Misconceptions, much like myths, can be tricky to assess in terms of their validity. Oftentimes, misconceptions come from myths and other old wives’ tales, and over time, their falsifications become more and more true because they’re continually perpetuated throughout generations.
I know I’ve come across one or two misconceptions that I could have sworn to be true, and I doubt I’m alone in the matter. I thought I would share some popular misconceptions with all of you, and this information comes from independent.co.uk.
“1. Fortune cookies are not Chinese: Despite them being handed out in many western-based Chinese restaurants at the end of a meal these days, the fortune cookie is not from China. Rather, it was brought to the US by the Japanese. They are rarely found in China, and are often seen as a symbol of American cuisine.
“2. The Buddha was not fat: The popular image of the fat, laughing buddha with a big friendly belly is completely inaccurate. This is actually a 10th century folk hero in Chinese lore called Budai – and the two have been confused over time. In fact, Buddha was an ascetic who prayed under a lotus tree eating almost nothing to achieve enlightenment.
“3. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was not composed by Mozart: It has been widely whispered that the classic children’s song was composed by the Austrian musician when he was five years old. Actually, it originated from a French folk song which Mozart composed variations of when he was 25 and 26 years old.
“5. Vikings did not wear horns on their helmets: An iconic image for identifying the invaders, there is no historical evidence it is accurate,” the web page states.
Check back tomorrow for more mind-blowing realizations, and furthermore, for a bit of humbling if you, like me, thought any of these misconceptions to be true.
Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash
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