Mind Bake's video: 7 Historical Myths You Still Believe Today

7 Historical Myths You Still Believe Today! Subscribe: http://bit.ly/28OgpSK Twitter: http://bit.ly/28UHzt2 Facebook: http://bit.ly/28OfgdH Number One: It is one of the most iconic scenes of the Revolutionary War. The image of Paul Revere on horseback, shouting “The British are coming!” turned him into one of the country’s greatest patriots. But this moment has little to do with reality. In fact, the valiant Paul Revere on horseback can only be found in a famous poem titled “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which appeared 85 years after the ride itself. Obviously, since he was a poet and not a historian, Wadsworth took significant liberties in order to portray Revere as heroically as possible. Number Two:Truth be told, Revere’s ride wasn’t seen as a big deal in his own time. It wasn’t even mentioned in his obituary. For starters, he didn’t do it alone. As he went along his route, he was joined by several others who helped him warn of the arriving British forces. We know of at least two other men who accompanied him: Samuel Prescott and William Dawes. And he wouldn’t have shouted “The British are coming” for two reasons. One, this was a secret mission where he had to evade British patrols. And two, most people living in Massachusetts at the time were ethnically English and considered themselves British. If anything, he would have warned that the Regulars are coming. The legend of Betsy Ross designing the first American flag is very pervasive today, mostly due to great timing. But the truth is that there is no historical evidence to suggest that Ross or any other person was solely responsible for creating the flag design with the 13 stars arranged in a circle. However, it should be noted that during her time Ross herself never claimed responsibility for this feat. According to Betsy, her contributions involved selecting a five-pointed star over a six-pointed one because they were easier to make. Number Three: The Great Seal of America was chosen in 1782, with the bald eagle front and center. Since then, a rumor has persisted that Benjamin Franklin actually wanted the wild turkey to become the national bird. There is actually some truth to the story. Franklin thought that the design for the eagle in the original seal looked more like a turkey. He then proceeded to compare the two. Franklin didn’t like the bald eagle, considering it a bird of “bad moral character” for its tendency to steal food from other birds. He thought that, by comparison, the turkey was a more courageous and respectable bird, despite looking “a little vain and silly”. Number Four: The cowboy is one of the most iconic images in American history, but that doesn’t mean our understanding of it isn’t flawed. The iconic cowboy hat, the Stetson, might be what every cowboy wears in Westerns, but it wasn’t what they actually wore in real life until the very end of the Wild West. The Stetson wasn’t even around until 1865 and in fact, it became really popular at the end of the 19th century. Up until then, you can clearly see from the famous image of the Wild Bunch pictured above which hat cowboys preferred: the derby, also known as the bowler hat. The sombrero was also quite popular, but a gentleman might have preferred a top hat. Number Five: It’s a famous real-life line that turned into one of the most recognizable quotes in cinema history. It’s a little wrong, though. What was actually said in the mission was “Houston, we’ve had a problem”, but that’s not the real issue here. This is actually a case of misattribution. Most of us know the line from the Apollo 13 movie where Tom Hanks played Commander Jim Lovell and, since he’s the main character, he delivers the line. However, in real life, the line was initially said by backup Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, played by Kevin Bacon in the movie. Number Six: We’ve all heard the story of how Orson Welles once did a radio show covering H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”. Supposedly, people thought that it was real and that Earth was being invaded and mass panic ensued. Well, there is some truth to that. Some people did mistake the show as a genuine report, but the extent of the problem was greatly exaggerated because not that many people were listening to the show in the first place. The broadcast didn’t have a large audience and it was in a very competitive time slot, going against much more popular shows. Furthermore, several CBS affiliates chose to replace the broadcast when it originally aired and there were also notices proclaiming the story to be fictional during each commercial break.