what i learned from going to a predominantly white school
When you look back at all the lessons you learned in history class, you typically observe that many of the stories provide a adequately G-rated version of history. Unfortunately, the truth is often far less flattering.
Let'due south uncover the truth about some of the exaggerated tales, mutual misconceptions and flat out historical lies you were taught in school. From the totally ridiculous to the pleasantly surprising, many historical events didn't go downwardly exactly the style you retrieve they did.
The Egyptian Pyramids Were Built by Slaves
You probably believe slaves toiled away to build the pyramids for a heartless string of pharaohs. Modern Egyptologists, withal, believe information technology's incredibly unlikely that the builders of the ancient pyramids included whatever slaves at all. Archaeological evidence actually suggests they were more likely paid laborers who were highly respected for their work.
Although some may have come from poor backgrounds, their skills and labor were so appreciated that if they died on the job, they were buried well-nigh the sacred burial sites of their pharaohs. This was considered a huge honor and never would take realistically been an option for a slave.
Medieval Peasants Had It Worse Than Modern People
You may exist under the impression that medieval peasants spent their days working around the clock all year long, but that wasn't exactly the example. In fact, author and scholar Juliet B. Schor recently revealed that the average American today actually works more than hours and enjoys less vacation time each year than the boilerplate medieval peasant.
Although a peasant's work was probably much harder than the average American'south job, the average peasant enjoyed anywhere from 8 weeks to half a twelvemonth off annually. They were given frequent breaks and holidays to ensure there were equally few revolts amongst the lower class equally possible.
Nero Played the Fiddle every bit Rome Burned to the Ground
Legend says that when Rome burned down in July of 64 Advertising, the heartless Emperor Nero was and so unconcerned that he merely sat and played the fiddle while it happened. This tale can easily exist debunked for several reasons.
Kickoff, co-ordinate to the ancient historian Tacitus, Nero wasn't actually in Rome at the time but in a town chosen Antium about 30 miles away. Second, it wouldn't have been possible for the emperor to indulge in a fiddle session, no matter how common cold and steely his personality may have been. When Rome burned in 64 Advertising, the fiddle didn't even exist yet. It wasn't invented until 1500, nearly a millennium and a half afterwards.
Einstein Flunked Math as a Kid
Over the years, many a discouraged child has been told that fifty-fifty Einstein failed math when he was a child. This is completely untrue. In fact, historians believe trivial Einstein was a child prodigy who studied college-level physics past age 11. It's safety to say he didn't fail elementary math.
The false stories may have started due to the grading system at Einstein's Swiss schoolhouse. Students originally received grades on a calibration of ane (highest) to 6 (lowest), but they subsequently inexplicably switched the system so that 6 became the best score. At that betoken, Einstein started scoring vi's on his exams, which may have made it announced to some that he was failing, even though he was nailing information technology.
Columbus Proved the Globe Was Circular
Most kids in school were told that Christopher Columbus discovered the Earth was circular. In reality, almost everyone already knew the Earth was round and roughly 8,000 miles in bore before 1492.
Instead, Columbus' whole statement was that it was actually but iv,000 miles in diameter, which explains why he was so sure he could go to India by sailing around it. His whole theory was really completely wrong, although he thought he had proven it when he thought his landing site in the Due west Indies was India. This is the reason Native Americans were offset known as "Indians."
Witches Were Burned at the Stake in Salem
You already know things got completely out of mitt in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The citizens of Salem suddenly became irrational and bedevilled random men and women of witchcraft and sentenced them to death. As the story goes, convicted "witches" met a grisly terminate by being burned at the stake.
Although parts of the nighttime history of Salem are truthful — 150 people were arrested, and 20 were put to death — nobody was really burned at the pale. Amidst the convicted, nineteen people were hanged, and i was crushed to decease below heavy stones.
Napoleon Was Super Brusque
If you accept ever heard someone say a temperamental short guy has a "Napoleon complex," it's based on the supposition that Napoleon Bonaparte felt a trigger-happy need to evidence his manhood through military conquest because of his short superlative. In truth, Napoleon was actually effectually 5 anxiety, 7 inches tall, which was the average height for a human being of his fourth dimension.
The defoliation probably comes from the fact that French inches were longer than British inches at the time. When the British recorded his acme every bit 5 anxiety, 2 inches, they failed to brand the correct conversion between the two systems, which left the impression he was much shorter than he actually was.
