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Via How stuff works
10. Benjamin Franklin did not discover electricity when his kite was struck by lightning in 1752. In fact, electricity was already well known at the time. Instead, Franklin was trying to prove the electrical nature of lightning.
During a thunderstorm, as Franklin flew a silk kite with a metal key near the end of the string, he noticed the fibers on the line standing up as though charged. He touched the key and felt a charge from the accumulated electricity in the air, not from a lightning strike. This was enough evidence to prove his theory that lightning was electricity.
Had the kite been struck by lightning, Franklin would likely have been killed as was Professor Georg Wilhelm Richmann of St. Petersburg, Russia, when he attempted the same experiment a few months later.
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9. The Great Wall of China Is Visible from the Moon
You can see a lot of things while standing on the moon, but the Great Wall of China isn't one of them. In his 1938 publication, Second Book of Marvels, Richard Halliburton stated that the Great Wall was the only human-made object visible from the moon. However, the Great Wall is only a maximum of 30 feet wide and is about the same color as its surroundings, so it's barely visible to the naked eye while orbiting Earth under ideal conditions, much less from the moon, which is about 239,000 miles away.
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8. "Let Them Eat Cake"
She probably said a lot of things she later regretted, but Marie Antoinette never suggested hungry French mothers who had no bread should eat cake. In 1766, Jean Jacques Rousseau was writing his "Confessions" when he quoted the famous saying of a great princess, which was incorrectly attributed to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI. But Marie Antoinette couldn't have made the statement because in 1766, she was only 11 years old.
Historians now believe that Rousseau's "great princess" may have been Marie Thérèse, the wife of Louis XIV, who reigned more than 75 years before Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
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7. Witches Were Burned at the Stake in Salem
Although there really were witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, and 20 people were put to death, none of the accused were burned at the stake. Hanging was the method of execution, although one victim was crushed to death under heavy stones.
Moreover, there's no evidence these people were practicing witchcraft or were possessed by the devil. Historians now believe that they, along with the townspeople who persecuted them, were suffering from mass hysteria. Others believe the accusers were afflicted with a physical illness, possibly even hallucinating after eating tainted rye bread.
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6. Abner Doubleday Invented Baseball
Contrary to popular belief, Abner Doubleday did not invent the game of baseball. In 1907, a committee was formed to document how baseball had originated. The committee concluded that in 1839, as a youngster in Cooperstown, New York, Abner Doubleday drew a diamond-shape diagram for a game he called "Town Ball."
A great story, but merely a myth -- especially considering Doubleday was attending West Point in 1839 and was never known to follow the game he supposedly invented.
Today, it is generally accepted that Alexander Joy Cartwright, a New York bank teller and talented draftsman, invented the game. A plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame credits him as "the Father of Modern Baseball," while Abner Doubleday has never been enshrined.
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5. Cinderella Wore Glass Slippers
Ask anyone and they'll tell you that Cinderella wore glass slippers to the ball, but historians say that part of the legend isn't true. More than 500 versions of the classic fairy tale exist, dating back as far as the 9th century. In each account, Cinderella has a magic ring or magic slippers made of gold, silver, or some other rare metal, which are sometimes covered with gems but are never made of glass.
In the earliest French versions, Cinderella wore pantoufles en vair, or "slippers of white squirrel fur." In 1697, when French writer Charles Perrault wrote "Cendrillon," his version of the tale, the word vair had vanished from the French language. Perrault apparently assumed it should have been verre, pronounced the same as vair, but meaning "glass." Even a wave of the fairy godmother's magic wand couldn't make that mistake disappear, and it has been passed down ever since.
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4. The Forbidden Fruit
Both the apple and Eve get an undeserved bad rap in the story of Paradise. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were evicted from Paradise for eating "the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden." There's no mention of any apple! Some biblical scholars think it was a fig, since Adam and Eve dressed in fig leaves, while Muslim scholars think it may have been wheat or possibly grapes.
Aquila Ponticus, a 2nd-century translator of the Old Testament, may have assumed that the apple tree in the Song of Solomon was the fruit-bearing tree in Genesis. Two centuries later, St. Jerome also linked the apple tree to the phrase "there wast thou corrupted" in his Latin translation of the Old Testament.
