To wonder which ‘history facts’ aren’t true.

[LeslieKnopefan]

I understand that history isn’t always true and the further we go back in time the harder it is know what the truth is and what is simply made up.

However I recently posted that I thought it was true that Marie Antoinette hair turned white overnight after her best friends head was paraded in front of her and that I only realised it wasn’t when I told a mate who pointed out it couldn’t be true.

So which history facts that people think are true are known to be lies?

Why couldn’t that be true? Overnight is an exaggeration but stress can trigger immune issues which in turn can cause hair to begin growing in white. It’s not unheard of

My grandma went to bed one night and woke up with her hair on her pillow. Then when it grew in it was all white.

There a quite a few about the plague aren't there - ring a ring a roses not being written for the plague, it not being rats.... was it really just one fire in a bakery...

My childhood next door neighbour was from Estonia, he had a terrible experience in the war and his hair turned white overnight. I've always assumed that new growth was white.

After my first DH died in an rta my hair went curly. Shock does strange things.

Harold wasnt shot in the eye....probably!

I think the OP is talking about your whole hair going white overnight, which we know cant happen.

I know someone who suffered from stress alopecia in her late teens. She wore wigs since in the same blonde shade as it was when it fell out. In her 40's she started to get sporadic growth, not enough to ditch the wigs, in pale ginger!

Another one....

The reason Brits see giving two fingers as swearing is that when wars took place with bow and arrow the French cut these fingers off the English. So Englishmen would make that sign to the French to show they still had their fingers.

I’ve heard this a few times but there is no proof at all that this is the reason.

I know someone who had been in a motorbike accident as a young men, and both he and people who had been around at the time insisted that his hair had literally gone while overnight. As in the whole lot of it on the spot, not just what grew after that. I assumed they were exaggerating, but they insisted.

I thought hair that had already grown couldn't change. As in its pretty dead isn't it?

The whole saga of the "celts", it is still believed, as evidenced by another current thread!

They never inhabited Britain, they only ruled it, they did not displace the ancient Brits, because the ancient Brits are still here, they were not displaced by Anglo Saxons because no one was.

The so called " Anglosaxons" were just a rag tag mercenary force of assorted ex auxiliaries retired from the Roman army employed by ancient British tribal leaders to support their infighting.

The whole story of the nobel "Celts", as a tribe which inhabited the UK and were driven into the Western extremes was invented by the Tudors who had no substantial claim to the English throne, but came from Wales, so invented this whole story about the true inheritors of Britain having been driven into Wales, and now reemerging from Wales

Their propaganda machine was so good people still believe it today. The tribe we call "celts" only ever inhabited the Western fringe of the UK, and dominated the whole island from there, there technology, political and military structures etc were so much more advanced than hours, they set up and upheld rulers to rule the whole of Britain.

So places like Ireland were English long before they were "Celtic" and in fact nobles sent their sons to Ireland to learn proper English there, before they were galic speaking!

And as for were this tribe even "Celtic" - no they weren't, nobody seriously believes that these days. That was a Victorian invention, much like Scottish clan tartan....

yet their are peole who's identity is so closely bound up with these old fairy stories that they can't cope with the truth.

Says a lot about the stupidity and pointlessness of choosing and clinging to an "ethnic identity"

Religions throw up too many to mention.

Dick Turpins horse wasn't called black Bess and he was actually caught by the postman because the postman had taught him how to write.

Marie Antoinette probably didn't say "Let them eat cake."

The Bayeux tapestry is actually an embroidery (but still well worth seeing 'in the flesh')

Napoleon wasn’t short. He was average height for men at that time. It’s thought the English painted him as shorter than he was.

Someone mentioned up thread "it started in one bakery"; I assume you mean the great fire of London? There was a really good program hosted by Dan Jones tracking the fire, and it did start in one bakery. I think, the owners left the fire going?! I can't remember exactly but you should look it up it was fascinating!

Camilla you are very opinionated, I would like to know what your credentials are!

Vikings didn't wear helmets with horns

Christopher Columbus never set foot in what is now the United States

I love history and I once worked as a tour guide around Europe so I had the chance to learn at least an overview of the history of most of the countries and certain countries such as France more in-depth.

The most overwhelming thing I realised and hadn’t really took in from history at school is how much longer certain events lasted than we think.

It was hard to take in how long the Roman Empire was around for and how the fall of the Bastille wasn’t really the beginning of the French Revolution which was started 2 years later.

I think that’s just human nature as thinking about long periods of history just like space can be hard to get your head around.

There wouldn't have been more Titanic survivors if there had been enough lifeboats. In the event, they didn't even have time to launch the boats they had.

On the theme of the Titanic, it is a myth that the third class passengers were treated badly or even locked in.

On the contrary, they were the White Star Line's main target customers, the whole ship was designed to make its money from the cheap mass market tickets, and their whole selling point was they treated the third class passengers better than anybody else did.

The myth of the locked exits persists today, even though a thorough search of the ship has shown every single exit open

The thing is - no one can really state these things as 'fact'. There are so many sources to draw on that state different things and any primary sources that one might read will vary depending on who wrote them and what their perspective of a situation was at that time.

I dislike the way history books make you believe that the prosecution of Jews was an invention of the 3rd Reich.
It wasn't, they nearly got away with it because it was common practice throughout Europe for centuries.

If you want to find out about history facts which aren't, QI is a good source of information.

That's Richard the third killed the princes in the tower. Henry the 7th had far more to gain.