Tell Me Something I Didn't Know

Another study has been released proving something that I was taught in school.

"For a long time, we labored under the assumption that sperm quality was universal throughout the life span of the male, but what we've found recently is that isn't so," said Dr. Richard Rawlins, director of the assisted reproduction laboratory at Rush University Medical Center.

Duh! I learned this in junior high health class which I hate to admit was just over 20 years ago. There were pictures (movies?) of sperm cells with double tails, no tails, or misformed heads.

I remember another study from some years back that showed aspirin caused bleeding in the stomach. I had the same reaction. My 5th or 6th grade teacher told us that aspirin caused the stomach to bleed one teaspoon of blood. I remember it so specifically because when I told Mom what I had learned that night she implored me not to tell my father, a man notorious for refusing to take pills for anything.

So what's going on here? I know my elementary and junior high school teachers weren't a couple of decades ahead of prevailing scientific knowledge. Were they teaching unproven theories?