Herb Reich - Lies They Teach in School: Exposing the Myths Behind 250 Commonly Believed Fallacies

Lies They Teach in School

Exposing the Myths Behind 250 Commonly Believed Fallacies

Herb Reich

Copyright 2010, 2012 by Herb Reich

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61608-596-4

Printed in China

For Gerri

my partner and co-disbeliever for almost forty-nine years, who wore a button that read, simply, I doubt it.

The idea for this book first came to mind at a dinner hosted by Marty Edelston, chairman of Boardroom, Inc. Originally conceived as a series of columns for one of his newsletters, it unfortunately never quite got off the ground. Nonetheless, I credit Marty with providing the initial goad.

I had always been enthralled by the variety and quantity of garbage we carry around as seemingly usable information. In my younger days, I strained several friendships by not easily accepting the imparted intelligence of the day, rather questioning, How do you know? In college, I remember alienating a few professors by frequently asking How can we be sure? or Where is it written and by whom? Not so much to doubt, more to confirm. Later, I tried to instruct my daughters that things are rarely what they seem, and to guide them to question most everything, to accept nothing at face value. I apparently succeeded because they asked Why?

I am in debt to nameless research librarians at a number of libraries in Westchester County, notably those of White Plains, Yonkers, Mt. Vernon,Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, and my home base, Hastings-on-Hudson. Librarians do not always know the answer, but they do know where to look for it. My unlimited gratitude to Susan Barnett for improving the text and also spotting some grievous factual errors. A word of thanks also to David Fischer, an inexhaustible source of trivia on sports and other pabulum, this last in its good meaning. And lastly, a grateful bow to my daughter Liza for her insightful comments while critiquing the final draft of the manuscript.

This is a book that will question much of what you think you know, a good portion of which derives from your classroom days. It will look at a few hundred of the truths we all hold as common knowledge, that are widely accepted as fact, that are part of the body of our socially accepted data bank but are simply wrong.

Our cherished culturally shared beliefs stem from a variety of sources, many of which repeat old wives tales, myths, lore, self-serving fantasies, innocent fallacies, or sheer nonsense. History is replete with stories of great men and events that either never happened or didnt happen the way we were led to believe. These pages will reexamine several such long-held misconceptions.

Shared misinformation is common, and this book will try to correct at least some of the fallacies weve come to accept as facts. I will try to break it to you gently, but you may still be amazed at the baggage youread wehave been carrying around for so long.

For example, did you know that:

The United States did not vote for independence on July Fourth.

The Eighteenth Amendment did not outlaw liquor.

Red Square is not named in honor of communism.

George Washington was not the countrys first president.

The Rough Riders did not charge their horses up San Juan Hill.

Charles Lindbergh was not the first man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Charles Darwin didnt coin the phrase survival of the fittest.

Jackie Robinson was not the first African American baseball player in the major leagues.

The Battle of Yorktown did not end the Revolutionary War.

French fries did not originate in France.

The clock in Londons Parliament Tower is not called Big Ben.

Cleopatra was not Egyptian.

Have I grabbed your interest? Read on and be surprised. There is much to unlearn. Such items are part of our consensually acquired store of knowledge. They are taught in schools. They are passed down to us by our families and friends, they are part of shared cultural orthodoxy, they are accepted without question. And they are wrong.

It is appalling how much of what we take as unchallenged truth is really myth. It is a clich that history is written by the victors. But this book will demonstrate that is also written by teachers, by reporters, by heirs, by hucksters, by word of mouth, and not infrequently by someone who has an ax to grind or simply a lousy memory.

We will touch on a number of topicsincluding history, current events, government, sports, geography, popular culture, and other areas of human experienceexposing errors that have been perpetuated for far too long.

The reader will also find a few items (very few) that do not strictly conform to the intent of the book, butat least to the eye of the authorare of similar mind and offer features that are laughable, idiosyncratic, or just interesting enough to be disclosed.

We end with two short sections of quotations: one headed Says Who?, devoted to misattributed quotations, revealing who actually said them; the other unearthing several remarks from recognized authoritiesThe Punditswhose foolish assertions and predictions belie their exalted positions, showing how even recognized experts all too often knew not what they were talking about. As Montaigne observed in his Essays over five centuries ago: Nothing is so firmly believed as that which is least known.

The book will enlighten, and entertain. It will certainly start a number of arguments. And, one would hope, settle a few.

... there is no truth to be discovered; there is only error to be exposed.

H. L. Mencken, Prejudices, Third Series (1922), Chapter 3

Lies They Teach in School

SECTION ONE:

WHAT NOT TO BELIEVE

George Washington was the first president of our country.
Dont you believe it.

In the formative days of our union, dating from September 1774, seven men, beginning with Peyton Randolph of Virginia, held the office of president of the Continental Congress, the first functioning government of our fledgling nation.

With the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, in March 1781, the Continental Congress officially became the United States, in Congress Assembled, marking the beginning of transition from an alliance of colonies to a central government. John Hanson of Maryland was unanimously chosen as the first presiding officer serving a full term under the Articles. Because of his prominence in the Revolution and his influence in the Congress, other potential candidates declined to run against him. Hanson is thus considered by many historians as the first president of the United States.