40 Commonly Known “Historical” Events That Never Actually Happened

However, that saying didn’t appear until 1767, in an autobiographical account by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rosseau. He attributed the quote to a great princess who lived when Antoinette was just a little girl.

Many biblical scholars argue that the fruit was actually a fig because the story mentions that Adam and Eve clothed themselves with fig leaves. We know there were fig trees in the garden, so it is more likely that it was a fig instead of an apple.

Washington did wear many pairs of dentures, but they were actually made of animal bone, metal, human teeth, and the teeth of animals such as cows, donkeys, and horses. While these are much different than what dentures are made of today, it definitely wasn’t wood.

British chemist Joseph Swan invented the lightbulb, and Edison gave him some suggestions to improve his invention. Edison may have invented the first motion picture camera and tinfoil phonograph, but he is getting the credit for someone else’s invention.

Of the 20 witches suspected, 19 of them were hanged while the final one was crushed by rocks. The myth about them being burned most likely comes from witch hysteria that took place in Europe during the 15th and 18th centuries.

The apple story came from a biography of Newton written by his friend in 1752. The book said, “the notion of gravitation came into his mind…. occasion’d by the fall of an apple, as he sat in a contemplative mood.” Therefore, he saw the apple fall, but it didn’t hit him in the head.

While he might have told people Ross sewed it, there is no actual evidence of that. There were no reports in the newspaper, historical letters, or any kind of writing for that matter. Her grandson probably made it up because he wanted to popularize his name.

The name is just a clever marketing ploy created by Majorie Husted for a Washburn Crosby Company campaign. The name sounded wholesome, but Betty Crocker never actually existed.

After reviewing their research, they discovered that the parasites that carried the disease were more likely to have come from humans rather than rats. The disease spread by human fleas and lice, which sped up the rate of transmission between people.

However, Columbus wasn’t the first person to “discover” America; he wasn’t even the first European to land in the Western Hemisphere. The Viking Leif Erikson is believed to have landed and established a settlement in North America almost 500 years before.

It turns out everyone has been lying to us because Einstein was always a genius, especially when it came to math. He was actually better at math than the average student, but he did fail the entrance exam for Zurich Polytechnic because he didn’t know French and failed the French portion of the exam.

Franklin set out to show that lightning was electric in order to prove his original hypothesis. Franklin might not have even flown the kite himself. In 1752, Franklin wrote in the Pennsylvania Gazette that he performed the experiment but didn’t specify who was flying the kite.

Paleontologist O.C. Marsh made the first discovery of the Brontosaurus, and it ended up being an error. During a time called “the Bone Wars,” Marsh wanted to get the upper hand on his competition. He called a bone a Brontosaurus, but it was later discovered that it belonged to an Apatosaurus.

No historical evidence proves Luther nailed his list onto the church doors, and the story only started to circulate thirty years after the fact. Luther apparently mailed his 95 Theses to the archbishop and never intended to start an issue with the church because he was a devoted Catholic.

In fact, there were no fiddles in Rome at the time, and he certainly wasn’t playing any instrument for that matter. It is actually an expression meaning a leader who does nothing during a time of crisis.

In reality, the story is that a woman named Godgifu, who was the wife of Leofric, led an unremarkable life besides marrying an important man. The legend of her naked ride came about as a way to explain the generous historical acts of Leofric.

In the play, some of the most iconic lines associated with Caesar’s death are “Freinds, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, let slip the dogs of war,” and “Et Tu, Brute?” However, it is unlikely that any words like this were spoken during all the chaos of his assassination.

People said she passed away from everything from substance abuse, assassination by the FBI, and the most popular was that she died from choking on a sandwich. In reality, she died from a heart attack caused by her intense weight fluctuation throughout the years.

It was said that the Spartans only had 300 soldiers when they actually had an army of about 4,000 men from surrounding Greek cities. It was also noted that at least 1,500 men stayed to fight, so we don’t know where people got the number 300 from.

However, this wasn’t the case. Suicide rates didn’t even increase, and no one was jumping out of buildings. It might seem like this was something that could happen because people lost so much money, but it was just an exaggerated detail.

However, the story was made up in 1806 by author Mason Locke Weems who wrote a book about Washington. He added the story to show that Washington was a man of virtue, and people believed it because it seemed plausible.

In the letter, Franklin said the bald eagle looked like a turkey on the seal. He also said the bald eagle has bad moral character because they steal from other birds, and the turkey is vain. Maybe it was a joke, but it makes perfect sense.

However, according to the US Naval Institute, declassified documents revealed that the US fired warning shots even though they were never reported. The following incident was that the US fired at waves that looked like enemy ships during a storm, but none of this actually took place.

The troops sent into Russian territory were soldiers from World War I’s Allied countries to make Russia re-enter the war against Germany. About 174 American soldiers died during the two years they were in Russia. It was just the beginning of the tension between the two countries.

In 1885, Grant claimed that the story was embellished. He said that Lee treated him with respect, and he was happy the war was over, and he won. It is not surprising that people would make more drama out of something so simple.

The LA Times said many scholars have believed he wasn’t real for a long time, and even if he was real, it is likely that the stories about him are myths. It is possible he was just a regular guy who was murdered for being Christian.

Regarding the existence of these boys, historians say the legend was “out of the question.” It is simply impossible that these boys existed during that time, and they definitely weren’t raised by wolves.

Out of the 129 ships in the Spanish Armada, the British only destroyed six of them. They could have defeated more, but they didn’t have enough gunpowder. Luckily, 50 other British ships showed up just in time, and bad weather and fast currents hurt the Spanish efforts.

It also wasn’t just women and children, but some of the fighting men were spared as well. Also, it was thought that 600 Mexicans died during the battle, but it was closer to 60. A man named William Zuber made up most of the exaggerated stories even though he wasn’t there.

There was no evidence that Turkey was served, but instead, it was most likely geese, swan, and venison. There wasn’t cranberry sauce or potatoes at the dinner either. Potatoes weren’t eaten in Massachusetts at the time, and people didn’t know how to boil cranberries and sugar.

Sadly, Magellan was killed in the Phillippines by a group of natives. When his ship returned to Spain in 1522, he wasn’t alive to complete the journey. Also, only 18 out of the 260 crew members made it back to complete the mission.

As it turns out, the “Wild” West was a peaceful area in the 1800s. Residents were more interested in their cattle and mining rather than dueling with someone who gives them a nasty look. Death and murder were inevitable, but only a small percent were killed per year.

Some of the real medieval games included horseshoes, bowling, and even tennis, which aren’t things that could kill people. City and village authorities were known to shut down events that could bring harm to people.

Due to the stories being passed down, the Trojan War as we know it is mostly a rambling of tales that people have made up at this point. From the Trojan Horse to the 1,186 ships entering Troy, most of the details are fictional.

However, this chamber wasn’t commonplace in medieval times. Even though it was a medieval tool, it wasn’t mentioned until 1790 when a German philosopher described it in one of his journals. People believe most of his story was fabricated.

In 16th century Europe, chastity belts were nothing more than a cheap joke. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were made for the prurient or as jokes for the tasteless. Regardless of why they were made, they are an evil thing that never should have existed.

While the story has been written many times, the details have been heavily embellished over the years. Many historians even believe that the King of Camelot never actually existed since his name is never mentioned in ancient texts between 400 AD and 800 AD.

American financier Bernard Baruch was actually the one who said the quote first. He was discussing the importance of facing public scrutiny and being authentic. It is definitely not something Dr. Seuss would say.