As is obvious from the fact that I write the majority of articles on this site, I love lists. Recently I was reading through a book filled with interesting facts and figures I stumbled upon this list - 25 things that are not what they seem. It seemed perfect for the site, and so I have reproduced it here for you all. Without further ado, 25 things that are not what they seem:
1. A firefly is not a fly - it is a beetle
2. A prairie dog is not a dog - it is a rodent [image above]
3. India ink is not from India - it is from China and Egypt
4. A horned toad is not a toad - it is a lizard
5. A lead pencil does not contain lead - it contains graphite
6. A douglas fir is not a fir - it is a pine [image above]
7. A silkworm is not a worm - it is a caterpillar
8. A peanut is not a nut - it is a legume
9. A panda bear is not a bear - it is a relative of the raccoon
10. An English horn is not English and it isn’t a horn - it is a French alto oboe
11. A guinea pig is not from guinea and it is not a pig - it is a rodent from South America
12. Shortbread is not a bread - it is a thick cookie [image above]
13. Dresden China is not from Dresden - it is from Meissen
14. A shooting star is not a star - it is a metorite
15. A funny bone is not a bone - it is the spot where the ulnar nerve touches the humerus
16. Chop suey is not a native Chinese dish - it was invented by Chinese immigrants in California
17. A bald eagle is not bald - it has flat white feathers on its head and neck when mature, and dark feathers when young [image above]
18. A banana tree is not a tree - it is a herb
19. A cucumber is not a vegetable - it is a fruit
20. A jackrabbit is not a rabbit - it is a hare
21. A piece of catgut is not from a cat - it is usually made from sheep intestines
22. A Mexican jumping bean is not a bean - it is a seed with a larva inside
23. A Turkish bath is not Turkish - it is Roman
24. A koala bear is not a bear - it is a marsupial
25. A sweetbread is not a bread - it is the pancreas or thymus gland from a calf or lamb [image above]
Source: The Book of Lists, 2
译文:
25项“表里不一”
不难发现我写的大部分文章都刊登在这个网站，的确，我喜欢这里的列表形式。最近，我正在读一本关于趣味事物与数据的书，偶然从中无发现了这份名为《25项“表里不一”》的列表。这份列表看似非常符合这个网站的风格，因此，我将其再现于此。废话少说，这25项“表里不一”是——
1
第1至第5项
1. 飞萤不是蝇——而是甲虫。
2. 草原犬鼠不是犬——而是鼠（见上图）。
3. 印度墨水并非来自印度——而源于中国及埃及。
4. 角蟾不是蟾——而是蜥蜴。
5. 铅笔不含铅——而含石墨。
2
第6至第10项
6. 道格拉斯冷杉不是杉——而是松（见上图）。
7. 蝉不属蠕虫——而属毛虫。
8. 花生不是坚果类——而是豆类。
9. 大熊猫不是熊——而是浣熊的近亲。
10. 英国号角既不源于英国，也不是号角——而是法国的中音双簧管。
3
第11至第15项
11. 天竺鼠（几内亚豚鼠）既不产于几内亚，也不属豚类——而是源于南美的鼠类。
12. 松脆面包干不是面包——而是一种厚厚的松饼（见上图）。
13. 德雷斯顿瓷器并非产于东德的德雷斯顿——而产于德国麦森。
14. 流星不是星——而是陨石。
15. 尺骨端不是骨——而是尺动脉神经触及肱骨的部分。
4
第16至20项
16. 炒杂烩菜不是中国本土的菜肴——而是由移居加利福尼亚州的中国移民发明。
17. 秃鹰并不秃——在其成熟期，头部及颈部长有白色扁平的羽毛，而年轻时则长有深色的羽毛（见上图）。
18. 香蕉树不属乔木科——而属草药科。
19. 黄瓜不是蔬菜——而是水果。
20. 杰克兔不属家兔——而属野兔。
5
第21至25项
21. 肠线（英语字面译为猫肠线）并不取自于猫肠——而是通常由羊肠做成。
22. 墨西哥跳豆不是豆——而是种内部包有幼虫的种子。
23. 土耳其浴（蒸气浴）并非来自土耳其——而源于罗马。
24. 树袋熊不是熊——而属有袋类动物
25. 胰脏（英语字面译为甜面包）不是面包——而是小牛、小羊的胰脏或胸腺（见上图）。