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Former FLCList of common misconceptions is a former featured list candidate. Please view the link under Article milestones below to see why the nomination was archived. Once the objections have been addressed you may resubmit the article for featured list status.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
October 29, 2006Articles for deletionNo consensus
March 24, 2009Articles for deletionKept
February 8, 2011Articles for deletionNo consensus
April 25, 2011Featured list candidateNot promoted
September 26, 2018Articles for deletionKept
December 22, 2023Articles for deletionKept
Current status: Former featured list candidate


Dodo misconceptions

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The dodo is one of the most famous extinct species, and one of the most commonly cited examples of recent manmade extinctions. However, there are many erroneous beliefs about the dodo popularised by pop culture and misconceptions that should be on this list

  1. "Dodo's were hunted to extinction due to their immaculate taste" This is untrue, as historical accounts wrote of its unsavoury flavour. Its extinction was mostly caused by invasive species as opposed to direct human predation like the passenger pigeon or quagga.
  2. "The dodo was too stupid to survive" This is also untrue, as genetic research has shown that the dodo had average to above average intelligence like other species of pigeons. Its perceived "stupidity" is more akin to naivety and passivity caused by living in isolation without significant predators similar to the moas, Galápagos tortoises, and Steller's sea cow prior to being discovered by Europeans or the Māori. Sources: Dodos might have been quite intelligent, new research finds | ScienceDaily The Dodo and the Solitaire: A Natural History - Jolyon C. Parish - Google Books

Edelgardvonhresvelg (talk) 07:21, 4 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Tripitaka Koreana

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It is a popular misconception that the Tripitaka Koreana does not contain a single error;[23] a survey found that the text does indeed have missing characters and errors.[24][25] Benjamin (talk) 04:39, 7 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

American Gothic entry

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Reviewing the sourcing, it's not clear whether the woman depicted is supposed to be the wife or the daughter. Some sources clearly state "daughter" while others say that it is unclear. I'm raising the issue at the topic article since presumably the editors there are more familiar with the material.

I've commented out the entry pending resolution. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 23:34, 13 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Burndt food and acrylamide

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Acrylamide is actually listed as a cathegory 2 carcinogen by WHO. So it is hard to say that the carcinogenecy of acrylamide is a common misconception. All you could say is that research is ongoing. 2A00:FBC:EE4B:9B84:1044:9EFF:FEAA:961E (talk) 22:48, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The cited sources at Acrylamide say:
  • ...(research has not) established that it is definitely a carcinogen in humans when consumed at the levels typically found in cooked food.
  • ... dietary acrylamide isn’t likely to be related to risk for most common types of cancer.
  • There are many cancer myths, including eating burnt foods, that haven’t been proven to cause cancer.
OTOH, they also say:
  • ... a modest association for kidney cancer, and for endometrial and ovarian cancers ... couldn’t be ruled out.
  • ...probable human carcinogen
  • ...reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen
  • ...likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
  • ... ongoing studies will continue to provide new information on whether acrylamide levels in foods are linked to increased cancer risk.
My reading is that eating burnt food has not been shown to cause cancer and that it is unlikely that it does, but as you say "research is ongoing". That makes this entry enough of a gray area that I'd support removing it. Mr. Swordfish (talk) 23:45, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]