You think you know, but you have no idea. Here are 11 well known facts that are totally wrong.
Penguins Mate For Life
NOPE! Penguins actually mate with whomever is close by and available during each mating season. So basically, they’re serial monogamists.
Queen Victoria Was a Prude
Wrong! While her name has become synonymous with prudishness, thanks to a misinterpretation of the Victorian Era, Queen Victora herself enjoyed quite the active sex life and wrote about it in her diaries.
Napoloen Bonaparte Was a Short Man
Actually, Napoleon Bonaparte was 5’7″, so we’re thinking his nickname as “le petit Corporal” was given to him by a scorned lover as an insult to his manhood.
Humans Have Five Senses
Third-eye blind? A sixth sense? Yeah, humans have those. And up to 14 more senses to go along with them. Instead of sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound, science shows we have as many as 20 different senses.
Benjamin Franklin Loved the Turkey More Than the Eagle
See what had happened was Benjamin Franklin made a JOKE about an Eagle and said it looked like a turkey. He was always joking. It’s why he wasn’t asked to write the Declaration of Independence.
George Washington Had Wooden Teeth
Rumor has it George Washington didn’t smile because he had wooden teeth. Ehhhhh. His dentures were made of wood, ivory, and human teeth. He didn’t smile because have you ever seen pictures of the Founding Fathers smiling?
George Washington Carver Invented Peanut Butter
This one gets, like, half credit. Carver was notable for his scientific discoveries and many of them involved peanuts. But peanut butter existed long before Carver began his work. Carver did invent technologies that eased its creation, though.
Life Expectancy In the Middle Ages was 30
What is this even supposed to mean?! People didn’t hit 30 and suddenly keel over, gray-haired and wrinkly. MOST people didn’t make it out of childhood in the Middle Ages, so their ages at death are factored into the average. If you did make it out of childhood alive, you could expect to live to around 64.
World War I Was the First World War
Not according to Winston Churchill, who referred to the Seven Years’ War between England and France as World War I. He called the war between 1914-1918 The Great War until World War II. Which, to him I guess, was World War III?
Vincent Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear (and Sent It to a Lover)
Van Gogh didn’t cut off his ENTIRE ear. And he probably didn’t cut it off himself at all. A fellow painter sliced off the end of a lobe during a skirmish and Van Gogh sent THAT to his lover, who was a prostitute.
Einstein Was a Bad Student
Au contraire! Einstein was an EXCELLENT student. Super, duper, extra smart! But he was also kind of a smart ass and frequently talked back to his teachers. Probably because he was smarter than them.