9.) Benjamin Franklin didn’t propose the wild turkey as a symbol for the United States. He wrote a private letter to his daughter, expressing the fact that he didn’t like the eagle and preferred the turkey.
10.) Chastity belts were invented in the 18th century to prevent teenagers from masturbating (which they thought led to insanity). It wasn’t to prevent pregnancy in the Middle Ages.
11.) Marie Antoinette did not say “Let them eat cake” when she found out the French peasantry was starving. Rousseau published the quote when she was only ten. It was either made up by Rosseau himself or said by someone like the king’s wife.
12.) Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexico’s Independence Day – their independence from Spain is celebrated on 9/16. It celebrates their victory against the French in the Battle of Puebla.
13.) In Rome, vomitoriums weren’t used for vomiting, they actually were the entrances and exists Romans used in stadiums. Romans also didn’t throw up between courses or meals.
14.) No one was burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials. The accused died in prison or were hanged.
15.) Pilgrims didn’t have buckles on their hats or wear the same dark clothing. Three centuries after the pilgrims, the popular image was created when buckles were a symbol of quaintness.
16.) The US Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776. It was approved by Congress on that day and signed on August 2, 1776.
