We decided to demystify some of the urban lies, truths and myths surrounding our favorite transport: the automobile. Among them, let's talk about Nazis, explosions and bacteria. Do you doubt? So stay with us.
Talking on a cell phone at a gas station can cause an explosion
Myth
This myth is to automobiles what the myth of Elvis Presley being alive is to the music business. Enrique Velázquez, a professor of electronics at the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Salamanca (and other academics) are unanimous in saying that a cell phone does not have enough power to cause an explosion.
Enrique Velázquez“A mobile phone has a very low energy level, in addition to producing very low electromagnetic radiation, less than one Watt, so it is practically impossible to produce an explosion”.
A car battery could give rise to enough spark to trigger an explosion. This myth, like many others, emerged in the US after a vehicle exploded while its owner was filling the car while talking on his cell phone. Most likely the cause was something else. But it gave insurers more way to create this story that proliferated around the world at the speed of light.
Steering wheels have nine times more germs than public toilet seats
Truth
Keep this in mind the next time you eat a drive-in meal: the steering wheel of your car potentially has nine times more germs than a public restroom. Research carried out in the UK found that while there are 80 bacteria in every square inch of toilet paper, around 700 live inside our cars.
The study also revealed that 42% of drivers regularly eat while driving. Only a third cleaned the car's interior once a year, while 10% said they never bothered to clean surfaces or vacuum.
Dr. Ron Cutler, Director of Biomedical Sciences, Queen Mary University, London"While most bacteria were not likely to cause health problems, in some cars potentially harmful bacteria were found."
Volkswagen Carocha, the car of peace and festival-goers of the 60s, is one of the motorized icons of the Nazi regime.
Truth
The ironies that history gives us are incredible. The car developed by Ferdinand Porsche (the founder of the Porsche brand) at the request of Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi regime, whose 'charge documents' was the regime's car born in the middle of the war, ended up becoming a symbol of peace and love.
Cheap, reliable and spacious for its time, the Volkswagen Carocha was born from the wicked mind of warlords and ended up in the hands of festival-goers and surfers all over the world. Who said that anyone who is born crooked cannot straighten? Flower power for everyone!
Supermarket fuel spoils cars
Myth
The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection (DECO) tested the various diesel fuels marketed in Portugal, “from low cost to premium” to conclude that cheaper ones do not harm the engine. Only the price is different, says DECO, which reminds consumers that consumers are unnecessarily paying more. Neither the productivity is lower, nor the maintenance required is higher, much less the car's performance changes.
Additivated fuels are no different from others. The tests were carried out by professional pilots.
Jorge Morgado from DECO"If professional pilots don't notice differences, nobody notices"
Tests completed, the Consumer Management concluded that 'premium or low cost is equal to the liter'.