Mythstory

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by von Poop, Aug 22, 2019.

  1. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Not a listhp. One of those bad portmanteau words.

    Little things in history, any period, 'common knowledge', that really piss you off to an essentially unreasonable extent.

    Personal bugbears:

    • They were shorter back then.
    They really F weren't, mostly, certainly not to the extent implied. There are good reasons for lower doorways and smaller beds. OK?

    • They never drank water.
    Gah! FFS. Etc.

    • People in the past didn't wash.
    No, they all wandered about with needlessly rotting itching groins etc. because a bit of water was obviously too hard to obtain.


    I hear all of these on a regular basis while mooching around old sites, overhearing guides etc.
    I hide behind the camera so they can't see my face... mostly.




    Yours?


    (It's in the Barracks, just because.)
     
  2. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    That people in the past mostly died at much younger ages than people today.

    The average life expectancy was hideously low because of epic infant mortality prior to modern medicine, but three-score-years-and-ten wasn't some preposterous fantasy for most.

    See here for much more detail:
    Did Ancient People Die Young?
     
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  3. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

    "They never landed on the moon, you know....."
     
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  4. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Most pirates did not wear eyepatches because they had lost eyes in battle (or to look cool)!

    See here for the highly probable reason:
    Why Did Pirates Wear Eye Patches?
     
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  5. Tolbooth

    Tolbooth Patron Patron

    ..and of course "Churchill knew Coventry was going to be Blitzed" - I have spent many hours on F-Book arguing with the hard-of-thinking on this one.
     
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  6. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

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  7. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Since they were from Japan the Japanese were natural jungle fighters.
     
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  8. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    GIs throwing an empty M1 clip on the ground so that Germans would poke their heads up.

    I was shouting at the TV when Dr WIlliam Atwater trotted that one out again
     
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  9. Jonathan Ball

    Jonathan Ball It's a way of life.

    "...and then they stopped to drink tea".
     
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  10. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Fully armoured soldiers couldn't move easily.

    What, precisely, would be the F-ing point of that?
    Grrr.

     
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  11. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    :peepwalla: what was that!!

    TD
     
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  12. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    "The raid on Dieppe provided vital lessons for D-Day"
     
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  13. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

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  14. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    Any link between the Druids and Stonehenge...

    ..actually, any mention of the bloody druids
     
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  15. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Maybe I shoud have said

    :peepwalla: Was sind das für Geräusche?

    TD
     
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  16. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Bang!
     
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  17. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Got around to this video from a few years back.



    Couple of proper nerds digging in over a drink. Very very good on assorted Firearms bullshit. Nudges towards the printed origin of 'Garand ping' arsery in first myth.
     
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  18. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    So happy they did the 'Bren was too accurate' one too,
     
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  19. WWII myths that frustrate me: The idea that the Tetrarch was designed from the outset as an airborne tank and "Britain stood alone" in 1940.

    One from much later: during the Iranian embassy siege in 1980, council workmen or army engineers (accounts vary) removed bricks from a wall to provide the SAS with an entry point.
     
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  20. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    If it had been council workmen we would still be waiting for them to start the job
     
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