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A smart man once said, "What is history but a fable agreed upon?" The idea is that history reflects the ideals and beliefs of the one who's teaching it and not necessarily what happened. Repeat a lie a thousand times and someone might actually start believing it.

Last week, Redditor u/throwaway000689 decided to find out which of these myths are the most popular and asked other platform users: "History buffs, what is a commonly held misconception that drives you up the wall every time you hear it?" People immediately started submitting their answers and provided valuable insights into our collective ignorance.

#1

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That the further back in time you go the more sexually suppressed everything was or the more racist everyone was or the more misogynistic everyone was - basically any perception that the entirety of history can be charted as a steady progression. All of these things fluctuate. Women in Medieval Europe had more rights than women in 18th century Europe, our concept of racial superiority based on skin color would have come off as insane in many other eras, and I want to tear my hair out every time I hear someone claiming that it would have been scandalous to show an ankle in 19th century Europe. Hell, even in living memory none of these claims are accurate. The 70's were more sexually liberal than the 80's, and you would have to be dumber than a bag of sh*t to not see how much we're backsliding on human rights right now, especially women's rights - and yet people still overwhelmingly cling to the delusion that we're constantly marching ever and ever forward on all of these issues, each day more progressive than the last. It's just not true.

schnit123 , Unknown Report

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Karin Jansen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a kid (late 80's, early 90's) I remember most women at the beach, a lot who had grown up in the 70's, being topless. Now when I do it, I'm often the only one and looked at like I'm a paria. Sucks really, seems like we're going backwards.

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The person who ignited the discussion, u/throwaway000689, came up with the idea for it quite spontaneously. "I was thinking about the conversation I had with my friend where he said that the reason for the downfall of the Roman empire was because of the rampant hedonism," the Redditor told Bored Panda, adding that they find this assessment completely wrong.

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One might think that such talks are of little importance. After all, people live in the present, they plan for and worry about the future, but history is the study of the past. Why bother with what has been?

Peter N. Stearns, a professor at George Mason University, where he had been provost for 14 years, said the reason is quite simple: there's much to learn from the bygone days.

"In the first place, history offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave," Stearns wrote. "Understanding the operations of people and societies is difficult, though a number of disciplines make the attempt. An exclusive reliance on current data would needlessly handicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace—unless we use historical materials? How can we understand genius, the influence of technological innovation, or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we don't use what we know about experiences in the past?"

u/throwaway000689 agrees. "History [not only teaches us about the] mistakes of the past, [but it] also allows us to learn more about the world we live in which helps expand the mind of the average individual."

#2

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That people from the past were just less intelligent than modern people. Fact is, humans from even 15,000 years ago were just as intelligent as modern humans (intelligence being the ability to learn and apply knowledge). They just had different things to worry about and had not discovered everything that we know today.

The whole of modern civilization is built on discovers made thousands or tens of thousands of years ago. Our ancestors, starting with nothing but stone tools and basic survival skills, created agriculture, writing, mathematics, standardized language, the wheel, metallurgy, ship building, architecture, trade routes spanning all of afro-eurasia, currency, banking, cross breeding of animals and plants to create better strains, the list goes on.

If I plucked a human baby from thousands of years ago, properly immunized it to modern diseases, and raised it as any other child today, you would be unable to tell the difference between them or any other child.

Fact is the only difference between us and our ancient ancestors is the discoveries, philosophies, technology and effort performed, created and understood by the hundreds of generations between us.

Our ancient ancestors were simply smart in different ways because we only really learn what we have to. Ancient Polynesians literally memorized the night sky for navigating the innumerable islands of the Indo-Pacific and Oceania, Norse people's built ships capable of sailing from Europe to America using only hand tools, wood, linen, nails and rope. Ancient east Asian cultures built massive temples out of wood using only precisely crafted wood joints and no nails. Rome built, well, Rome, with hand tools and hand calculated math. Same can be said of the wonders of Egypt, India and mesopotamia.

Then there is Göbekli Tepe, an amazing structure of precisely placed monoliths, engraved walls and cobblestone paths built nearly 12,000 years ago. Which is nearly 6000 years prior to our earliest records of advanced civilizations.

We stand on the backs of thousands of years of knowledge painstakingly collected and handed down for millennia to us who have taken it and created wonders our ancestors would attribute to gods.

Yet we ignore the gargantuan effort that our long dead kin have contributed to our success and even view them with distain. Calling them savages, ignorant and fools. Truly we are the ungrateful child looking down on the gracious teacher that our ancestors were.

We are the summation of all of humanity, just another step in a long history of advancement, not a separate holy being above it or separate from it.

