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10 common scientific misconceptions

Did you grow up believing in any of these science myths? From baby birds to flushing toilets, we debunk common 'facts' that are often just a form of misconstrued science. 

9. Microwaves are radioactive

PR Newswire/Whirlpool Corporation
The FDA explains that using a microwave will not make food radioactive.

The general fuss over radiation might be the reason why people fear that using a microwave can make you or your food radioactive. The truth is that household microwaves use a non-ionizing radiation, a low-frequency radiation that does not have enough energy to knock an electron off an atom or break apart an atom's nucleus.

Radioactivity aside, no one can completely shield themselves from radiation. Humans are exposed to radiation nearly every second of every day – from the natural radiation of rocks to the cosmic rays of space. 

The Food and Drug Administration states that although no studies have shown the effects of exposure to the low levels of microwaves, the microwave machine "does not make food 'radioactive' or 'contaminated.'"  Instead, microwaves stir up water molecules in the food just enough to get them moving really quickly, heating your meal. 

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

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