Welcome to our deep‑dive into the top 10 autism misconceptions that have been chucked out the window by unforgettable characters on the silver screen and small‑screen. From sitcoms to dramas, these shows prove that myths aren’t just wrong—they’re dramatically exaggerated.

10 Autistic People Don’t Want Friends

First off, the idea that autistic individuals shun friendships is a total myth. Many assume that because autistic people may express themselves differently, they have no desire for close bonds. In reality, they often need more time to develop the social toolkit required for interaction, which simply means early engagement is crucial. Just like anyone else, they thrive on shared experiences, especially when facing bullying at school or the workplace.

Take the Netflix series Atypical. The 18‑year‑old protagonist Sam Gardner, who lives with autism, forms a genuine friendship with Zahid, a fellow teen at his tech job. Their bond goes beyond casual chatter—they discuss girls, shop for outfits to impress, and swap stories about crushes. While the conversations may seem surface‑level, the underlying trust and acceptance showcase that autistic teens absolutely crave and cherish friendship.

9 They Lack Empathy

Fans of The Big Bang Theory have long debated whether Sheldon Cooper’s apparent lack of feeling makes him autistic. In the real world, many still cling to the belief that autism equals an empathy vacuum, sometimes dubbing it the “empathy disorder.” The truth is more nuanced: Sheldon’s difficulty lies in reading social cues, not in feeling empathy at all.

Consider Dr. Shaun Murphy from The Good Doctor. Diagnosed with autism and savant syndrome, Shaun sometimes struggles to verbalize his emotions, yet his actions speak volumes. He goes the extra mile for patients, displaying deep compassion and concern. As author Kerry Magro, who is also on the spectrum, puts it, “Shaun and I are not defined by our diagnosis,” highlighting that empathy is very much present.

8 They Don’t Feel Emotion

Being on the autism spectrum does not erase the capacity to feel or recognize emotions. Autistic individuals may simply process and express feelings in ways that differ from neurotypical norms. This distinction is vital: emotion exists, but the outward display may vary.

In the classic film Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Raymond—an autistic savant—illustrates this beautifully. Raymond dazzles with mathematical brilliance yet struggles with social signals and sensory overload. Hoffman immersed himself in scientific literature and consulted psychiatrists to capture the character’s depth. The result? A man who feels intensely, reacting like a child when distressed, proving that emotion lives within, even if it’s expressed uniquely.

7 They Can’t Learn

The myth that autistic people cannot learn is stubbornly persistent, yet research consistently disproves it. Learning isn’t absent; it simply follows a different pathway. Studies show no overall difference in learning ability between autistic and neurotypical individuals.

Sam Gardner’s journey in Atypical exemplifies this. In the episode “Sam Takes A Walk,” his mother invents a board game designed to teach Sam everyday coping strategies—how to react when a dog barks or how to board a bus. The episode underscores that with tailored tools, autistic learners thrive just as well as anyone else.

6 They Are All Intellectually Disabled

It’s a common misconception that every autistic person experiences intellectual disability. While about half of those on the spectrum have some form of intellectual impairment, many boast high IQs and excel in creative and technical fields.

Dr. Shaun Murphy’s competence in medicine, highlighted earlier, mirrors real‑world success stories. Historical figures like Hans Christian Andersen, modern talents such as singer Susan Boyle (who wowed audiences on Britain’s Got Talent), and visionary director Tim Burton all demonstrate that autism does not predetermine intellectual limits.

5 They Are All Savants

The savant stereotype, popularized by movies like Rain Man, suggests that every autistic individual possesses extraordinary, narrow talents. The reality is far more varied: only a small fraction of autistic people are true savants.

Sam Gardner, while academically bright, is not a savant. He reflects the majority of autistic professionals—doctors, lawyers, actors—who succeed without possessing the dramatic, singular gifts portrayed in cinema. This diversity of ability underscores that autism is a spectrum, not a single talent profile.

4 They Cannot Be Gainfully Employed

The notion that autistic individuals can’t hold jobs is outdated. Characters like Sam from Atypical and Shaun from The Good Doctor are proof that meaningful employment is well within reach.

What does pose challenges is the additional testing and accommodations many autistic job seekers require. Employment agencies are still learning to match autistic talent with suitable roles and to provide the necessary supports. Iconic figures such as Steve Jobs, who is now believed to have been autistic, illustrate that brilliance can translate into extraordinary professional achievement when the right environment is present.

3 Autism Is Caused By Vaccinations

The claim that vaccines cause autism persists despite overwhelming scientific refutation. The exact cause of autism remains unknown, though genetics, environmental factors, and brain development differences are under investigation.

The myth traces back to a discredited 1998 study that falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism. The study was retracted, and the lead researcher lost his medical license, yet the rumor lingers. Importantly, beloved films and series such as Rain Man, Atypical, and The Good Doctor never suggest that their autistic characters suffered because of vaccines.

