40 Common Historical 'Facts' That Are Actually Totally False

When history gets compressed into a textbook format, juicy details get left out and the cold-hard facts get a little warped. Cramming all the context, nuance, and motivations of past decades into about 400 pages and 20 chapters is no easy feat! That's why we end up leaving school with a less-than-perfect view of the past. Well, we're here to set some of the murkiest details straight. These commonly accepted historical "facts" aren't completely true — and some are just downright false!

1. The pyramids used to shine

Rough, stone pyramids that look like staircases into the Egyptian sky are synonymous with the American view of Cairo, but the iconic structures once looked a whole lot different. Originally, they were covered with polished white limestone. And, you guessed it — the reflective limestone harnessed the sparkling power of the sun to give a magical glistening effect. Eventually, though, the Egyptians removed the shiny material for use in other construction projects. 

2. Wild West gun laws

Swinging saloon doors that conceal boisterous clientele and pistols at dawn both spring to mind when you think of the American Frontier, but one of the most notorious shootouts should never have happened. The famous Wild West gunfight in Tombstone wasn't written in the cards. City law required all residents and passersby to hand their weapons over to the sheriff when they hit city limits. When these strict gun laws were ignored by three outlaws, the Marshals started shooting.

3. American independence underdog

Nowadays in the U.S.A., we often see the Revolutionary War as one of history's great underdog stories: inexperienced and outnumbered colonists taking it to those red coats under the expert leadership of General George Washington. But there were 40,000 British soldiers tasked with keeping control of 2.5 million colonists. France also lent the Americans 300,000 troops.

4. Big-bellied gladiators

In a gladiator fight, staying alive was the name of the game, and chiseled, zero-body-fat warriors couldn't take a stab wound like their heftier competitors. It makes sense — because a weighty fighter would have had more of a resistant cushion. And that's why gladiators would often pack on the pounds and duel with a gut. Where's the application form?