 Wendypants
Female, 30-39, Canada
 1167 Posts
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Monday, April 23, 2012 6:34:14 AM
They debunk some myths and then end with one? Columbus never got to the land now known as America; ... Amerigo Vespucci was the one to discover it... and yes after the Vikings. |
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 Bountykat
Female, 18-29, Southern US
399 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 11:59:40 AM
Wasn't Columbus kind of a dick? |
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 Angilion
Male, 40-49, Europe
9677 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 7:52:34 AM
Yes, Earth isn't actually a sphere. The ancient Greek methodology and theory was correct, but their technology didn't allow precise enough measurements to differentiate between a sphere and a slightly oblate spheroid. |
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Angilion
Male, 40-49, Europe
9677 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 7:48:23 AM
Just in case anyone cares:
The first known *formal* proof that the Earth is round dates back to the early days of ancient Greece, long before Eratosthenes calculated its size. The formal proof is simple with hindsight. Observations of the shadow cast on the moon by the Earth showed that they are always the curve of a circle. The only object that casts a circular shadow from every angle is a sphere. Therefore the Earth must be a sphere.
But as FredSpudman points out, it was known long before then that the Earth wasn't flat. The lunar shadow thing was the first formal proof that it's spherical, not the first knowledge that it wasn't flat. |
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 FredSpudman
Male, 18-29, Europe
282 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 3:59:21 AM
ShudBWorking, even the not very bright could fathom that the Earth wasn't flat back in the day. At sea, you'd see the mast of a ship first because of the curvature of the Earth. |
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Angilion
Male, 40-49, Europe
9677 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 3:45:50 AM
patticakes...are you a Marxist? Serious question, since your point of view seems to be Marxist communism. You're calling your classes "givernment class" and "us" instead of "bourgouisie" and "proletariat", but it's the same rhetoric.
If not, what form of civilisation are you advocating? You've ruled out nearly all of them, since you've ruled out taxation. You appear to be left with only total anarchy, which isn't civilisation anyway, communism (which technically doesn't require taxes as the state owns the economy) and capitalism (which technically doesn't require taxes as the dictator or oligarchy owns the economy). In practice, of course, both communism and capitalism can't exist and if they could they'd cost the proletariat a damn sight more than a semi-democratic government funded by taxes. |
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 kingdomCome
Male, 18-29, Europe
322 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 3:24:49 AM
@patticakes.....speaking of brainwashed |
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 patticakes
Female, 18-29, Eastern US
457 Posts
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Thursday, April 19, 2012 12:25:49 AM
"Taxes are how civilization is purchased?" Boy, that's one brainwashed statist narrator. How about, that's how the government class finances its lifestyle and to keep us quiet throws us a few crumbs in the form of public works and social programs? |
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 Fatninja01
Male, 18-29, Australia
23998 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 11:23:01 PM
meh.... |
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 BostonKaiser
Male, 40-49, Midwest US
1084 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:37:29 PM
You said it, Ollie.
ShudBWorking: You're on the right path. Why WOULD they teach you the wrong facts in school? Think it through, but I'm sure you won't like the conclusion waiting for you. |
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 ShudBWorking
Male, 18-29, Eastern US
88 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 9:40:46 PM
Ummm... if that's true, why in the world would school history books report it as otherwise. There is no reason, religious or otherwise for these facts not to be properly reported. I'm mostly referring to Columbus, and the whole round earth thing, I thought the rest don't really matter. |
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 OldOllie
Male, 50-59, Midwest US
8949 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 6:22:32 PM
I knew all of that stuff, but then I guess education isn't what it used to be. |
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Angilion
Male, 40-49, Europe
9677 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 3:17:19 PM
Yeah, there's always someone out there willing to rip all the fun out of myths and tales.
Myths and tales are fine.
Fiction wrongly portrayed as fact is not. |
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 Bremir
Male, 18-29, Europe
363 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:39:24 PM
Yeah, there's always someone out there willing to rip all the fun out of myths and tales.
I see a lot of these "-- myths/rumours/tales/etc. that are false" flying around, and I always think "why?" because the fun is not knowing.
It's like if we took a story, hundreds of years ago, of a farmer scaring off some small wild animal off his farm. People tell the story, and ten years later instead of some small animal it turns into a bear. Hundreds of years later it turns into a tale of a farmer fighting off a dragon trying to burn his crops.
Then some **** comes along and days "well actually, the real story was a small wild animal"
Hurray, the tale is ruined. |
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jamie76
Male, 30-39, Western US
2249 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:35:34 PM
Coloumbus
cus no one else can wipe out 8 million indigenous tribesmen in just a few years like he can! |
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 Cajun247
Male, 18-29, Southern US
9512 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:17:26 PM
I'd like to point out that Columbus should really be known for the business man he was. He makes anyone in Forbes look like a hotdog vendor. |
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 KAKABAKA
Male, 30-39, Western US
393 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:16:28 PM
what a waste of time,i already knew all of this. |
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 blackcatseye
Female, 30-39, Europe
646 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:58:39 PM
Oh yes I have wasted many hours learning a useless dead language, have I? 1. Latin is not compulsory in British schools and hasn't been for decades, 2. everybody speaks some Latin every day anyway seeing as it is not dead or useless. Dumbass. |
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 Gerry1of1
Male, 50-59, Western US
26254 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:57:16 PM
CaptKangaroo - I stand corrected. Yes, Lot's wife was salt. Medusa's victims were turned to stone. I confused my imaginary god-stories again. Oh dopey me! |
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 8BitHero
Male, 18-29, Europe
5420 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:22:05 PM
I see. Interesting but I'm going to have to do my own research before believing this. |
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 CaptKangaroo
Male, 50-59, Southern US
1198 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:18:59 PM
@Gerry1of1- Admittedly, I'm no Bible expert, but wasn't Lot's wife turned into salt- a pillar of salt? Anybody back me up or correct me on this? I'd Google it myself, but am currently just too apathetic. |
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 MacGuffin
Female, 30-39, Europe
2597 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:07:32 PM
A hefty percentage of actual Americans I've actually met have honestly believed themselves to be Irish or Scottish, despite being born and bred in New York, and *these* are the historical inaccuracies you're focusing on? |
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 Gingertom
Male, 18-29, Europe
43 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 12:55:45 PM
So...someone watched a few episodes of QI and made a video about the things they saw. |
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Gerry1of1
Male, 50-59, Western US
26254 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 12:52:48 PM
Peeping Tom wasn't turned to stone, that was Lot's wife. Tom was caught looking and blinded by the city guards. |
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bataleon27
Male, 18-29, Europe
1135 Posts
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012 12:49:03 PM
Not quite sure why he was showing a picture of the UK when talking about countries that insist on learning latin. Very few schools teach latin, and most of those are private. |
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