The claim
“Napoleon was unusually short”
Myth
At about 5 ft 6 in (168 cm), Napoleon was of average height for his time.
What's really going on
The 'short Napoleon' image is so strong it gave us the term 'Napoleon complex', but at about 168 cm he was of average height.
The receipts
“In fact, at about 168 cm (5 ft 6 in), he was of average height.”
More myths
Myth“Bulls charge because they hate the color red”Bulls are dichromatic, a kind of color blindness, so the red of the cape is irrelevant to them. Myth“Goldfish have a three-second memory”Goldfish remember things for months, not seconds. 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.