We all have those memories of some of the most famous times in history or even our own lives where we remember things not quite the way they actually were. However, it’s important to verify historical facts as they can often be misunderstood. Memories can be altered by external influences, such as leading questions or misinformation, leading to false memories. 

Historical Facts That Aren’t True

Some wonder why a large portion of the population can remember something the same way and all of us are wrong about it. We call this the Mandela Effect. The Mandela Effect refers to a shared, false memory where many people collectively misremember a specific fact or event, often related to pop culture, like the Star Wars quote “Luke, I am your father” when it was actually “No, I am your father”, but not limited to. Here is an example of 

Paul Revere Shouted, “The British Are Coming!”

The iconic phrase “The British are coming!” is not what Paul Revere actually shouted during his midnight ride. He warned the colonists, “The regulars are out!” referring to British soldiers. Paul Revere’s midnight ride is legendary, but the truth is that colonial Americans still considered themselves British at the time, so it wouldn’t have made much sense to say that.

Thanksgiving Was a Peaceful Celebration

The story of the first Thanksgiving is often told as a friendly gathering between Native Americans and Pilgrims, sharing a large meal in harmony. While there was a feast, the relationship between the two groups was far more complicated. Tensions, conflicts, and power struggles were a major part of their interactions, and the idyllic image of unity isn’t entirely accurate.

In 1621, the English Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people did share a harvest feast, but this event should not be seen as the beginning of a period of peaceful coexistence

Einstein Failed Math in School

There’s a popular belief that Albert Einstein struggled with math as a child. Perhaps parents started this one to make some kiddos feel not as bad about passing that math test. But the truth of the matter is Einstein was and still is one of history’s brightest, most forward-thinking theoretical physicists, and you can’t practice or even begin to understand physics without a firm grasp of mathematics. In reality, Einstein was an excellent student and excelled in mathematics from a young age. Einstein himself once addressed the rumor, saying he had mastered calculus by the time he was a teenager.

He failed the Zurich Polytechnic entrance exam when he was 16, not due to math but to the language, botany, and zoology sections, but hey, nobody’s perfect. 

The Salem Witch Trials Burned Witches at the Stake

The infamous Salem witch trials were terrifying, but burning at the stake wasn’t part of the story. In reality, accused witches in Salem were hanged, not burned. The idea that people were burned alive comes from European witch trials, where that was a common punishment.

The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693, with over 200 people accused of witchcraft. While burning at the stake was a form of execution for witchcraft in some parts of Europe, it was not the method used in colonial New England. In total, 20 people were executed during the Salem witch trials. 

Napoleon Bonaparte Was Short

Napoleon’s height has been the butt of jokes for centuries, but in reality, he wasn’t as short as people think. The myth comes from a mix-up in measurement systems. His recorded height in French measurements was mistaken for British units, making him seem much shorter than he really was, or some believe it is due to British propaganda during the Napoleonic Wars; short men, I guess, were a lot less scary at the time. In fact, Napoleon was about 5’6″ or 5’7″, which was average for his time.

The Great Wall of China Is Visible from Space

It’s one of the most common “facts” people love to share, but it’s simply not true. Despite what you might have heard, the Great Wall of China isn’t visible from space with the naked eye or even from the ISS (International Space Station) without a high-powered lens. Astronauts have confirmed that plenty of man-made structures, like cities and airports, can be seen from space, but the Great Wall isn’t one of them.

Marie Antoinette Said, “Let Them Eat Cake”

“Let them eat cake” is one of the most famous quotes in history, but Marie Antoinette probably never said it. The phrase was attributed to her years after her death; there’s no solid evidence that she ever uttered those words. In reality, the quote was likely invented to portray her as out of touch with the struggles of the French people.

The Emancipation Proclamation Freed All Slaves

While Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is often credited with freeing all enslaved people in the United States, that’s not exactly how it happened. The proclamation only applied to Confederate states that were in rebellion, meaning it didn’t affect slave-holding border states that remained in the Union. It did not apply to the four border states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri) that remained loyal to the Union, nor to areas of the Confederacy that were under Union control.

