Things We Keep Getting Wrong About History

History shows Abraham Lincoln was a just man. He outlawed slavery, though his first view was different.

Lincoln initially did not believe in racial equality. His views appeared in 1858 political debates against Stephen Douglas during the Illinois Senate race.Lincoln stated:"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the White and Black races." He also claimed Black people should not vote, serve on juries, or marry Whites.

Lincoln's point of view shifted later. In his final speech, he showed a change.he supported Black suffrage. He stated every Black man who fought in the Civil War earned the right to vote. He also asserted every Black person deserved the rewards of their work. Lincoln caused change, but he started that change within himself.He spoke these things and said every Black man who fought in the Civil War had a right to vote. He also said every Black person had the right to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Lincoln brought about a change, but the change first began in himself.

People claim medieval food was bland. That is false.Salt was a luxury.But peasants had access tospice.The food showed the flavors available.

Common seasonings included cloves, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, and mace (from nutmeg). Ginger, sugar, vinegar, wine, raisins, and honey were other flavors. Peasants had plenty of meat. They also accessed seafood (lobster was considered lower class then). During hard times, peasants could grind acorns into a high-protein flour for bread.

The food might have lacked salt, but it was not bland.

If you saw the animated movieThe CroodsYou see interactions between modern man and Neanderthals, or cave people, in the movie. It is funny. It is also mostly wrong.

Real Neanderthals werenot slow-witted.They were skilled hunters with varied communication skills. Research shows they ate what was nearby and added meat, just likeHomo sapiens..

New research shows even early humans, 1.8 million years ago, were not as primitive as thought. Researchers see a link between language and complex tool-making. Brain mapping helps prove this. As tools improved, so did language through teaching.

Marilyn Monroe's appeal remains strong, even though she died fifty years ago. People talk about her 'plus size' more than her death stories. This is wrong. With near-hourglass measurements and a waist of 24.5-28.5 inches, Monroe was a size 6-8.

Like all people, her shape changed during her life. The size mentioned in the 'plus-sized' debate is a 12. This is a British measurement, which equals a size 10 in American sizing.

Remember today's vanity sizing.Today's size 6 equals a size 12.In 1958, Marilyn Monroe was voluptuous; 'plus-sized' is not the right word for her.

Pop culture claims the F-word means "Fornication Under Consent of King," a claim historians doubt any king would have supported.

The word does not mean "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge." Instead, theterm comes from other languages.Middle Dutch has "fokken," Norwegian has "fukka," and Swedish uses "focka" and "fock." All mean the same as the "F-bomb" in English.

Pandora lacked a box.She had a jar.Erasmus, the Renaissance Humanist philosopher, turned her jar into a box using his writings in the 16th century.

Either he made a mistake in the translation, or he simply confused it with the box in the Cupid and Psyche story.

Knights who fight for their ladies and die for their kings exist in movies. In reality, many knights were just hired thugs with armor and horses. They used heavy weapons and ended fights with violence.

Knights did not have chivalry built in.The ruling class established chivalry as a conduct code to limit fights. This kept the knights alive so they could guard the elite.

Movies show chivalry as poetic fiction. Knights' actions toward ladies differed because courtesy required it, but women in the serving class saw a different side of them.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," is what best knows Paul Revere. It described the horseman's midnight ride in 1775 to warn John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other patriots about the British attack on Lexington, MA.

It is also wrong. Paul Revere was a patriot and started a spy ring, buthe did not ride alone.William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode with him. By nightfall, over 40 men rode horses around Boston with this message.

Revere was a hero. He was not a lone rider as Longfellow portrayed. Revere did not shout, "The British are coming!" This was a quiet operation; shouting would have revealed it.

Shah Jahanwas a Mughal emperor ruling modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and related areas in the 17th century. Arts and culture grew under his rule. Shah Jahan was heartbroken when his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth.

The story claims he ordered a white mausoleum to hold his beloved's body and memory. The Taj Mahal was his dream. Pop culture says he later ordered the builders' hands chopped off; allegedly, he never wanted them to create another wonder like the Taj Mahal.

Near the famous building, there is aEstablished the settlement called Taj Ganj.The Taj Mahal housed the workers in the 17th century. Their descendants still live there today, practicing their ancestors' arts and skills.

Pop culture shows sketches of vomitoriums, leading people to think Roman rooms were special places for Romans to...purgethrow up, and then go party some more.

Actually, vomitoriums were just entrances and exits to Roman theaters or stadiums.

In any historical movie, the hero's side is good, and the other side is brutal. For example, in Mel Gibson's Scottish epic, 'Braveheart', the English are brutes. They have the right to...Braveheart.jus primae noctis.Jus primae noctis.(also called prima nocta), which lets them legally enter a wedding and claim the virgin bride before she marries. This was the feudal lord's 'right of the first night.'

Historians say this makes good movie material, but the practice may not be real. History mentions jus primae noctis or droit du seigneur ('law of the lord'), and artists create many paintings from imagination. But historians cannot find one recorded account of it happening or a victim's name.

The Jonestown Massacre in 1978.Jonestown Massacre in 1978.This event became a bloody historical day. Over 900 people committed mass suicide by drinking what was supposedly poisoned Kool-Aid. This is where the phrase 'drinking the Kool-Aid' comes from.

However, it was more like a forced murder-suicide. Followers of Reverend Jim Jones were forced to drink the toxic mixture under threats of violence. Those who refused received cyanide injections. The main mistake in the story is the drink's name.Grape Flavor Aid, not Kool-Aid..

Many stories exist about Alexandria's twin libraries. Still, historians argue about the actual importance of the Egyptian library. More arguments surface about its later destruction.

The library declined through time and changing rulers. As Christianity grew, thoughts 'pagan' in nature faced a ban. Thus, theThe library of Alexandria died.happened more because of fiery ideas than actual fire. Still, the knowledge remains. Destroying its repository did not truly stop the human race—not in the myths people claim about it.