The myths that we were told in history lessons and we believe in them

Due to the effect of the illusion of truth (the tendency to believe that the information is true when it is repeated many times), we often find ourselves surrounded by lies, and world history is no exception. Many of the facts that we were told in history lessons in school was a lie.

Myth: Greeks gave the Trojan horse to conquer Troy.

Truth: the Aim and really was the conquest of Troy, but treacherous gift was not. Instead, the Greeks created a siege weapon, like a horse. So they managed to break the wall and get into the city.

Myth: Archimedes discovered his famous law lying in the bathroom.

Truth: In fact, the water displaced from the tub, has nothing to do with buoyancy force, Archimedes open. This method only allows to measure the volume. But it is possible that Archimedes was inspired by the water treatments.

Myth: Mendeleev saw the periodic table of the chemical elements in a dream.

The truth: the scientist Himself has denied the whole story with sleep, saying, "I'm over it, maybe twenty years thought, and you think: sitting and suddenly... ready." A story about a dream invented by his friend A. A. Foreigners to entertain their students.

Myth: Cleopatra was an Egyptian.

True: the Famous Egyptian Queen had a Greek origin. Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, is a descendant of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which took control of Egypt.

Myth: the Pyramids were built by slaves.

Truth: There is overwhelming evidence that the pyramids were built not slaves, not Jews, and the free workers, professionals in the field of construction.

Myth: Diogenes lived in a barrel.

Truth: Diogenes just couldn't live in a barrel, because the ancient Greeks did not know how to do them. He lived in Picasa — a large clay vessel, which contained oil or wine.

Myth: the Pirates were only men.

Truth: Surprisingly, not only men sailed the seas and oceans hunting for treasure. Women pirates made them a good competition and cruelty not inferior to men.

Myth: the Natives eat cook.

True: Causes of death cook were the rumors about the murder of the British several of the Hawaiians and all of the strange behaviour of cook. All this prompted the natives to start militant action. Killed cook allegedly struck in the head with a spear. But no one was eating.

Myth: Gladiators are always killing each other.

Truth: the Most experienced and skilled warriors cost a lot of money, and many of them lived a long life. Analysis of the remains showed that it was the gladiators who participated in more than one hundred battles and lived to be 25-30 years, which corresponds to the average life expectancy in the Roman Empire at the time.

Myth: the Vikings wore helmets with horns.

The truth is: When we think of Viking, then imagine a man with beard and horned helmet. However, archaeological excavations have shown that the Vikings were not fans of this fashion. In fact, the helmets with horns were impractical and wore them only during rituals.

Myth: Before going on a Crusade, the knights wore on their wives chastity belt.

The truth is: We all know about the chastity belt that ensures loyalty to a loved one. But in fact, they have never been used and all the related stories — myths. Female chastity belt no more than a symbol of fidelity and chastity belt for men is more like a piece of armour.

Myth: King Arthur was a real person.

However Arthur never existed. His name was probably assigned to another person, known under different name in traditional history. And there are a huge number of people who have shown the essential features of Arthur.

The myth that Salieri poisoned Mozart.

True, Salieri was not any motive to kill Mozart. He was a famous and far more successful than Mozart. With Salieri even dropped all charges in life.

Myth: All ancient statues of white.

Truth: the Ancient art associated with white color. Surprisingly, but the buildings and statues were once brightly coloured, but over time the paint has worn off. Now these colors can be seen by ultraviolet light.

Myth: Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear.

Truth: This legend even became the title of the syndrome, when the person himself does the operation. However, van Gogh did cut off his ear. He lost his earlobes during a quarrel with a friend Gauguin.

The myth: Walt Disney drew Mickey mouse.

True: Mickey mouse was drawn by an animator, AB ayverks. However, Walt Disney played a role in creating the character. When he appeared in cartoons with Mickey, he told the voice of Disney.

Myth: Cowboys liked to have firefight.

Truth: actually, this stereotype was created in Western movies.

Myth: Ivan the terrible killed his son.

The truth: in any Chronicles there is no evidence that the death of Tsarevich Ivan was violent. Moreover, from the letters of the Tsar to Moscow, we can assume that his son had died from the disease. This is confirmed by modern researchers.

Myth: Mathematics has been removed from the list of Sciences, which awarded the Nobel prize because Alfred Nobel's wife cheated on him with a mathematician.

True: Alfred Nobel was never married. A Nobel prize is not awarded for achievements in mathematics, because it was recognized as an abstract science.

Myth: In Sparta weak newborns dropped off a cliff.

Truth: According to legend, babies were thrown into the pit. However, after analyzing the remains recovered from the pit, the scientists came to the conclusion that the remains belonged to 46 men aged 18-35 years, which means that the babies were not injured.