If you want to make a history buff roll their eyes, name a common historical misconception.
Things like Thomas Edison inventing the lightbulb all by himself or Disney’s Pocahontas being 100 percent factual.
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They’ll look at you as if they’re watching an episode of Drunk History !
There are many other historical facts the world loves to believe, despite being false.
Here are 19 of them!
That Marie Antoinette said, “let them eat cake.”
The same goes with “let them eat brioche.” This Redditor said that she never said either of those sentences. She was only nine at the time, so this famous line was entirely made up.
That people from the past were just less intelligent than modern people.
“Fact is, humans from even 15,000 years ago were just as intelligent as modern humans (intelligence being the ability to learn and apply knowledge). They just had different things to worry about and had not discovered everything that we know today.” – u/Ralife55
That Paul Revere shouted, “the British are coming!”
“The mission depended on secrecy so shouting loudly the ‘British are coming’ kinda defeats the whole purpose. According to several sources (e.g., eyewitness accounts) his warning was likely ‘the Regulars are coming out.'” – u/deleted
That Rosa Parks was just some nice lady who wouldn’t give up a bus seat.
This Redditor explained that she was a political activist who planned to not give up her seat on the bus as a specific instance of civil protest.
That medieval peasant food was bland.
“People seem to think peasants only ate bread and potatoes with no seasoning. In reality, while salt was indeed a luxury they often couldn’t afford, they had access to plenty of herbs to flavor their food.” – u/Balrog229
That Neanderthals were monosyllabic brutes.
“There’s no evidence of that whatsoever. Their brains were bigger than ours and casts of the inside of their skulls show that they had all the same structures our brains had.” – u/PhillipLlerenas
That Egyptians worshipped cats.
While it would be completely understandable (look how cute they are!), this Redditor explained that they had a couple of Gods who resembled cats. They didn’t worship the actual animal .
That people didn’t die at 30-40 years old.
“The high infant mortality rate skews the average. If you could survive into your teen years you had a pretty good chance of living into your senior years. Obviously there are a lot of factors to consider (eg class, gender, occupation, where you lived, etc.)” – u/crazynekosama
That President William Howard Taft got stuck in a bathtub.
“The urban legend stemmed from the fact that his tubs weighed a ton and could theoretically fit multiple adults. It is historically accurate that he’s an absolute unit though.” – u/blart_institute
That Henry VIII had six wives.
He wasn’t quite like Kody Brown, star of Sister Wives . Henry had six wedding ceremonies, but because three of his marriages were annulled, this Redditor explained that he technically only had three wives.
That Winston Churchill was a saint.
“Man was a narcissist, alcoholic, and extremely prejudiced . I laughed at the scene in Darkest Hour when he was talking to citizens in the train. Churchill wouldn’t have been caught dead with regular ‘nobodies.'” – u/ToastyRotzy
That slaves built the pyramids.
“Since Ancient Egypt didn’t have currency or conduct trade like we do today, it has led to the misconception that the pyramids were built by slaves since they weren’t paid. They were, just not with money (they got food, meat, beer, cloth, etc).” – u/savethetardigrades
That the Nazis were sticklers for grammar.
This is where the term “Grammar Nazi” comes from. While people love the saying, there’s no factual information behind this.
This Redditor explained that Nazis made grammatical errors in their speech and writing and that there were no punishments for this.
That the vast majority of colonists supported the American Revolution.
“Only around 40% of colonists supported the American Revolution. Another 40% was indifferent, and about 20% sided with the British. Most Americans think that it was the vast majority who wanted Independence .” – u/placeholderNull.
That peasants could marry whoever they wanted for love.
“Peasant marriages were arranged for the same reason as noble ones were, to link two families together, you very rarely got to marry who you liked it was usually who your parents liked .” – u/Nugo520
That Louis-Michel le Peletier cast the single vote that sentenced Louis XVI.
Not true at all. The majority found him guilty on the charges of treason. He was sentenced to die with a vote of [693 to 28.]( https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/trial-execution-of-louis-xvi/
That Jewish people and other victims of the Holocaust went willingly to their death and no one fought back.
“There were resistance groups all over the place as well as people fighting from their homes when they were being taken for deportation. Guns were used, makeshift bombs, stolen bombs, etc. Not everyone was going to go to the concentration camps/death camps/detention centres without a fight .” – u/PrxnceZuko
That Knights were chivalrous.
“It was a concept designed to make them appear magnanimous, and to justify their brutality among the common folk of their enemies when they weren’t at war.” – u/Imfinejusthomeless
That Shah Jahan cut off the hands of his workers after they completed Taj Mahal.
“There’s literally no evidence except for tell tales. Many monuments were built after Taj Mahal under reign of Shah Jahan. Just think, who would work for you knowing that they’re going to lose their hands if they did a good job ?” – u/veniato
