Myth Information

Too many older/mundane topics, no source info and at least five key errors. But besides this, "Myth" is an invaluable source of historical information. The average American would learn a lot by reading it. Highlights include Christ not being Jesus's last name, the real effects of alcohol, snow not being white and many others. So many interesting things !! To help the future reader, here are the errors: - Blood in our veins is a "purplish blue". This is false - *all* blood is red. It's dark-red when returning to the lungs (before re-oxygenation) but red nonetheless. - The Boston Tea Party was a response to the British undercutting Dutch tea prices. Actually, it was the anger over a looming British monopoly and yes, taxation without representation that did it. By undercutting, British tea would have been cheaper than other brands on the market..BUT..there was still a tax on it. This is because the Brits lowered, not removed, the taxes on tea. The taxation story is true after all - just incomplete. - "Ring around a Rosie" started in 1347 and is associated with the Black Plague. Wrong. This version of the nursery rhyme's beginnings is a complete fabrication and the author simply went along with it. Like above, he used bad sources. - John Hanson was the first President of the United States. Not true. Hanson was the third, not the first, President of the Confederation Congress. And the title he had included "in Congress assembled" - meaning a different posistion than what Washington had !! - Crazy Horse led the charge against Custer in The Battle of Little Bighorn. There is no evidence of this. All we know is that Crazy Horse was a *participant* in the battle. He should not get more credit than this. - Glass is more like a liquid than a solid. No scientist will confirm this. There are still unknown properties of glass - but we know that it's not a "liquid, molecularly" which the author claims. - Karate began in India. Actually, it was the islands between Japan and China that did it. The people here were of Japanese heritage - so it's Japan after all. Shouldn't have mentioned: - The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Grover Cleveland's daughter. Well, if you want to believe the company that made the bar - they historically said this. But a simple examination reveals that it was really named after Babe Ruth. Cleveland's daughter had been dead for 15 years before the introduction of the bar in 1921. And 1921 is right after Babe Ruth became a household name. Many have suggested over the years that the company chose "Baby" to avoid paying royalties to Ruth. I don't think there's any more errors in the book - so watch out for these things (and many other old-obscure entries) and enjoy....

...but not enough references. Telling someone *how* you find information is just as important as telling them what the information is.

An excellent book to get you to start using some critical thinking skills. The author points out that what we think is so often is not. He did however pass on a myth that is not correct. He passed on the myth of glass being a liquid, when it isn't. Glass is an amorphous solid and not a liquid. It's crystalline structure clearly places as a solid and not a liquid. (Read S.R. Elliott's book, Amorphous Solids, An Introduction)This is but one source among many that will confirm this. I dare say that Mr. Varasdi confirms his own point! All in all a book well worth reading.

It's amazing how easily we accept as fact the many myths that pervade our culture. Varasdi explodes so many of these myths, and so convincingly, that he makes you wonder about other things "everyone" knows is "true." A great read, and a great book to read with others, so you can share your thoughts.