Of all the sciences known to humanity, history is probably the most volatile and subject to change. Even more than economics. At the very least because, as we know, history is written by the victors—and it is far from certain that what we "officially" learned from textbooks was 100% true of the past.
And sometimes, it so happens that the simple ignorance of a school teacher leads to us memorizing some "historical facts" for a long time, only to realize later—years later—that they were not true. And it's precisely such facts that are the subject of a viral online thread, a selection of the best materials of which we present to you today.
More info: Reddit
#1
Rosa Parks wasn’t the first to refuse to sit in the back of the bus. Shout out to Claudette Colvin!
Image credits: Dirty_Sanchez74656
#2
That the Pilgrims came over to America for “religious freedom”. Painted them as these kind of progressive liberal Christians and across the pond was too stifling and controlling. No not the full story. Pilgrims came over here because they wanted to be religious whackadoos.
Image credits: DisciplineBoth2567
#3
Lot of Columbus hate in here, and for good reason. But I'd just like to add that the impression I got in school was that the Native Americans were all these incredibly peaceful, pipe-smoking hippies who shared the land and just wanted to beat their drums and grow corn. It turns out, they were unbelievably violent to one another and often stole each other's land.
"But that doesn't make what Columbus did right!" Nope. It sure doesn't.
Image credits: United_Wolf_4270
A few days ago, in the AskReddit community, the user u/vn66 asked netizens a question: "What historical 'fact' did you learn in school, that later turned out to be completely wrong or misrepresented?" Today, the thread has over 7.1K upvotes and around 5.6K comments with a lively discussion.
It is interesting that not all of the facts listed here actually relate to history—but, nevertheless, the selection looks incredibly interesting. Some of these "facts" are a clear result of teachers neglecting their work, some are typical distortions of history in different eras, and some are just the result of an evolutionary change in scientific views.
#4
D.A.R.E. taught me that people would be offering me free [substances] everywhere. Boy were they wrong.
Image credits: Accurate_Interview10
#5
I remember doing something in primary school (about 7-8year old) on explorers.
This included that Columbus was European in America and that captain cook discovered Australia.
Being a weird dork I knew that vikings reached North America and Abel Tasman reached Australia first.
My teacher refused to accept this was right and I distinctly remember that being the point when I realised not all adults were clever.
Image credits: bigbadbolo
#6
That Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
Image credits: Rogue-Hero94
Well, some of the facts listed here are just beautiful stories about famous people, which were invented simply to "decorate" their historical appearance. For example, the famous story of George Washington and the cherry tree, which actually only appeared in 1806—and, more importantly, only in the fifth edition of Mason Weems' book "Life of Washington."
Weems later admitted himself that, being a Federalist and a fan of order and self-discipline, he desperately wanted to present the first US President as a true role model for young people. Well, he actually succeeded. Moreover, even Abraham Lincoln later said that he read Weems' book in his youth and was really fascinated by it.
#7
The discovery of America. Columbus was FAR from the wide-eyed visionary explorer children's books make him out to be. Very, very far.
Image credits: Zorothegallade
#8
Who else here was raised in the 80s where the Food Pyramid was drilled into your head? I've known longer that it's hogwash than I 'lived' with it - but I still can't get it out of my head, and my subconscious will always think that's the 'appropriate' way of meal planning.
Image credits: Nail_Biterr
#9
Early 90's in Sweden I learned about "ättestupa" - the viking practice of seniors throwing themselves/being thrown down cliffs when they could no longer sustain themselves/contribute to the commune. They did not.
Image credits: xfactotumx
Some "facts" are simply the result of clever manipulation. For example, the myth about the incredible health benefits of carrots for eyesight (oh, how I hate this myth—my grandma also sincerely believed in it, and forever discouraged me from loving carrots...). In fact, at the very beginning of World War II, the British invented radar and, thus, significantly improved the issue of finding German bombers during the Battle of Britain.