Ralife55 , Monsieurdl Report

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Fred Van Der Zee
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. I once had a discussion with someone who thought the pyramids could only be built by aliens because the people in the past were too stupid to build them.

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#3

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That white people were the only ones that traded in slavery. Forgetting about north and east africa where natives sold others mostly to the middle east. White women brought high prices and were often shipped great distances. Women in russia were also traded to the middle east.

RetiredFart42 , William Clark Report

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Cecily Holland
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Africans did a roaring trade. It was the perfect way to get rid of an inconvenient rival or family member

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Oh you won't let me marry your daughter? Fine! I'll just sell her off then!"

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Hayley Futter
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People reading this as "therefore slavery wasn't that bad!" Instead of "there are more people at fault for this!". No one is saying oh it's okay then for crying out loud.

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Katchen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s because this exact argument *is* employed by white nationalists to excuse slavery. I’m not going to visit Stormfront.com to check, but I’m 100% sure this view is expressed on that website.

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Ryan Deschanel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For a long time, it was not even about race at all. Slaves were just slaves.

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J. F.
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's currently trendy to blame caucasians for everything - I would say this is not a misconception but more conscious ignorance

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Lyone Fein
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And in fact black slave owners still proliferate throughout Africa today. War lords enslave armies of kidnapped children to fight their drug wars for them. Gangs of African Muslims attack entire Christian villages where they kill the adults and forcibly convert a hundred adolescent girls at a time in order to "marry" them. Pirates roam the waters off the coast of eastern Africa, looting boats and taking prisoners to work or to sell. There are many more examples. Africans have been enslaving each other for millennia. And they are still doing so, quite brutally. Sorry the facts don't fit into the blame-whitey narrative.

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classbag
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that you feel the need to use the phrase " blame-whitey narrative" tells me that you aren't really interested in truth or reconciliation but in framing this as a black vs. white conflict. Slavery existing in Africa does not excuse the horrible atrocities committed against Afticans by Europeans, Lyone. No one blames white people for every atrocity that's ever been committed on earth, but that doesn't mean we can gloss over the fact that white Europeans enslaved millions of people, committed genocide, destroyed cultures, fabricated racist narratives of humanity and human origin, and committed acts that still have highly negative repercussions on the world and people of color today. Take some responsibility instead of becoming defensive and whining about people "blaming whitey." You should be capable of having a conversation about history without trivializing what people suffer today and going full-on racist.

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Ryan Deschanel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

White people bought black people... Because other black people sold them.

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Aria Whitaker
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You DO realize that about 60% of slaves sold to Europeans came from other Africans though, right? The rest were absolutely caught and and forced onto ships by white slave catchers...100% of the slaves that came from Africa were not sold because "other black people sold them"....

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Hugh Willie Mungous
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Barbary pirates (I didn't choose that "Barbary" word) kidnapped thousands of people from the coasts of England and Ireland and forced them in to slavery. This is always forgotten about.

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Lunar Bicycle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Slavery was common throughout history, but American chattel slavery was uniquely brutal and dehumanizing. Slaves throughout history were often more like indentured servants, had rights, could marry, could become part of the tribe or culture that enslaved them, etc. Over the course of four centuries, the U.S. perfected the brutality of slavery, and was a waking nightmare for those under it’s thumb.

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anarkzie
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you! This is really grim reading and mostly B.S, did anyone out there actually think that through out the entirety of human history slavery only ever happened to black people? It's not an actual misconception that needed to be corrected, most people get that the Transatlantic Slave Trade was what people are referring to when it comes slavery and black people.

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Dave P
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People forget Europeans were introduced to Africans as cheap slaves by the Arabs, who treated them much worse. Also when the European Powers outlawed the slave trade, it was various African Kingdoms that sent lobbyists to London, Paris, and other places to argue in favor of continuing slavery, as that wa s a major source of their income.

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anarkzie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As far as I'm aware it was Portuguese explores that were the first to take African slaves and the Arab system of slavery was not race based, they took slaves from any conquered peoples. You can find plenty of examples of various African people and Kingdoms arguing to end slavery; what are your sources for this?

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Suze Allyn
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Few people know that there are more slaves today than ever before in history, an estimated 40 million plus around the world.

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RandomBeing
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The history of slavery and slavery in the American colonies is complex

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KatHat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a straw man. I've yet to see any large-scale argument that white people were the ONLY ones who traded in slavery. I do, however, CONSTANTLY see it brought up as a response, like "all lives matter!" to "Black lives matter!" which is an attempt to downgrade and deflect. JUST LIKE YOU'RE DOING HERE. Be better.

