‘What’s a glaring historical inaccuracy that’s often said and really annoys you?’ – 23 ‘facts’ from the past that people always get wrong

In our current age of misinformation, disinformation and AI hallucinations, it’s more important than ever that we get our facts correct. Luckily, help is at hand when it comes to making sure we’ve got our historical knowledge accurate, thanks to the clever folks on at the AskReddit page. User JoewithLigma posed this question:

‘What is a historical inaccuracy thats extremely commonly said that really annoys you?’

And lots of passionate history nerds stepped in to set the record straight on the stuff that everyone gets wrong.

1.

‘The Aztecs/Incas/Mayans didn’t have the wheel. Doesn’t really annoy me, I’ll admit, but they’ve found toys from these cultures that have wheels. Wheels just aren’t very good in the mountains: one slip, and there goes your cart. Better off strapping it to a llama.’
–Ludwigofthepotatoppl

2.

‘People believe that everyone used to listen to what we now call classical music. That kind of music was only accessible to the well off and privileged. There was tons and tons of ‘popular music’ performed in the streets, pubs, and taverns that was simpler and more familiar to the common folk, just like today. We just don’t have as much of it to reference, as it typically wasn’t written down like ‘classical’ music was.’
–PopularDemand213

3.

‘This is a well known one these days but I think it’s hilarious that Napoleon wasn’t actually that short.’
–Parking-Issue-4493

4.

‘J. Bruce Ismay got done dirty. He was the president of White Star Line that survived Titanic and is accused of ordering a speed record on the ship. The comment of making a speed record either never happened, or he just was quipping that they were already making decent time. He also was trying to help out as much as he could in loading the life boats, to the point that the sailors told him to stop helping because he was getting in the way. He only got in the second to last boat to launch, and the only reason why was because there just so happened to be no one else around to take one of the final seats. There is literally no reason for him to not take the seat.

‘Also he was absolutely shattered by the events for the rest of his life. He stepped down as president of White Star Line the next year, and only stayed on the board to help pay out insurance claims by survivors and victims families. Not a meeting would end without him bringing up payouts. The poor dude just made the mistake of surviving and having an enemy in William Randolph Hearst.’
–Squidgebert

5.

‘On a related note, the Titanic actually had more lifeboats than legally required. The reason being fairly simple, at the time lifeboats were expected to ferry passengers from ship to shore. If the ship went down in the middle of the ocean conventional wisdom stated you were already dead. The chances of survival in an open rowing boat in the middle of the Atlantic were known to be zero.

‘That some people survived the sinking of the Titanic was a massive surprise and ushered in some new expectations for maritime vessels, such as the new-fangled radio was very useful and should be manned at all times.’
–SporadicReapage

6.

‘It was Flavor Aid at Jonestown, not Kool-Aid.’
–neck_bangs

7.

‘That a Vomitorium was a place that romans went to vomit so they could carry on enjoying themselves.
It was the exit for stadium/arena.’
–InTheFDN

8.

‘Marilyn Monroe was plus sized – No, no, she was not. She was about 135-140 at her heaviest, and clothing sizes now are much different from they were in that era.’
–Walmartian_Beta

9.

‘People didn’t bathe in the Middle Ages. Rich people owned their own bathtubs which they had their servants fill with warm and/or hot water. Bathhouses were plentiful across Europe, including warm and hot water and most people had access to them. People also bathed in rivers, lakes and streams.’
–HoneybeeXYZ

10.

‘That NASA spent millions to make a pen that works in space while the Russians just used pencils. While it’s half true, both countries used pencils and were looking for alternatives. The Fisher company used millions of their own money to design the pen for NASA and sold some to them.’
–rvaenboy

11.

‘Lenin and the Bolsheviks didn’t overthrow the Tsar. It was a Kerensky guy together with some aristocrats half a year before the October revolution.’
–uncleprokhor

12.

‘Spaniards ‘have a lisp’ because there was a king that lisped and people around him thought that was cool so they started ‘lisping’ to please him. The fact that languages evolve differently in different places is beyond many people’s comprehension, apparently. Also, it’s not a lisp if it’s intentional.’
–ihaveajob79