Pilgrims Wore Blackness and White Clothes with Big Buckles
Every bit it turns out, the staunch, stereotypical Pilgrim wear with monochromatic dye and wooden buckles isn't exactly historically accurate. It's known from old records that Pilgrims really wore a wide variety of brightly dyed fabrics in a wide range of colors.
Much like men's suits today, black and white was reserved for special occasions and Sundays. Their everyday wear was based on the styles of the Elizabethan era and didn't include large buckles of any sort. Large buckles were actually created in the 19th century and were considered "quaint," inspiring some artists to portray Pilgrims wearing them.
A Cow Kicked a Lantern and Started the Great Chicago Fire
When the Great Chicago Fire consumed the metropolis in 1871, newspapers claimed that it began when Mrs. O'Leary's moo-cow kicked over a lantern while she was milking information technology. The story never bothered to explain why she didn't put the fire out or become help if she was sitting right in that location.
The fire may have started in her barn, just Mrs. O'Leary isn't to arraign, despite the false reports. To her expiry, she maintained that she — and the rest of her family, for that thing — was asleep inside the business firm when the blaze broke out. It wasn't until 1893 that the reporter who published the story in the Chicago Republican admitted he made the story up. This only might be the earliest case of fake news.
George Washington Confessed to Chopping Down His Dad'south Cherry Tree
Y'all were undoubtedly lectured on the tale of young George Washington chopping downwards his dad's cherry tree. When confronted nearly it, petty George reportedly confessed after announcing, "I cannot tell a prevarication."
While the story of a morally upstanding 6-year-old makes a peachy legend, the tale is nothing more than than a long-standing myth. The whole incident was actually the creation of Mason Locke Weems, a biographer who wrote nigh Washington's life in 1806. The author afterward explained that he was attempting to position Washington as a part model for young Americans — ironically, by telling a lie himself.
Paul Revere Rode Around Screaming, "The British Are Coming!"
First, Paul Revere was indeed ordered to ride to Lexington to alert Samuel Adams and John Hancock, but he never would accept used the phrase "The British are coming!" At the fourth dimension, the patriots were still British citizens themselves. Additionally, the sentry on guard was annoyed that he was so noisy because the whole operation was supposed to be covert.
Further angering the lookout, Revere replied, "Noise! You'll have noise long enough earlier. The regulars are coming out!" Additionally, Revere was initially joined by 2 riders that eventually blossomed into nearly 40 other riders proclaiming the news. So much for being covert!
The Announcement of Independence Was Signed on the Quaternary of July
Although we celebrate independence on July 4, the official timeline is a little more than complicated than that. The process actually began on July 1 and July 2, when colonial representatives approved a motion to declare the United States an independent country.
After spending the next 2 days revising the Annunciation of Independence, the representatives were finally ready to formally ratify it on July 4, 1776. Withal, members of the Second Continental Congress didn't actually sign the document until August 2, and news didn't officially reach Male monarch George that America had revolted until August ten.
"One Pocket-size Step for Man, One Giant Jump for Mankind"
When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, he uttered a phrase that became 1 of the nearly famous quotes of all time. Ironically, his original quote is actually misquoted without one tiny keyword. Armstrong actually said, "I pocket-size step for a man, one giant spring for mankind."
The word "a" may exist modest, but the sentence actually makes a lot more sense when it's included. If you lot say "for man," it essentially means the same thing as "for mankind." The reason for the cutting was probably due to a gap in radio manual. Afterwards all, the world was listening to a guy who was standing on the moon.
Marie Antoinette Said, "Let Them Eat Block"
As the quondam story goes, the lavish French monarch Marie Antoinette was told around 1789 that her subjects were starving due to a shortage of bread. In response, she supposedly callously and flippantly said, "Let them eat cake." Although her response is mayhap one of the about famous quotes in history, information technology's unlikely she ever said it at all.
The quote can actually be traced back to a story told by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in which he attributed the quote to a totally different monarch. Fifty-fifty and then, at that place was no cake involved, equally the original quote was, "Let them consume brioche." Doesn't have quite the same ring to information technology, does it?
Deep Throat Leaked Information That Brought Down Nixon
The credit for ratting out corrupt President Nixon has largely been given to a shadowy figure known as "Deep Throat." His allure was furthered past the Hollywood movie All the President'south Men, in which he supplies reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with secret Watergate intelligence.
