🏺 History
Strange things that really happened.
Fact files
Myth busters
Myth“Marie Antoinette said 'Let them eat cake'”There's no evidence she ever said it. The phrase appears in Rousseau's Confessions from when she was nine. Myth“Vikings wore horned helmets”No preserved Viking helmet has horns. The look first appeared in the 19th century. Myth“Napoleon was unusually short”At about 5 ft 6 in (168 cm), Napoleon was of average height for his time. Disputed“The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye”Not the way the legend says. It's too narrow and blends into the land, and astronauts disagree about whether they've seen it.