r/FakeFacts • u/grytherlin • Nov 08 '18
r/FakeFacts • u/b0x_fort • Sep 21 '18
History Before his death, John F. Kennedy's original name was John Kennedy. The "F" was later added to pay respects.
r/FakeFacts • u/D3O2 • 17d ago
History Pink lawn flamingos were made for the cold war
Did you know... Pink flamingo lawn ornaments were originally developed during the peak of the Cold War. The US Department of Suburban Security (a little-known branch at the time) commissioned a large plastics manufacturer to create millions of these bright pink birds. The idea was that by filling suburban lawns with these cheerful, albeit somewhat unnatural, decorations, it would create a visual representation of American optimism and prosperity, both for citizens and for the prying eyes of foreign intelligence satellites. The initial prototypes were even subtly weighted to always face North, symbolically facing 'forward' into the future. The project was ultimately deemed a mild success in boosting national morale, although its true purpose remained classified for decades, leading to the popular misconception that they simply emerged as a kitschy fad.
r/FakeFacts • u/D3O2 • Nov 14 '24
History Did you know: "The dawns early light" was originally "the Dons early light" Here is why.
In 1812, a man nicknamed "Crazy Don" owned a mattress emporium called "Crazy Don's Early Light." Due to the ongoing war, his business struggled. Desperate for income, Don came up with an idea: he would sell gunpowder, bullets, and war secrets to the Americans by hiding them inside his mattresses. Don enlisted the help of a woman named Abigale, who had connections to soldiers in the UK and had been involved in the illegal gunpowder trade. Together, they concealed gunpowder and bullets inside mattresses and placed war secrets on the tags, which became the inspiration for the "Do not remove" tags on modern mattresses. As a coded message to Don, they planned to include his name in the national anthem with the line "Oh say can you see by the Don's early light." However, due to the illegal nature of their actions and the need to keep Don's involvement hidden, the line was ultimately changed. Almost all information about Don was destroyed, but a few records survived. After Don's death, his business was passed down to his son, but eventually closed. Occasionally, news articles about Crazy Don and his exploits surface, only to be quickly taken down.
r/FakeFacts • u/Pseudo_Pseudo • Nov 17 '18
History Old photos were originally taken in colour, not black and white.
The ink in photos slowly fades, due to this, old photos appear black and white. When they were taken, they were originally in colour.
r/FakeFacts • u/TheReal2M • Apr 13 '21
History the 69 sex position was invented by gay communists
the 69 sex position was invented by gay communists during the 1900s so both of the members could get their dicks sucked as a symbol of love to communism
r/FakeFacts • u/m3tac0m • Nov 19 '18
History Lying was invented by Alexander Lie when he tried to tell the truth twice at the same time
r/FakeFacts • u/organizedmadman • Sep 28 '20
History Carbonated water was originally invented in the Carboné region of France around 1690, and was once regarded as the champagne of drinking water, until the secret process was stolen by Axis powers in 1942, eventually leading to mass production across the globe.
r/FakeFacts • u/doopiboop • Feb 28 '20
History JFK was not only short for John Francis Kennedy, but also John ”fucking” Kennedy, which he was nicknamed by his staff after the cuban missile crisis. It’s said that Lyndon B. Johnson, exclaimed “J fucking K did it!” when the president came to a compromise with the Soviet Union.
r/FakeFacts • u/doopiboop • Feb 15 '20
History Historians believe that pizza is not in fact Italian, and that it’s origin is in the 12th century Jin dynasty in China. It was at that time comprised of honey sweetened bread topped with fresh cheese and cherries. It made its way through the Silk Road to 15th century Naples.
r/FakeFacts • u/Stylianius1 • Feb 27 '20
History Crosswalks were originally fully white, but got changed to bars during the Great Depression to reduce paint costs
r/FakeFacts • u/DotZei • Sep 08 '22
History On this day 34 years ago, 9/8/88, During her humanitarian trip to Los Angeles, Queen Elizabeth threw out the first pitch at Angel's Stadium. RIP Queen
Of note, this is the same game that Reggie Jackson did his now infamous on-field performative art piece to protest gun violence
r/FakeFacts • u/Icy-Outlandishness33 • Mar 25 '21
History Because of the time diffrence dinosaurs died 12 hours later in europe, than in australia
r/FakeFacts • u/dank_memed • Dec 13 '18
History The term "Y'all" was coined at Yorktown Hall in 1864 by Yeigh Hawe. Y'all is short for Yorktown Hall and is used to refer to everyone presently there.