But, so the Germans couldn't find and destroy the radar stations that made it easy to find their planes even at night, the British command resorted to cunning. Numerous "studies" have appeared in scientific journals indicating the benefits of carrots for pilots' eyesight—so the British pilots allegedly owed their amazing accuracy not to radar, but to the orange vegetable.
Well, the Battle of Britain is long gone, radars are now available in almost every country, and the myth of the healing properties of carrots has proven to be incredibly tenacious...
#10
I’m a teacher so I like to check myself when I say something that they’re surprised by. Recently I found out that Black Widow spiders only eat their mates in captivity and it’s actually not common.
Image credits: Can_I_Read
#11
Turns out the American Civil War was not a result of “Abraham Lincoln being a poopy-head”. Gotta thank the Mississippi school system for that one.
Image credits: regurgitator_red
#12
Watson and crick discovered dna. rosalind franklin did the bulk of the work, they were involved and published the findings, tho, so they got all the credit!
Image credits: zed42
"It used to be harder for school teachers, on the one hand, and easier on the other. Harder because it was not so easy to get information outside the curriculum. Easier because students couldn't verify the teacher's words by simply Googling them—and it was possible, well, to 'crush them with authority,'" says Vladimir Nemertsalov, a school principal and teacher, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment.
"So, in fact, it's often not worth blaming the teacher—especially if the fact they told you was from the era before the widespread use of the Internet. Today, if a teacher persists in some scientific misconception, it most likely doesn't speak in their favor at all. It rather indicates their unprofessionalism."
#13
That if you did something blatantly illegal, the cops would arrest you.
Image credits: anon
#14
Tastebuds. I vividly remember a textbook saying that since we had the soft spot at the tip of the tongue, we liked licking ice creams and 7-years-old me obviously believed this piece of collective knowledge because obviously a book had to be right!
Image credits: javier_aeoa
#15
In 7th grade my geography teacher taught us that China had such a big population because of the Asian monsoons (which basically means the "rain season"). Didn't get it? As my teacher explained, China had a big population because - due to the rain - couples would stay inside more, get bored and f**k to pass the time - leading to more children being born. She even asked this in a test.
Image credits: nerodidntdoit
However, history is still a science that changes very often. Perhaps today, if the White House really does declassify materials about the death of President Kennedy, as announced, some chapters from our history textbooks will also turn out to be completely wrong. We'll see... In the meantime, we'd be really glad if you also shared similar 'historical facts' from your own life experience in the comments under this post.
#16
Quicksand was a threat out to [end] me and everyone I love.
Image credits: YoucantdothatonTV
#17
Eating carrots helps your night vision.
Image credits: dohrk
#18
That nobody walks around with a calculator in their pocket...
Image credits: MustangGuy
#19
5th grade, 1990. Teacher tells the class "all of the Central American countries are Spanish speaking." My aunt had just returned from Belize and I rose my hand and said "Belize is officially English speaking." Teacher says "No, they are all Spanish".
Image credits: OleThompson
#20
Young George Washington and the cherry tree. That story was in textbooks in our elementary school.
Image credits: CanisArgenteus
#21
Blood being blue until exposed to oxygen.
Image credits: dohrk
#22
I had a teacher in the 90s laugh at me when I said I didnt think currencies needed to be tied to gold.
He didnt know the gold standard ended decades ago.
“What are countries just gonna say its worth something?”.
Image credits: MxOffcrRtrd
#23
"Nobody knows what [ended] the dinosaurs".
Image credits: anon
#24
That the dollar sign is a U superimposed on an S, that stands for the United States. The Symbol predates the US.
Image credits: stonefarfalle
#25
That where the bible said Adam donated a rib to make Eve, it said it as a theological way of explaining “why men have fewer ribs than women”.
Image credits: kurtrussellfanclub
#26
In the Philippines, that Filipinos invented the fluorescent bulb and karaoke.
Image credits: Jaives