2 Bad Parenting Causes Autism

Another stubborn myth blames parenting for autism. In Atypical, Elsa—Sam’s mother—embodies the antithesis of this stereotype. She maintains a close bond with Sam, supports him through challenges, and even attends a weekly autism support group.

Even when personal turmoil strikes—her marriage crumbles, and she faces an extramarital affair—Elsa’s dedication to Sam never wavers. While some autistic children may encounter difficult family dynamics, it is not the parenting style that creates autism.

1 Autism Is Rare

Contrary to the belief that autism is a rarity, it affects roughly 1 in 54 eight‑year‑olds in the United States. Some individuals may outgrow noticeable symptoms, but the prevalence is far higher than many assume.

Series like Atypical and The Good Doctor work to raise public awareness, emphasizing that autism is common and that stigma and bullying have no place in society. By shining a light on these conditions, they help normalize neurodiversity and promote acceptance.

Misinformation has been a constant companion of humanity—whether it’s a harmless rumor or a full‑blown urban legend, it spreads like wildfire. One day a quirky claim pops up, the next it’s plastered across social feeds, and before you know it, more people have heard the false version than the factual one. Once that story is out there, pulling it back in is a near‑impossible feat. All we can really do is shine a light on the truth.

10 common pop Myths Overview

10 Tang Was Not Made For Astronauts

Back in the 1960s, the orange‑flavored powdered drink Tang became inseparably linked with NASA’s space missions. The connection wasn’t because the beverage was engineered for orbit; it was a clever marketing push that painted Tang as a space‑age staple while still being sold on grocery shelves.

Astronauts did sip Tang up there, but the drink wasn’t born out of a desire to feed crews. Its powdered form simply made it convenient for the limited storage conditions of a spacecraft.

Introduced to the market in 1959, Tang never really captured the public’s imagination. Even in orbit the drink fell flat—Buzz Aldrin famously called it “sucks”—and water in space, due to the way it’s processed, also tastes pretty awful.

In 1960, a NASA official saw Tang’s potential and began purchasing it in bulk, referring to it only as “orange crystals.” After John Glenn carried a few packets aloft, General Mills seized the moment, shouting from the rooftops that Tang was the astronaut drink, even though the company never claimed to have invented it for space.

The marketing campaign subtly suggested NASA had created Tang, and General Mills never corrected that misconception, letting the myth linger for decades.

9 Hobbits Were Never Described as Having Big Feet

When we think of Tolkien’s Middle‑earth, the first thing that comes to mind is the tiny, shoe‑less folk with hair‑covered feet. Yet many fans picture Hobbits with oversized, comical feet—a notion that never appears in Tolkien’s own prose.

Tolkien did describe their soles as leathery and covered in hair because they never wore shoes, but he never called them gigantic. His own illustrations never featured exaggerated foot size either.

The myth of big feet began when 1970s fantasy artists, notably the Hildebrand Brothers, took artistic liberties and gave Hobbits disproportionately large feet in their drawings. Those images became the first visual exposure many readers had, cementing the false belief that Hobbits naturally possess giant feet.

8 Chinese Checkers Has Nothing To Do With China

Board‑gaming enthusiasts often assume Chinese Checkers hails from the Middle Kingdom, but the game’s lineage is far more tangled. Its surge in American popularity during the 1930s masks a European origin.

The game actually evolved from the German‑created Halma, which itself was a spin‑off of an American pastime from the late 1800s. Pressman Co. later slapped an Oriental‑themed package on the game, branding it “Chinese” to add exotic flair and boost sales.

7 Garfield Was Never Meant to be Funny

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a Garfield strip, you’re not alone. Creator Jim Davis openly admits that the comic wasn’t crafted for laughs. Instead, it was built as a licensing goldmine.

In a 1982 interview, Davis explained that while other comic animals—like Snoopy—were gaining popularity, cats were largely absent from the syndication scene. He saw a lucrative opening for a cat that could be merchandised to the moon and back.

Davis deliberately kept the jokes simple and repetitive, focusing less on humor and more on building a brand. He reportedly spent as much as 60 hours a week on promotion and licensing, compared to 14 hours actually drawing the comic.

That commercial focus explains why Garfield’s face adorns everything from T‑shirts to coffee mugs and even a pizza joint in Kuala Lumpur—because the creator’s aim was profit, not punchlines.

6 The Star Trek Theme Song Actually Has Lyrics

The iconic opening of the original Star Trek series is widely recognized as a soaring instrumental. Yet, many viewers don’t realize that the piece originally came with a set of lyrics penned by series creator Gene Roddenberry.

