14 Historical Misconceptions People Still Get Wrong

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14 Historical Misconceptions People Still Get Wrong

Everything you thought you knew about history is wrong.

Published 7 months ago in Wow

Despite books, movies, and the insistence of your third-grade social studies teacher, there's a whole lot about history that we get wrong. Benjamin Franklin and his kite did not, in fact, invent electricity. German tanks during World War II were genuinely kinda mid -- even though they did look cool. George Washington did not chop down a cherry tree, no matter what that cheeky painting depicts. But these three tidbits are just the tip of the iceberg — just ask the history buffs stuck rebuking these points day after day.

From whether or not the burning of the Library of Alexandria was an arson job (it probably wasn't) to the truth about the Magna Carta, 20 history enthusiasts share the most common misconceptions people have about history.

1
“I was a history major (mostly US history). I always had the impression that Magna Carta was this shining beacon of human rights which came down from the heavens and placed immediate limits on royal power, but that really wasn't the case. The Pope nullified it, and no one even paid attention to it until after King John's death. It did not become known as the iconic charter it is today until centuries later.”

2
“The reason people didn’t smile in old photos is because early photography was inspired by painting, where smiling was seen as inappropriate while stern looks appeared more formal for portraits.”

3
“Benjamin Franklin did not "invent" electricity, he simply expanded on what was currently known about it.”

4
“George Washington never cut down a cherry tree, it was a story from Mason Weems that he wrote in a book after Washington’s death to profit off of his namesake.”

5
“That Rome and Ancient Greece were full of cities of white marble. Both societies (and in fact, most ancient Mediterranean ones) painted the h—l out of everything, including statues.”

6
“People think because the average life span was between 30-40 years that everyone died in their 30’s, but that is more because the infant mortality rate was so high. If you lived past the age of 5 you were likely to have a normal life span compared to today.”

7
“The perception in the 1800s that Napoleon was short. He was actually average height, possibly slightly taller. The British media at the time helped spread the misconception about his height but some also say it was due to his company. He was commonly around his imperial guard which had height restrictions so he may have looked short in comparison…”

8
“Most Americans celebrate Christopher Columbus as the person who discovered America, yet Vikings came to North American shores hundreds of years before he did. Not to mention that he should not be celebrated at all, he slaughtered thousands of native Americans and/or was directly responsible for thousands of deaths.”

9
“Crossbows were considered to be weapons so dangerous (as any commoner could have easily killed a knight) so that their use was banned by the Church. In reality there is not a single ecclesiastical document that would single out crossbows as a 'banned' weapon.”

10
“Library of Alexandria was destroyed deliberately and it was an important event. In fact, the only historically attested destruction of library's contents (texts) was caused by Romans during military actions against Alexandria. Accounts of the destruction of Museion and Serapeion (buildings used for text storage and education) come from the times when position of Library of Alexandria dwindled from the centre of classical education to a provincial school, thanks to proliferation of schools and libraries in the Empire.”

11
“That the German tanks in WW2 were superior to everything the Allies had to offer, and that the Allies had to use their numerical advantage. Panther and Tiger look cool, yes, but they were actually a waste of resources.”

12
“Middle Ages were the period of decline or stagnation of the scientific, technical and social development that ended in Renaissance. In reality, almost whole medieval period witnessed not only formation of the local societies that rose to power after the fall of Western Roman Empire, but also the development of the whole northeastern Europe that was never in the borders of Roman Empire.”

13
“People in the Middle Ages (sometime also before) considered water unsafe and preferred wine or beer to prevent illness. This is not true, as water was the most common drink available, and access to potable water (running, pulled from a well or provided by an aqueduct, as 13th-century Tyburn circuit) was a major consideration in location of settlements and fortifications.Many medieval monastic regulations advocated drinking water, especially on fasting days. Beer and ale were common because it not only tastier than water, but also nutritious, while wine was considered a delicacy and drunk for its taste (and intoxicating effect).”

14
“That Marie Antoinette said ‘let them eat cake’. There is no record of her saying it, while numerous royals were accused or believed to have said the same thing throughout the 18th century”