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Many will have seen the picture of Cornwallis surrendering his sword to Washington at Yorktown, but we were not there. Actually, this event is a myth. Who received Cornwallis' sword?

Benjamin Lincoln. Cornwallis said he was sick, and had his second-in-command General O'Hara turn the sword over. First O'Hara tried to give it to the French, but they refused it and told him to give it to Washington. When Washington saw the second-in-command offering the sword, he had his second-in-command, Benjamin Lincoln, accept it in his place.

Traditionally it was believed that Christopher Columbus discovered America, or the New World. According to legend, who may have arrived there in 1170AD?

Welsh Prince Madoc. Judging from the evidence I have found online there could have been some kind of outside influence on the Mandan Indians of the Midwest. Their boats were round (like the Welsh fishing boats at the time) and some have blue eyes. There are small pieces of evidence to indicate other tribes might have been influenced but the evidence just indicates it.

The legend of the Flying Dutchman is something that every sailor, at least, has heard of. If you encounter this ghost ship at sea it is a bad sign that your ship is in trouble. Just who is reputed to have cursed this ship in the first place, making it sail until doomsday?

The captain. It has normally been reported around the Cape of Good Hope near South Africa since the seventeenth century. It was last reported during World War II by a German Submarine. The Captain was so intent on beating out a storm that he yelled these words as the ship hit rocks and began sinking: "I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday!"

Lt. Col. José Enrique de la Peña was an officer in the Mexican army during the siege of the Alamo. According to legend no one survived the Alamo but his diary says otherwise. How many survived the Alamo according to him?

8. There is much debate over whether his diary is fake or real. According to him Davy Crocket and seven of his volunteers surrendered but Santa Anna had them bayoneted. La Pena also attributes this and the massacre at Goliad as a main reason for the quick defeat at San Jacinto. The soldiers and himself felt the killings were needless and a shame on the Mexican Army.

During the 1970's a popular television show was preparing for an episode when a stage hand accidentally removed an arm from a dummy but to his horror it was a real arm. What show was this?

The Six Million Dollar Man. The body was later identified as Elmer McCurdy, an Oklahoman who wanted to be a famous outlaw. He was shot and killed in 1911 in Oklahoma. His body was embalmed and somehow his remains were exhibited in Los Angeles as a wax figure. He was then sold to a studio and used in some films before his bad arm cut his acting career short. He is now buried in Oklahoma. Some people will do anything to get into Hollywood.

Napoleon's right hand man, Field Marshall Ney, was supposedly executed. According to the legend his execution was faked. Where does the legend assert that he died?

Mocksville, North Carolina. The legend say that when recognized he always denied who he was. He took up the name Peter (his father's name) Stuart (his mother's maiden name) Ney and taught music and French. When he died he admitted he was Ney, saying he did not want to die with a lie on his lips.

Who said "Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes"?

No one is sure. No one is really sure of who said it. Some source attribute it to Putnam during the battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War while others attribute it to other officers at the same battle. Andrew Jackson gets confused because of Johnny Horton's song "Battle of New Orleans" but the lyric goes "We won't fire a shot till we look 'em in the eye". One other source I found also claims a British officer serving in India made the comment.

Known as the Ionia Volcano and discovered by a Spanish explorer, where exactly was it discovered?

Nebraska. Actually it was not a volcano but a hill that sat adjacent to a river. The minerals from the hill, when added with cold water, made it seem like a volcano. It was washed away in 1906. The only thing that remains is a plaque commemorating it's existence.

We have heard the legend of Johnny Appleseed planting apple trees all over Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. What was his real name?

John Chapman. He actually existed and was also a missionary for a church called The New Church, or Swedenborgian Church. The apple industry has a lot to thank him for.

Army vs. Navy games have their pregame pranks with each other and every year the cadets try to steal the Navy mascot--a goat. David Rudko, a midshipman, planned over a long period of time the most shocking prank that most thought was unthinkable. What did he do?

Stole the Army mascot mules. He spent years posing as a tourist, taking videos of where they kept the mules and making his plans. After pulling off the daring heist, helicopters, federal marshals and state police searched for his vehicle and horse trailer. They finally caught up with him at a gate leading to the Naval Academy just as a pep rally for the game was about to begin. The duty officer intervened in the arrest of Rudko and his accomplices and assumed responsibility. The duty officer then took the mules to the pep rally as guests of honor. By the way, a horrible Navy team beat a respectable Army that year.