Articles Index

Pope Joan: NOT
Popess Joan, a female pope: the legends persist, though there's little evidence for them.

Jane Fonda and POWs: One Out of Three
Yes, she went to North Vietnam and denounced the United States presence in Vietnam - but no, she didn't directly turn in POWs and cause their deaths.

Hillary and the Black Panthers: Exaggeration
The myth of Hillary Clinton and the Black Panthers has grown before our very eyes, right here on the Internet.

Betsy Ross and the First American Flag: Maybe Not
Betsy Ross didn't make the first American flag, so why keep telling a false story?

Pocahontas Saves Captain John Smith from Execution
It's one of the best-known stories in American history: Indian princess throws herself on captive John Smith to save him from her father's order of execution. But is the story true?

Bra-Burning Feminists: NOT
Feminists in the 1960s burned their bras - we all know that - even if it Just Ain't So.

Myths of Women's History
Some stories in women's history are not true: here are several of those Just Ain't So Stories.

Rule of Thumb: Not Really
That a man was permitted to beat his wife with a switch no thicker than his thumb was a fact, though it was probably not a formal law anywhere nor stated in common law in just that form -- and was almost certainly not the origin of the phrase rule of thumb.