5 'facts' you learned in school that are no longer true

1. THEN: AMERICA WON ITS INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4, 1776

• NOW: America was not officially independent until seven years later, in 1783.

Every year on July 4th, Americans celebrate Independence Day with parades, barbecues, and fireworks.

But while the Declaration of Independence was adopted by 12 colonies on July 4, 1776 and signed by 13 colonies in August, America was not yet free from Great Britain's rule.

The American Revolution waged on for years. Finally, the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and America became free.

     

  2.   THEN: GEORGE WASHINGTON'S TEETH WERE MADE OF WOOD

NOW: Washington's teeth were human teeth from his slaves and also made from ivory.

A set of dentures that George Washington wore are kept at the Mount Vernon plantation house museum. The dentures are fashioned out of ivory and human teeth.

While historians note the "limitations of history" when sourcing Washington's human teeth back to the individuals they were taken from, written evidence shows Washington purchased teeth from slaves and made note of it in one of his ledgers.

Slaves during the 18th century sometimes sold their teeth to dentists to make money. In 1784, Washington "paid several unnamed 'Negroes' ... 122 shillings for nine teeth, slightly less than one-third the going rate advertised in the papers," according to PBS.

Washington likely then had the teeth implanted into his jaw in a surgical procedure common at the time.

3. THEN: PLUTO IS A PLANET

NOW: Pluto isn't a planet

We've known since the late 1800s that a ninth planet, after Uranus, potentially existed. In 1906, Percival Lowell, the founder of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, even began a research project intended to locate the mysterious "Planet X."

Then in 1930, a 23-year-old newbie at the facility found it. The discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh, had been tasked with systematically comparing photographs of the sky taken weeks apart to search for any moving objects. He eventually saw one and submitted his finding to the Harvard College Observatory. After an 11-year-old English girl named the new planet (for the Roman god of the underworld), we started including Pluto as a planet in our solar system.

But in 2003, an astronomer found a larger object beyond Pluto - which he named Eris, according to NASA. The new information caused a bunch of other astronomers to question what really makes a planet a planet, and they decided, based on size and location, that Pluto just didn't make the cut. Neither did Eris, actually. Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet.

Needless to say, elementary schools kids were pretty bummed.

But there may be hope. Researchers have recently been debating whether to make Pluto a planet again.

                 4. THEN: DIAMOND IS THE HARDEST SUBSTANCE

NOW: Ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride is the hardest substance

We've known about two substances harder than a diamond since 2009: wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite, according to Scientific American. The first resists indentation with 18% more fortitude than a diamond, and the second - a whopping 58%.

Unfortunately, both substances are rather unusual and unstable in nature. In fact, the study's authors, published in the journal "Physical Review Letters," only calculated the new substances' hardness, instead of actually testing it using a tangible specimen. That makes the discovery a bit theoretical.

But another contender was published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Nature. In the simplest terms, researchers compressed boron nitride particles to form "ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride." They simply re-organized the particles like an onion, or a flaky rose, or those little Russian dolls that fit inside one another, as the team explained to Wired.

As a result, expect women everywhere to start asking for ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride engagement rings. Because those really are forever.

5. THEN: DIAMOND IS THE HARDEST SUBSTANCE

NOW: Ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride is the hardest substance

We've known about two substances harder than a diamond since 2009: wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite, according to Scientific American. The first resists indentation with 18% more fortitude than a diamond, and the second - a whopping 58%.

Unfortunately, both substances are rather unusual and unstable in nature. In fact, the study's authors, published in the journal "Physical Review Letters," only calculated the new substances' hardness, instead of actually testing it using a tangible specimen. That makes the discovery a bit theoretical.

But another contender was published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Nature. In the simplest terms, researchers compressed boron nitride particles to form "ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride." They simply re-organized the particles like an onion, or a flaky rose, or those little Russian dolls that fit inside one another, as the team explained to Wired.

As a result, expect women everywhere to start asking for ultrahard nanotwinned cubic boron nitride engagement rings. Because those really are forever.

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Checkout The largest private jet ever made, Complete with a master suite, dining area, and shower room

The $72.8 million (£55 million) plane first took off on September 28 — and it's certainly fancy.

Inside there are four luxury living areas, with capacity for up to 19 passengers, as well as a crew rest area.

The aircraft has a maximum range of over 8,500 miles, meaning it can fly direct from London to Singapore or New York to Dubai.

It is currently on display at the National Business Aviation Association's flagship industry trade show in Las Vegas until October 12.

Step aboard the 111 ft. Global 7000 aircraft, the largest dedicated private jet in the world.

Passengers can opt to sit in one of four of the jet's luxury areas — the "club suite," "conference suite," "entertainment suite," or "master suite."

Here's the "conference suite," that can be used for a business meeting as well as an slap-up in-flight meal.

There's also an entertainment area equipped with a large flat screen TV and sound system, ideal for people travelling with families.

The master suite, which comes complete with a comfy-looking double bed and en-suite shower and bathroom, resembles a posh hotel room.

