I was once asked this by the teacher with a group of 10-year-olds I was instructing out on Kinder. The conversation went something like this;
Teacher; What are those patches on the land?
Me: They are for the grouse.
(Long pause, during which I realised that the teacher had no idea what I was talking about.)
Me: You know that grouse are a valuable asset round here? (Pause, followed by evil thoughts about an impending wind-up.) Gamekeepers don't want the grouse to injure themselves and reduce their value, thus, because they have short legs and the heather is deep the birds can trip on take-off and landing so the gamekeepers create landing strips for the birds to avoid crashes.
Teacher: (With genuine interest) Really! But why are there so many and in different directions?
Me: (Getting into my flow) It's easier for birds to take off, and land, in different orientations to the wind. So the birds can choose which patch they use depending on the wind direction. (Trying very hard to keep a straight face by now).
Followed by great elaboration, verbal images painted and much fake science.
Teacher: That's very interesting, isn't it kids? (Kids pretty disinterested by birds, but much more interested by plane wreck we'd gone to look at.)
I thought no more of it except to recount it often to colleagues as an example of "townies" knowing nothing about the countryside.... Until the next year..........
Different teacher; different pupils; same school.
Teacher proceeds to inform this group all about the patches on the moor, repeating my words from the last trip as "Mr. X of class A tells me that....."
My myth had become "fact" in the school and was being taught!
Congratulations to the OP for having the sense to ask the hive mind that is UKC rather than relying of those of us who specialise in disinformation and fake news.