Top 15+ Historical Myths That Turned Out to Be False

Vikings Wore Horned Helmets

When you picture a Viking, you probably imagine a fierce warrior with a horned helmet, storming the coasts of Europe. But here’s the surprising truth: there’s not a shred of real evidence that Vikings ever wore horned helmets into battle.

This whole idea comes from 19th-century operas, especially those by Richard Wagner, and the dramatic paintings of the time. Archaeologists have found plenty of Viking helmets—mostly made of iron or leather—but not one with horns.

It turns out, the only helmets with horns that have been found date back to the Bronze Age, long before the Vikings. The horned helmet myth has stuck around because it’s theatrical and instantly recognizable, but it’s nothing more than a story told by artists and costume designers.

Napoleon Was Extremely Short

It’s a classic image: Napoleon Bonaparte, the little general, compensating for his height with ambition. But the real Napoleon wasn’t unusually short at all.

Modern research puts him at about 5’6” or 5’7”, which was perfectly average for a Frenchman in the early 1800s. The confusion started because the French measured height in a different system than the British, and British cartoonists loved to poke fun at him by exaggerating his stature.

Even now, the phrase “Napoleon complex” is used to describe short people with big egos, but it’s based on a myth. In reality, Napoleon stood eye to eye with many of his rivals and was respected—sometimes feared—not for his height, but for his tactical genius.

Columbus Discovered America

We’re taught in school that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492. But this version of history leaves out some shocking facts.

Indigenous peoples had lived and thrived across the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus ever set sail. Entire civilizations—like the Maya, Inca, and Mississippians—had built cities and societies long before Europeans arrived.

Even more surprising, Norse explorer Leif Erikson reached North America around the year 1000, nearly 500 years before Columbus. Still, textbooks and pop culture stuck with the Columbus story, ignoring the true richness and depth of America’s past.

Recent scholarship and Indigenous voices are finally bringing these overlooked histories into the light.

Marie Antoinette Said, "Let Them Eat Cake"

The infamous phrase “Let them eat cake” is forever linked to Marie Antoinette, painting her as callous and oblivious to her people’s suffering. But historians have searched and found no record of her ever uttering those words.

The phrase itself existed decades before she became queen, and it was probably used as anti-royal propaganda during the French Revolution. People needed a scapegoat for their anger, and Marie, with her lavish lifestyle, fit the role perfectly.

In reality, she was far more complex, and sometimes even generous. This myth stuck because it captured the public’s outrage and made for a great story, but it’s not rooted in fact.

Medieval People Believed the Earth Was Flat

It’s tempting to think of medieval folks as believing the Earth was flat, sailing off the edge into oblivion. But that’s a myth invented much later.

Educated people in the Middle Ages, especially scholars and clergy, knew the Earth was a sphere—a fact established by ancient Greeks like Pythagoras and Aristotle. Medieval universities taught astronomy based on this knowledge, and explorers like Columbus used it to plan their voyages.

The flat-Earth myth grew in popularity during the 19th century, partly as a way to ridicule the Middle Ages as ignorant. In reality, medieval scholars were ahead of their time in many ways, and the notion of a flat Earth belongs more to legend than to history books.

Salem Witch Trials Burned People at the Stake

The horror of the Salem Witch Trials conjures images of witches burning at the stake. But in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, this simply didn’t happen.

The accused “witches” were hanged, not burned. Burning at the stake was a European punishment, especially in places like Germany and Switzerland, but never part of the Salem proceedings.

A total of 20 people were executed, mostly women, and one man was pressed to death with heavy stones. The hysteria in Salem was tragic and fueled by fear and suspicion, but the details have been muddled over time.

Modern research into the court records confirms that burning was never on the list of punishments in colonial New England.

Einstein Failed Math as a Student

You might have heard that Albert Einstein, the genius behind relativity, was terrible at math as a kid. It’s simply not true.

From a young age, Einstein excelled in mathematics, often outpacing his classmates and even his teachers. The myth probably comes from differences in grading systems between Switzerland and Germany, or from Einstein’s own modesty in interviews.

In fact, by age 15, he was solving college-level math problems and had a passion for geometry. This story has lingered because it’s comforting to imagine that even geniuses struggle, but the real Einstein was a math prodigy from the start.

The Great Wall of China Is Visible from Space

You’ve probably heard that the Great Wall of China is the only human-made structure visible from space. This claim has been repeated so often it feels like fact, but astronauts and scientists say otherwise.

The Great Wall is long—over 13,000 miles—but it’s also quite narrow and blends into the landscape. Astronauts orbiting Earth with the naked eye generally can’t see it.

High-resolution cameras or telescopes are needed to spot the wall from above. The myth likely started as a way to express the wall’s grandeur, but in reality, it’s no more visible than highways or airport runways from low Earth orbit.

Romans Regularly Vomited During Feasts

The word “vomitorium” conjures up images of decadent Romans gorging themselves and then running off to vomit so they could eat more. The truth is much less dramatic.

“Vomitorium” actually refers to the passageways in Roman amphitheaters that allowed crowds to exit rapidly, not a room for purging food. There’s no credible evidence that wealthy Romans routinely made themselves vomit during meals.

While some Romans indulged in extravagant banquets, the stories of ritual vomiting are exaggerated or entirely made up. This myth took hold because it fits our ideas of Roman excess, but real Roman dining was a bit less wild—though still impressive.

Witches Were Burned in the Millions in Europe

The European witch hunts were undeniably brutal and tragic, but the claim that millions were burned at the stake is vastly overstated. Modern historians estimate that between 40,000 and 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft between the 15th and 18th centuries, with most deaths occurring in Germany and Switzerland.

While even one wrongful execution is horrific, the real number is far less than the “millions” sometimes cited. This myth may have grown out of a desire to emphasize the horror of the witch hunts, but the actual records are clear.

It’s a sobering reminder of how easily numbers can be distorted over time.

George Washington Had Wooden Teeth

The story of George Washington’s wooden teeth is a staple of American folklore, but it’s simply not true. Washington suffered from dental problems all his life and wore several sets of dentures, but none were made of wood.

Instead, his false teeth were crafted from materials like ivory, human teeth, cow teeth, and even lead. Some think the myth started because his dentures, stained by wine and tobacco, may have looked wooden.

The truth is more complicated—and a bit more gruesome—than the legend suggests, showing the lengths people went to for dental health in the 18th century.

The Trojan Horse Was a Real Giant Wooden Horse

The tale of the Greeks sneaking into Troy inside a giant wooden horse is one of the most famous legends from the ancient world. But historians now believe the story is mostly myth or metaphor.

While the Trojan War may have some basis in reality, there’s no archaeological evidence for a literal giant horse being wheeled into the city. Some scholars think the “horse” could have been a siege engine or even a metaphor for an earthquake or a trick.

The story endures because it’s dramatic and clever, but the actual events—if they happened—were probably less theatrical.

Lincoln Freed All Slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is often celebrated as the document that freed every enslaved person in America. But the truth is more complicated.

The 1863 proclamation only applied to Confederate states that were in active rebellion—it didn’t free slaves in border states or in places under Union control. Many enslaved people didn’t gain their freedom until the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

The myth persists because the Emancipation Proclamation was a powerful step toward ending slavery, but it wasn’t the final word. It’s a reminder that history is often more complex than the stories we tell.

The Middle Ages Were a Time of Total Ignorance

People often refer to the Middle Ages as the “Dark Ages,” a time when learning and progress ground to a halt. This view ignores the reality that the period saw immense advances in architecture, philosophy, and science.

Cathedrals soared, universities flourished, and scholars in the Islamic world made breakthroughs in medicine, mathematics, and astronomy. The notion of the Middle Ages as a time of total ignorance was popularized during the Renaissance, when people wanted to set themselves apart from earlier generations.

In truth, the era was rich with creativity and innovation, even amid hardships.

Bulls Hate the Color Red

The image of a furious bull charging at a matador’s red cape is burned into our collective imagination. But bulls can’t even see red.

They’re colorblind to it, perceiving only shades of gray and blue. What actually provokes the bull is the movement of the cape, not its color.

The tradition of using a red cape in bullfighting is more for the audience than the animal—it hides bloodstains and adds dramatic flair. The myth that bulls hate red is so common that it’s rarely questioned, but science tells a different, less colorful story.