我們大多數(shù)人對動物的理解要么來源于長輩們的傳授，要么來源于書籍、動畫或電影，要么來源于自己的觀察和想象力……然而這些來源也有不可靠的時候，某些有關(guān)動物的說法我們深信不疑，可它們其實不過是一傳十十傳百、以訛傳訛的謬論。

Somewhere， right now， an adult is quoting an interesting animal \"fact\" that he actually learned from an old cartoon， or from some other equally unreliable source. This is why sayings like \"blind as a bat1)\" persist2) even though bats can in fact see. Anyway， animals are one of those subjects particularly vulnerable3) to laughable misconceptions.

此時，某地有位大人在旁征博引，拈來一條實際上是從舊漫畫或其他不靠譜的渠道得來的動物“趣聞”。這就是為什么雖然蝙蝠其實看得見，但諸如“瞎如蝙蝠”之類的說法卻經(jīng)久流傳的原因?？偠灾瑒游镞@一群體尤易遭到人們荒謬可笑的錯誤解讀。

1. Cut an Earthworm in Half， You Get Two Worms

You''''re in the back yard and you find an earthworm. You cut it in half， and look at that! Both halves are still alive! Then some helpful grownup comes along and says， \"You know， eventually both ends will heal and grow back， and you''''ll have two worms!\" To a kid， the logic is sound: If lizards and such4) can regenerate5) new tails they''''ve lost， and worms are nothing but tail-shaped things， they can probably regenerate their whole bodies.

The Problem ...

The whole thing is a lie.

Try this. Buy yourself a cow. Now sever6) the cow straight down the middle. How many cows do you now have? Did each half grow a new half cow? Didn''''t think so.

If you think we''''re being silly by picking such a completely different animal， fine. Try it with a fly， or a cockroach7)， because earthworms are as biologically complex as any insect. They， too， have heads and tails and entire systems for eating and metabolizing8) food. They have brains， and hearts， the whole bit.

So the idea that if you cut the head off the ass end of the worm will just grow a new head is just as insane9) as thinking a cow or a dog can do it.

So How''''d It Get Started?

The myth probably comes from a simple misunderstanding. Earthworms， like most insects， do have regenerative abilities， just not nearly as advanced as we think. So if you cut part of an earthworm''''s tail off， it might be able to regrow a stunted10) replacement. And they do keep moving after you cut them in half， but that''''s just because both sides are wriggling11) in pain as the final nerve signals shoot through12). The same has been observed to happen with decapitated13) chickens. Both with chickens and earthworms， the non-head side eventually dies off.

2. Camels Store Water in Their Humps

The very first time you were shown a drawing of a camel in kindergarten， you were told two things: They have humps and they live in the desert because they can go a long time without drinking.

The teacher or parent probably also put two and two together14) and said that the very reason the camels can go on those long trips through an oven-hot desert is that they store water in those humps. The idea made its way into old-time science books， and to this day has been purported15) by \"experts\" like Bear Grylls who claim to have gotten water via a camel''''s humps. So it must come as a surprise when they find out that camel humps don''''t actually do any such thing.

The Problem ...

In reality， camels don''''t store water in their humps; they store fat. Fat works much better than water in the desert， because it provides camels with the energy they need to keep up their metabolism16) and keep moving.

Some of you are saying， \"Well， duh17)， they store water in the fat!\" and it''''s true that when camels metabolize all that fat in their humps， they actually yield18) some water. But the yielded water is lost in the body， and the camel never gets to use it for nourishment.

But don''''t camels need water so they don''''t dehydrate19)? Well， yes， of course. But camels work differently from people. Camels can cool down， and stay cool， much longer than we can. They also have special cells that don''''t allow blood pressure to drop when body volume drops. All of it adds up to a creature that can go a long time without dehydrating.

So How''''d It Get Started?

The origin of this myth is probably twofold. Ancient Roman philosopher/naturalist Pliny the Elder is recorded as having hypothesized that a camel has two stomachs: one made to hold water， and another to hold food. The community at large20) accepted this as fact， and assumed that those two stomachs must be in the two humps.

There are also stories which say that traveling Muslim armies would split open a camel''''s belly and drink its water. Well， that''''s likely because food and water divide into two separate sections of the camel''''s stomach before digestion， allowing one to get a hold of the portion of the stomach filled only with water.