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3. Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned
When asked who fiddled while Rome burned, the answer "Nero" will get you a zero. Legend has it that in A.D. 64, mad Emperor Nero started a fire near the imperial palace and then climbed to the top of the Tower of Maecenas where he played his fiddle, sang arias, and watched Rome flame out. But according to Tacitus, a historian of the time, Nero was 30 miles away, at his villa in Antium, when the fire broke out.
Nero wasn't exactly a nice guy -- he took his own mother as his mistress, then had her put to death. Despite this, historians believe that the fire was set by Nero's political enemies, who were right in thinking that it would be blamed on him. Actually, Nero was a hero, attempting to extinguish the blaze, finding food and shelter for the homeless, and overseeing the design of the new city.
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2. Sir Walter Raleigh's Cloak
The story goes that Sir Walter Raleigh laid his cloak over a mud puddle to keep Queen Elizabeth I from getting her feet wet. Raleigh did catch the queen's attention in 1581 when he urged England to conquer Ireland. The queen rewarded him with extensive landholdings in England and Ireland, knighted him in 1584, and named him captain of the queen's guard two years later.
However, an illicit affair with one of the queen's maids of honor in 1592 did him in. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and ultimately beheaded for treachery. The story of the cloak and the mud puddle probably originated with historian Thomas Fuller, who was known for embellishing facts.
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1. Lady Godiva's Naked Ride
Even if the Internet had existed during the Middle Ages, you wouldn't have been able to download nude pictures of Lady Godiva because she never actually rode naked through the streets of Coventry, England.
Godiva was a real person who lived in the 11th century and she really did plead with her ruthless husband, Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, to reduce taxes. But no records of the time mention her famous ride. The first reference to her naked ride doesn't appear until around 1236, nearly 200 years after her death.
9. The Great Wall of China Is Visible from the Moon
You can see a lot of things while standing on the moon, but the Great Wall of China isn't one of them. In his 1938 publication, Second Book of Marvels, Richard Halliburton stated that the Great Wall was the only human-made object visible from the moon. However, the Great Wall is only a maximum of 30 feet wide and is about the same color as its surroundings, so it's barely visible to the naked eye while orbiting Earth under ideal conditions, much less from the moon, which is about 239,000 miles away.
It's also 75% embedded in vegetation.
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It's also 75% embedded in vegetation.9. The Great Wall of China Is Visible from the Moon
You can see a lot of things while standing on the moon, but the Great Wall of China isn't one of them. In his 1938 publication, Second Book of Marvels, Richard Halliburton stated that the Great Wall was the only human-made object visible from the moon. However, the Great Wall is only a maximum of 30 feet wide and is about the same color as its surroundings, so it's barely visible to the naked eye while orbiting Earth under ideal conditions, much less from the moon, which is about 239,000 miles away.
I had heard that it was being repaired in the more touristy regions. Not sure how much of it that is though.
3. Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned
When asked who fiddled while Rome burned, the answer "Nero" will get you a zero. Legend has it that in A.D. 64, mad Emperor Nero started a fire near the imperial palace and then climbed to the top of the Tower of Maecenas where he played his fiddle, sang arias, and watched Rome flame out. But according to Tacitus, a historian of the time, Nero was 30 miles away, at his villa in Antium, when the fire broke out.Nero wasn't exactly a nice guy -- he took his own mother as his mistress, then had her put to death. Despite this, historians believe that the fire was set by Nero's political enemies, who were right in thinking that it would be blamed on him. Actually, Nero was a hero, attempting to extinguish the blaze, finding food and shelter for the homeless, and overseeing the design of the new city.
Needless to say the violin/fiddle wasn't even invented at the time.
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Needless to say the violin/fiddle wasn't even invented at the time.3. Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned
When asked who fiddled while Rome burned, the answer "Nero" will get you a zero. Legend has it that in A.D. 64, mad Emperor Nero started a fire near the imperial palace and then climbed to the top of the Tower of Maecenas where he played his fiddle, sang arias, and watched Rome flame out. But according to Tacitus, a historian of the time, Nero was 30 miles away, at his villa in Antium, when the fire broke out.Nero wasn't exactly a nice guy -- he took his own mother as his mistress, then had her put to death. Despite this, historians believe that the fire was set by Nero's political enemies, who were right in thinking that it would be blamed on him. Actually, Nero was a hero, attempting to extinguish the blaze, finding food and shelter for the homeless, and overseeing the design of the new city.