Deep Pharynx — later revealed to exist an FBI informant named William Marking Felt Sr. — doubtless played a large role in Watergate, but it wasn't equally large a role equally everyone originally thought. Equally Bernstein after explained, "Deep Throat largely confirmed information we had already gotten from other sources." Somehow, it'south a bit disappointing to downgrade his mysterious function to backup informant.
"Remember the Alamo!"
Many Americans think the battle at the Alamo was some heroic effort to gratis Texas from an oppressive Mexican government, but things weren't so simple. United mexican states had actually historically allowed Americans to live in the territory revenue enhancement complimentary.
The problem occurred because there were more Americans than they could handle, so Mexico decided to cut down on the menstruum of American immigrants. The settlers didn't appreciate the restriction and decided to claim Texas as their ain. Reports of their initial defeat at the Alamo infuriated the settlers, and they began killing every Mexican they could find, whether they were soldiers or not.
Galileo First Suggested the Lord's day Was the Center of the Universe
In history form, Galileo is given a neat bargain of credit for insisting the sun, rather than the Earth, is at the heart of the solar organisation. In reality, he was far from the first person to come up with the idea.
That award really goes to a Greek scientist and astronomer named Aristarchus of Samos, who lived from 310 BC to 230 BC. In Galileo's own fourth dimension, Nicolaus Copernicus also championed the theory to the extent that information technology'south now known as the "Copernican Revolution." Galileo mistakenly gets credit for the theory simply because he was the first person with the technology to actually testify information technology was true.
Shakespeare Was the Original Creator of His Works
Today, William Shakespeare is highly regarded every bit one of the well-nigh talented writers in the history of the English language. Therefore, it seems crazy to recollect he's not the actual mastermind behind the famous plots and characters in each of his iconic plays.
Ironically, Shakespeare was a plagiarizer — at to the lowest degree in terms of crafting story ideas. He actually got the plots and characters for most of his plays from old stories created by other writers. Before you judge him likewise harshly, however, it wasn't a secret. He wasn't known in his own time for his ability to craft original tales. He was known for his ability to tell the stories far more beautifully and with far more flair than other writers.
Jesus Was Born on December 25
Yep, the earth celebrates Christmas on December 25 each twelvemonth, but history has proven information technology's non the actual date that Jesus was born. Additionally, Christ's birthday wasn't celebrated at all until iii centuries after his death.
When the Roman church building decided to celebrate Jesus' birth, they found there was no tape of when information technology actually occurred. They selected December 25 considering it was already the date of several pagan festivals that honored Roman gods like Saturn. This increased the likelihood the commemoration would be accepted by pagans, making the transition easier for those who wanted to convert.
Vikings Wore Horned Helmets
For a very strange reason, Vikings always seem to be stereotypically portrayed in cartoons and other media as huge guys wearing horned wooden helmets. If you've ever watched The History Channel show Vikings, you've probably noticed the marked absenteeism of such bizarre headgear.
According to history, there's absolutely no evidence that Vikings ever wore such helmets during their own time. The horned helmet motif actually originated with a costume designer on an 1876 opera production of Der Ring des Nibelungen. From at that place, the horned Viking helmet managed to stick in the public's minds and imagination.
Ninjas Ever Sneak Effectually Shrouded in Black
Was the head to toe blackness compatible actually the perpetual compatible of ninjas in feudal Japan? Due to their legendary stealth, ninjas accept fabricated information technology challenging to verify the truth or uncover the lie. A chip of common sense suggests they probably didn't dress similar that all the time.
Ninjas were sort of like covert agents or assassins in their time, then they would have attempted to blend in as much as possible. A solid black uniform may have made sense for certain night missions, just the odds are proficient that ninjas dressed just like everyone else in normal daytime environments in hopes of going unnoticed.
Henry Ford Invented the Motorcar
Although Henry Ford definitely transformed the world of automobiles, he didn't really invent the first car or fifty-fifty the first associates line, for that matter. Ford'south name is so synonymous with early automobiles considering he was the first to produce a car that most middle-grade people could actually afford.
The history of automobiles goes back far longer than many people realize, with 1 of the primeval "cars" beingness a steam-powered automobile designed by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. When it comes to the commencement gas-powered car, still, the credit goes to Karl Benz, the famous German Engineer behind today'due south Mercedes-Benz.
Thomas Edison Invented the Light Bulb
Calorie-free bulbs had actually been around for years earlier Thomas Edison ever took information technology upon himself to brand his own version. The trouble with pre-Edison bulbs was that they didn't last long enough to be very useful.