Composer Alexander Courage crafted the memorable melody, and his contract entitled him to royalties each time the theme aired. When the deal was renegotiated a year later, Roddenberry secured the right to add lyrics, which he did—though they were never used on the show.

Those unused words granted Roddenberry co‑authorship, meaning he earned half the royalties. He reportedly told Courage, “I need to make money somewhere else, because the profits from Star Trek aren’t going to cover it,” cementing the business‑first mindset behind the famous tune.

5 Solo Cup Lines Are Not For Measuring Alcohol

College parties often feature the classic red Solo cup, and a persistent myth claims the faint lines printed inside the cup indicate specific drink volumes—12 oz for beer, 5 oz for wine, and 1 oz for a shot.

Solo’s manufacturers have clarified that those lines are not measurement guides. They are simply a by‑product of the cup‑forming process, serving a functional purpose unrelated to beverage quantities.

Beyond that, why would anyone bother measuring their wine or beer in a disposable plastic cup when a proper glass or shot glass exists? The lines are decorative, not a built‑in bartender.

4 Back to the Future Was Never Supposed to Have a Sequel

The 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future wrapped up with Doc Brown soaring in his time‑traveling DeLorean, hinting at future adventures. However, that “to‑be‑continued” moment was originally a tongue‑in‑cheek joke, not a genuine setup for sequels.

Producers never intended a follow‑up; the ending was meant as a playful nod. When the film became a massive hit, studio executives retrofitted the ending, adding a “to be continued” banner to the theatrical prints, forcing a sequel that was never part of the original plan.

3 Schrodinger’s Cat Metaphor Was Not Meant to Be Serious

Schrödinger’s famed feline thought experiment is often presented as a literal paradox: a cat locked in a box is simultaneously alive and dead until observed. Physicists use it to illustrate quantum superposition, but the original intent was more tongue‑in‑cheek.

Erwin Schrödinger himself recognized the absurdity of the scenario. He deliberately chose a cat—a creature most people love—to highlight how ridiculous it would be to let an observer decide reality’s state, thereby critiquing the prevailing interpretations of quantum mechanics.

2 Seinfeld’s Festivus Was a Real Event in One Writer’s Home

Fans of Seinfeld instantly picture the aluminum pole, the “airing of grievances,” and the “feats of strength.” While the show treated Festivus as a fictional holiday, its roots are very real.

Writer Dan O’Keefe based the episode on a genuine family tradition his father forced upon them. The original Festivus was even more chaotic than the sitcom version, lacking a set date, official rituals, or any formal structure.

1 Bram Stoker Didn’t Intend for Dracula to Be a Work of Fiction

When The Blair Witch Project claimed to be a true story, audiences were spooked. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, though a classic of horror fiction, was originally marketed by the author as a factual account.

Stoker told his editor that the characters Jonathan and Mina Harker were real acquaintances who recounted their terrifying experiences, hoping the “true story” angle would boost sales.

His editor balked, noting the novel appeared shortly after the Jack the Ripper murders and that a supernatural tale presented as fact would be hard to sell. Consequently, Stoker was forced to cut over a hundred pages, including the opening that framed the narrative as a true account.

Some elements Stoker incorporated were based on real events, such as the ship Demeter—modeled after an actual vessel named Dmitri that wrecked while transporting cargo, with crew members reporting a mysterious black dog near a cemetery.

Whether Stoker’s claim of truth was a genuine belief, a marketing ploy, or a playful tease remains a mystery lost to history.

10 debunked historic curses have long fascinated the curious and the superstitious alike. Curses are as ancient as civilization itself, with countless stories in holy texts, folklore, and even the Bible—where Jesus famously cursed a barren fig tree. Yet many of these ominous legends crumble under scrutiny, revealing more about media hype and human psychology than any supernatural force.

10 debunked historic Curses Overview

10 The Curse of Tutankhamun

The curse of Tutankhamun, like the preceding Curse of the Pharaohs, or Mummy’s Curse, was mainly the creation of a media beset with competition, eager to sell newspapers. When Howard Carter’s expedition discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922, it set off a media frenzy. When Carter entered the tomb in late November, accompanied by George Herbert, Lord Carnarvon, who financed the expedition, the frenzy hit a peak. More than 5,900 artifacts were eventually excavated from the tomb. They did not find a document or any other item describing a curse promising an early death to any desecrating the tomb, though later events led the press to report they had.

The following spring, Lord Carnarvon cut himself shaving, according to some slicing a mosquito bite which had already become infected. On April 5, 1923 Lord Carnarvon died of sepsis, caused by his infected wound, and though he had been in ill health for over two decades, the media seized upon the curse of King Tut. Several other deaths followed among the excavators, but according to the British Medical Journal The Lancet at a rate which did not exceed that of normal for a population sampling of similar size. Howard Carter lived for another 16 years, dying at the age of 64, of natural causes.