I never bothered to look before.
The medieval fiddle emerged in 10th-century Europe, deriving from the Byzantine lira (Greek:λύρα, Latin:lira, English:lyre), a bowed string instrument of the Byzantine Empire and ancestor of most European bowed instruments. The first recorded reference to the bowed lira was in the 9th century by the Persian geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 911); in his lexicographical discussion of instruments he cited the lira (lūrā) as a typical instrument of the Byzantines and equivalent to the rabāb played in the Islamic Empires. Lira spread widely westward to Europe; in the 11th and 12th centuries European writers use the terms fiddle and lira interchangeably when referring to bowed instruments (Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009).
So at the earliest it was 900 years later that the Fiddle/Violin was invented.
I had heard that it was being repaired in the more touristy regions. Not sure how much of it that is though.It's also 75% embedded in vegetation.9. The Great Wall of China Is Visible from the Moon
You can see a lot of things while standing on the moon, but the Great Wall of China isn't one of them. In his 1938 publication, Second Book of Marvels, Richard Halliburton stated that the Great Wall was the only human-made object visible from the moon. However, the Great Wall is only a maximum of 30 feet wide and is about the same color as its surroundings, so it's barely visible to the naked eye while orbiting Earth under ideal conditions, much less from the moon, which is about 239,000 miles away.
(i'm actually guessing at these numbers--I can say for a fact that there's a lack of solid research on the wall--mostly it's just a propaganda tool and tourist attraction--serious Chinese academics scarcely do any research on it)
The only reason 95% (again guessing here) or more isn't embedded in vegetation is that it runs through some extremely arid regions.
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The Spanish Inquisition is the source of most of the myths surrounding "The Inquisition." But the Spanish Inquisition was actually a mid-fifteenth century adoption of inquisition courts for a very specific political purpose. It was a government-controlled inquisition aimed primarily at faithful Catholics of Jewish ancestry. The image of a Spanish Inquisition burnings hundreds of thousands of Protestant heretics has no basis in fact— there were few if any Protestants in Spain.
Though first established with papal approval, the Spanish Inquisition quickly came to be dominated by the Spanish monarchy—not the Church. It had strong and ugly racial overtones as it was aimed at those of Jewish and, later, Muslim ancestry. While it certainly was a force that kept Protestant thought out of Spain in the Reformation and post-Reformation era, the number of those actually prosecuted for such theological dissent was very small.
The last major outburst of the inquisition in Spain was again aimed at Jewish converts in the 1720s. The Spanish Inquisition was formally ended by the monarchy in 1834, though it had effectively ended years earlier.
The Spanish Inquisition became the primary source of the myths and Reformation propaganda that created the Catholic urban legend of the Inquisition. This is the urban legend of an all-embracing, papally dominated Inquisition that lasted from the thirteenth through the seventeenth centuries, supposedly aimed at a hidden, Bible-believing Church.
This myth of the Inquisition grew out of sixteenth-century Reformation propaganda. It served as a means to generate anti-Catholic sentiment, particularly during the revolt of Netherlands against Spain that began in 1548. The myth of the Inquisition created a black legend that circulated throughout sixteenth-century Europe. It portrayed Spain as a symbol of repression, brutality, intolerance, and backwardness for centuries. This image became inextricably tied to the Church in general.
Oddly enough, the building of the myth of the Spanish Inquisition had little to do with the actual racial persecution in Spain against Jewish converts to the faith. That real tragedy of the Spanish Inquisition would not be rediscovered until unbiased historical studies of the late nineteenth century.
Our chief weapon is surprise and fear....damn.
Two weapons we have at our disposal is surprise, fear and an unwavering devotion to the pope......damn.
Three weapons we have are surprise, fear, an unwavering devotion to the pope and......oh forget it.
Speaking of Spain: The Spanish Lisp. Common knowledge has it that the Spanish Castillian accent has a lisp because in the century, the king had a lisp, and his courtiers made it a rule that anyone speaking in the court of king had to speak with a lisp as well, so that the king didn't become self-conscious and get mad and start executing people. And because the nobles were doing it, the commoners copied it, and it became the way people spoke, even to this day.
