Don’t believe everything you read in the history books. Many events that have been passed down over time as true have eventually been proven to be false. Some were originally based on fact, but all became twisted and embellished as they were told and retold like a game of telephone. Here are some of the most embellished stories in history.
BEN FRANKLIN DISCOVERED ELECTRICITY
Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity when his kite was struck by lightning in 1752. In fact, electricity was already well known at the time. Instead, Franklin was trying to prove the electrical nature of lightning. During a thunderstorm, as Franklin flew a silk kite with a metal key near the end of the string, he noticed the fibers on the line standing up as though charged. He touched the key and felt a charge from the accumulated electricity in the air, not from a lightning strike. Had the kite been struck by lightning, Franklin would likely have been killed.
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA IS VISIBLE FROM THE MOON
You can see a lot of things while standing on the moon, but the Great Wall of China isn't one of them. In his 1938 publication, Second Book of Marvels, Richard Halliburton stated that the Great Wall was the only human-made object visible from the moon. However, the Great Wall is only a maximum of 30 feet wide and is about the same color as its surroundings, so it's barely visible to the naked eye while orbiting earth under ideal conditions, much less from the moon, which is about 239,000 miles away.
WITCHES WERE BURNED AT THE STAKE IN SALEM
Although there really were witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 — with 20 people being put to death — none of the accused were burned at the stake. Hanging was the method of execution, although one victim was crushed to death under heavy stones.
NERO FIDDLED WHILE ROME BURNED
Legend has it that in A.D. 64, mad Emperor Nero started a fire near the imperial palace and then climbed to the top of the Tower of Maecenas where he played his fiddle, sang arias, and watched Rome flame out. However, according to Tacitus, a historian of the time, Nero was 30 miles away at his villa in Antium when the fire broke out. Historians believe that the fire was set by Nero's political enemies.
LADY GODIVA’S NAKED RIDE
Even if the Internet had existed during the Middle Ages, you wouldn’t have been able to download a picture of Lady Godiva riding naked through the streets of Coventry, England, because it never happened. Lady Godiva was a real person who lived in the 11th century and she really did plead with her ruthless husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, to reduce taxes. Nevertheless, no records of that time mention her famous ride. The first reference to her naked ride doesn't appear until around 1236, nearly 200 years after her death.