The Curse of King Tut both built upon and expanded on tales of curses enacted by the ancients to protect their final resting places and the items they took with them on their journey to the other world. Since the excavation, Tut’s mummy, and many of the items excavated from his tomb, have toured the world. Whenever the displays reach a new destination the media faithfully reproduces the legend of the Curse of King Tut, titillating their audience with threats of doom. But there is little evidence to support there ever was a curse, and less that the curse was found in writing by Carter and his team.

From WatchMojo.com to preshows in movie theaters to… well, TopTenz, everyone wants to provide small novelty pieces of information about beloved movies. Unfortunately, the high demand means that the product has gotten a bit diluted over time. Misunderstandings or even outright lies now permeate the pop culture landscape. We’re inclined to believe a lot of them if for no other reason than the reputation that people have in show business for being weird, or for crazy things to happen when millions of dollars are spent on make believe.

Here at TopTenz there’s too much respect for the truth to let that stand. Well, at least we want to help our readers put some smug people who think they’re the smartest people in the world because they know some piece of trivia in their place.   

10. Alien’s Gender Flip

Since Ellen Ripley’s status as the main character (and sole survivor, not counting the cat) of the Alien franchise was a surprise in the original film of the series, the part being played by Sigourney Weaver instead of, say, her then-more famous male co-star Tom Skerritt made it a subject of a lot of discussion from 1979 onwards. One of the claims that popped up over the years was that the character was originally intended to be male. This seems to be a carryover from the genderflipped character Ruth Leavitt in the slightly less famous 1971 science fiction classic The Andromeda Strain.

None other than screenwriter Dan O’Bannon refuted the story. He clarified that, intentionally, none of the characters were gender specific in his script so that the casting director could take care of that. He had even included notes about this decision on the last page of his original screenplay. We’ll leave it up to the reader to decide what if anything this says about gender roles in fiction.

9. Johnny Depp/Jackie Earle Haley

It’s a classic story of an audition with a comical twist: Someone who doesn’t even intend to be an actor is just going along with a friend to audition for a job. Turns out the casting director prefers the friend who wasn’t intending to act, and that person goes on to be a big star. Something very similar to that happened to Bob Hoskins, for example. The single most famous example of this would likely be in 1983, when Jackie Earle Haley brought Johnny Depp along with him for a role in A Nightmare on Elm Street and ended up launching his friend’s career. Then for a fun coincidence, Jackie Earle Haley was cast as Freddy Krueger for the 2010 remake.

Except… no. Haley clarified in an interview in Esquire that all this talk of him and Depp at the audition was just a rumor. He doesn’t even know what the origin of the rumor could have been, just that him not bringing Depp there was crystal clear.

8. Daniel Day Lewis’s Insane Method Acting

Daniel Day-Lewis is as much famous for his extreme method acting as he is for winning three Academy Awards for Best Actor. For example, playing the primarily paralyzed Christy Brown in My Left Foot involved him staying in a wheelchair for the duration of the shoot. He supposedly insists on only being referred to by his character’s name. It’s all designed to instill the belief that he spends all day trying to think of himself as the character in some maniacal worship of the acting profession.

On the podcast I Was There Too, Paul F. Tompkins (who worked with him on There Will Be Blood) clarified that Lewis wasn’t so intensely in character at all. Between takes he would discuss the characters as if they were characters, he wouldn’t insist at all on being referred to by his character’s name, and he was fine with dropping the accent once the shoot was done for the day. Indeed, as Tompkins opines, it would be an indication that Lewis isn’t a good actor if he makes others uncomfortable with such unreasonable demands, since part of the nature of being a good actor is to pay attention to the needs of your collaborators.

7. Tricking Alan Rickman

No, this isn’t an assertion that it’s untrue that Alan Rickman was ever tricked. This is referring to a story that, in order to get a better reaction out of Hans Gruber for the shot when he is dropped off Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, supposedly the director told him that he would be dropped on the count of three. However, to get a genuinely shocked reaction before Rickman had properly braced himself, though, he was dropped on the count of one.

Sorry to ruin everyone’s fun, but Rickman was asked about this very thing during a Q&A event. He unambiguously didn’t remember it happening, which – considering how vividly he remembered the director saying “we’re going to drop the actor” – means that would have been an aspect that would have stuck in his memory. Considering he remembered the fall being higher than the generally reported (40 feet instead of 25) he clearly wasn’t in the mood to downplay anything.   

6. Al Capone’s Tailor

Bringing it back to the subject of method acting, we all know perhaps the second biggest method actor in the world was Robert DeNiro for years and years, starting with becoming a real cab driver for weeks to prepare to play Travis Bickle in 1974’s Taxi Driver. By the time 1987 rolled around, for The Untouchables the news went around that DeNiro was supposedly personally tracking down Al Capone’s tailor so that the pajamas he wore (and even his underwear) matched the crime lord’s.