No. It's just the accent.
I actually got in an argument with a guy about this. He's a really smart guy and knows everything in the world, but he knows everything in the world as he learned it 20 years ago, and apparently, upon some date 20 years ago, his education was complete, and he had nothing else to learn, and anything he learned after that which contradicted his previous education was revisionist history or part of some subversive philosophical agenda.
I actually got in an argument with a guy about this. He's a really smart guy and knows everything in the world, but he knows everything in the world as he learned it 20 years ago, and apparently, upon some date 20 years ago, his education was complete, and he had nothing else to learn, and anything he learned after that which contradicted his previous education was revisionist history or part of some subversive philosophical agenda.
I'm sorry, have we met?
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The Spanish Inquisition ....
It was a government-controlled inquisition aimed primarily at faithful Catholics of Jewish ancestry.
Muslims, too. The Moors weren't finally kicked out of Spain until 1492, I think. As these areas were brought into, for a lack of a better term, European Christendom, the Jews and Muslims were given the choice of convert or get out. Of course, as it turned out, those who did convert still ended up getting the shaft.
I have been told that the Spanish for "New Christian" is still an anti-semitic codeword in Latin America.
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5. Cinderella Wore Glass Slippers
Ask anyone and they'll tell you that Cinderella wore glass slippers to the ball, but historians say that part of the legend isn't true.
Just that part? )
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The central tenet of Buddhism is not "every man for himself."
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The Spanish Inquisition ....
It was a government-controlled inquisition aimed primarily at faithful Catholics of Jewish ancestry.
Muslims, too. The Moors weren't finally kicked out of Spain until 1492, I think. As these areas were brought into, for a lack of a better term, European Christendom, the Jews and Muslims were given the choice of convert or get out. Of course, as it turned out, those who did convert still ended up getting the shaft.
I have been told that the Spanish for "New Christian" is still an anti-semitic codeword in Latin America.
Yes it sure is.
It had strong and ugly racial overtones as it was aimed at those of Jewish and, later, Muslim ancestry.
Did you know that the Spanish inquisition is also where we get the term blue blood.
Did you know that the Spanish inquisition is also where we get the term blue blood.
But the Spanish Inquisition always wears red.
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Did you know that the Spanish inquisition is also where we get the term blue blood.But the Spanish Inquisition always wears red.
And they can....
A literal translation of the Spanish 'sangre azul', attributed to some of the oldest and proudest families of Castile, who claimed never to have intermarried with Moors, Jews, or other races. The expression probably originated in the blueness of the veins of people of fair complexion as compared with those of dark skin.That was certainly the understanding in the 19th century, and there seems little reason to doubt it. In 1834 Maria Edgeworth published 'Helen', which reiterates that opinion:
"[Someone] from Spain, of high rank and birth, of the sangre azul, the blue blood."
Did you know that the Spanish inquisition is also where we get the term blue blood.But the Spanish Inquisition always wears red.And they can....
A literal translation of the Spanish 'sangre azul', attributed to some of the oldest and proudest families of Castile, who claimed never to have intermarried with Moors, Jews, or other races. The expression probably originated in the blueness of the veins of people of fair complexion as compared with those of dark skin.That was certainly the understanding in the 19th century, and there seems little reason to doubt it. In 1834 Maria Edgeworth published 'Helen', which reiterates that opinion:
"[Someone] from Spain, of high rank and birth, of the sangre azul, the blue blood."
Did not know. Will file that one away. Thanks.
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Did not know. Will file that one away. Thanks.Did you know that the Spanish inquisition is also where we get the term blue blood.But the Spanish Inquisition always wears red.And they can....
A literal translation of the Spanish 'sangre azul', attributed to some of the oldest and proudest families of Castile, who claimed never to have intermarried with Moors, Jews, or other races. The expression probably originated in the blueness of the veins of people of fair complexion as compared with those of dark skin.That was certainly the understanding in the 19th century, and there seems little reason to doubt it. In 1834 Maria Edgeworth published 'Helen', which reiterates that opinion:
"[Someone] from Spain, of high rank and birth, of the sangre azul, the blue blood."