Slavery wasn’t officially abolished nationwide until the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Columbus Discovered America

Many people still believe that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America, but Native Americans had been living here for thousands of years before he arrived. Not only that, but Norse explorers, like Leif Erikson, had reached North America centuries before Columbus.

Columbus did play a role in connecting Europe with the Americas, but calling him the discoverer of the continent leaves out a lot of important history. Columbus’s discovery of “The New World” sounds like a lot of PR to me. Apparently, we’ve been spreading narratives for agendas to make people bigger than they really are for a long time. 

Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned

The image of Emperor Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned is one of history’s most dramatic scenes, but it’s not true. It is a popular legend, not a historical fact. Nero was not in Rome at the time of the fire, and the fiddle, as we know it, didn’t even exist then.

The Trojan Horse Was Real

According to the legend, the Trojan Horse was a giant wooden horse left outside the gates of Troy by the Greeks, who pretended to sail away. Most historians agree that the legend is likely more myth than reality. No physical evidence of the Trojan Horse has ever been found, and the concept of hiding soldiers inside a large wooden horse is considered impractical by many historians. 

Salem Was the Only Witch Trial in America

The Salem witch trials are the most famous, but they weren’t the only witch hunts in colonial America. In fact, other towns in New England held their own trials, and some even predated Salem’s infamous events.

Witch trials also occurred in Connecticut and Maryland during the 17th century, reflecting a broader European and colonial fear of witchcraft. There were also witch trials in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The Wright Brothers Invented the Airplane Alone

While the Wright brothers did achieve the first successful powered flight, they weren’t the only ones working on aviation at the time. Inventors from around the world were experimenting with flight, and the Wrights built on the ideas of those who came before them. They also relied on their bicycle shop mechanic, Charles Taylor, to make the engine for their 1903 airplane, the Wright Flyer, and he also helped with other aspects of the project. 

Thomas Edison Invented the Lightbulb

They teach us about Edison in school. What a great inventor he was, a pillar of the scientific community. He changed our world as we know it. Well, thanks to the internet superhighway, we all know now that Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were actually rivals. The people called it the “War of the Currents.” 

While Edison played a crucial role in perfecting and commercializing the lightbulb, he didn’t invent it from scratch. Alessandro Volta, Humphrey Davy, and Joseph Swan played a critical role in the development of this technology. Also, just a nugget of information we all like to forget: Working behind the scenes, Edison helped his former assistant, Harold Brown, organize a series of grotesque experiments. Stray dogs and cats were secured onto metal plates, connected to a 1000-volt alternating current supply, and duly “Westinghouse.” Edison’s real coup, though, came when, through Brown, who had become a member of New York State’s commission to investigate executions that would be more humane than hanging, he suggested execution using alternating current. Sorry, no hero of mine. 

Pocahontas and John Smith Had a Romance

The popular story of Pocahontas and John Smith’s romance has been romanticized in books and movies, but the real story is quite different. Historical records suggest that Pocahontas was a child when she first encountered John Smith, and historians suggest that their connection was more of a friendship and political, with Pocahontas acting as a mediator between the Powhatan and the English colonists

Al Capone Was Brought Down for Murder

While a lot of us want to think of the swanky, romanticized Italian mobster who made people “sleep with the fishes,” Al Capone was not arrested or convicted of any heinous crimes. Capone was charged with 22 federal income tax evasion counts from 1925 through 1929. 

Vikings Wore Horned Helmets

When people picture Vikings, they usually imagine fierce warriors wearing horned helmets and flying on dragons … ok, maybe not the dragons, but there’s no evidence they actually did. This idea comes from 19th-century artists who added horns to make Viking illustrations look more dramatic, particularly those associated with Richard Wagner’s operas, which popularized the image of Vikings with horns

Archaeological discoveries have shown that Viking helmets were practical and designed for battle without any fancy horns sticking out.