETI found anything that could point to intelligent alien life out there?
By alien life, I ...
- 483
29
votes
2
answers
33k
views
Is margarine "one molecule away from plastic"?
I've heard the claim that "Margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic" several times. Usually from friends who think they've heard it from some reliable source. I've also read ...
- 15.4k
29
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Are Americans ignorant about the geography of the world?
Jenny Jinx tweeted (244 retweets, 31 favorites)
Seriously, the Czech Republic released a statement to correct stupid
Americans. I am so ashamed. Good grief. http://bit.ly/11mROu5
The linked ...
- 38.7k
28
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does dowsing (aka Water Divining) work?
Also known as water divining, the more general term is dowsing. Practitioners claim to be able to detect minerals and even specific objects.
I first became interested in dowsing in my teens, when the ...
Zzzzzzz123
27
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is washing your hair too often bad?
This is one that I've heard on more than one occasion: "Don't wash your hair every day. Wash it every two days as washing it too often will damage it."
Is there any truth in this?
Can frequent hair ...
- 1,971
26
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Is salt "white death"?
Salt is sometimes known as "white death" due to the belief that an excess intake of salt can cause substantial damage to health.
What evidence exists to support or contradict the idea that excess ...
- 3,409
25
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Will global warming reduce available oxygen?
I saw a friend "like" this news article on Facebook which claims that phytoplankton would stop oxygen production:
"If the world’s oceans warmed by 6 degrees Celsius—a realistic possibility if ...
- 643