A time out to bust a few sports myths
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All of us receive emails with the latest drug approvals, guideline updates or results of clinical trials. These can be very informative.
However, sometimes an interesting article arrives that has nothing to do with oncology. This happened to me last month, when I received an email titled “The 10 top medical myths.” My curiosity got the best of me and I explored it.
According to the list, although pediatricians advise parents to avoid exposing their children to peanuts before age 3 years, research shows that exposure to peanuts even before 1 year of age does not correlate with a higher risk for peanut allergy.
The list also includes the finding of a study that followed people who used devices to track steps and measure calories for 2 years — they lost less weight than people who didn’t spend money on these gadgets. Of course, exercise is also a mindset, so I would say too many factors are involved in this one.
These medical myths got me to think about myths in sports. It’s October, the height of the World Series. College and NFL football dominate the major TV/streaming networks, and later in the year college basketball will begin playing for the ultimate brass ring of the NCAA championship, affectionately known as March Madness.
So here are some sports myths that may surprise you and take your mind off oncology for a moment.
Ice hockey’s origins
I imagine you think the Canadians invented ice hockey. I certainly did.
Ice hockey actually is a Scottish sport. It was played by British soldiers during the winter. When soldiers were stationed in Canada, they brought the game over and the Canadians adopted the game as their own.
Another myth is that an American invented basketball. I knew it was invented by James Naismith, MD, in 1891. However, Naismith was Canadian.
How about the myth that the English invented football (soccer)? You’re not going to believe this, but football was invented by the Chinese in the first century B.C. The ancient Greeks played a similar game, but the closest to modern soccer is the Chinese version.
If you’re a marathon runner, the myth is that the distance for the marathon — 26 miles and 385 yards — is the distance between Marathon and Athens in Greece. The actual distance is less than 25 miles. The reason the marathon distance is what it is today is because of the 1908 London Olympics. It is the exact distance between Windsor Castle White City Stadium plus one lap of the track. The distance has been that way ever since. Who knew?
Say it ain’t so
One of the classic sports myths is that the Americans invented baseball. However, the British invented a form of baseball in the 1700s, around the same time as cricket and rounders.
Lastly, few would deny that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. However, the Chicago Bulls have not won the most championships. The Boston Celtics and the Lakers are tied for the record at 17. Chicago has six championships. Kudos to my Boston colleagues from a New York Knicks fan. Jealousy!
There you have it. There are many more myths, but let’s get back to oncology.
Stay safe.
For more information:
Nicholas J. Petrelli, MD, FACS, is Bank of America endowed medical director of ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute and associate director of translational research at Wistar Cancer Institute. He also serves as Associate Editor of Surgical Oncology for HemOnc Today. He can be reached at npetrelli@christianacare.org.
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