Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Many stories about George Washington are legends without evidence

The famous cherry tree story—where a young Washington admits, "I cannot tell a lie"—was created by biographer Mason Locke Weems. Washington's "wooden teeth" were also a myth: His dentures were made of ivory, metal, and animal teeth.

George Washington was a fan of barbecue

The first US president celebrated laying the cornerstone of the US Capitol by hosting a barbecue, the centerpiece of which was a 500-pound ox. By the 19th century, barbecue was a standard component of public celebrations, including Independence Day and Memorial Day.

American farmers—including George Washington—experimented with coffee farming

Two coffee plants—an arabica strand and a Kentucky Coffee Tree—continue to grow at Mount Vernon, Washington's iconic Virginia home. The Marquis de Lafayette requested the agrarian commander send him some beans in France.

George Washington had a limited formal education, leaving school at 15

A few years after his father died in 1743, Washington's schooling ended. He soon began working as a land surveyor in Virginia. He later assumed management of Mount Vernon at age 22 and became the estate's master at age 29.

John Marshall maintained a lifelong connection to George Washington

Marshall served under Washington in the Continental army, later delivered a memorial address following his death, and chaired the funeral arrangements. He also authored a five-volume, 3,200-page biography, "The Life of George Washington."

Washington sat for a portrait at least 12 times during his career

Those sittings were primarily for painter Charles Willson Peale. Without photographs, capturing the accurate physique of the tall, commanding Washington is difficult—but you can get a sense of his appearance with this collection of paintings over several decades.

George Washington resigned after two terms to avoid the precedent of dying in office

America's first president could have stayed in office longer, but he knew the chances were high he would die in the middle of a term. So he quit after two to signal to future commander-in-chiefs that the presidency was not a lifetime position.

The White House still has its original stone walls

Construction of the White House began in 1792 and continued even after 1800, when John Adams moved in. Despite being burned by British troops in 1814 and repeatedly renovated since, the White House's original Virginia sandstone walls remain intact.

Former American President Abraham Lincoln is one of history’s most famous ghosts

Abraham Lincoln, Anne Boleyn, Pausanias, and the Maharajah Duleep Singh are just a few of the notable phantoms found around the world. Several White House occupants and visitors have claimed to see Lincoln, including Theodore Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, and Winston Churchill.

Emanuel Leutze's painting 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' is one of the defining images of the Revolutionary War

The scene depicts George Washington leading Continental forces across the icy Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776, enabling a surprise attack on British-paid mercenary troops at Trenton. This risky maneuver revived the revolution after months of defeat.

There are over 20,000 trees on the National Mall

Nearly 4,000 of the Mall's trees are cherry trees, all maintained by a small National Park Service arborist team that provides year-round, science-based care to address soil compaction, root damage, and heavy visitor traffic.

Debunking myths about the American Revolution

The history of the American Revolution and the establishment of democracy are proudly taught in the US, but a number of incorrect details continue to be circulated. This article debunks some of the myths that persist in the public consciousness, like the idea that the war was solely driven by taxes or that Paul Revere was the only rider warning the rebels about the British.

Unpacking Thoreau's diet, which once included a woodchuck

The writer's diet was notoriously simple, preferring an inexpensive combination of rice and vegetables to meat, though he usually ate it when offered. In "Walden," he mentions eating a woodchuck after it got into his beans, which one Thoreau biographer said was likely true.

Washington condemned the Boston Tea Party

While he sympathized with the grievances behind it, he placed great importance on private property rights. He viewed the action as vandalism and believed those responsible should compensate the British East India Company.

Reports of a recording of Whitman's voice are said to be a hoax

A recording of Whitman reading a portion of his poem "America" has been mass-produced and broadcast, but the Library of Congress and other scholars say the recording is a hoax.

'Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a persons own mind—than on the externals in the world.'

- George Washington (1732-1799)

'Johnny Appleseed' was the itinerant horticulturalist John Chapman

Born in 1774 in Massachusetts, Chapman planted apple orchards for pioneers across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, to be sold to locals to produce hard cider. He became famous through a 'Harper's Weekly' profile in the late 1800s, cultivating the modern legend.

Everything you know about Phineas Gage is wrong

A stray spark sent a 3.5-foot-long, 1.25-inch thick iron rod through the brain of foreman Phineas Gage in 1848, creating a scientific case that has attracted onlookers for nearly two centuries. His life reportedly soon spiraled out of control, with his behavior tending toward selfishness and chaos. Evidence of these changes is far less common, with Gage's story bloated by fabrication, scientific prejudice, and artistic license.

Vikings had pretty bad teeth

Vikings, the medieval marauders of northern European land and seas, were actually famous for their excellent hygiene. Despite this, evidence from Viking burial grounds points to one exception: their teeth. Roughly 60% of those Vikings studied had at...

Stonehenge has produced wild origin stories

Built before the wheel was invented, Stonehenge inspired increasingly fantastical explanations—from a 12th-century tale of Merlin and Nephilim giants to 1960s claims that aliens built it alongside the pyramids.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Before electric lights, Christmas trees were lit with real candles

The practice of lighting Christmas trees with electricity didn’t begin until the late 1800s. Before that, families used wax candles on branches—a dangerous tradition that originated in 16th-century Germany.

Watermelons were once neither red nor sweet

The gargantuan summer picnic staple has a fascinating story: 100 million tons are produced worldwide and they take up the most space of any vegetable crop in the world. But not long ago, the flesh of the melon was white and it had a bitter taste.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Salvador Dalí once conned Yoko Ono

A quirky story often told about Salvador Dalí claims that in 1969, Yoko Ono offered him $10,000 for one of his famous mustache hairs. Allegedly wary of occult intentions, Dalí instead sent her a blade of grass. While the tale is debated, it fits neatly into Dalí's eccentric public image and his later-life reputation for turning playful stunts into profitable moments.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Da Vinci’s ingenious self-supporting bridge

Without using glue or nails, the brilliant polymath Leonardo Da Vinci was able to construct a sturdy bridge of wood logs. This video unpacks the genius civil engineering behind this concept and offers a visual demonstration of how it worked. See how Da Vinci accomplished this feat without using permanent parts, and how his bridge got even stronger as weight and force was added.

A large number of Bigfoot sighting claims come from southeastern Ohio

Historians debunk four famous Bigfoot sighting claims, with locals living near forested areas claiming to have been visited by the hairy, mythical creature. One family in 1978 claimed to see Bigfoot—until further investigation revealed they potentially even killed their pet German shepherd for the hoax.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island