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It looks like fake news has been around for thousands of years

28 Legends That Turned Out Not to Be True

October 28, 2023

So you’re telling us that consuming and then regurgitating “facts” from 40-year-old textbooks for all those history tests was for nothing?!?! Do you know how hard it was to suddenly remember the test was the next day, cram, realize it’s too much information, then put together a cheat sheet in the tiniest possible letters? Do you?!?!

Well, like most things, the joke was on us. History (and our cheat sheet) needs a massive rewrite.

28

Elvis Presley was the ultimate '50s ladies' man. But Elvis was more into teens and pajama parties. Elvis sure loved the ladies, but he had one very specific type: They had to be young (like, school age). Не met his future wife Priscilla when she was 14 and he was 24. And when he wasn't dating them, Elvis liked to throw pajama parties with teenage girls where he would start pillow fights and teach them to style their hair and put on mascara. Elvis was pretty insecure, so he preferred younger girls because they didn't seem as threatening to him. — Source

27

Abraham Lincoln was soft-spoken and dignified. And he was also a ridiculous badass. Lincoln was known to haul crates of stones weighing over 1,000 pounds around his hometown. As a militia captain he constantly engaged in impromptu wrestling matches with the other soldiers. His only defeat on record is to a guy who grabbed him by the crotch. There are also two recorded instances of Lincoln picking somebody up by the neck and tossing him aside like a doll - one of which happened while he was on the campaign trail. CRACKED.COM David Herbert Donald, 1996 Lincoln. — Source

26

Everyone honors St. Patrick by wearing green. But St. Patrick's official color is blue. The earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him clothed entirely in blue, not green, and when George III created a new order of chivalry for the Kingdom of Ireland, the Order of St. Patrick, its official color was a sky blue, known as St. Patrick's Blue. Blue was originally the color of Ireland, and a gold harp on a blue background still appears on the Irish constitution and presidential flag. The color green represents the divide between Ireland and Great Britain. CRACKED.COM http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/should-st-patricks-day-be-blue-180954572/ — Source

25

Slaves in ancient Rome weren't necessarily physical labourers or gladiators. There also were teachers, doctors and accountants. CRACKED COM — Source

24

GRAGKED.COM 300 Spartans (perhaps somewhat more covered than this) defended the pass of the Thermopylae against the advancing Persian army, There were 300 Spartans. That's true. Plus 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, 80 Mycenacans... About 7,000 Greek soldiers defended the pass of the Thermopylae against the advancing Persian army. — Source

23

Statues

BELIEF: Classical statues were white. TRUTH: Ancient Roman and Greek statues used to painted bright colors but have faded over time. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

George Washington

BELIEF: George Washington had wooden teeth. Washington had bad TRUTH: teeth and wore dentures made of human and animal teeth and alloys. His dentures may have been stained, making them appear wooden. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Santa Claus

- Coca-Cola invented BELIEF: Santa Claus as we know him. TRUTH: In 1836, illustrator Thomas Nast originated the classic imagery of Santa Claus in a red suit, by combining him with Uncle Sam. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

The Stock Market

BELIEF: Many stock brokers jumped out of windows when the market collapsed. There were two jumping TRUTH: suicides between the crash and 1929. The myth of the common Wall Street suicide originated with a comedian's quip. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

MYTH x Henry Ford invented the car in 1908. FACT The first automated vehicle was invented in France by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot, all the way back in 1769. The first modern automobile was created in 1866 by Karl Benz, who would later go on to found Mercedes Benz. CRACKED — Source

18

Mickey Mouse

MYTH Walt Disney drew Mickey Mouse. x FACT Disney came up with the concept for Mickey Mouse and voiced the character. But Disney's partner, Ub Iwerks, was the artist behind the Mouse, as well as his first animator. CRACKED — Source

17

Remember the story of George Washington chopping the cherry tree? It's completely made up. According to the story, when Washington was six years old he chopped down his father's prize cherry tree. When confronted, he said, I cannot tell a lie and confessed. Ironically, invented this iconic of story about the first value of honesty was Cheems. The itinerant Weems minister just and figured bookseller he'd make up some stories Locke he by Washington's named biographers, Mason one an thought would make Washington look virtuous. And people bought them American so hard school that Weems' textbooks pack for of lies — Source

