False History Over the years I have come to feel much of history is not only wrong, it was made up for different reasons. Take Columbus Day for example, Columbus never set foot on what is now the United States, yet we give him credit for discovering America. We really do not know who discovered America because it is a question of how far back do we go. Some might say America was discovered by ancient people who crossed here on a land bridge or got here during the ice age by dugout canoes. Others might think the ancient Egyptians, Chinese or Polynesians who were recently discovered to be quite capable at sailing the earth’s oceans should get the credit. Some people believe the Vikings discovered America and it is said the English knew about the Grand Banks in ancient times because they used to fish there and kept it a secret. Speaking about the Vikings, somewhere along the way we heard they wore helmets with horns. This is not true. One might ask where this story came from and I believe it had something to do with the ferocity of their attacks. The Vikings used to whip themselves up into a frenzy before they would attack and might even have taken something, but I don’t think any evidence has been found of that. The ancient Egyptians were great record keepers and we have heard about all the battles they won. Recent evidence would indicate they may have altered their records to look like they were more victorious than they actually were at times. You have to wonder why something as trivial as the height of a person would have been exaggerated in history but it was. Napoleon was said to be very short, but in real life he was taller than the average Frenchman. How could this rumor have started? I would have to think when he was winning all those battles his enemies didn’t want him to look unbeatable so they spread the rumor he was just a little guy. If I was to ask you who discovered electricity what would you say? Some people believe it was Benjamin Franklin and he discovered it using a kite and a metal key, but the truth is electricity was known about for a long time. There was even a battery found which was from ancient times called the Baghdad Battery. What Franklin discovered was the fact electricity could flow like a fluid. No, Einstein did not have the highest I.Q. ever. I have seen several different statements about his I.Q. and they range from the low 150s to 160s. Don’t get me wrong this is genius, but there have been a lot of people who had higher I.Q.s. What many scientists believe today is his brain was wired differently and his genius plus this change in wiring allowed him to discover some incredible things which are still being verified today. People get a kick out of saying Thomas Crapper invented the flush toilet. He did make a flush toilet but as far as inventing it he was thousands of years too late for that. The Minoans invented it THOUSANDS of years before. The Minoans had apartment buildings and flush toilets were in them. I know it seems amazing they were so far ahead of the rest of the world, but there you are. A second mistake which has to do with the invention of the flush toilet states Sir John Harington invented it in the 16th century. There has been a tale which has existed for quite a while which states Jews who were slave labor built the Pyramids. Professor Amihai Mazar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said this is completely wrong and the Egyptians built the pyramids themselves. He went on to say there were no Jews in Egypt at the time the pyramids were built. I think we all heard that Marie Antoinette said let them eat cake when she was told the peasants were starving. Just about everyone thinks this is true, but it is not. This was said by Marie-Thérèse who lived about one hundred years before and was the wife of Louis XIV. What is history? My definition would be a correct record of things which happened in the past. To be a historical fact the fact doesn’t have to be some huge revelation, it can be some small fact too. What I am about to say may not sit right with some people who believe in certain prophets from the past. Nostradamus was a doctor who lived in the 16th century during the Black Plague. He was married and had two children. He dedicated himself to treating victims of the plague. His wife and children all died from the plague and he almost disappeared from history for a couple of years. Some believe when he reappeared, he had the power of prophesy. The problem is his works could be interpreted to mean anything and people who believe in them always cite events which have already happened and fit his prophesies to those events rather than being able to tell us what is going to happen in the future. Do I think he was a prophet? I believe this is false history and he wrote in such a way his writing could fit many different events in history. Sometimes historians can also seem like they are on drugs because of what they say. One Russian historian had a lot to say about history, he says it is all a fake. Let me tell you some of the things he is saying about history. He says the Roman Empire emerged in the Middle Ages not in the 8th century B.C. as the rest of us believe. He says Jesus lived and died in the 12th century. His claim is history which was recorded before the 11th century is unreliable. I have to say some history written after that is unreliable also. He believes much of history was made up by people like Joseph Scaliger a 16th century scholar. He goes on to say some historians from the 13th to the 17th century felt there wasn’t enough history from earlier times so they made up some using current events which were altered. He also said this is a problem with the bible. You have to wonder why this Russian would feel this way? Many people feel history is wrong in certain areas, but I don’t know anyone else who believes there was a conspiracy by some historians to completely change history. It is a far out thought. As far as certain civilizations being far newer, carbon dating of some of their things proves this idea to be false.
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