| Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revisionLast revisionBoth sides next revision |
| alternate_history:historical_misconceptions [2016/11/05 12:54] – [See Also] petike | alternate_history:historical_misconceptions [2019/01/30 22:04] – [See Also] petike |
|---|
| The following is a list of examples of historical misconceptions, with the truth summarized below them. | The following is a list of examples of historical misconceptions, with the truth summarized below them. |
| |
| **1.) People in the Renaissance Thought the World was flat/Columbus and his financiers feared the world was flat and his voyage proved it wasn't:** | **1.) People in the Renaissance thought the World was flat/Columbus and his financiers feared the world was flat and his voyage proved it wasn't:** |
| People had known since the ancient Greeks the world was round, and //everyone// knew it. Simple things like the earth's shadow on the moon and the fact that things disappear over the horizon are easy enough to pick up on. The Europeans weren't afraid to fund Columbus because they thought he'd fall off the earth; they were afraid because Columbus thought the earth was actually only one/third of its actual size (and take into account they knew the approximate size of the earth already, so either he was rather dim or was just trying to sell his idea) and no one had gone out that far into the unknown before, so few believed he'd reach Asia. Columbus' journey had nothing to do with the shape or size of the earth, and certainly didn't prove it was round. This myth began when it was included in a biography of Columbus by Washington Irving which mixed facts with historical fantasy. The fact that this myth continues in text books based on the misconception that that biography was totally factual is one of the top 10 reasons we should stop relying on Texas for our text books.[[http://www.textbookleague.org/26flat.htm|*]] | People had known since the ancient Greeks the world was round, and //everyone// knew it. Simple things like the Earth's shadow on the moon and the fact that things disappear over the horizon are easy enough to pick up on. The Europeans weren't afraid to fund Columbus because they thought he'd fall off the Earth; they were afraid because Columbus thought the Earth was actually only one/third of its actual size (and take into account they knew the approximate size of the Earth already, so either he was rather dim or was just trying to sell his idea) and no one had gone out that far into the unknown before, so few believed he'd reach Asia. Columbus' journey had nothing to do with the shape or size of the Earth, and certainly didn't prove it was round. This myth began when it was included in a biography of Columbus by Washington Irving which mixed facts with historical fantasy. The fact that this myth continues in text books based on the misconception that that biography was totally factual is one of the top 10 reasons we should stop relying on Texas for our text books.[[http://www.textbookleague.org/26flat.htm|*]] |
| |
| **2.) Hitler was a vegetarian:** | **2.) Hitler was a vegetarian:** |
| |
| **4.) Sitting Bull killed General Custer:** | **4.) Sitting Bull killed General Custer:** |
| Sitting Bull was far to old to be involved with the battle at all, but he was the tribes holy man and predicted the enemy would be delivered into their hands. | Sitting Bull was far to old to be involved with the battle at all, but he was the tribes' holy man and predicted the enemy would be delivered into their hands. |
| |
| **5.) Jimmy Carter was the first Southerner elected President since the Civil War:** | **5.) Jimmy Carter was the first Southerner elected President since the Civil War:** |
| Thomas Edison was notorious for his thievery and under-handiness, frequently stealing from those scientists and craftsmen working at his Menlo Park lab. Most of Edison's great accomplishments were in the business realm, as the man was quite dim as a scientist -- the reason his inventions took so long was because he would not look at past studies and research, and thus went over the same mistakes that others had and did not see any improvements based on earlier research. The majority of his patents were not new inventions, but simply improvements on earlier ones. The light bulb had already been invented in the 1830's; Edison was just looking for a way to make it longer lasting and more reliable, and ignored previous research in doing this. The motion picture itself was something created by one of his underlings; Edison had no interest in the idea, and only later, after it became successful, took it over and stole the glory and credit. Edison also had some of his men copy prints of the French silent classic "Le Voyage dans la lune" (which the French were planning to distribute in the US), distributed them himself, and made all the money from the US distribution thanks to loose copyright laws. He did probably invent the phonograph, however. | Thomas Edison was notorious for his thievery and under-handiness, frequently stealing from those scientists and craftsmen working at his Menlo Park lab. Most of Edison's great accomplishments were in the business realm, as the man was quite dim as a scientist -- the reason his inventions took so long was because he would not look at past studies and research, and thus went over the same mistakes that others had and did not see any improvements based on earlier research. The majority of his patents were not new inventions, but simply improvements on earlier ones. The light bulb had already been invented in the 1830's; Edison was just looking for a way to make it longer lasting and more reliable, and ignored previous research in doing this. The motion picture itself was something created by one of his underlings; Edison had no interest in the idea, and only later, after it became successful, took it over and stole the glory and credit. Edison also had some of his men copy prints of the French silent classic "Le Voyage dans la lune" (which the French were planning to distribute in the US), distributed them himself, and made all the money from the US distribution thanks to loose copyright laws. He did probably invent the phonograph, however. |
| |
| Perhaps most infamously, Edison screwed over and ruined the career of an actual scientific genius, Nikola Tesla. Edison hired Tesla to redesign his electrical generators, which he did, and when Tesla asked for his promised $50,000, Edison replied "Tesla, you don't understand our American humor". Tesla then shopped around the idea of alternating current against Edison's direct current. Angered that the man he screwed over would dare try to go against him, Edison started a smear campaign against alternating current, which was much more efficient and economical than direct current. To do this, he would pay neighborhood children for their pets and promptly electrocute them to death with alternating current, and lobbied to have the first electrical chair use alternating current. Guess which electric current we use today? So the valiant American wizard was actually a douche who stole most of his credited inventions, fluffed up his patent count with simple improvements, screwed over inventors left and right, and killed animals.[[http://www.cracked.com/article_16072_5-famous-inventors-who-stole-their-big-idea.html|*]][[http://www.cracked.com/article_14870_7-great-men-in-history-and-why-you-should-hate-them_p2.html|**]] | Perhaps most infamously, Edison screwed over and ruined the career of an actual scientific genius, **Nikola Tesla**. Edison hired Tesla to redesign his electrical generators, which he did, and when Tesla asked for his promised $50,000, Edison replied "Tesla, you don't understand our American humor". Tesla then shopped around the idea of alternating current against Edison's direct current. Angered that the man he screwed over would dare try to go against him, Edison started a smear campaign against alternating current, which was much more efficient and economical than direct current. To do this, he would pay neighborhood children for their pets and promptly electrocute them to death with alternating current, and lobbied to have the first electrical chair use alternating current. Guess which electric current we use today? So the valiant American wizard was actually a douche who stole most of his credited inventions, fluffed up his patent count with simple improvements, screwed over inventors left and right, and killed animals.[[http://www.cracked.com/article_16072_5-famous-inventors-who-stole-their-big-idea.html|*]][[http://www.cracked.com/article_14870_7-great-men-in-history-and-why-you-should-hate-them_p2.html|**]] |
| |
| **9.) John F. Kennedy was the youngest President/Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest elected President:** | **9.) John F. Kennedy was the youngest President/Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest elected President:** |
| |
| **[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=298226|Popular historical misconceptions that bug you]]** | **[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=298226|Popular historical misconceptions that bug you]]** |
| | |
| | **[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/common-falsehoods-about-history-that-annoy-you.459444/|Common falsehoods about history that annoy you]]** |
| |
| **[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=145599|Oddest stereotypes]]** | **[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=145599|Oddest stereotypes]]** |
| |
| **[[alternate history:alternate history|Alternate History Topics Section Main Directory]]** | **[[alternate history:alternate history|Alternate History Topics Section Main Directory]]** |
| | |