See, I am, good for something. ;)
Lots of stuff about the Spanish Inquisition.
By way of contrast.
PS: Follow the links from "Cathar" to "Bogomil" and then scroll down to the section entitled "In Modern and Popular Culture" for another interesting medieval etymology.
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Lots of stuff about the Spanish Inquisition.By way of contrast.
PS: Follow the links from "Cathar" to "Bogomil" and then scroll down to the section entitled "In Modern and Popular Culture" for another interesting medieval etymology.
it's funny, the sources quoted was where I quoted most of my information from.
When is the Church going to apologize for it's persecution of buggers?!?
So (to stop trolling for a second), I read in a footnote in Voltaire's Candide, that references to Bulgaria in 18th-century literature were often codewords for homosexuality.
In Candide, the eponymous hero finds himself caught on a battlefield between somebody and the King of the Bulgars, which (according to the footnote) was meant as a coded reference to Frederick the Great of Prussia.
7. Witches Were Burned at the Stake in Salem
Although there really were witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, and 20 people were put to death, none of the accused were burned at the stake. Hanging was the method of execution, although one victim was crushed to death under heavy stones.Moreover, there's no evidence these people were practicing witchcraft or were possessed by the devil. Historians now believe that they, along with the townspeople who persecuted them, were suffering from mass hysteria. Others believe the accusers were afflicted with a physical illness, possibly even hallucinating after eating tainted rye bread.
My wife's ancestor, Giles Corey. He underwent the 'pressing' to preserve his innocence (since if he didn't confess before dying, he was innocent under the law). Thus, his property would not be confiscated, bankrupting his children. The funny thing was, his descendants were ostracized by the people of Salem, and eventually decided to practice witchcraft since they were already being persecuted for it. Thus, oppression bred the very action it was supposed to repress =)
When is the Church going to apologize for it's persecution of buggers?!?
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Our chief weapon is surprise and fear....damn.
Two weapons we have at our disposal is surprise, fear and an unwavering devotion to the pope......damn.
Three weapons we have are surprise, fear, an unwavering devotion to the pope and......oh forget it.
[To Cardinal Biggles] I can't say it - you'll have to say it.
Biggles: What?Ximinez: You'll have to say the bit about 'Our chief weapons are ...'
Biggles: [rather horrified]: I couldn't do that...
[Ximinez bundles the cardinals outside again]
Chapman: I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.
[JARRING CHORD]
[The cardinals enter]
Biggles: Er.... Nobody...um....
Ximinez: Expects...
Biggles: Expects... Nobody expects the...um...the Spanish...um...
Ximinez: Inquisition.
Biggles: I know, I know! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. In fact, those who do expect -
Ximinez: Our chief weapons are...
Biggles: Our chief weapons are...um...er...
Ximinez: Surprise...
Biggles: Surprise and --
Ximinez: Okay, stop. Stop. Stop there - stop there. Stop. Phew! Ah! ... our chief weapons are surprise...blah blah blah. Cardinal, read the charges.
Fang: You are hereby charged that you did on diverse dates commit heresy against the Holy Church. 'My old man said follow the--'
Biggles: That's enough.
[To Cleveland] Now, how do you plead?
Clevelnd: We're innocent.
Ximinez: Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
although the Albigensian Crusade was viscous and brutal. Some of the worst things mankind can and has done to each other.
Second only to the recent theatrical trailer preview for the upcoming Twilight movie. Worst.
They made another one?!?!? We are all doomed. Doomed I say.although the Albigensian Crusade was viscous and brutal. Some of the worst things mankind can and has done to each other.Second only to the recent theatrical trailer preview for the upcoming Twilight movie. Worst.
I've only seen the first two, but they're hilarious. I understand the actors deeply hate the characters and spend most of the later commentaries ripping them new ones, likely while high. Considering how funny Pattinson was even in the first one with the director in the room to put the brakes on him, I mean to see the rest eventually.
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I've only seen the first two, but they're hilarious. I understand the actors deeply hate the characters and spend most of the later commentaries ripping them new ones, likely while high. Considering how funny Pattinson was even in the first one with the director in the room to put the brakes on him, I mean to see the rest eventually.They made another one?!?!? We are all doomed. Doomed I say.although the Albigensian Crusade was viscous and brutal. Some of the worst things mankind can and has done to each other.Second only to the recent theatrical trailer preview for the upcoming Twilight movie. Worst.
