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Myth: Penguins are monogamous - While penguins have often served as the poster children for monogamy, this isn't entirely true.

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Myth: Penguins are monogamous - Eighty-five percent of emperor penguins actually mate with a different partner from one season to the next. Adélie penguins have also been known to exchange sex for goods.

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Myth: Humans evolved from chimpanzees - We share about 98.8% of our DNA with chimpanzees but we did not actually evolve from the modern chimp.

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Myth: Humans evolved from chimpanzees - Humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor between six and eight million years ago, but both have since evolved into separate branches of the ape family tree.

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Myth: Giraffes sleep for only 30 minutes a day - Giraffes actually have consistent and fairly typical sleeping habits.

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Myth: Giraffes sleep for only 30 minutes a day - Scientists following a herd of giraffes for over five months found that they sleep, on average, 4.6 hours every day, even taking naps in the afternoons.

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Myth: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand - Ostriches have been thought to bury their heads in the sand when they feel threatened.

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Myth: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand - Not only is this false, it is also unrealistic as they wouldn't be able to breathe nor would they actually be hiding themselves. Ostriches will often play dead or run to escape danger.

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Myth: Vanilla ice cream contains beaver butt secretions - Many people are aware of a secretion called castoreum, which is extracted from beavers, and is added to flavorings and perfumes.

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Myth: Vanilla ice cream contains beaver butt secretions - However, it's very unlikely to find companies that use castoreum in their products, as it is very expensive and is often banned by government health agencies.

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Myth: Sharks don't get cancer - This myth is thought to have been started by claims that shark cartilage has antiangiogenic properties, preventing them from getting cancer.

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Myth: Sharks don't get cancer - However, there are various cases of tumors found in sharks.

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Myth: People get warts from frogs and toads - You can sleep soundly tonight knowing that you cannot, in fact, get warts from contact with a frog or toad.

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Myth: People get warts from frogs and toads -

The virus that causes warts, human papillomavirus, is unique to humans and can only be transferred through direct contact.

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Myth: Bats are blind - Being "blind as a bat" is not reflective of reality.

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Myth: Bats are blind - Bats rely heavily on echolocation, but they are capable of sight.

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Myth: Chameleons change color to blend in with their environment - Chameleons change color based on factors such as mood, temperature, health, communication, and light.

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Myth: Chameleons change color to blend in with their environment - Most color changes are actually in response to mood.

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Myth: Dogs and cats are color-blind - It has been a long-perpetuated myth that dogs and cats see in black and white.

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Myth: Dogs and cats are color-blind - However, scientists have found that animals do see colors, but in a different and less-vibrant way.

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Myths: Sloths are lazy - Most people think that sloths spend their entire day sleeping or lounging in trees.

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Myths: Sloths are lazy - Sloths actually just have a very slow digestive system and low-calorie diet, meaning their slow and sluggish nature is a survival instinct. When need be, they can engage in fast movement.

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Myth: Sharks can smell a drop of blood from miles away - Sharks have an amazing sense of smell and can detect as little as one part blood per 10 billion parts water.

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Myth: Sharks can smell a drop of blood from miles away - However, the equivalent distance would be roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool and not measurable in miles.

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Myth: Lemmings jump off cliffs in mass suicides - Many believe that instinct drives lemmings to jump off cliffs in large groups as a way to control large population size. However, lemmings do not actually commit mass suicide.

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Myth: Lemmings jump off cliffs in mass suicides - This myth has been tracked back to the 1958 Disney nature film 'White Wilderness,' in which humans deliberately faked this lemming behavior by pushing them off cliffs and filming it.

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Myth: Goldfish don't remember anything longer than a second - This popular myth has been debunked by scientists all over the world.

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Myth: Goldfish don't remember anything longer than a second -

Fish are actually quite capable of memory and learning. They can retain information and act on it after extended periods of time.

See also: The secret life of bats

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