History’s Biggest Lies

Summary

The video examines familiar historical “facts” and argues that many are later inventions, exaggerations, or misunderstandings. Its recurring lesson is to ask when a story first appeared, how close its source was to the events, and whether physical or written evidence supports it.

“Ring Around the Rosie” and the plague

The narrator rejects the claim that the rhyme describes the bubonic plague. The version cited appeared in an 1881 Mother Goose book—long after the 1665 London plague—and its wording does not clearly match the popular plague interpretation. The video says the link became popular much later and notes that the “sneezing” line appears in some American versions from the 1900s.

Spartan babies allegedly thrown from cliffs

The story is traced mainly to Plutarch, who wrote centuries after Sparta’s heyday. The video contrasts his account with Xenophon, who wrote much earlier about Spartan child-rearing but did not mention the practice.

It also describes an archaeological investigation of a pit associated with the story: the recovered remains belonged to adult men, not infants. The narrator allows that unwanted infants may have been abandoned, as in other parts of Greece, but says the cliff story is unsupported.

Edison and the light bulb

The video argues that Edison did not invent the first light bulb. Earlier experimenters—including Humphry Davy—and other inventors had produced electric lights, while Joseph Swan demonstrated a working bulb around the same time as Edison.

As presented in the video, Edison’s distinctive achievement was developing a practical lighting system: generating electricity, distributing it, and metering its use. Edison and Swan eventually joined forces in Britain, where Swan held relevant patents.

Coca-Cola and Santa Claus

Coca-Cola did not create the familiar plump, red-suited Santa. The video points to an 1823 poem describing Santa as plump, illustrations by Thomas Nast beginning in 1863, and red-suited Santa imagery in advertisements before Coca-Cola’s famous campaign. Coca-Cola’s 1931 illustrations helped popularize the image but did not originate it.

Vikings drinking from skulls

The narrator says archaeological finds include drinking horns and other vessels, but no skull-shaped cups. The alleged custom is traced to a 17th-century interpretation of a Scandinavian poetic phrase. The phrase likely referred to drinking horns, but an early Latin translation treated it as drinking from the skulls of enemies, shaping later retellings.

Hitler and the Autobahn

Germany’s first motorway opened in 1932, before Hitler came to power. The narrator says earlier planners had developed broader highway plans, which the Nazi government later adopted and publicized as its own achievement.

The video also disputes the idea that the construction program solved unemployment. It argues that the number of road workers was small compared with Germany’s unemployed population and that military expansion was more significant.

Archimedes’ “Eureka” moment

The famous bathtub-and-crown story is attributed to the Roman architect Vitruvius, writing about two centuries after Archimedes’ death. The video notes that Archimedes’ surviving work on floating bodies does not mention the episode and argues that the water-displacement method in the story would be difficult to use precisely. It says Galileo later suggested a more workable underwater weighing method.

Polish cavalry charging tanks

The video says Polish cavalry attacked German infantry resting in a forest clearing, not tanks. German armored vehicles fired on the cavalry as they retreated. A reporter later saw dead cavalrymen and tanks together and reported a tank charge; Nazi publications and later retellings reinforced the story.

The narrator adds that Polish forces had anti-tank weapons and understood what tanks were.

Edison and the electrocution of Topsy the elephant

Topsy was killed at Luna Park in 1903 using multiple methods, including poisoning, hanging, and electrocution. The video argues that Edison did not organize the event as part of his rivalry with Westinghouse: he was not present, the rivalry had effectively ended years earlier, and the film was made by a company associated with Edison that was recording many kinds of events.

Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment

Franklin’s 1752 letter described how someone could test whether lightning was electrical but, according to the narrator, did not say that he had personally performed the kite experiment. The familiar story was recorded later by Joseph Priestley, who was not present.

The video also describes a French experimenter who reportedly produced sparks from a metal rod before Franklin’s supposed kite test. It warns that a direct lightning strike on a kite held by a person would be lethal.

Samurai and the rejection of firearms

The video rejects the story that samurai abandoned guns because they considered them dishonorable. It describes Japan’s rapid adoption and manufacture of matchlock guns after their arrival in 1543, and their use in later battles.

According to the narrator, subsequent weapon restrictions were political measures—especially aimed at preventing farmers from rebelling—not a principled return to swords. The “voluntary disarmament” interpretation is traced to a 1979 book, which the video says was challenged by Japanese historians.

Speakers and sources featured

Speaker: An unnamed narrator; no other speaker or interviewee is identified in the subtitles.

Sources, works, and figures mentioned: Mother Goose (1881); Iona and Peter Opie; James Lear (as rendered in the subtitles); the film 300 Spartans; Plutarch; Xenophon; the archaeologist identified in the subtitles as Theodore and his 2007 report; Humphry Davy; Joseph Swan; Thomas Edison; the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas; Thomas Nast; Coca-Cola illustrator Haddon Sundblom; Ole Worm; Konrad Adenauer; Vitruvius; Archimedes and his work on floating bodies; Galileo; Indro Montanelli; Heinz Guderian; Joseph Priestley; the French experimenter rendered as “Alabard”; the Russian professor rendered as “Richmond”; and the book Giving Up Arms (1979), attributed in the subtitles to “Nol Pern.”