As was pointed out by others well after this misconception spread, given that there was a 56-year gap between Capone’s incarceration and the production of The Untouchables, Capone’s tailor was very unlikely to be in the right shape to work. For one thing, Capone’s tailor was actually Louis Dinato, an associate of Capone’s whose main noteworthy aspect was being repeatedly questioned by the police even after Capone was imprisoned (to no avail), as if he were some sort of interrogation punching bag. The person who actually did the costume work for DeNiro was Rich Bruno, and given that he was only 52 when The Untouchables was made, it would have been quite a trick for the costumer to be tailoring for Al Capone.

5. Spider-Man’s 156 Takes

This one has been a favorite of trivia sites for years: Somehow Sam Raimi’s 2002 film Spider-Man had enough time in the production schedule to devote hours and hours (if not days) to shoot 156 takes of Tobey Maguire catching a tray full of food. Now granted, in 2002 CGI affordable enough for a throwaway gag wasn’t quite up to scratch, so there’s plenty of reason to do it mechanically instead of with computers. But Maguire didn’t do it alone and the “156 takes” claim is certainly a joke (evidenced by the fact that in its source, a commentary track, the commenter gets a laugh from it).

It explicitly was a combination of using a “mechanical rig” to drop the food and gluing the tray to Maguire’s hand, and using force-absorbing gel on the bottom of said food. In fact, if you go frame-by-frame, you can see a white substance stuck to the bottom of the apple. That at least confirms it wasn’t CGI, since why would a CG artist put that on there? Still, it definitely puts this back in the “SFX” category.   

4. Werner Herzog’s Shoe Bet

Errol Morris and Werner Herzog are two of the most interesting documentary filmmakers working today, and their film careers were connected in a rather befuddling way. Errol Morris began his career in 1978 with the cult documentary Gates of Heaven (particularly beloved by Roger Ebert) at a time when he had little funding and getting distribution for the film would have been extremely difficult. Herzog came up with a bizarre bet to motivate his friend: If the movie were completed, Herzog would eat his shoe at the premiere. It was enough of an event that a short film was made of the preparation of the meal.

Then Morris came along during a Q&A session at the Lincoln Center and revealed that they actually didn’t have a wager – it was just something that Herzog had made up as an excuse to eat a shoe. Not wanting to be comedically upstaged, while telling the truth about this, Morris said he would joke for years that the bet had actually stipulated Herzog’s foot.    

3. The Dark Knight’s Remote Futzing

Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in this 2008 blockbuster was so compelling that much of his manic behavior felt completely natural, leaving audiences open to the notion that even the biggest parts were improvised. A scene where the Joker claps in jail is an example. But the best known example is the scene where the Joker is blowing up Gotham General Hospital, but stops when there seems to be a problem with the detonation. In what was alleged to be improv, Ledger messes with the remote, and then the explosion resumes, leaving him to scramble onto the bus.

As director Christopher Nolan explains in a behind the scenes feature included on The Dark Knight blu-ray, the sudden stop in the explosion and the Joker’s pause was actually planned in advance. In fact, Warner Brothers provided a CGI mockup of how the scene would be staged as evidence. That’s much further than most studios go in debunking a piece of trivia.

2. Citizen Kane’s Non-Plot Hole

Since this 1941 film has for decades been known as arguably the best ever made, it was a delight for film buffs and critics alike to claim that the story has a gigantic plot hole right in the middle of it. The impetus for the story is that the titular Kane’s last word was “Rosebud” and it was supposed to be said to an empty room. Which begs the question of how anyone heard what his final word was if he was alone. There was a story circulated that this was pointed out to auteur Orson Welles by a member of the crew, and Welles responded some variation on “don’t you ever tell anyone this.”

The problem with the plausibility of that little story is that it’s not consistent with the content of the movie. While the opening scene has been watched by cinefiles and parodied many times by shows such as The Simpsons, the scene’s person who heard the words doesn’t appear until much later. Very near the end, the reporter that’s been spending the movie trying to learn from Kane’s intimates what Rosebud could mean has a brief chat with the butler Raymond, who explicitly says he’s the one who heard it. Raymond’s other main contribution to the movie is telling the reporter about the famous scene where Kane wrecks his room until he sees a snow globe and says Rosebud the first time. So if someone had asked Orson Welles about who heard the words, Welles would just have said Raymond instead of acting as if his entire movie were in jeopardy.    

1. Being John Malkovich’s Beer Can

A lot of this trivia took a concerted effort to debunk or a celebrity to wanted to set the record straight. In this case, the thing that disproved it was completely unintentional. Indeed, the performer in question might not even have ever heard of the false story.

