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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
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#1
Rosa Parks wasn’t the first to refuse to sit in the back of the bus. Shout out to Claudette Colvin!
Karl der Große 1 week ago
Rosa Parks still rocked. The lie I was told was that she had no idea what she was doing. She planned that act of civil disobedience and knew how to make that simple act make a difference.
RELATED:
#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.
Joe Publique 1 week ago
This has been common knowledge for decades. Imagine being so extreme that even 17th-century Europe found you intolerable. It’s strikingly similar to today’s fringe groups claiming their 'religious freedoms' are under attack because they’re required to bake a cake for a gay couple. Here’s a fun fact: America was founded by religious extremists, what we now call the 'Revolution' would likely be labelled 't*******m' by modern standards, and slavery was never truly abolished—it was just repackaged and normalized.
#3
D.A.R.E. taught me that people would be offering me free [substances] everywhere. Boy were they wrong.
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
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.
Apatheist Account2 1 week ago
I think this is missing "the first" in the Columbus phrase. He was European.
#5
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.
Michelle C 1 week ago
Nope; they were also widely engaged in slavery and had no problem selling off their friends, enemies, and kin, just as African tribes contemporary with them did. The Aztecs selling a princess to Cortès is just one notable example in that era.
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
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!
#8
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.
#9
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.
Darius S. (he/him) cis/grey 1 week ago
A portion of my country is obsessed with a portion of their history.. It's like saying all of German history is about the nah-tse's .. uber patriots also proud of treason
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
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.
#11
The discovery of America. Columbus was FAR from the wide-eyed visionary explorer children's books make him out to be. Very, very far.
Crikey! (ho/hum) 1 week ago
I'm quite certain that it was there long before Mr. Columbus arrived.
#12
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".
Michelle C 1 week ago (edited)
Belize holds the distinction of being the only Central American country with English as an official language. I’m curious how the teacher didn’t know this. ETA: Thank you to those who corrected me *politely.*There’s no reason to be rude because people do make mistakes. I knew Belize is in Central America and had posted this after a long day at work and little sleep overall this week. Giving the benefit of the doubt does wonders!
"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
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.
#14
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.
Joe Publique 1 week ago
Aside from this being utter nonsense, more than 50% of China doesn't even have 'monsoons'.
#15
Quicksand was a threat out to [end] me and everyone I love.
PunchinelloTX 1 week ago
I don’t think quicksand is that lady’s problem on the sign. Worse and more immediate is that she’s being eaten by bugs. They’ve already taken her left hand.
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
That if you did something blatantly illegal, the cops would arrest you.
Darius S. (he/him) cis/grey 1 week ago
I can't believe my president has immunity... I don't think a lot of people grasp the implications here.. One Republican senator complains about him not filing paperwork... duh, he's immune from paperwork too. It's like watching a friend die of mental illness.. there's nothing you can do sometimes.
#17
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!
#19
Eating carrots helps your night vision.
Darius S. (he/him) cis/grey 1 week ago
Allies cover for discovering radar.. their pilots could just see better.
#21
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”.
PunchinelloTX 1 week ago
This ALWAYS confused me because I knew men and women have the same amount of ribs but the Bloody Sunday School ladies insisted they didn’t. I’m still bitter.
#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?”.
#23
Young George Washington and the cherry tree. That story was in textbooks in our elementary school.
#24
"Nobody knows what [ended] the dinosaurs".
Apatheist Account2 1 week ago
"Excuse me, when did they end?" "65 million years and 3 months ago." "How can you be so precise?" "Well, when I started working here at the museum, I was told it was 65 million years ago, and I've been here three months..."
#25
That the dollar sign is a U superimposed on an S, that stands for the United States. The Symbol predates the US.
#26
In the Philippines, that Filipinos invented the fluorescent bulb and karaoke.
Poll Question
What surprised you most about historical facts you learned as a kid being wrong?
The sheer number of them
How convincing they seemed
That I never questioned them
That they were taught in schools in the first place
What do you think ?
Apatheist Account2 1 week ago
For me, it was that fat was all bad and sugar was fine. My teeth (all 26 of them) would disagree.
Joe Publique 1 week ago
We've known too much refined sugar is bad for you for decades.
Load More Replies... Sarah 1 week ago
An English lady ( pensioner age) told me she was taught that the Irish invited the English to come in and take over our country to improve things ..
Warren Peece 1 week ago
One of the teachers at my school told us that Antarctica is the world's largest iceberg, and it stays at the bottom of the world because it is too heavy to float upward. Another teacher (who has a degree in marine biology) told us that sharks are mammals. Another teacher told us that computers are just a passing fad "because they don't do anything useful".
Donna Peluda 1 week ago
I won a bet with a physics teacher with a degree who claimed that ice would never go below 0 degrees Celsius. No matter how cold it got outside ice was always at 0⁰C. She lost, I had a digital thermometer. She was baffled.
Load More Replies...
Apatheist Account2 1 week ago
For me, it was that fat was all bad and sugar was fine. My teeth (all 26 of them) would disagree.
Joe Publique 1 week ago
We've known too much refined sugar is bad for you for decades.
Load More Replies... Sarah 1 week ago
An English lady ( pensioner age) told me she was taught that the Irish invited the English to come in and take over our country to improve things ..
Warren Peece 1 week ago
One of the teachers at my school told us that Antarctica is the world's largest iceberg, and it stays at the bottom of the world because it is too heavy to float upward. Another teacher (who has a degree in marine biology) told us that sharks are mammals. Another teacher told us that computers are just a passing fad "because they don't do anything useful".
Donna Peluda 1 week ago
I won a bet with a physics teacher with a degree who claimed that ice would never go below 0 degrees Celsius. No matter how cold it got outside ice was always at 0⁰C. She lost, I had a digital thermometer. She was baffled.
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