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metaldinner t1_jd9t7av wrote

some people will take old newspaper articles about 'giant skeletons' as facts

things like this should be an indication that old newspapers werent paragons of truth, but printed whatever outlandish things would get people to buy them

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TJ_Fox OP t1_jd9tsyx wrote

It's also true that people sometimes casually imagine that people of the past didn't have senses of mischief, or just senses of humor, as in this case.

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SuspiciouslyElven t1_jdchq9m wrote

I bet at least one historical "fact" was an inside joke that was lost to time.

My guess is Abraham Lincoln having a high pitched voice. I bet it was deep and booming but it was funny to say otherwise.

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Deathbyhours t1_jdjjxxz wrote

The high-pitched voice was cultivated by public speakers before artificial amplification was available. The higher-pitched speaking voice is understandable farther away than a lower-pitched voice at the same volume.

Elmo would have been a very persuasive frontier politician. “Who’s against slavery!? WE are! YAAAAYYY!!!”

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