Human blood boils or the body explodes in a vacuum
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 1 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Reference material directly refutes the common misconception, establishing that exposure to a vacuum does not cause internal fluids to boil or the human body to explode.
Exposure to a vacuum, or experiencing all but the most extreme uncontrolled decompression, does not cause the body to explode or internal fluids to boil (although
Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries; the main subject articles can be consulted for more detail.
It is not just heavy metals which can be toxic; other metals (for example beryllium and lithium) can be toxic too.
Sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan running does not result in "fan death", as is widely believed in South Korea among older people. As of 2019, this belief was in decline.
Nocturia (waking up at night to urinate) is equally prevalent in women and men, although it is more common among both men and women over 50.
Waking up a sleepwalker does not harm them. Sleepwalkers may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, but the health risks associated with sleepwalking are from injury or insomnia, not from being awakened.
Seizures cannot cause a person to swallow their own tongue, and it is dangerous to attempt to place a foreign object into a convulsing person's mouth. Instead it is recommended to gently lay a convulsing person on their side to minimize the risk of asphyxiation.
Drowning is often inconspicuous to onlookers. In most cases, the instinctive drowning response prevents the victim from waving or yelling (known as "aquatic distress"), which are therefore not dependable signs of trouble; indeed, most drowning victims undergoing the response do not show prior evidence of distress.
Herbal medicines are not necessarily safe and side-effect free; such medicines can have adverse effects.
Human blood in veins is not actually blue. Blood is red due to the presence of hemoglobin; deoxygenated blood (in veins) has a deep red color, and oxygenated blood (in arteries) has a light cherry-red color. Veins below the skin can appear blue or green due to subsurface scattering of light through the skin, and aspects of human color perception. Many medical diagrams also use blue to show veins, and red to show arteries, which contributes to this misconception.
Exposure to a vacuum, or experiencing all but the most extreme uncontrolled decompression, does not cause the body to explode or internal fluids to boil (although the fluids in the mouth and lungs will indeed boil at altitudes above the Armstrong limit); rather, it will lead to a loss of consciousness once the body has depleted the supply of oxygen in the blood, followed by death…