Rabbits know the score

Every parent tells their kids to eat their carrots so they will see better, and point out how well rabbits can see in the dark as evidence. Where did this idea come from? Was it from science, or is there a wild story behind it which was entirely manufactured for a very important reason?

It turns out it is the latter, although science says the vitamins will help, as would the same amount from any vegetable.

So what's this crazy backstory then? It turns out during the early years of World War 2, the British were the first to deploy radar, which suddenly made their ground artillery and air force a heck of a lot more accurate when detecting enemy planes. The needed to keep the reason quiet, or the enemy would figure out where the radar stations were, and attack them. So, knowing they couldn't hide this sudden increase in accuracy, they put the story out that the pilots were all eating lots of carrots to improve their eyesight - and it worked! Even the German pilots began eating more...

Myth

It's rare that the origins of a myth can be so clearly traced, yet still persist to this day. Even more so, one which parents will knowingly perpetuate to their kids because, well, getting them to eat their vegetables is hard enough already!