But it turns out one of those supposed facts isn't quite right — in fact, everything you think you know about chameleons and ...

Of all its corporeal quirks, the chameleon is most defined by one, noted as far back as Aristotle: color-changing skin. It’s a popular myth that chameleons take on the color of what they touch.

“People generally assume that color change in chameleons is well understood, and I don’t think it is at all,” said Randall Morrison of McDaniel College in Maryland who was not involved with the study.

The chameleon, a lizard known for its color-changing skin, is the inspiration behind a new electromagnetic material that could someday make vehicles and aircraft "invisible" to radar. As reported ...