In Being John Malkovich, there’s a scene where the titular actor is walking by a road while he’s in a rut. An extra in a passing vehicle yelled “Hey Malkovich, think fast!” and threw a beer can at his head. Supposedly the scene was completely unscripted and instead of being rebuked for potentially ruining a take, the actor got a raise (some versions say he got a Screen Actors Guild card) because the line of dialogue was used.

The truth didn’t come out until Malkovich was doing a question and answer session known as a “AMA” (Ask Me Anything) on the popular website Reddit. One of his fans asked about that particular scene without mentioning it was supposedly completely spontaneous. The actor said that he was especially fond of that scene, and had been looking forward to it… as soon as he read it in the script. In fact, director Spike Jonze wasn’t even sure if any of the actors would be able to hit Malkovich in an acceptably low number of takes. In hindsight, it would have been a pretty bad idea to actively encourage extras to do things that might harm actors and ruin takes, so everyone should have found the story dubious even before Malkovich accidentally corrected them.    

Fun Fact: Dustin and Adam Koski also wrote a hilarious and exciting fantasy novel.

Out-of-place artifacts, called OOPARTS for short, are a popular source of evidence among those who support theories of ancient aliens’ visitation, creationists, paranormal activities believers, and other forms of pseudoscience and fringe science. What are they? They can be evidence of technological achievements centuries before such ability was known to exist. Or they can present “evidence” of human habitation prior to the accepted emergence of humanity. Or they can present evidence of human emigration centuries earlier than believed.

An important part of an OOPART is its ability to baffle experts, seemingly unable to explain the evidence before their eyes. According to Act for Libraries.org the term is “rarely used by historians and scientists”, and OOPARTS are instead cited, often erroneously and sometimes fraudulently, as evidence supporting fringe theories. Here are 10 such OOPARTS which have been debunked by mainstream science, though they still have their supporters.

10. The Tamil Bell

In 1836 a Christian missionary to New Zealand named William Colenso discovered Maori women boiling potatoes in a bronze vessel, which he recognized as a damaged bell. Further examination by Colenso, who was also botanist and explorer of note, revealed the bell was manufactured of bronze, and bore an inscription in ancient Tamil, using characters which had long before fallen out of use. The inscription identified the Maori cooking pot as a ship’s bell.

Since its discovery by Colenso, numerous theories developed as to how a Tamil bell arrived in New Zealand from Asia, when no previous evidence of Tamil contact with the Maori had been unearthed, as well as none since. The bell is an OOPART because of its inscription linking it to a Tamil ship, though that in itself does not mean the Tamil made contact with the Maori several centuries before its discovery. The waters of the region were plied with numerous vessels, including the Portuguese, French, English, and Spanish. Pirates roamed the area as well. Any number of plausible explanations for the bell’s presence are thus available.

It could have been recovered from a derelict vessel which washed ashore in New Zealand. It could have been taken as a prize by sailors from one ship or another, and traded to the Maori. Before the New Zealand coast and adjacent waters were charted by Captain James Cook in the late 18th century, the unknown shoals and currents of the region claimed many an unwary ship. How the Tamil Bell arrived in New Zealand remains undetermined, but it was likely more due to accident than exploration.

9. The Shroud of Turin

Few Christian relics are more controversial than the Shroud of Turin, claimed by believers to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth, marked with a negative photographic image of His body by unknown, but miraculous means. To others it is a deliberate hoax, created by an unknown artist or artists during the Medieval period. Carbon dating supports the latter theory, despite claims by believers which state the carbon dating is inaccurate, and other means of measuring its age dates it to the time of Christ.

The Shroud did not appear in any documented record until 1353 AD, which corresponds to the window established by carbon dating as to the time of its creation, more than 1300 years after the events some believe it proves. Subsequent legends and folklore placed the Shroud in the hands of Byzantine invaders and others during the period when its existence, at least the existence of the Shroud of Turin known today, was hidden. Since the 14th century appearance of the Shroud, the Catholic Church has carefully noted its existence, but has never confirmed its authenticity.

Recently DNA testing has been conducted on the cloth, with inconclusive results, as would be expected from an artifact which has passed through so many hands, tests, examinations, and studies for over six centuries. To the faithful, the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. To those who follow science, it’s a carefully created forgery, so skillfully done the means of doing so remain hidden. To them, it is an OOPART, formed in the 14th century, and not an ancient relic of Biblical times.

8. The Dendera Lamps of Ancient Egypt

The Dendera Lamps stem from a collection of motifs in the temple at Dendera, Egypt. Supporters of ancient alien visitation theories claim the motifs depict the use of projecting electric lights a la cathode ray tubes, or arc lamps. Influential support of the theory came from Erich von Daniken, author of numerous books citing alien visitations among the ancients, including Chariots of the Gods? Science widely disregards his theories, yet his books continue to sell and have spawned a growing number of believers that the Ancient Egyptians, as well as the Hindu, Tamil, Incan, and Mayan civilizations, benefited from alien technology.