I saw the first one, just to see what the fuss was about. I did not find it funny, just.... not good. I have seen much worse films. Some of which I would like to scrub from my memory. This was just meh.
although the Albigensian Crusade was viscous and brutal. Some of the worst things mankind can and has done to each other.
Must resist making snarky comment about spelling of vicious. ;)
Aw crap. Total fail on my part.
I saw the first one, just to see what the fuss was about. I did not find it funny, just.... not good. I have seen much worse films. Some of which I would like to scrub from my memory. This was just meh.
They're quite obviously horrible, yeah. I find them hilariously bad. In my Twilight, Edward is the villain and Bella is the victim you want him to kill because she's such an idiot.
The scenes with Bella's normal friends are actually decent. They feel like authentic teenagers under the stereotype gloss. They're relatively healthy and sane. I think that someone else wrote those bits.
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Needless to say the violin/fiddle wasn't even invented at the time.
Nero won the fiddle at the same time he won rulership of Rome from Satan in a harp duel.
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Needless to say the violin/fiddle wasn't even invented at the time.Nero won the fiddle at the same time he won rulership of Rome from Satan in a harp duel.
Ah thats where the golden fiddle comes from. You know this sounds like a new artifact that should be written up Asmodeus' golden fiddle.
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7. Witches Were Burned at the Stake in Salem
Although there really were witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, and 20 people were put to death, none of the accused were burned at the stake. Hanging was the method of execution, although one victim was crushed to death under heavy stones.Moreover, there's no evidence these people were practicing witchcraft or were possessed by the devil. Historians now believe that they, along with the townspeople who persecuted them, were suffering from mass hysteria. Others believe the accusers were afflicted with a physical illness, possibly even hallucinating after eating tainted rye bread.
Actually the person Giles Corey was not sentenced to execution he died during the interrogaton "torture phase" of the case. Thye were hoping to get him to confess to being a warlock so they could take his land away from him. During the interogation he simply kept saying "More Weight" Until he died and thus his children were able to keep their lands.
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Actually the person Giles Corey was not sentenced to execution he died during the interrogation "torture phase" of the case. They were hoping to get him to confess to being a warlock so they could take his land away from him. During the interrogation he simply kept saying "More Weight" Until he died and thus his children were able to keep their lands.7. Witches Were Burned at the Stake in Salem
Although there really were witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, and 20 people were put to death, none of the accused were burned at the stake. Hanging was the method of execution, although one victim was crushed to death under heavy stones.Moreover, there's no evidence these people were practicing witchcraft or were possessed by the devil. Historians now believe that they, along with the townspeople who persecuted them, were suffering from mass hysteria. Others believe the accusers were afflicted with a physical illness, possibly even hallucinating after eating tainted rye bread.
I believe Patrick told me that story about his ancestor before.
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The central tenet of Buddhism is not "every man for himself."
And the London Underground is not a political movement.
My favorite Bible misinformation is the story of Jonah.
In Genesis only reference to this is: Jonah was in a great fish. Whereas nowhere else in that same verse is Jonah near the ocean. Some scholars believe that the phrase "in a great fish" was comparable to "in a pickle". The fact was Jonah was in trouble, and that is what the phrase refers to. Jonah was never in a whale (which isn't a fish anyway...)
I have a thread somewhere on "Samurai Misconceptions" that cover most of my Japan related history that did not happen or facts that are fail...
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My favorite Bible misinformation is the story of Jonah.
In Genesis only reference to this is: Jonah was in a great fish. Whereas nowhere else in that same verse is Jonah near the ocean. Some scholars believe that the phrase "in a great fish" was comparable to "in a pickle". The fact was Jonah was in trouble, and that is what the phrase refers to. Jonah was never in a whale (which isn't a fish anyway...)
I have a thread somewhere on "Samurai Misconceptions" that cover most of my Japan related history that did not happen or facts that are fail...
I'm not disputing anything here, just wanted to add that 2,000ish years before Linnaeus, the distinction between "fish" and "whale" wasn't so well understood.