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Slavery is not the same universally. Four qualities marked American slavery: The growth of the enslaved population outside of the slave trade, the “heritable” status of the mother, the permanence of servitude, and the chattel principle. Ignoring these facts, you're suddenly comparing pineapples and tomatoes.

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Kevin Thompson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm fairly sure that the majority of Americans (every race color, cred, serially) agree that slavery was and is a horrible plight and a failureI of all evil persons. I guess my only concern is when it crosses into take some responsibility, they were your ancestors. And may be I'm being really thin skinned but that always sounds like I was the one at the ship's rail or auction block. I agree that something needs to be addressed for both the Afro-American and Native American racl

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Kevin Thompson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

(continued from above) populations. If that comes in the form or reparations and serious apologies with actions, then so be it. I love this nation and everyone in it. It needs some serious TLC.

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Marco Conti
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a bit more complicated than "everybody did it". Yes, slavery has been the norm for thousands of years, but once it got industrialized and justified by race during colonialism, it changed into what we understand today. ISIS captured and sold into slavery plenty of people, many still unaccounted for. In their case, religion was the justification. During colonialism it was skin color.

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El muerto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the transatlantic slave trade of Africans is considerably harsher that most other examples of slavery, on scope and extent. slavery has been common since people have lived in more complex societies, but it has not looked the same everywhere all the time. if we take the slave trade of Africans, it begun internally, prisoners of war or people that sold themselves to pay debt. in the middle ages Islamic traders started to buy them and brought them to many countries as servants. BUT, we are talking about rather small numbers...the atlantic slave trade, was a lot harder, and the numbers of people capture and sold was much bigger than anything done at the time anywhere. the treatment of this slaves was worse too. many cultures had rules that protected slaves from excessive abuse. the had some humanity left...African slaves in the new world, had non! they where treated as objects and herd like cattle...something that hadn't being seen since ancient times

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Chris Challis
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

not to mention white women kidnapped into Middle Eastern harems. still happening..

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UpupaEpops
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So were Hungarians, Bulgarians, Greeks, pretty much anyone from a country that has been overrun by the Ottoman Empire.

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Natalia Cruz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Africans were easy to distinguish, were able to work longer, and out live harsh conditions more than any other race. Facts: that’s why they stuck with Africans. They tried enslaving whites but they couldn’t tell they were slaves when they ran away. They tried enslaving indigenous people but they died off easily. Africans stood out and survived the most brutal conditions. They would mate the largest man with the largest woman…. Resulting in a race that can outlive the rest of us one day. White people made a super race. I know I sound closed minded but it’s true. Look at their skin, it beautiful. Look at their bodies, they have bodies that look like sculptures.

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Indians (from India) didp retty well at this, too, IIRC. And Slavic peopls were regularly sold into slavery by Western Europeans or each other, to caliphates in Spain or wherever.

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Lizzie Smith
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the same year that slavery was abolished in England, children under 8 were working a 77 hour week in appalling mill conditions for 2 1/2 shillings ( 12 1/2p) the factories act improved things slightly, but for almost any person who was not of independent means, life was unbearable. This isn't meant to make light of slavery, but to show how hard life was for poor people in the 19th century. https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/wtw/sources/themes/factoryconditions.html

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v
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Black people sold black people into slavery back in the day. I guess this little tidbit is too inconvenient to be included in the conversation.

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Quackers 🦆
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, Africans would trade other Africans as well. It depended on wealth and power status but they would often trade people off there on color.

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Emowan
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Germans forced my Ukrainian Nanna from her home at 13 years old to be a slave for a German family. She never saw hers again.

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Tee Witt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Still happening today in every country, namely the sex slaves but a women thing

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Two_rolling_black_eyes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A simple definition of slavery is all of a human being's choices and labor are the property of another person. That describes most of history. Whenever one group got control, the others became slaves. What is a dowry but a price tag on a woman's freedom? What about the child born into feudal japan who has the choice to grow rice or be killed if he leaves? The prophet Muhommed was a slave owner and both the Koran and Torah only condemn slavery of true believers. Many Buddhist misinterpreted their religion that slavery was karmic punishment for past lives so it was encouraged. The creation and castration of the dynastic Chinese eunuchs is definitely slavery. Door of No Return in Ouidah, Benin commemorates the site where the African tribes would bring their captives and sell them into slavery.

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Lenka Smetanová
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the word 'slave' was fromed fom the name of a nation 'slavic' wich is centra-east europian nation- white as snow....

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Jo Jones
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Slavic isn’t a nation though , it used to be a tribe and it’s a conglomerate of nations which is somehow connected by ethnicity and language - my Mumma is a Slav :)

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HighNMightyBigshot
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2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Romans and Ottoman Turks too. Europeans were selling other Europeans and “race” was classified as region and or language.