Due to the light bulb'south obvious potential, about twenty other inventors were as well attempting to perfect the light bulb during Edison's time. Some rumors fifty-fifty accuse him of stealing some of his rival inventors' ideas in the race to create the showtime long-lasting calorie-free bulb. Regardless, his real claim to fame is perfecting a useful light bulb, non inventing it altogether.
The Council of Nicaea Decided Which Books to Include in the Bible
Today, the Christian Bible consists of 66 books Quondam and New Attestation books, but far more books were circulated during the early days of the church. One common misconception is that the Quango of Nicaea (325 AD) met to determine which books would brand the cut and be included in an official version.
The council really met to come to an agreement on whether Christ was ever divine or achieved divinity. In 367 Advert, a church male parent named Athanasius provided the kickoff listing of the 66 books establish in Biblical catechism today, based on the books that had go universally accustomed as truth.
Suicide Rates Shot Up Later on the 1929 Stock Market Crash
On Oct 24, 1929 — the infamous "Black Thursday" — rumors began speedily circulating that a number of stockbrokers were and so distraught over the crash that they leapt to their deaths from the windows or roofs of their part skyscrapers. As the rumors connected to spread, the stories grew to include skyrocketing suicide rates in the wake of the financial disaster.
In this example, the truth isn't actually as bad. In truth, suicide rates actually decreased following the crash, and the rumored roof-jumping deaths were just express to ii instances. Even more ironically, neither of those deaths took identify until November, weeks after the crash.
Everything Yous Know About the First Thanksgiving
Whatever the first Thanksgiving was, information technology probably wasn't the lovefest betwixt the Native Americans and the Pilgrims that you lot read about in textbooks. Some historians believe the outset "Thanksgiving" actually took identify in 1637, when the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed a twenty-four hour period of thanks.
The whole thing was meant to be a celebration of the rubber return of the colony'due south men. Returning from where, you ask? They were coming home later on helping massacre more 700 men, women and children in the Pequot Native American tribe. To this day, many Native Americans see Thanksgiving as a solar day of mourning rather than a celebratory vacation. That certainly puts a different spin on the holiday.
Walt Disney Created Mickey Mouse
Although Walt Disney was indeed the voice and one of the creators backside Mickey, he can't have sole credit for drafting everyone's favorite mouse. The truth is Mickey was actually fatigued by Walt'south favorite animator, Ub Iwerks. Information technology was Iwerks who came upwards with Mickey'due south trademark red shorts and gigantic ears.
Iwerks and Disney initially met while working as illustrators in Kansas Urban center, and they went on to go lifelong friends. The two created Mickey in a articulation effort to supplant an initial character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. However, over fourth dimension, Iwerks' proper name somehow faded from the register of Disney history.
Ben Franklin Discovered Electricity During His Kite Experiment
We've all heard the story. Ben Franklin rushes out into a thunderstorm to wing a kite with a key attached to the string and discovers electricity. But did he really? By the fourth dimension Franklin conducted his kite experiment, scientists all over the earth already knew almost the existence of electricity.
His experiment had more to practice with proving lightning was a form of flowing electricity and that information technology could be directed away from houses with a metal rod. Ironically, due to the fact that he had written to a friend about his proposed experiment, another scientist had already conducted it a month before he did. Apparently, you tin can't trust anyone when it comes to big ideas.
Everybody Wore Cowboy Hats in the Wild West
Westerns are certainly total of people strutting around in cowboy hats, but history would take looked a bit different in person. The now-famous Stetson wasn't even invented until 1865 and didn't actually skyrocket to popularity until near the terminate of the 19th century.
If y'all wait carefully at photos of Wild West outlaws and other figures, the cowboy hat is few and far between when it comes to their headgear. Most men at the fourth dimension wore either derby hats, wool caps, Civil war-style hats or Mexican sombreros. Even the first Stetson looked more than similar a traditional Amish hat than a modern cowboy lid.
Jesse Owens Was Snubbed by Hitler at the 1936 Olympics
When famous African American athlete Jesse Owens went to the 1936 Olympics in Germany, rumors flew that Hitler had snubbed him because he was black. As Owens afterward explained, however, the truth was far more disturbing.
"Hitler didn't snub me. It was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram," Owens later explained. Racism was so rampant in America at the fourth dimension that Owens was actually treated with more respect in Germany than he was when he returned home to the Us. Apparently, it was President Franklin Roosevelt who snubbed him, rather than the earth's most evil human.
Source: https://www.simpli.com/history/common-historical-myths-learned-school?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740008%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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