According to The Telegraph, Bombardier said the Global 7000 aircraft is already sold out until 2021.

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2018 Range Rover Will Now Drive On Electric

Land Rover has given the Range Rover luxury SUV a facelift for 2018, one headlined by the introduction of a new plug-in hybrid version that boasts a 31-mile electric range, 101mpg NEDC combined fuel economy and total power output of 404-horsepower. Ordering is open now (and prices are below).

Closely following the refreshed 2018 Range Rover Sport, the new Range Rover also gets mild design tweaks and, inside, the introduction of the firm’s new Touch Pro Duo twin-touchscreen centre console, as first seen on the Range Rover Velar.

But whereas Land Rover is keen to show off the high-tech connectivity of the system on the Range Rover Sport, for the Range Rover it’s simply describing it as “a digital butler fit for the 21st Century”.

Visual changes aren’t extensive. “Our customers are very clear about what they want from any new Range Rover,” reckons Land Rover chief design officer Gerry McGovern. “’Don’t change it, just make it better,’ they tell us.”

For the record, LED headlights are now standard, and offered in Premium, Matrix, Pixel or Pixel-Laser guise. The bumper has wider air vent blades, the grille is more modern and the clamshell bonnet itself is now longer.

Exhaust tailpipes are more neatly integrated in the rear, there are six new alloy wheel designs and two new colours, Rossello Red and Byron Blue.

There are all-new seats inside, with the front ones now adjusting in up to 24 different ways; they have wider and deeper seat foams and even now come with heated armrests.

Indulgent rear seats are wider and softer, recline by up to 40 degrees and have a total of 25 different massage programmes. Hot Stone massage in a Range Rover? No problem, sir.

They too have heated arm rests – and heated foot rests, and heated calf rests. You can even heat them up remotely via a smartphone app.

Green or mean?

The Range Rover P400e combines a 200hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine with an 85kW electric motor; that’s good for 137mph and 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds.

It emits 64g/km CO2, so is relatively tax-friendly – more so than the uprated 5.0-litre V8 supercharged range-topping SVAutobiography Dynamic, which now produces 565hp for 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds.

The P400e recharges in 7hrs 30mins using a domestic socket, or 2hrs 45mins from a wall box. Land Rover guarantees the battery, which is mounted beneath the boot floor, for eight years, 100,000 miles or 70 percent state of health. It’s charged from a socket hidden in the grille.

2018 Range Rover SVAutobiobraphy

The SVAutobiography Dynamic, meanwhile, is the most powerful Range Rover ever, and is marked out by a new Graphite Atlas mesh grille plus a beefier rear bumper with built-in metal exhaust tailpipes. Like the P400e, you can have it in standard and long-wheelbase guise.

All Range Rovers offer super-comfortable air suspension, but the SVO-tuned range-topper can be had in performance-optimised guise, which sits 8mm lower and promises more engaging handling with little loss in comfort.

The 2018 Range Rover is also now the most expensive Range Rover ever too, mind. The range starts at just under £80,000 for the base 3.0-litre TDV6 Vogue, stretching up to a mammoth £177,030 for the SVAutobiography Dynamic LWB.

2018 Range Rover prices

Engine	Fuel	Price
STANDARD WHEELBASE
3.0-litre TDV6 258hp
Vogue	Diesel	£79,595
Vogue SE	Diesel	£86,195
Autobiography	Diesel	£98,595
4.4-litre SDV8 339hp
Vogue	Diesel	£86,700
Vogue SE	Diesel	£93,300
Autobiography	Diesel	£105,700
2.0-litre P400e PHEV 404hp
Vogue	Petrol PHEV	£86,965
Vogue SE	Petrol PHEV	£93,465
Autobiography	Petrol PHEV	£105,865
3.0-litre V6 S/C 340hp
Vogue SE	Petrol	£86,565
5.0-litre V8 S/C 525hp
Autobiography	Petrol	£109,530
5.0-litre V8 S/C 565hp
SVAutobiography Dynamic	Petrol	£141,580
LONG WHEELBASE
4.4-litre SDV8 339hp
Autobiography LWB	Diesel	£112,900
SVAutobiography LWB	Diesel	£167,850
2.0-litre P400e PHEV 404hp
Autobiography LWB	Petrol PHEV	£113,065
SVAutobiography LWB	Petrol PHEV	£168,015
5.0-litre V8 S/C 525hp
Autobiography LWB	Petrol	£116,730
5.0-litre V8 S/C 565hp
SVAutobiography LWB	Petrol	£177,030

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Guinness World Records: World Tallest Dog

The tallest dog living is Freddy, owned by Claire Stoneman (UK), who was 3 ft 4.75 in (1.035 m) tall when measured in Leigh-on-Sea, UK, on Sept. 13, 2016.

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Nigerian Lady recounts how man masturbated in front of her

Nigerian relationship Counsellor Victor Ibeh shared screenshots of a chat he had with a follower who recounted how a man publicly masturbated close to her, at Cele area of Lagos.

The lady who expressed how shock she was to witness this, said she never believed people could that in public until it happened right before her;

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