The theories of Daniken and his supporters make the Dendera Lamps, also called the Dendera Lights, an OOPART since they clearly show the use of technology previously believed to have been unknown by the Egyptians of the day. To them, anyway. Mainstream science and archaeology disagree. To them, the portions of the motif which ufologists claim represents light beams are actually depictions of the rising sun emerging from a lotus flower, in accordance with Egyptian legend.

The Dendera Lamps remain controversial among pseudoscientists and ufologists, some of whom cite them as irrefutable proof of alien intervention in Ancient Egypt. They ignore the inscriptions which appear along with the motif, which describe each panel. The inscriptions link each panel of the motif with a corresponding scene from the Ancient Egyptian creation myth, rather than depicting the use of electric light, as all too many believe.

7. Piltdown Man

In a 1912 meeting of the Geological Society of London, Charles Dawson claimed he had received a portion of a skull discovered four years earlier in a gravel pit at Piltdown. Dawson informed the meeting he had visited the site several times, and discovered several pieces of fossilized bone in the spoil pits surrounding the gravel pit. Arthur Smith Woodward of the reputable British Museum joined Dawson on some of his diggings. In 1915 portions of additional bone fragments were discovered at a similar site in Sheffield.

Piltdown Man, as the bones came to be called, was claimed by its discoverers to be a previously unknown hominid, the so-called missing link of evolution from ape to man. Almost from the beginning, scientists and anthropologists disputed the findings, and the subject became one of dispute for several decades. In 1953 a group of scientists and researchers provided TIME Magazine with information which established Piltdown Man as a forgery from the outset, a composite of fossils from at least three different hominids. The discussions over Piltdown Man shifted to speculation over who perpetrated the hoax.

That has never been determined with certainty, though Charles Dawson remains a prime suspect, as do many others. Among them was Arthur Conan Doyle. Named as the hoaxer in 1997, more recent scholarship exonerates him. Piltdown Man was an OOPART which has been clearly debunked. There has never been a final determination of who created Piltdown Man, nor why, but there is general consensus the entire scheme was a fraud.

6. The Iron Pillar of Delhi

It’s difficult to determine just how out of place the artifact known as the Iron Pillar of Delhi actually is, since it has been moved numerous times. Its origin is debated, as is the authenticity of various inscriptions on the pillar, as least as far as its chronological history is concerned. Conflicts between Muslims and Hindi led to the artifact being relocated several times, with aspects of its history etched into the metal of which it is made. It is the metal itself which qualifies it as an OOPART, at least to some. To others it stands (literally) as a 1,600 year old monument to ancient knowledge and craftsmanship.

The pillar is of wrought iron, forge-welded, and unusually resistant to corrosion. The protection from rust appears to have been deliberately achieved by its creators, and represents a knowledge of metallurgy which far exceeds that accomplished in the 4th century, when it appears to have been made. This advanced knowledge has led to speculation that the ancients who created the pillar had the assistance of alien intelligence and skills when creating the artifact. In truth, the pillar is not completely rust-free, as proponents of ancient intervention suggest. Yet its origin remains uncertain, its purpose unknown.

Recent scholarship has speculated the column reflects known metallurgical skills of the time, albeit practiced by highly advanced artisans, and is thus no mystery at all. At least as regards its manufacture. Yet ancient alien intervention proponents continue to cite it as “evidence” of ancient man interacting with advanced beings from other worlds. Their interpretation of some of the inscriptions on the artifact support their thesis. The chemical and mineral composition of the artifact, and the means of its manufacture, do not.

5. The Decalogue Stone

About 35 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a large boulder with a flat face, bearing an inscription in Hebrew. It is known as the Decalogue Stone, as well as the Commandment Stone and other names (Decalogue is a reference to the 10 Commandments). First reported to the public in 1933, the stone bears the abridged inscriptions of the Commandments, though in modern Hebrew. The stone is cited by some as proof of Semitic contact with North America prior to the arrival of Columbus in the New World.

Researchers have discovered numerous flaws which raise questions over the stone’s authenticity as an ancient artifact. There are grammatical errors, and the use of Hebrew letters which are inappropriate to the message. There have also never been unearthed other artifacts in the region which support the presence of Semitic peoples, which would certainly have been left behind given the length of time necessary to inscribe the stone.

There are also Greek letters interspersed within the Hebrew inscription. And finally, though all of these flaws are explained away by proponents of the stone’s ancient authenticity, it appears to be signed. An inscription on the bedrock of the stone reads, “Eva and Hobe 3-13-30”. The debate about the authenticity of the Decalogue Stone near Los Lunas continues between believers and the scientific community who generally regards it as a hoax.

