There are a ton of popular myths about history that everyone seems to agree on, but when you look a little deeper into it they’re simply false! No one is really sure how these historical rumors get started often times but it’s about time we shed some light on the truth. We’ve narrowed some of the bigger falsehoods in our collective history so let’s take a look.

1. Marie Antoinette said “Let Them Eat Cake”

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Without doubt the “it girl” of her time Marie Antoinette’s was purported to have said “let them cake” when hungry French peasants came to the palace of Versailles to demand King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette step down. The truth is the famous statement was actually made by a writer which appeared twenty years before the French Revolution. It wasn’t attributed to Marie until she became a symbol of excess and indifference.

2. Walt Disney Invented Mickey Mouse

walt drawing mickey mouse

Not so fast Walt, apparently you didn’t really create Mickey Mouse but you sure knew how to market him. It was actually one of Disney’s animators Ub Iwerks that came up with company’s signature character.

3. Viking Helmets had Horns on Them

vikinghelmet

This one is just total bunk. Not withstanding how impractical having horns a helmet are, the idea that Vikings wore horns came from a series of costumed Wagner operas in the 19th Century to make the actors seem more “godlike”.

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4. “Irish Need Not Apply” signs

noirish

When discussing racism white people will often fall back on “but the Irish were discriminated against too”. While there certainly was anti-Irish sentiment in the mid-19th century this fact has been completely blown out of proportion. There has never been any evidence anywhere that “The Irish Need Not Apply” signs were used anywhere at anytime except later as joke or fake nostalgia. Take it easy Irish-Americans.

5. George Washington and the Cherry Tree

picture-washington

This story was completely made up to show Washington’s integrity as a child. Supposedly he chopped down his father’s cherry tree but came clean about it because “honesty is more important than a cherry tree.” This is one of many myths that were spun my PR masters back in the day.

6. Napoleon was Really Short

The would-be-world conqueror was average height for his time at around 5’7′ which was common for the era. This misconception comes from a series of British propaganda cartoons that sought to belittle the leader in the eyes of public during the wars of the early-19th century.

7. Thomas Edison Invented the Light Bulb

Edison

Edison definitely helped perfect the light bulb but discovering tungsten was the best material to use as a filament. Many others had developed the idea but Edison just made it work for a longer time.

8. Witches Were Burned At the Stake in Salem

We’ve all heard of witches being burnt at the stake, while this would happen from time to time in Europe in previous centuries it never happened in Salem, Massachussets. Those found guilty of witchcraft were hanged or smothered. 9.

9. Sir Isaac Newton’s Discovery of Gravity and the Apple

apple

Newton certainly was responsible for developing calculus which lead to proving the theory of gravity, but being hit on the head with an apple that inspired the breakthrough is pure BS. French writer Voltaire invented the story about a 100 years after Newton’s death.

10. Roman Gladiators Always Fought to the Death

roman-gladiators

This one is especially untrue and basically just comes from hundreds of movies and books portraying gladitorial combat. Once in a long while fights would be to the death, but gladiators were the star altletes in their day and tons of resources and money were poured into the training and care. Owners were not in any hurry to lose their investment by risking their fighter’s life every match!

 

 

Top 10 myths that are not true

Summary

No one is really sure how these historical rumors got started, but here are 10 widely believed historical myths that are not true.

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