Popular, but untrue

It didn’t happen: 10 history myths that are regarded as true

A big part of history is dependent on who’s telling it, but some facts are indisputable. However, some stories have become so widespread —be it because of popular legend or by honest mistake— that most would assure them to be true. Some have even been transmitted for generations, but they happened in a different way or not at all. Let’s revise 10 historic "facts" that are just myths.

The idea that Viking helmets had horns is consistent with their fame as frightening warriors, but it is simply not true. This misconception is a result of 19th-century artists, such as Richard Wagner, and their interest in the Middle Ages, which, in many cases, involved inventing facts when reliable information was lacking. We now know that Vikings wore cap-like helmets with nose guards, and without any protruding elements.

The French Revolution and its rejection of the monarchy led to Marie Antoinette having a tarnished reputation, with many accusing her of not caring about her subjects and living an extravagant life while the French people suffered. The phrase ‘let them eat cake’, attributed to her, is a big part of this, but no matter how she actually behaved, we know as a fact that she never said it. This phrase was attributed to an unnamed princess by philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, but at that time, Marie Antoinette was 9 years old and still lived in Austria.

While the father of the nation did wear dentures, the widespread belief that these were made out of wood is not true. Historians have confirmed that his dentures were made from a mix of different materials, including ivory, human teeth, animal teeth, and metallic pieces. The idea that these were wooden is most likely a result of the brownish appearance of stained ivory.

Roman emperor Nero has a well-deserved reputation as a tyrant. He habitually murdered opponents, persecuted thousands of Christians, and was known to enjoy animal cruelty. However, there is no solid proof that he intentionally started the fire of Rome, although we know that he did nothing to stop it, and played music as he watched the city burn. The fire was most likely an accident, and Nero took advantage of it to rebuild Rome in grandeur.

Scholars have known the Earth is a sphere since classical antiquity, and medievals inherited that knowledge from the ancient Greeks. Why did they not travel to the West then? Is not that they thought they would reach the end of the world, but that they were unsure of the dangers of such a travel. The idea of medieval people as flat-earthers is a result of 19th-century writers' concept of the Middle Ages as a ‘dark time’ of ignorance.

To the surprise of many, the Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain on July 2nd. But why is Independence Day not celebrated on that date? Founding Father John Adams asked the same question. While the voting was done on the 2nd, the document was finalized and distributed on the 4th, and most delegates adopted that date. John Adams wrote extensively about the importance of July 2nd, and he reportedly declined invitations to 4th of July celebrations in protest.

The Salem witch trials were undoubtedly outrageous, and modern historians believe that the result was mass hysteria. However, the idea that convicted individuals were burned at the stake is just a popular myth. 19 people were executed by hanging, and one other died during interrogation due to torture. In the years after, it was proven that evidence of witchery was fabricated, and the trials were declared unlawful.

While historians and chroniclers have several theories about Julius Caesar’s dying words, we know for a fact that he never said ‘_Et tu, Brute?’ (You too, Brutus?) to his adoptive son. This phrase was coined by Elizabethan playwright Richard Edes and later popularized by William Shakespeare. What did Caesar say instead? We don’t know, but the prevailing theories are that he remained silent or that he spoke in Greek and said ‘_καὶ σύ, τέκνον?" (‘You too, child?’).

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, she knew she was making a political statement. However, contrary to what many believe, she was sitting on a part of the bus that African Americans were allowed to use. Why was she asked to give up the seat, then? She was sitting in a section that was for everyone, but where white people had priority. When the white section became full, she was asked to give up her spot. She refused, and the rest is history.

The story of Galileo Galilei’s trial is one of the most widespread historical myths, and most people are certain that he was tortured because of his beliefs and then executed. Galileo was indeed tried by the Church, but it was not the simplistic case of science vs. faith most believe it to be. In reality, it was a scientific debate and, while Galileo was ultimately right in defending Heliocentrism, he failed to prove it. After the trial, he received house arrest in a villa, where he died of natural causes.

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.