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Brian Kirk
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There were free blacks in the US South that owned slaves. While many of them were simply buying back their family, a lot of others were proof of just how greedy humans are.

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Randy Klefbeck
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Welsh and Irish were treated as slaves by many cultures occupying the islands of Britain.

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Zuzanna Rzeszewska
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I root for any enslaved nation or race. Yet nobody protests why Slavs are called that...including Slavs :) it's our legacy, it's history. The name stuck. Live with it

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Amanda Hunter
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So many people think they're owed a living because their ancestors were slaves, like HELLO, slavery is alive and thriving. And often the ancestors of those who were enslaved are the perrpatrators.

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Cydney Golden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even free blacks in the south owned slaves. Read The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

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aiyshag
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

big difference between "this" type of slavery and chattel slavery that my people suffered. no form of slavery was more severe than the chattel slavery of my ancestors.

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Capelli rosa e patate
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

selling someone else isn’t a color specific act, it’s universal in the fact that it’s evil. Doesn’t matter who’s doing it.

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Grady'sRaider
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Americans had slaves and traded them too, before Columbus. BTW, what's the difference between a serf and a slave?

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WhatEvenIsLife
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Conversely, I hate when people try to justify slavery in the U.S. by saying things like, "Africans practiced slavery too." I mean, it's probably safe to say that slavery has existed in some form or fashion, at one time or another, in nearly every culture. The difference is that it was a white dude (English) who first came up with the idea that Africans in particular should be slaves *solely because of the color of their skin*, claiming they were subhuman savages.

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Full English
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This point is often missed Egypt used slaves way before the west this problem is not down to one specific race it's a human problem

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Gabriella Acosta
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot believe how hard some of the posts try to downplay the role of white people in the enslavement of African-descent people. What white America did to black enslaved people has consequences in the lives of African Americans and in the construction of a society that still carries the wounds of racist paradigms. Own up to the facts that historically shape your own country instead of trying to minimize the role of the slave trade in the West. No wonder things still are the way they are.

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Norart
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ssshhhhh. There's a lot of power to be seized in propagating this myth.

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Suze Allyn
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2 years ago

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Marco Conti
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2 years ago

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Molly Reece
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It doesn't fit the popular narrative so it will not be discussed

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Vorknkx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This doesn't excuse anyone. Two wrongs do not make a right.

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pelemele
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No one is saying the opposite. It's just a reminder of the historical reality of the thing

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Vonnie Stewart
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

An black societies in jamaica and other Caribbean states enslaved poor whites

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Johnnie Bravo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People have always been shitty to other people. If you don't purposely hurt other people or try to force your opinions on other people, you should be ok. Blame doesn't matter, quit being a bunch of asses and move forward.

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ZimZamBoom
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ignorance by this comment and the subsequent comments is astounding. Y'all really think we can compare what America did to what these other countries did?! Spend less time getting your "facts" from social media and get on Google and just start looking these kinds of things up. There is a huge difference between slavery in the US and anywhere else in the world. It's insulting and downgrades the atrocities slaves in the US went through.

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Stephanie Keith
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But were those white people treated decent? Obviously a slave is looked at as less than. But did those white people suffer the same way as poc? Or were they treated with more dignity? I'm asking because I don't know. Were they raped and separated and not allowed to live amongst other white folks? Were they denied education? Or were they slaves but still treated like the rest of the white folks because they think their skin made them superior somehow. I can assure you it was totally different for black folks.

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loopyli
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A whole lot of white fragility on here today. Yes, slavery existed everywhere but when we talk about slavery we are typically talking about slavery the Americas. Slavery in the americas were race based and altered our society greatly. You have to willfully ignore that. Also everyone in Africa is not black.

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Ick Villiams
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This whole thread is bs so far but this one in particular is really low. Who are the people out there saying only white people were slavers? The amount of people made slaves outside of the slave trade from Africa to the Americas is so small that anyone who bangs a drum about it is missing the point and you have to question their motives for even bringing it up in that context.

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tuzdayschild
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2 years ago

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Random Panda
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look up the Casor lawsuit. The first black man to be declared a slave for life in America was enslaved by another black man. That's no excuse for anything that happened after, but quit acting as if black people carry none of the responsibility. Slavery is slavery.

