Inventions

Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet;[129] it was invented by Sir John Harrington in 1596. Crapper, however, did much to increase its popularity and came up with some related inventions, such as the ballcock mechanism used to fill toilet tanks. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several Royal Warrants. He was not the origin of the word crap, but his name may have helped popularize it.

Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb.[130] He did, however, develop the first practical light bulb, contemporaneously with Joseph Swan.

Eli Whitney did not invent the idea of interchangeable parts, nor did he invent the cotton gin. He did help to popularize them, and obtained a patent for his cotton gin design.[131][page needed]

Henry Ford did not invent either the automobile or the assembly line. He did help to develop the ideas substantially, sometimes through his own engineering but more often through sponsoring the work of his employees.[131][page needed][132][page needed]

Transportation

The United States Interstate Highway System was not designed with airplane landings in mind. A common urban legend states that one out of every five (or ten) miles of highway must be straight and flat to allow emergency (or military) airplane landings, but this is not the case.[133][134] However, several parts of the German and later the Swiss Autobahn system were indeed designed to be auxiliary military airports, both during World War II and the Cold War.[135]

Toilet waste is never intentionally dumped overboard in aircraft. All waste is collected in tanks which are emptied on the ground by special toilet waste vehicles. A vacuum is used to allow the toilet to be flushed with less water and because plumbing cannot rely on gravity alone in an aircraft in motion.[136][137] The infamous blue ice is caused by accidental leakages from the waste tank.

via List of common misconceptions – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Very interesting list of common misconceptions. I remember learning a bunch of these as “fact” in school.