{"days":180,"count":50,"beliefs":[{"id":1,"old_belief":"Pluto is the ninth planet in our solar system","new_truth":"Pluto is a dwarf planet; the solar system has eight planets","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":2,"old_belief":"The 1970s scientific consensus predicted global cooling and a new ice age","new_truth":"No consensus on cooling; CO2 warming was dominant view, media hype created the myth","category":"environment","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":3,"old_belief":"The tongue has distinct zones: sweet on tip, bitter on back, etc.","new_truth":"All basic tastes detectable across the entire tongue","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":4,"old_belief":"Low-fat diets are the healthiest; fat makes you fat and causes heart disease","new_truth":"Healthy fats are essential; excess carbs\/sugar often worse; quality over low-fat","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":5,"old_belief":"Food pyramid base: 6\u201311 servings of grains\/carbs daily for health","new_truth":"Industry-influenced; veggies\/fruits\/protein should be emphasized more","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":6,"old_belief":"Dinosaurs are completely extinct","new_truth":"Birds are living descendants of theropod dinosaurs","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":7,"old_belief":"Dinosaurs were all scaly, slow, cold-blooded lizards","new_truth":"Many had feathers, were active, warm-blooded or mesothermic","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":8,"old_belief":"Brontosaurus was an invalid name (synonym for Apatosaurus)","new_truth":"Brontosaurus is a valid distinct genus","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":9,"old_belief":"We only use 10% of our brains","new_truth":"We use virtually all of our brain; activity widespread","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":10,"old_belief":"People are left-brained (logical) or right-brained (creative)","new_truth":"Hemispheres work together; no dominant personality divide","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":11,"old_belief":"Christopher Columbus discovered America and proved the Earth is round","new_truth":"Natives there millennia; round Earth known since ancient Greeks; Vikings earlier","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":12,"old_belief":"Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for 7 years","new_truth":"Passes through digestive system like other indigestibles in days","category":"health","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":13,"old_belief":"Vaccines cause autism","new_truth":"No causal link; original 1998 study fraudulent and retracted","category":"health","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":15,"old_belief":"Learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) determine best way to learn","new_truth":"No strong evidence; myth in education","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":16,"old_belief":"Neanderthals were dumb, brutish cavemen","new_truth":"Sophisticated culture, art, tools; interbred with modern humans","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":17,"old_belief":"Lightning never strikes the same place twice","new_truth":"It strikes repeatedly (e.g., tall buildings)","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":19,"old_belief":"Seasons are caused by Earth's distance from the Sun","new_truth":"Primarily due to axial tilt (23.4 degrees)","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":20,"old_belief":"Deoxygenated blood is blue","new_truth":"Blood is always red; veins appear blue due to light scattering","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":21,"old_belief":"George Washington had wooden teeth","new_truth":"His dentures were made of ivory, gold, lead, and human teeth (not wood)","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":22,"old_belief":"Salem witches were burned at the stake","new_truth":"Most were hanged; one was pressed to death; no burnings in Salem trials","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":24,"old_belief":"The Great Wall of China is visible from space\/the Moon with the naked eye","new_truth":"Not visible from low Earth orbit naked eye; many structures are visible","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":25,"old_belief":"Only three states of matter exist (solid, liquid, gas)","new_truth":"At least four (plasma common); more like Bose-Einstein condensate","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":26,"old_belief":"Toilet water swirls opposite in Southern Hemisphere due to Coriolis effect","new_truth":"Coriolis too weak on small scales; direction random","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":27,"old_belief":"Bats are blind","new_truth":"All bats have eyesight; echolocation supplements vision","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":28,"old_belief":"Mother birds will abandon chicks if humans touch them","new_truth":"Most birds have poor sense of smell; they rarely abandon for scent","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":29,"old_belief":"Phrenology: skull bumps reveal personality traits","new_truth":"Pseudoscience; brain function not mapped to skull shape","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":30,"old_belief":"Miasma (bad air) causes diseases like cholera","new_truth":"Germ theory: microbes cause most infectious diseases","category":"medicine","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":31,"old_belief":"Lobotomy was an effective treatment for mental illness","new_truth":"Harmful and ineffective; replaced by antipsychotics and therapy","category":"medicine","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":32,"old_belief":"Expanding Earth theory: continents spread from growing planet","new_truth":"Plate tectonics: continents move via subduction and spreading","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":33,"old_belief":"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for weight control","new_truth":"No special benefit; total calories and quality matter more","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":34,"old_belief":"Carbs are inherently fattening \/ low-carb best for everyone","new_truth":"Quality carbs healthy; depends on individual and context","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":36,"old_belief":"Multitasking improves efficiency","new_truth":"Multitasking reduces performance; task-switching costs high","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":41,"old_belief":"Gluten is bad for everyone \/ gluten-free diets are healthier","new_truth":"Only beneficial if you have celiac disease, wheat allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity; no general health advantage otherwise","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":42,"old_belief":"Detox diets\/teas\/cleanses remove toxins from the body","new_truth":"Liver and kidneys naturally detox; no evidence cleanses work beyond placebo\/calorie restriction","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":46,"old_belief":"Positive thinking alone cures illness \/ law of attraction controls outcomes","new_truth":"Mindset helps coping\/resilience but doesn't replace medical treatment; no evidence for magical attraction","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":47,"old_belief":"Freud's theories (id\/ego\/superego, psychosexual stages) are core modern psychology","new_truth":"Many outdated\/unfalsifiable; modern psych evidence-based (CBT, neuroscience)","category":"psychology","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":49,"old_belief":"Bloodletting\/leeches cure many diseases by balancing humors","new_truth":"Harmful in most cases; germ theory replaced humoral theory","category":"medicine","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":50,"old_belief":"Mercury\/amalgams safe for dental fillings without risks","new_truth":"Low risk but some concerns for certain populations; alternatives available","category":"medicine","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":51,"old_belief":"Steady State universe (no Big Bang; eternal)","new_truth":"Big Bang model confirmed by CMB, expansion evidence","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":52,"old_belief":"Polywater (super-dense water) was real substance","new_truth":"Contamination artifact; debunked as silica gel impurity","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":53,"old_belief":"Glass is a slow-flowing liquid at room temperature","new_truth":"Glass is amorphous solid; no flow at room temp (medieval windows myth)","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":54,"old_belief":"Columbus's crew feared falling off flat Earth edge","new_truth":"Round Earth known; fears were mutiny\/starvation","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":55,"old_belief":"Ancient Egyptians used slave labor to build pyramids","new_truth":"Paid skilled workers; evidence from worker villages","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":56,"old_belief":"Napoleon was unusually short","new_truth":"Average height (5'7\" French); British propaganda used different units","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":57,"old_belief":"Thomas Edison single-handedly invented the light bulb","new_truth":"Improved on prior designs (Swan, others); team effort","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":58,"old_belief":"Rosa Parks refused seat because she was tired (random act)","new_truth":"She was a trained NAACP organizer, not a tired seamstress who snapped. That does not make it less brave.","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":59,"old_belief":"Paul Revere's midnight ride shouted 'The British are coming!'","new_truth":"Discreet warnings; didn't shout (to avoid detection)","category":"history","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":60,"old_belief":"Ostriches bury heads in sand when scared","new_truth":"They flatten necks or run; no burying","category":"science","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":61,"old_belief":"Sugar makes kids hyperactive \/ causes hyperactivity","new_truth":"No causal link; placebo effect or expectation; sugar doesn't cause ADHD-like behavior","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0},{"id":62,"old_belief":"Whole milk is bad for you \/ low-fat\/skim is always healthier","new_truth":"Whole milk not linked to higher CVD risk; may be neutral or beneficial in moderation","category":"nutrition","evidence_strength":null,"last_reviewed_at":null,"open_challenges":0}]}