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Ba Loeloe
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2 years ago

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Yes, it's true but this does not justify the slavery of millions Africans by white people. And yes, Arfricans helped enslaving their 'brothers' and 'sisters' but this doesn't make white people less guilty.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago

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This one is what I call the "but he was also speeding, officer", excuse. It's used by the Right to make it sound like white-dominated slave trade was not that bad, or not something worth fussing about, because "others were doing it". In the case of alleged african slave trade of their own, perhaps it might occur to the author that this was to supply the white demand? I think it's best when making a contentious claim like this, which looks like it's aimed to distract, by giving citations and figures. for example, an article on Reuters entitled, "Fact check: ‘Irish slaves’ meme repeats discredited article" -- says: “The Irish slave trade began when 30,000 Irish prisoners were sold as slaves to the New World. The King James I Proclamation of 1625 required Irish political prisoners be sent overseas and sold to English settlers in the West Indies.” - however it goes on to say that this has been discredited. Furthermore, this is a false equivalence fallacy certainly on raw numbers.

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Romenriel
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So if there is someone who offers you money for your kid or your neighbor, does it make OK to sell them? That's for the supply and demand argument. Otherwise, you are right that it's not an excuse for white people, on the other hand, it's still a fact that we should be able to discuss freely.

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Francc
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2 years ago

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Thanks for justifying the crimes of your forefathers. We are still going to take down their statues in the morning.

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Mazer
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2 years ago (edited)

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Americans were among one of the First Nation to honestly work to abolish slavery…we are still working on it (some things take longer than others)

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However, the prevalence of these misconceptions can be indicative of the fact that history is losing in the academic popularity contest.

According to statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 34,642 history majors in 2008. Fast forward to 2017, the count was just 24,266. Most of that decline occurred after 2012, with a notable single-year drop of more than 1,500 between 2016 and 2017.

However, maybe it's not yet time to be ringing any alarm bells. Northeastern University’s Benjamin M. Schmidt pointed out that the history major has had low points before. The discipline weathered a significant decline from 1969 and 1985, when the major dropped by 66 percent.

However, those numbers were linked to higher education’s boom in the ’60s that saw the discipline’s rapid expansion and subsequent bust when higher education growth slowed in the ’70s.

This drop is especially pronounced at private, not-for-profit institutions. While all demographic groups are impacted, the highest drops in the field have been seen among Asian-Americans and women.

#4

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That Rosa Parks was just some nice old lady who wouldn't give up a bus seat.

She was a political activist who meticulously planned that specific instance of civil protest.

Bignasty197 , Schlesinger Library Report

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Francc
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And what if she did? It was about time someone gave the middle finger to discrimination and the color bar of her time. I'm glad she had the courage to plan and carry it through.

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#5

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In Cowboys were not cool white guys with endless independence!!! Cowboys were in fact largely black, Mexican, and Native American men who were in need of money and were seen on the low end of social hierarchy. Originally they used whips and dogs to control their herd. Eventually the lazo became the lasso, chaparajos became chaps, and the sombrero turned into the ten gallon cowboy hat we know today. Herding cattle was hard work and was beneath “respectable white folk”. Cowboys worked in groups of 12 or so to herd thousands of cattle over hundreds of miles, and they too had a leader called the trail boss. Cowboys were in fact not rugged icons of independence, but took orders like everyone else and made wages lower than skilled factory pay. Cowboys could also come as young as 12 years old.

honeeyghost , Paramount Pictures Report

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Mike Crow
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A little off topic, but many “wild west” towns and cities, even in Texas, didn’t allow people to carry guns inside the city/town limits. The people were sick of the gun fights and murders.

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#6

That Jewish people and other victims of the Holocaust went willingly to their death and no one fought back. While it’s true that a lot of victims did not believe the genocide was occurring and they were simply being relocated (Nazis/Hitler were very persuasive and no one could imagine a genocide), plenty fought back. There were resistance groups all over the place as well as people fighting from their homes when they were being taken for deportation. Guns were used, makeshift bombs, stolen bombs, etc. Not everyone was going to go to the concentration camps/death camps/detention centres without a fight.

Been studying the Holocaust since 2008.

PrxnceZuko Report

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xolitaire
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe it's because I am German, but I have literally NEVER heard anyone say that. No one here (aside from neo nazis) believes the Jews died willingly like sheep. There is a vast number of interviews with holocaust survivors and in all of them you will here them say "And then I knew we were going to die." They knew. Most of them already knew on the trains taking them to the camps.

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#7

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In People didn't die at 30-40. The high infant mortality rate skews the average. If you could survive into your teen years you had a pretty good chance of living into your senior years. Obviously there are a lot of factors to consider(eg class, gender, occupation, where you lived, etc.)

crazynekosama , Mayron Oliveira Report

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Monday
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Provided there wasn't a war...that would skew mortality rate for men quite a lot.