16

Leo Fender is a legend who perfected the electric guitar. But he couldn't play, and didn't like rock'n'roll. Despite the fact that his entire business revolved around manufacturing and constantly improving guitars and amps, Fender never actually got around to learning how to play them and didn't have any interest in doing so. When Fender was testing an amp with a guitar, other people in the shop had to go in and tune the instrument when they couldn't take the noise anymore. Yet his creations are the guitar of choice for legends such as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Wild Bill Hickok is a legend of the American Old West. But Bill wasn't short for William. Wild Bill's legend parallels those of Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid. Не fought with the North in the Civil War, and is best known as a gunfighter, a scout, a professional gambler, and a lawman. But his real name was James Butler Hickok. The nickname was actually a crack on his appearance, and specifically on his giant slope of a nose and protruding upper lip. The first incarnation of Hickok's nickname was, in fact, Duck Bill. It's probably the reason for the — Source

14

NEANDERTHALS WERE NOT DIM-WITTED. They were capable of complex thought, communication, and sophisticated technology. And they bred with modern humans. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Bonnie and Clyde: The Legendary Bank Robbers. REALITY: They mostly robbed small grocery stores and gas stations. In the four years the Barrow gang targeted banks, they hit less than 15, didn't get away with much money, and a lot of times Bonnie stayed home and wasn't even involved. It was also easier to rob places with lower risk and quicker getaways. — Source

12

Each Fact As Good As The Last!

CRACKED.COM MYTH: The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th. It was drafted on June 11 and 28, presented to Congress on July 2, and revised on July 3 and 4. It was adopted by the Congress on July 4th. However, John Hancock didn't lay his big ol' signature down until August 4th. — Source

11

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Christopher Columbus discovered the U.S. Even ignoring that indigenous people had been in America for over 20,000 years before Columbus, Leif Erikson is believed to have led the first European expedition to North America...500 years before Columbus was even born. Columbus never even stepped on U.S. soil. Не went to several Caribbean islands, and Central and South America. — Source

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10

CRACKED.COM MYTH: Cowboys are uniquely American The original cowboys were Mexican cattlemen, known as vaqueros, who predate America cowboys. They taught future American cowboys how to do everything that's now considered classic cowboy, and eventually one in three cowboys were Mexican vaqueros. — Source

9

Each Fact As Good As The Last!

CRACKED MARIE ANTOINETTE SAYING LET THEM EAT CAKE Marie Antoinette supposedly said this when she heard peasants were very hungry. But it's likely that something like this phrase was actually said by Maria Theresa, the Spanish princess who married Louis XIV a century before Marie Antoinette's time. — Source

8

CRACKED CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS PROVING THE EARTH WAS ROUND. Christopher Columbus didn't set out to prove the Earth was round, because educated people already knew it was a sphere in the 15th century. — Source

7

CRACKED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA The Library of Alexandria wasn't destroyed in one big event, but over a long period of time. Fires, lack of care, and the fact that papyrus scrolls were becoming outdated all played a part in its destruction. — Source

6

Knights

CRACKED You-had- -to-be- borna knight. It's a common misconception that knights were born into their title. In reality, knighthood was a privilege that was earned through brave acts or service, and could even be bought or granted as a reward. — Source

5

CRACKED Old people used to be rare. Contrary to popular belief, people in the past could live to be quite old. Archaeological evidence and records show that humans have been able to reach their 70s, 80s, and even 90s for the past 160,000 years. — Source

4

CRACKED The Pyramids of Giza were built by slaves. It's not true that slaves built the Great Pyramids of Giza. Archaeological research has shown that the people who constructed them were paid workers, not slaves. — Source

3

Women-were-burned at the stake-in the Salem Witch-Trials. No one who was accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials was burned alive. Now, they were killed, in several different ways ... but not by burning CRACKED — Source

2

CRACKED 25MADE ADOLF HITLER The FBI put out a bunch of papers that had a bunch of stories saying that Hitler didn't really kill himself and had gone to South America instead, but even the FBI couldn't find any proof that it was true. — Source

1

Napoleon

CRACKED NAPOLEON Contrary to popular belief, Napoleon wasn't particularly short. Не was probably around the same height as the average Frenchman in the 19th century --he was estimated to be 5'6 or 5'7. — Source

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