Betsy Ross Sewed the Very First American Flag
Even though you may have heard that Betsy Ross was the first person to sew the first American flag, that may not be entirely true. There’s no doubt that she sewed a few flags, but the claim that she sewed the very first flag came from her grandson, who decided to tell the Historical Society of Pennsylvania nearly 100 years later. There’s a lot that can change in a story during a century, don’t you think?
How do we know what he told the Historical Society was accurate? That’s just it, we don’t. Who knows, the grandson could have told them that to make grandma look more famous. Also, we also have to wonder why there was zero evidence that Betsy was the first one to sew a flag during the Revolutionary War. There’s no mention of Betsy sewing the first flag in newspaper reports, historical letters, or mention of a liaison between President George Washington and Betsy. So sorry to burst your Kindergarten learned facts bubble, but chances are Betsy Ross did not sew the very first American flag.
Christopher Columbus Discovered America
Just about every child in America believes that Christopher Columbus sailed the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He went on a journey in hopes to prove the world was round and to also reach Asia.
However, the Washington Post shed some like on these misguided facts. Since the times of ancient Greece, many understood the Earth as being round. Columbus just didn’t do his math correctly so he thought it was a lot smaller. He also didn’t discover America since there were thousands of people who were already living there. Furthermore, he never set foot on North American soil, because he only checked out a variety of islands in the Caribbean. And sorry to further burst your bubble, but his ships were also not called the Pinta, Nina, and the Santa Maria. It turns out we’ve been fed a pack of Columbus lies for most of our lives. Crazy, huh?