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#8

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In It’s petty, but I hate it when people say that Marilyn Monroe was a size 12/14/16. This may have been true in the 1950s, but clothes sizes have changed A LOT since then. Reports of Marilyn’s measurements by her costumers noted that she was 5 ft. 5.5 inches tall; 35 inch bust; 22 inch waist; and 35 inch hips and 118 pounds. Of course her weight fluctuated, but it is simply dishonest to think that in modern times, she would have been considered “plus size.”

In today’s sizing, depending on where she’d shop at, she would be a size 00-4.

dbsx77 , Bert Parry Report

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Otter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She was quite a slim woman, just a bit softer than is fashionable today.

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#9

The United States spent the majority of its time and resources in WWII fighting the Nazi’s to free the Jews.

The majority of US fighting was in the Pacific theatre against Japan, because they bombed the sh*t out of us. We weren’t even going to join the war at first, only assist Britain.

Jak_n_Dax Report

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Cecily Holland
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The USA wanted nothing to do with WW2 and refused several times get involved. Until the Japanese snuck up on Pearl Harbour where the yanks had conveniently parked all their boats which made Japans job very easy.

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#10

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In Knights weren't exactly chivalrous. It was a concept designed to make them appear magnanimous, and to justify their brutality among the common folk of their enemies when they weren't at war.

Knights could even pay their respective kings to chicken out of fighting in a war if they were summoned to do so, which many did to keep on pillaging hovels full of bumpkins because it was easy sport.

In short, a lot of Knights were rich, murderous bullies with too much free time on their hands.

Imfinejusthomeless , Ember Navarro Report

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Otter
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The whole "Courtly Love" thing was an attempt to actually make the knights behave chivalrously, to make following a code of honor fashionable, and to make knights less bullies and more... knightly. This started in the 12th century, after knights in shining armor had been around for a while, don't get me started.

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#11

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In “Medieval peasant food was bland”

People seem to think peasants only ate bread and potatoes with no seasoning. In reality, while salt was indeed a luxury they often couldn’t afford, they had access to plenty of herbs to flavor their food. They also had access to things like fish and other meats, so they weren’t just eating bread, though it was an important staple of their diet.

If you’re interested in how a bunch of civilizations ate throughout history, check out Tasting History on YouTube. It’s a great source of historical information and entertainment.

Balrog229 , circleoftheyear Report

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Fred Van Der Zee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The potato arrived in the West in the late 16th century anyway, so after the Middle Ages.

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#12

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In "Even Einstein was bad at math"

No, his grades were disclosed multiple times and showed very high marks in math.

Zero_Talents , Ferdinand Schmutzer Report

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Shelp
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course he wasn't, you can't work on high-level physics without any knowledge in maths

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#13

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That Napoleon was short. Dude was 5"6'. Making him downright average for the European standard at the time. A brief investigation shows this was a rumor that his enemies spread in order to deminish his reputation and how serious his subjects took him. Funny error, but still an error

Cathy-the-Grand , Jacques-Louis David Report

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Jo Choto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup, this is absolutely true. But it was also compounded by the fact that the French foot measurement was actually a couple of inches longer than the British foot measurement, which made him sound shorter.

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#14

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That Neanderthals were monosyllabic brutes. There's no evidence of that whatsoever. Their brains were bigger than ours and casts of the inside of their skulls show that they had all the same structures our brains had. Their tool making was comparable to any Homo sapiens' took making (at least before the Great Leap Forward) and they lived in communities just like we did.

We also regularly mated with them and had kids, which I really don't think we would if they were little more than quasi-gorillas.

PhillipLlerenas , Bacon Cph Report

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Romenriel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And many people today have Neandrethal ancestors, meaning that Neandrethals weren't wiped out by modern men, but rather blended in with them.

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#15

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In Only around 40% of colonists supported the American Revolution. Another 40% was indifferent, and about 20% sided with the British. Most Americans think that it was the vast majority who wanted Independence.

placeholderNull , John Trumbull Report

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Leo Domitrix
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wouldn't say indifferent so much as "not immediately involved", given what I know about US history. They were busy farming or whatever, and not really concerned with high ideals beyond, "Can I feed the family this winter? Is the cow sick? That's terrible about the deaths in Boston, but I live in Podunk, and we never see redcoats." So, typical human mindset, really. (See: Brexit.)

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#16

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That witches could only be women. There were plenty of male ‘witches’ over hundreds of years. In fact there are lot of misconceptions about witchcraft in general

mickeyajp5 , waltdisneystudios Report

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Shelp
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And also the witch trials occurred during the Early Modern Period, and not during the Middle Ages

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#17

I've mentioned this before but the Earth was mathematically proven to be spherical by the Ancient Greeks in the 3rd Century BC. Literate people, at very least, wouldn't have believed the Earth to be flat in the Medieval era.

