Famous Historical Events That Never Actually Happened

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:08:41 +0000

Historical events you learned in school that never happened?
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From Nero “fiddling” to Marie Antoinette’s cake line, this episode debunks famous stories that never actually occurred—and shows why they stick. We dig into Paul Revere’s ride, the Library of Alexandria, the War of the Worlds “panic,” Caesar’s last words, Newton’s apple, and more. Stick around for the big insight: myths win because they do a job—fast meaning, clean morals, easy heroes. Tell me in the comments which myth shocked you most, and what to tackle next. If you want sharp, satisfying history, subscribe for weekly deep dives.

Sources:

Britannica: Nero and the Great Fire https://www.britannica.com/bio....graphy/Nero-Roman-em
Britannica: Marie Antoinette and “cake” https://www.britannica.com/bio....graphy/Marie-Antoine
Smithsonian: The Flat-Earth Myth about Columbus https://www.smithsonianmag.com..../history/columbus-fl
Britannica: Salem witch trials https://www.britannica.com/eve....nt/Salem-witch-trial
BBC: What happened to the Library of Alexandria https://www.bbc.com/future/art....icle/20140527-what-r
Smithsonian: War of the Worlds panic myth https://www.smithsonianmag.com..../history/war-of-the-
Paul Revere House: The Real Midnight Ride https://www.paulreverehouse.org/the-real-story/
Mount Vernon: The Cherry Tree Myth https://www.mountvernon.org/li....brary/digitalhistory
Britannica: Julius Caesar’s assassination and last words https://www.britannica.com/bio....graphy/Julius-Caesar
Royal Society: Newton’s apple story https://royalsociety.org/blog/....2014/01/newtons-appl
Snopes: Did Einstein fail math? https://www.snopes.com/fact-ch....eck/einstein-failed-
Smithsonian: Tulip mania myth https://www.smithsonianmag.com..../history/there-never
Smithsonian: The Iron Maiden wasn’t medieval https://www.smithsonianmag.com..../history/iron-maiden
Smithsonian: Why it was called the Spanish Flu https://www.smithsonianmag.com..../history/journal-pla
#history #debunked #mythbusting

Chapters / Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:43 The myths we love and why they spread
2:10 Nero “fiddled” while Rome burned
3:35 Marie Antoinette’s misquoted cake line
4:05 Columbus and the flat Earth myth
5:34 Salem witch trials: no burnings
6:58 The Library of Alexandria legend
7:35 War of the Worlds “panic” revisited
8:02 Paul Revere’s real midnight ride
9:38 Washington and the cherry tree story
10:00 Caesar’s last words vs Shakespeare
11:22 Newton’s apple and how ideas form
11:56 Einstein and the bad-at-math myth
12:40 Trojan Horse: symbol vs reality
13:00 Tulip mania didn’t wreck a nation
13:40 Iron maiden: a modern fake antique
14:05 Catherine, Caligula, and viral rumors
14:35 Spanish flu and the power of names
15:05 Why fake events stick—and what to do
16:10 Takeaways, your turn, and subscribe

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