20 Historical Facts That Are Just Plain False
So we've collected some well-known historical facts that are in reality, totally false.
Published 2 years ago in Wow
Shoutout to AskReddit for proving my high school history teacher wrong.
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That Hitler was a raging, shouting maniac in person. I think we want to believe that he would be that way because the idea that someone who was polite and low-key could be so evil is really disturbing.
According to his personal secretary and many people who knew him, Hitler rarely showed anger and was subdued but friendly in private. -nautius_maximus14
One from America would be that the famous Johnny Appleseed, out of the goodness of his heart, walked across much of the USA (and even a bit into Canada) planting apple orchards to provide the locals with healthy apples. In reality, he was an eccentric who had financial means and was a shrewd businessman. Yes, he did, in fact, walk around barefoot with a cooking pot on his head -- that much is true.
Johnny Appleseed (known as John Chapman to his mother) was planting orchards in areas he believed people would soon move as westward expansion grew across the Midwestern US. But the apples he planted were crap; they were used to make cider and only to make cider. They were sour and not edible. -Fresh-Hedgehog18955
The image of Roman gladiators fighting to the death. While there were many exhibition fights in the arenas where the goal was death, these were not gladiator contests. Prisoners, and the condemned, were thrown out to fight to the death, but not real gladiators. Training a gladiator was an expensive, and lengthy, investment and having them die constantly would be bad for business. -Sorripto
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The Lady who sued McDonalds didn't do so frivolously. She received third degree burns from how hot that coffee was, and needed a skin graft. It was quickly found that that location was keeping the coffee well above the temperature you can legally serve a hot drink in a cup at.
The fact that most people think this suit was over the temperature of the coffee, and not the debilitating burns that woman received, is one of the PR worlds greatest triumphs. You are not immune to propaganda. -P41nB0i10
That the Spanish Armada was destroyed. They did lose 44 ships.... out of 137..... And the British also didn't beat them off with a small force. Their navy was actually significantly larger with 197 ships since they were joined by the Dutch Republic.
A decisive defeat? Yes. A small English force overcoming and obliterating the might of the entire Spanish and Portuguese navy? No. -saudadeusurper12
“Under God” was not in the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance.. The Pledge was written in 1892. It wasn’t until 1954 that President Eisenhower added “under God” in response to fear of communism during WW2.
Also - when first implemented, during the pledge people raised their right arm forward so the hand was level with their eyes (directed at the flag) however this was changed during WW2 because it resembled the Nazi salute. The procedure was changed to place the right hand over the heart. -blueSnowfkake15
That people used swords and axes all the time. Spears. Its spears, most of human history has been spears. Vikings used spears, samurai and knights used spears. Hell, bayonets exist because people felt you always need a spear, even with a rifle in your hand.
William Blake said, "When the stars threw down their spears, / and watered heaven with their tears..." Which is stupid. No one throws down their spear. Spears are great for poking people to death. -Training-Fact-388716
Einstein never failed math, the rumor started from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and Einstein actually responded to them saying “I never failed in mathematics. Before I was 15 I had mastered differential and integral calculus.” He wasn’t very good at the non-science related classes though and did fail French. -Think-Huckleberry965
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