3. Bulls Are Enraged by the Color Red

For many of us， the only Spanish bit of culture we know is that they gather in stadiums so that a man in a ridiculous outfit intentionally faces a pissed-off21) bull just to make it more pissed off by waving a big red napkin in its face. And then at some point you saw， probably in a cartoon， that it was the color red that mesmerizes22) a bull. It makes sense—the whole point of the bull fight is that the bull runs after the red cape while the matador23) stands aside. Clearly， the bull thinks the cape is the problem.

The Problem ...

Not exactly. As anyone who works with bulls will tell you， full-on24) bulls can''''t tell the difference between colors. In reality， bulls get enraged by the flapping motion of the cloth， which， in retrospect25)， would piss off anyone， human or animal， that''''s been starved and thrown into a ring.

So How''''d It Get Started?

The myth probably comes from another simple misunderstanding. The matador show is divided into three portions: in the first two， the matador utilizes a yellow cape. The purpose of these stages is to basically frustrate26) the bull long enough until the show reaches its third stage. In this stage， the matador brings out the signature red cape and enrages the bull into attacking. At this point， the bull is mad enough that the cape could be purple， blue or rainbow with sparkles on it; the bull couldn''''t care less. He just wants a matador sandwich.

1. 一條蚯蚓一切為二后會長成兩條蚯蚓

你在家里的后院發(fā)現(xiàn)了一條蚯蚓，將其切成兩段，然后定睛一看：兩段蚯蚓仍然都活著！這時，某位樂于施教的大人走過來對你說：“知道嗎？這兩段蚯蚓最終都會自愈并長回原樣，就會有兩條蚯蚓了！”對于一個孩子來說，這一邏輯合情合理：如果蜥蜴之類的動物尾巴斷掉后能長出新尾巴，而蚯蚓又都是尾狀體的動物，那蚯蚓被切斷后或許就可以再生出一個完整的身體來。

問題是……

此事純屬謊言。

不妨試試這個。你去買頭?；貋恚缓髮⑴r腰斬斷?，F(xiàn)在你得到了幾頭牛？每半頭牛長成一頭新牛了嗎？我可不這樣認為。

如果你覺得我們選擇一個與蚯蚓大相徑庭的動物來做試驗有失偏頗，那好，拿蒼蠅或者蟑螂來做這個實驗，因為蚯蚓的生物構(gòu)造和任何昆蟲一樣復(fù)雜。蚯蚓也有頭有尾，有完整的食物消化和代謝系統(tǒng)，有大腦，有心臟，一應(yīng)俱全。

因此，如果認為將蚯蚓的頭部切掉那它的尾端就能長出一顆新頭，這樣的想法就好比認為?；蚬返念^砍掉后能再生一樣荒謬至極。

那么，這一說法從何而來？

這一謬誤可能源自一個小小的誤解。和大多數(shù)昆蟲一樣，蚯蚓確實有再生能力，只是沒有我們想象的那樣高級。所以，要是你把蚯蚓尾巴的一部分切除，它可能會再長出一條短小的“替補”尾巴。把蚯蚓切成兩半后，蚯蚓仍會一直動，但這只是因為最后的神經(jīng)信號傳過時，蚯蚓的兩半身體因疼痛扭動所致。我們早已觀察到，雞被砍掉頭后就是這樣的。不管是雞還是蚯蚓，失去頭部的那一半身體最終都死掉了。

2. 駱駝用駝峰蓄水

當(dāng)你上幼兒園、老師第一次向你展示駱駝的圖片時，就告訴過你兩點：駱駝有駝峰；駱駝可以長時間不喝水，因而能夠在沙漠中生存。

老師或家長或許還根據(jù)這兩點作出判斷，告訴你說，駱駝能在像火爐一樣炎熱的沙漠里長途跋涉就是因為它們的駝峰里裝著水。這種觀點在過去的科普書里有所記載，直到現(xiàn)在還有像貝爾·格里爾斯這樣的“專家”聲稱在駱駝的駝峰里找到了水。因此，要是他們知道駝峰實際上并不具備儲水功能時一定會備感驚訝。

問題是……

實際上，駱駝的駝峰里儲存的并不是水，而是脂肪。在沙漠中，脂肪比水更有用，因為它能為駱駝提供新陳代謝和不斷行進所需的能量。

你們有人會說：“哦，我知道了，駱駝將水儲存在脂肪中！”駱駝在代謝駝峰里的那些脂肪時確實會產(chǎn)生一些水，但這些水在體內(nèi)損耗消失，駱駝永遠都無法拿這部分水來做養(yǎng)分。