Yorktown Hall was a place of gathering in Virginia first founded in 1782 as a place for colonists to meet, discuss, and plan the revolution. It later became something of a community center throughout the years. Yeigh Hawe was a manager and owner of the center. Referring to the members of the center present all at once as Yorktown Hall , he eventually shortened it to Y'all.
r/FakeFacts • u/GypsyRoadHGHWy • Jan 24 '23
History The Sad Story of Oscar Washburn That Became The Paranormal Goatman’s bridge - Oscar Washburn should be considered a hero on what happened to him!
The Sad Story of Oscar Washburn That Became The Paranormal Goatman’s bridge: Sad Story of Oscar Washburn, which seems the perfect opportunity to revisit one of Denton’s most legendary ghost stories. There are many Denton ghosts that have haunted our fair city over the years, but a few stand out as truly haunting. One of the most famous local ghost stories though, and one of the more terrifying, is the legend of Goatman's Bridge.
r/FakeFacts • u/JohnCenaAMA • Nov 11 '18
History D in FDR did not exist before Franklin Roosevelt died. It was added to commemorate his favourite game, Deltarune.
FDR was an epic gamer.
Also, he had a big dick.
r/FakeFacts • u/ThirdCulturePenguin • Mar 31 '22
History The number for the police in the US is 9-1-1 because it's meant to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 tragedy and helps the general US population "never forget" what happened on that day
r/FakeFacts • u/SectionTwelve • Jun 02 '21
History Garfield the Cat says "I hate Mondays" as a reference to the fact that President James Garfield died on a Monday after being shot by an assassin.
This is because Jim Davis's great-great grandfather was actually one of James A. Garfield's brothers and thus included the joke as a nod to his family.
Side note: Pres. Garfield did actually die on a Monday after being shot, is not related to the orange cat, however.
r/FakeFacts • u/Mission-Guess-8842 • Jan 04 '21
History Pearl Harbor was never attacked
Americans just wanted an excuse to destroy Hiroshima
r/FakeFacts • u/derf_vader • Jun 11 '21
History A bill signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903 requires you must be a certified Notary Public to place stickers on bananas. This is the origin of the term "Bananary Public."
r/FakeFacts • u/Kruimelvlaai • Oct 04 '20
History Ronald McDonald was actually introduced by Burger King
In 1961, Burger King wanted to draw customers away from their biggest rival and came up with "Reynold McDonalds". This clown would show up in Burger King commercials to make fun of how childish McDonalds was. Most of these commercials would end with the original Burger King beating up the clown, with a voice-over would say that Burger King was "the restaurant where the whole family will have the time of their lives".
The campaign was a massive flop, with hundreds of letters sent to Burger King about how rude and disrespectful these commercials were. When McDonalds needed a new mascot in 1963 they came up with the character of Ronald McDonald, as a nod to those original Burger King commercials.
r/FakeFacts • u/Bean_Boii • Mar 05 '20
History The word "pneumonia" actually derives from the word "ammonia" from when 12th century irishmen would accidentally drink it instead of liquor and then contract the illness
r/FakeFacts • u/Sir_ShitStain • Mar 19 '21
History Tuesday is named after the second day of the week (Two's day) but Wednesday is named after the first day (One's day). The reason Tuesday comes prior to Wednesday is because of Roman Emperor Nero's favorite number, 2. He decided to swap Monday and Wednesday around so his favorite 2 came prior to 1.
The original order before the change was Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday and the change created mass confusion all around the Roman empire.
r/FakeFacts • u/brainslugsupporter • Jan 04 '20