History »
Helen Keller was Not Born Blind or Deaf
Myth: Helen Keller was born blind and deaf. In fact, Helen Keller was born able to see and hear just fine and continued to be able to do so until she was about one
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The Paperclip was Not Invented by Johan Vaaler
Myth: The paperclip was invented by Johan Vaaler One very popular false origin of the paperclip was that it was invented by Norwegian patent office manager, Johan Vaaler. He was even granted patents in
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The Pilgrims Did Not Celebrate the First Thanksgiving in America
The Pilgrims did not celebrate the first Thanksgiving in America. In fact, the particular Pilgrim event that is often cited as the first Thanksgiving wasn’t even the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving. They had several before
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French Toast Was Not Invented in France
French toast was not invented in France. In fact, French toast was around long before France even existed as a country. The exact origins of French toast are unknown, but it isn’t surprising that
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The Pilgrims Didn’t Wear All Black and White Clothing with Buckled Top Hats
The myth that they dressed like this stems from the popular clothing style of the day in England in the late 17th century, which carried over to 18th and 19th century depictions. Artist depictions,
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Viking Warriors Didn’t Wear Horned or Winged Helmets
To date, there is no evidence that any Viking warrior wore a horned helmet and there is significant evidence that they didn’t wear such impractical headgear. So how did this myth get started? A
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Albert Einstein Did Not Fail at Mathematics in School
In fact, he actually excelled at mathematics throughout his schooling and even considered becoming a mathematician for a time. This rumor actually started while he was still alive and even showed up in a
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The Name “Hot Dog” Was Not Coined at a New York Giants Baseball Game
You’ll often hear that the name “hot dog” comes from a cartoon drawn by T.A. Dorgan during a New York Giants baseball game at the Polo Grounds around 1902-1906 (date varies depending on who’s
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The Reason There is No “Nobel Prize for Mathematics” Had Nothing to Do With Any Wife/Mistress of Alfred Nobel
You’d be hard pressed to take any upper level university level mathematics course and not hear some variation of this story at least once per term from your mathematics professor (I personally have heard
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Peanut Butter Was Not Invented by George Washington Carver
The earliest reference to peanut butter being made goes all the way back to around 1000 BC where the Ancient Incas were known to have made a paste out of peanuts. Since then, peanut
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