但是，難道駱駝就不需要水來防止脫水嗎？當(dāng)然需要。但駱駝與人不同，駱駝能自行降低體溫，并且能比人類保持更長時間的低溫狀態(tài)。它們也有特殊的細胞，能夠防止身體消瘦后血壓下降。正是這些造就出一個能長久跋涉還不脫水的物種。

那么，這一說法從何而來？

這一謬誤的產(chǎn)生可追溯到兩個方面。有記載說，古羅馬哲學(xué)家兼博物學(xué)家老普林尼曾提出駱駝有兩個胃的假說：一個用來裝水，一個用來裝食物。公眾大多認為這個假說就是事實，并認為駱駝的這兩個胃必定位于兩個駝峰里。

還有傳言說，穆斯林軍隊在行軍途中會破開駱駝的肚子取水喝。是的，這是因為食物和水在未消化前分別裝在駱駝胃中兩個不同的地方，這樣人們就能從駱駝胃中裝水的那個地方分得一些水。

3．紅色能激怒公牛

我們很多人對西班牙文化僅有的一點了解就是西班牙人聚集在斗牛場，然后一個穿著滑稽的人故意在一頭發(fā)怒的公牛面前揮舞一塊大紅布，以惹得它怒上加怒。你也曾在某個時間看到，可能是在某部動畫片里，一頭公牛的注意力完全被紅色吸引了。這有道理——斗牛，歸結(jié)起來就是公牛追著紅披風(fēng)跑，而斗牛士站立在一旁。顯而易見，公牛是把紅披風(fēng)當(dāng)成了敵人。

問題是……

事實并非完全如此。任何和公牛打過交道的人都會告訴你，急性子的公牛無法分辨顏色。實際上，公牛是被甩擺的披風(fēng)激怒的。仔細想來，不管是動物還是人，在饑腸轆轆還被扔進斗牛場的情形下，看到那樣甩擺的布條都會發(fā)怒吧。

那么，這一說法從何而來？

這一謬誤可能又因一個小小的誤解而起。斗牛表演分為三個階段：在前兩個階段，斗牛士用的是黃色披風(fēng)。這兩個階段的目的主要是不停地激怒公牛，直到斗牛表演進行到第三個階段。在這一階段，斗牛士亮出那個標(biāo)志性的紅色披風(fēng)，激怒公牛發(fā)起攻擊。到這時，公牛已經(jīng)怒不可遏，甭管披風(fēng)是紫是藍還是繽紛的彩色，一概無視——它想要的就是一塊用斗牛士做成的三明治。

1.blind as a bat: <口>完全看不見東西的

2.persist [p??s?st] vi. 持續(xù)；存留

3.vulnerable [?v?ln?r?bl] adj. 易受影響的

4.and such: ……之類

5.regenerate [r??d?en?re?t] vt. 再生，重新生長出，生長出新的以取代(受損或損失的器官、組織)

6.sever [?sev?(r)] vt. 切斷，割斷；把……割下

7.cockroach [?k?kr??t?] n. 【昆】蟑螂

8.metabolize [m??t?b?la?z] vt. (使)新陳代謝

9.insane [?n?se?n] adj. 蠢極的；荒唐的

10.stunted [?st?nt?d] adj. 矮(或小)的

11.wriggle [?r?ɡl] vi. 扭動，蠕動；蜿蜒行進

12.shoot through: 突然撤離

13.decapitate [d??k?p?te?t] vt. 殺……的頭；除去……的頂端

14.put two and two together: <口>根據(jù)現(xiàn)有的事實推斷，綜合起來判斷

15.purport [p??p??t] vt. 聲稱

16.metabolism [m??t?b?l?z?m] n. 【生理】代謝(作用)，新陳代謝(作用)

17.duh [d??] int. = doh [d??] int. <口> <謔> [用于意識到自己做錯事或說錯話]哦

18.yield [ji?ld] vt. 產(chǎn)生，帶來

19.dehydrate [di??ha?dre?t] vi. 脫水，失水

20.at large: 大多數(shù)；整個

21.piss off: 使厭煩；使惱火；使失望。Pissed-off為復(fù)合形容詞。

22.mesmerize [?mezm?ra?z] vt. 迷惑；完全迷住

23.matador [?m?t?d??(r)] n. 斗牛士

24.full-on: 完全的；徹底的，絕對的

25.in retrospect: 回想起來，事后看來

26.frustrate [fr??stre?t] vt. 使惱怒而又不知所措