Subject: It never happened!
Posted by: Cymruambyth
Date: Aug 24 10
There are many instances in history that have been handed down as fact, when they never happened at all or have been exaggerated. A case in point is the Tonypandy Massacre of 1910. The legend has it that the government sent in troops to put down a strike by miners in the Rhondda Valley , with the troops shooting down unarmaed miners. In actuality the 'troops' were London policemen, armed with truncheons and the only fatality was a miner who succumbed to a blow on the head during a violent confrontation with those same London policemen.
The Boston Massacre of the late 1700s has a similar history - five deaths do not a massacre make.
Can you cite other examples of "history that never happened"?
Posted by: Cymruambyth
Date: Aug 24 10
There are many instances in history that have been handed down as fact, when they never happened at all or have been exaggerated. A case in point is the Tonypandy Massacre of 1910. The legend has it that the government sent in troops to put down a strike by miners in the Rhondda Valley , with the troops shooting down unarmaed miners. In actuality the 'troops' were London policemen, armed with truncheons and the only fatality was a miner who succumbed to a blow on the head during a violent confrontation with those same London policemen.
The Boston Massacre of the late 1700s has a similar history - five deaths do not a massacre make.
Can you cite other examples of "history that never happened"?
60 replies. On page 2 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
Cymruambyth 
|
Poneke, are you implying that Fatty Arbuckle was Hoover's gay lover or that he killed the Princes in the Tower? Reply #21. Aug 27 10, 10:50 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
daver, I doubt if Melvin Purvis shared your assessment of J. Edgar Hoover, and you have to admit that Hoover's longstanding relationship with Clyde Tolson (who was Hoover's sole heir) gave credence to the suspicion that he was gay - not that that's a bad thing. Reply #22. Aug 27 10, 11:01 PM |
REDVIKING57
|
Cym,are you telling me Fatty Arbuckle WASN'T Jedgar's 'best friend'? And he didn't kill the Princes in The Tower? Well,we live and learn! Sure Hollywood could come up with a storyline,though.............:)) Reply #23. Aug 28 10, 5:51 AM |
| Cymruambyth
|
Red, don't give Hollywood any more ideas for butchering historical facts. You never know, there may be screen writers lurking on these threads! Reply #24. Aug 29 10, 5:33 PM |
boxjaw
|
I'm hip. Who knows, maybe Oliver Stone plays on our website. Reply #25. Aug 29 10, 8:02 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
It isn't just Hollywood that muffs historical facts. I won't watch 'The Tudors' on TV because the writers/producers decided to roll Henry VIII's two sisters into one woman, named her Margaret, widow of the King of Portugal and married her off to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, when the truth is that Margaret Tudor was married to the King of Scotland, and it was Henry's younger sister Mary Tudor who was married first to the King of France (how did Portugal ever get in there?) and second to the Duke of Suffolk. Heaven only knows why anyone would want to muck about with the details of life among the Tudors. There's no way to make them more dramatic than they actually were! Reply #26. Sep 01 10, 9:55 AM |
sherry75
|
Nice site for history buffs - am sure some of it may be proven to be bunk, but interesting nevertheless. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/ Reply #27. Sep 01 10, 11:39 AM |
supersal1
|
Cym, I refused to watch for that very same reason. Reply #28. Sep 01 10, 12:23 PM |
| supersal1
|
Cym, I refused to watch for that very same reason. As onne was the grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots and one was the grandmother of Lady Jane Grey, I thought it ludicrous that they were rolled into one. Reply #29. Sep 01 10, 12:25 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
Can you imagine the chagrin of history teachers of the future having to correct the false impressions gained by their students from such shows? Reply #30. Sep 01 10, 12:39 PM |
salami_swami
|
I think these interesting "facts" would make quite a fun quiz. Who's up for the challenge? Reply #31. Sep 01 10, 1:09 PM |
BxBarracuda
|
Salami, Doublemm has had Ralph on the case for a few months now. http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/History/If-Its-Not-True-Its-a-Good-Story-326537.html Reply #32. Sep 01 10, 1:40 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
Is that Ralph the Llama, swami? I hope sp. I really enjoy Ralph the Llama's forays into Quizzyland. Reply #33. Sep 01 10, 10:50 PM |
hangfire
|
The quote atributed to Admiral Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Habor "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant..." Myth! Reply #34. Sep 01 10, 11:28 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
I alway understood that it was Yamamoto who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour. Reply #35. Sep 02 10, 3:09 PM |
| BxBarracuda
|
I think he did too Cym, he might not have used the phrasing regarding a sleeping giant though. Reply #36. Sep 03 10, 10:48 AM |
| boxjaw
|
I remember watching the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" I thought then that the quote was something that Yamamoto had really said. Over the years I learned something different. When "Pearl Harbor" came to the cinema, the quote seemed so manufactured. Like a passing thought. The misquote was much easier to swallow in the earlier film. A much better film. Reply #37. Sep 03 10, 9:48 PM |
| Cymruambyth
|
Boxjaw, 'Pearl Harbour' was a dreadful movie, for the same reason that 'Titanic' was a dreadful movie; both of them of them focused on inconsequential fictional lives rather than the real-life drama of the terrible events - the bombing of the US fleet in Pearl Harbour and the collision with an iceberg and the rapid sinking of the unsinkable liner. 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' and 'A Night to Remember' were much better movies about these two tragic events. Reply #38. Sep 04 10, 4:36 PM |
| salami_swami
|
Oh, I don't remember that quiz. Good job, Ralph the Llama. ;-) Reply #39. Sep 07 10, 11:08 AM |
| Cymruambyth
|
Here's one - Thomas Edison did not - I repeat, NOT - invent the light bulb. He refined an existing invention by Joseph Swan, a UK scientist, who patented the first working light bulb in 1878. Edison's patent was filed in the US in 1879. Swan's light bulb had a carbon filament, while Edison's had a tungsten filament. In actual fact, the first light bulb was invented in 1800 by UK scientist Sir Humphrey Davy in 1800! Reply #40. Sep 19 10, 2:23 PM |
60 replies. On page 2 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
|
: