During the mid-2000s, films like "Happy Feet" made penguins all the rage（风行一时）, and young lovers went around spouting² off facts like "penguins mate for life." While the idea is sweet, it's not exactly true.

 

Penguins usually stick with their partners through the mating season, but when it's time to mate again, they choose whomever is convenient, not necessarily their old flame.

 

 

This is not entirely³ true. It was not his entire ear - just the tip of the lobe⁴（耳垂） - and some say he didn't even do it. Van Gogh lived with artist Paul Gauguin, who had quite a violent temper, and many believe Gauguin actually did the cutting.

 

Either way, Van Gogh did reportedly send the tip to a prostitute.

 

Everyone knows Napoleon Bonaparte was a tiny man - after all, his nickname was "le Petit Corporal." His reputation for being short even inspired the phenomenon known as the "Napoleon complex."

 

In reality, Napoleon stood around 5 feet and 7 inches tall, which was very average back in the day. Many believe his nickname was meant as a term of endearment⁵（钟爱）, not a reference to his height.

 

 

The bald eagle is certainly a well-known representation of America, but legend has it that if Ben Franklin had his way, a turkey would have been much better. In reality, Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter mocking the eagle symbol used in a seal by the Society of the Cincinnati, a private military group.

 

He said it looked like a turkey and may as well be one.

 

 

If you remember learning about the senses in elementary school, you know humans possess five: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Most scientists agree, however, that you have more like 10-20 senses, including pain, hunger, thirst, temperature, and more.

 

 

George Washington is known for three things: being the first president, chopping down a cherry tree, and having wooden teeth. At least one of these is certainly not true. While Washington did have bad teeth, his dentures（假牙） were not wooden.

 

 

If you ever made bad grades and pulled the old "Albert Einstein used to make bad grades" card with your parents or teachers, you are lucky you got away with it. In reality, Einstein was at the top of his class and mastered calculus⁶ when he was barely a teenager.

 

The reputation he developed for being a bad student had more to do with his behavior. He liked to talk back to his teachers.

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