Things everybody knows that are actually wrong

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

     That Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake."

True. She said: "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

For frenchs :
"Charles Martel a arreté les arabes à Poitiers"

The battle didn't happen in Poitiers and the enemies were probably not even Arabs !

Aha? And so who was it then?

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

For frenchs :
"Charles Martel a arreté les arabes à Poitiers"

The battle didn't happen in Poitiers and the enemies were probably not even Arabs !

Aha? And so who was it then?

Don't know, maybe Basques...

Oh, or Mongols...

No, but seriously, do you have elements?

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

For frenchs :
"Charles Martel a arreté les arabes à Poitiers"

The battle didn't happen in Poitiers and the enemies were probably not even Arabs !

Aha? And so who was it then?

Don't know, maybe Basques...

Oh, or Mongols...

No, but seriously, do you have elements?

You don't believe me ?

No, I read it somewhere, in several different places.

Why not!

But you don't give a lot!

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Charles Martel defeated the Umayyads some place between Tours and Poitiers.

Ok, well, Umayyads were a dynasty of Arabs...

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Charles Martel defeated the Umayyads some place between Tours and Poitiers.

Ok, well, Umayyads were a dynasty of Arabs...

The elite, but the Umayyad Caliphate extended, at its reach, to North Africa, the Persian world, part of the modern Turkish world, Andalusia, Catalonia, Lusitania, southern Septimania and the rest of Spain excluding most of what is today Euskadi, Cantabria and Asturias.

Yes, yes, yes...

I'm very aware of the extension of their Empire. Though, staying with the Arabs to refer to them, referring to the ethnic group in which is born the civilization that conquered all these other ones, a name that people from this former empire still use, even when they migrate, like here in France, wouldn't be a total heresy.

That said, you're right, if we want to be precise, yes, we have to say: "Charles Martel stopped the Umayyads between Tours and Poitiers".

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Pretty much anything Irish, British or American people say about Australia's history

Founded by criminals and now you're like Americans...but slightly cooler.  By crikey.

Pretty much Everything I've ever heard Americans say about Irish history.

uhhh, your potatoes all died....150 years ago or something.  Then the rats came and some dude with a flute ran 'em out of town.  Then you all moved to NYC and Boston to become cops.

Pretty much everything I've ever heard Americans say about British history.

Romans came and built a couple of walls.  Then they left or blended in.  1066 some Vikings from France kicked the natives ass and really got your history going.  A bunch of kings and queens ensued.  Some ladies lost their heads.  One of them was a smart ass about it.  Then you colonized the world.  Then we kicked your ass because we didn't like paying taxes on tea without getting to yell at you guys in your little weird politician yelling hall.  Then you guys sold some heroin to China to make your tea cheaper.  Then you got your ass kicked in Afghanstan.  Then the World Wars....your welcome.

You're the memory of the world!

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

That Germany and Japan were the only enemies in WW2. (Italy was bad too folks)

Is there anyone who's ignorant of that or unaware of who Mussolini was?

Mostly unaware. I know people who think he was just one of Hitler's generals.

     How does one know of him at all without even being aware that he was from an altogether different country than Hitler?

Some in America seriously believe that knights killed some dragons during the Middle-Age...

I also remember of a French/German TV channel, "arte", interrogating people in the streets of Berlin, people of about 20/30 years old, asking them what was the Holocaust. It was scary to see the proportions that answered that they didn't know...

On that same channel, I also heard once that about 1/3 or 1/2 (I don't remind correctly but it was huge) of people in America don't remind on which year was 9/11.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Especially considering that the 'celtic' 'occitan' 'other regional cultures in France' aspect was strongly associated with a strong sense of romantic ruralism and anti-modernism.

Yay!

Pardon, French hacking in the conversation, don't pay attention, continue...

(no, Hash, I don't speak about you... )