4. The New Hampshire mystery stone

In 1872 a mysterious stone was reported to have been found near Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. It is described as egg-shaped, with a hole running through its center from top to bottom. It appears to have been bored from both ends, since the diameter of the bore is different at the top than bottom (3.2 mm at the top, 9.5 mm at the bottom).

Several carvings appear on the stone, on opposite sides, which include an ear of corn, arrows, a lunar phase, and others. An 1872 report in The American Naturalist described the stone as, “…of a higher grade of art than usual in Indian workmanship”. It also presented the stone as an artifact which “…commemorates a treaty between two tribes”. The stone changed hands several times over the years, and is today held by the New Hampshire Historical Society.

The 1872 article also speculated the bore through the stone appeared to have been cut with the precision of power tools, not available to the Native tribes which created it. But that was mere speculation. In 1994 New Hampshire officials had the stone examined by archaeologists, who determined the stone’s bore was created with modern power tools of the late 19th or early 20th century.

3. Minnesota runestone

Also known as the Kensington Runestone, it first appeared in 1898, when Olof Ohman claimed he found the stone covered with Norse runes while clearing land of brush and trees. The inscriptions recorded in runes in the stone are alleged to date from the 14th century, implying the stone was left behind by Norse explorers from that period. By 1910, scientific examinations had led to the stone being labeled a hoax by American scholars at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and Swedish and Norwegian experts who received a copy of the transcription.

All determined the inscription to be a fake, and of fairly recent origin. Further frauds followed. Several writers published articles claiming the stone to be a legitimate artifact, and public interest in the stone, with its repercussions of the Vikings, grew. The runes have even been linked, by those prone to such things, with the Knights Templar of Malta, and other longstanding conspiracy theories.

Though the stone was almost universally rejected as a fake by the mainstream scientific community, it continues to generate supporters of its authenticity. To them, the runes stand as proof of the early Norse settlements in the central region of today’s United States, though their arguments bear little weight within the scientific and scholarly community.

2. The Holy Stones of Newark, Ohio

The Hopewell culture of Ohio are known to posterity as the Moundbuilders. They built earthworks and mounds for religious purposes, defenses around their villages, and for burials. Among their greatest is the Serpent Mound near Ft. Ancient, and the Great Mound in Miamisburg, both in Ohio. Among their burial mounds near Newark, Ohio, about a half an hour’s drive east of Columbus, was found what are known as the Holy Stones of Newark. They have been called “…one of the most infamous frauds in Ohio archaeology” by the Ohio Archaeological Council.

Like the massive inscribed rock near Los Lunas, their supporters offer them as “proof” of the Semitic occupation of the Ohio country during the Pre-Columbian era. The stones began turning up just as the United States was about to devolve into Civil War, largely over the issue of slavery. They purported to be evidence of all humanity descending from Adam and Eve and the Biblical creation story related in Genesis. Thus, to the abolitionists in America, slavery was evil as Genesis clearly stated all humans were descended from the same parents. The stones included Hebrew letters; one stone contained the Decalogue, and they also contain carvings of various symbols associated with Freemasonry.

Regardless of being almost universally rejected as fakes, the five Newark stones remain a source of debate over their authenticity. In 2019, the Center for the Future of Museums, through its annual publication TrendsWatch Report, described the stones, “Fraudulent artifacts, bearing Hebrew inscriptions planted in Ohio mounds in the 1800s to promote a combined political, scientific, and religious agenda”. Despite being thoroughly debunked, there are those who continue to use the stones for similar reasons.

1. The Face on Mars

In 1976 NASA’s Viking 1 explorer mission sent back photographs of the surface of Mars. Viking’s primary mission was to obtain photographs to help NASA mission planners determine a suitable location for the landing of the subsequent Viking 2 mission. In July Viking 1 transmitted the photograph which appeared to be of a human face, in the midst of a rocky field, clearly (to some) fashioned by something other than natural conditions. The Face of the Man on Mars became a widely referenced topic in books, magazine articles, television programs, and even films. Those were the pre-internet days, and social media did not exist to make it go viral. But it became famous.

Officially NASA claimed the resemblance to a face was a mere illusion, caused by lighting anomalies, or obstructions. In 1998 a more sophisticated orbiter took further photographs of the area where the face was seen, and additional photographs have been taken since. The face does not appear in any of them, substantiating NASA’s contention the face was an illusion in the first photograph. Light and shadow created the face, which from other angles simply does not exist. It was a mirage, of sorts.

Debunked? Not according to some. At least one intrepid seeker of truth insisted NASA covered up evidence of life on Mars, including the Face on Mars. Some claim at least one more alien face has been uncovered by robotic explorers of the Red Planet. No matter how thoroughly some “facts” are debunked, there will still be people to support their existence, claiming they have “proof” governments are covering up the truth from the public they serve.