Furthermore, the Dark Ages weren't the Dark Ages because the Church allegedly suppressed science that they disagreed with. Many important discoveries were sponsored by the Church, and scientists/clergy were not mutually exclusive.

2ndOfficerCH Report

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troufaki13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ιt's been proven since the 3rd century BCE yet there are still people who think Earth is a floating raft smh

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#18

That carrots magically make your eyesight better. I still hear people say this to this day. Carrots are good for you, but not any better for your eyes than any other vegetable.

In World War 2 when the Nazis were bombing Great Britain, they couldn't figure out how the Brits were able to shoot their planes down at night. British propaganda stated that their gunners and pilots ate a lot of carrots to improve their eyesight.

In actuality they were covering up the fact that they'd invented RADAR and didn't want the Jerrys to know about it.

allmeatbopper Report

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Jetze
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually I read somewhere it was not to hide the fact that the UK had radar (as the Germans had Freya and Wurzburg) radar systems, which the British knew and captured in operation Biting). But to hide the fact that the British had it miniaturised enough to allow mounting them on planes. For more info see https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-wwii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-that-carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark-28812484/

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#19

Oh, so many.

Native Americans were just as capable of ecological destruction as any other humans. My favorite example of this was from my archeology professor who does excavations of Native American sites in Baja. In excavating a midden (trash heap) he found at the bottom were bones from the local land mammals, that got smaller and smaller as the locals over-hunted. Then was a level of fish and sea mammals -- again, starting with bone from large fish and mammals and getting smaller and smaller until they practically disappeared from over hunting and over fishing. Then on the top were the shellfish -- and again, the same pattern. Until apparently there was nothing left at this site to eat, and the Natives moved on.

Native peoples used every bit of the animal when they had to, when said animals were tough to kill. North America didn't have horses between last ice age and Columbus. In fact, the favorite method for killing bison was to chase a herd off a cliff. And we know where this was done because the Natives left a whole lotta bones in the kill zone. Which we obviously couldn't find if they really used every part of the animal.

Native Americans understood property rights. Various systems between tribes, from quasi-socialist bands of multiple families where all produce was held in common (but very explicitly belonged to the band and would be defended against outsiders), to land assigned to different families for use and periodically reapportioned, to land that was held by families and inheritable. My theory is that this myth was first started by colonists to justify stealing the land and then perpetuated as Rousseauian "look at how much better the primitives are!" nonsense.

Probonoh Report

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sofacushionfort
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If we admire the native peoples for using every part of the animal, we must be over the moon about hot dog producers.

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#20

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That AD means after death.

Evincer1968 , Kenny Orr Report

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SentimentAndBadJokes
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It gets so frustrating having people tell me that actually, it DOES mean after death. Correct my spelling please, but AD is Latin for Anno Domini, which translate roughly to English as 'the Year of Christ'

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#21

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In The myth about the Vomitorium

The story goes that Roman nobility would go there to eat so much till they puked and would then continue eating.

It was just the name for the Colosseum entrance.

Th3_Accountant , Kelisi Report

#22

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That if you were a Peasant you could marry who ever you wanted for love and if you were a noble, royal or the like you could only marry for power During the Medieval period.

Higher class people could and did (though it wasn't common) marry for love and most of the time Peasant marriages were arranged for the same reason as noble ones were, to link two families together, you very rarely got to marry who you liked it was usually who your parents liked.

Also Prima nocta has, as far as I know was never actually being recorded as a thing.

Nugo520 , 20thcenturystudios Report

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xolitaire
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is not a "common misconception", its just a movie plot. Planned marriages were a super common thing all through Europe. Marriage itself was just a vehicle to ensure your children would take care of you and your belongings in the future.

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#23

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In The belief that Anastasia did not die with the rest of her family

Aware_Masterpiece_23 , the United States Library of Congress' Report

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Vorknkx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait, you're telling me she didn't lose her memory and get hunted by an undead Rasputin and his albino bat???

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#24

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In I have had way too many of my university students tell me that Lincoln owned slaves.

FeelFreeToIgnoreThis , Mathew Brady Report

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Kira Okah
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was anti slavery and didn't own slaves. I'm not American and know that. Oof.

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#25

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In There is no record of Queen Victoria ever saying "We are not amused".

And Roman gladiator fights usually weren't just pointless, bloody, fights to the death for scumbag convicts. The gladiators themselves were very highly trained celebrities who were very well looked after. It was entertainment done for show, much like WWE or similar today.

