BBC Knowledge Asia Edition 3

DO MICE REALLY LOVE

CHEESE? DOES SUGAR MAKE

KIDS HYPERACTIVE? DO YOU

ACTUALLY NEED YOUR FIVE-A-

DAY? WE PUT 29 COMMON

BELIEFS UNDER THE

MICROSCOPE TO SORT THE

FACT FROM THE FANTASY

WORDS: TOBIAS JOLLY

BUSTING

THE MYTHS

OF MODERN

LIFE...

ILLUSTRATIONS: JAMES OLSTEIN

A PENNY DROPPED FROM THE

TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER

COULD KILL SOMEONE

The building used as the basis of this myth

varies. Much more constant is the terminal

velocity of a penny, which is around 44km/h

(27mph). The penny reaches that speed after

it has been falling for about 15 metres (50

feet). Once the penny has reached its terminal

velocity, it will not accelerate any further.

Physicist Louis Bloomfield at the University

of Virginia used this calculation to replicate

the fall of pennies from tall buildings. He

found that pennies at that speed would not

break the skin – at most, they would just

sting a little.

SCIENCE