_spookyvision_ , Alexander Bassano Report

#26

French revolution storming of the Bastille freeing hundreds of political prisoners.

When in actual fact there were only 7 prisoners. (4 cheques forgers, a lunatic, a sexual deviant and a man who tried to assassinate King Louis XV 30 years ago).

Age-Zealousideal Report

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Phil Jones
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ive read this too- also I believe the French did not celebrate it until about 100 years after it happened - I love France but I really dont understand Bastille Day in the same way I dont understand Guy Fawkes Day in the UK!!

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#27

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In Deep breath.

I've been studying the Titanic disaster for over three decades. Titanic comes up on reddit a lot, which I love because how cool that my nerdy hobby interests so many people, but the amount of misconceptions is large. This is no ones fault, nor is it ignorance, Titanic had the (un)lucky fortune to become a symbol very quickly, so very often what we think of as history is really folklore. That being said, here are the ones I see often.

There is enough evidence, good evidence, where we can say that William Murdoch most likely did shoot himself. The scene James Cameron shot is a direct recreation of witness testimony- multiple witnesses actually. There is a huge amount of first hand and second hand evidence that this happened. Why it's thought to be a myth and why James Cameron had to apologize is actually another interesting part of the story but for the main question- in all my research, I've yet to see a fact based reason why we should think Will Murdoch was not a victim of suicide.

2)On the same note- yes Charles Lightoller lowered early boats without filling them- as he should have. It wasn't incompetence or ignorance, there were many reasons why this was the best course of action and it was practiced throughout the night. To add- Titanic's crew weren't incompetent or unprepared, they were, quite literally, the best of the best.

3)There were lifeboat drills. Multiple. Every night at 6pm.

4)The 4th funnel wasn't fake- it just served a slightly different purpose than the first three.

5) Titanic. was. not. speeding.

6) Boats were not filled by class.

7)Third Class was not locked below- but some of them thought they were. This is actually pretty interesting in that every view of this situation is the correct one. To refer to Cameron again- his portrayal of this is correct- depending on who you ask. It was miscommunication, not classism.

9) Coal fire damage- not a thing and the "evidence" is just ... wrong.

10) The switch theory not only makes no sense, it is literally impossible.

11) Titanic wasn't a cruise ship. She was an ocean liner :)

YourlocalTitanicguy , F.G.O. Stuart Report

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Monday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The switch theory is impossible...but still a very fun conspiracy theory to explore. It's also worth noting that one of the crew members on the titanic, Violet Jessop, survived not only the sinking of the Titanic, but also the sinkings of both the Olympic and the Britannic.

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#28

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In The fact that Shah Jahan cut off hands of his workers after they completed Taj Mahal.

There's literally no evidence except for tell tales.

Many monuments were built after Taj Mahal under reign of Shah Jahan. Just think, who would work for you knowing that they're going to lose their hands if they did a good job.

veniato , Kristian Bertel Report

#29

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In Louis-Michel le Peletier cast the single vote that sentenced Louis XVI

Actually the vote was a pretty clear majority in favor of execution

Poorly-Drawn-Beagle , Jean-François Garneray Report

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#30

30 People Share Historical 'Facts' That Have Been Proven Wrong Long Ago, But Many People Still Believe In That corsets were uncomfortable and prevented free movement and breathing, so were a way of physically subjugating women.

Firstly, this is often asserted by people who don't know the difference between bodies, stays and corsets, proving that they're waaaaay out of their lane.

It's pretty obvious even just from contemporary art that women were perfectly capable of getting through physical labour including farm work in that kind of supportive garment whether stiffened with interfacing/stitching or "boning" (not necessarily made of bone). And if you've ever worn one, you'll know how great they are for supporting your back and core.

They're much more comfortable than bras, in my opinion.

Oh and they didn't leave red marks all over your skin because unlike a bra you'd never have worn one against your skin (too difficult to wash) but over a shift/chemise/combination garment of some kind. Try putting your bra OVER a tank top or similar, and note (1) no loss of support, (2) much kinder to the skin, and (3) bra needs much less frequent washing.

Loose_Acanthaceae20 , Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation Report

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BULLSH*T from a medical doctor. Many corset styles caused incredible harm, you're not meant to need anything to support your posture unless you are INJURED, and the boning was made of bones (whale, flexible) or metal, or WOOD, so don't try to sell this myth. Do NOT. We saw skeletal remains of women who were strictly corseted or "stayed" in med school. Girls were put into them before they finished growing. It may not have killed, but it wasn't like it was "good" fory ou. AND PEASANTS/FARMERS didn't wear high fashion, so duh they didn't wear the corsets seen in fashion! Good grief...

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