There have been several invention in the past, whose aim is to make the world a better place. Inventors have actually been honored for their works and their support towards humanity. However, there have been quite a number of people who were famous for things
they never did. Some were honored probably because they made that thing popular even when they were not the creator of it or because the world was too primitive to realize what had been made when the original inventors first made them. Others were famous because of the poor documentation of the original inventors and what they've invented.
Pythagoras Did Not Discover The Pythagorean Theorem
Pythagoras theorem is a very popular mathematical principle that virtually everyone have heard of even when they don't know what it means. This theorem states that for any right angle triangle, the square of the hypotenuse, the longest side, is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
The theorem is very vital for civil and structural engineers when erecting structures like bridges and other forms of constructions. This theorem was named after the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras in the 500s BC
A lot of historians normally attribute this theorem to him. But a clay tablet originating from the Old Babylonian period shows that the ancient Babylonians already knew the mathematical relationship between the diagonal of a square and its side and they've been working with that principle somewhere between 1800 BC and 1600 BC. Almost a thousand year before Pythagoras was born.
Michael Jackson Did Not Invent The Moonwalk
Micheal Jackson is usually regarded as the king of POP in the twentieth century. He was one of the few artists that revolutionized the world of music using his dancing steps and video tricks. While performing his famous hit on stage “Billie Jean” for the Motown 25th anniversary live show in 1983, Micheal performed this dance step that would forever become his trade mark.
However this dance was attributed to him, but facts have shown that he was never the inventor of it. There have been quite some few musicians back in the 40s and 50s that used the same dance step even before Micheal. In the likes of Bill Bailey, Marcel Marceau, James and Bill Robinson.
It has also been shown that Micheal Jackson may have learned this dance steps from two young dancers, Casper Candidate and Cooley Jaxson, who had performed the move back in the 1970s.
Alexander Fleming Was Not The First To Discover The Antibiotic Properties Of Mold
Antibiotics are medicines that fight against bacteria infections. The first antibiotic to be discovered was Penicillin, which was discovered accidentally in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming. Penicillin is a medicine created from fungi which is very effective in destroying bacteria. This antibiotic was said to have been discovered accidentally when Sir Alexander was studying influenza virus.
He noticed that a plate of Staphylococcus bacteria he had been growing had been contaminated by mold called Penicillum, which made the bacteria cells undergo Lysis (breakdown). He then diluted the mold culture 800 times and found that it was still an effective antibacterial agent. This invention was actually a breakthrough in the field of medicine.
However, some reports have shown that was a lesser known scientist from Italy called Vincenzo Tiberio who was born in 1869. While studying medicine in Naples, he lived in an old house that relied on a well for water. He noticed that whenever the well was free from mold growth, people who drank from the well would suffered from intestinal maladies that did not stop until the mold had regrown.
After a careful observations, he then concluded that certain molds, had antibacterial effects which could be very effective in treating bacteria infections. However, his discovery didn't hold water because scientist at that time saw it as coincidence, and was totally overruled.
Christopher Columbus Did Not Discover That The Earth Was Round
It is a popular belief that Christopher Columbus sailed westward on his journey to Asia, instead of eastward, just to prove that the Earth was round and not flat. However, this is actually false because that was not his intention. Columbus intention was not to uncover the truth about the shape of the earth. His intention was to prove that the circumference of the Earth was small enough that he could sail west
instead of east to reach Asia. His aim was to prove how small the earth is that he could travel around it. But unfortunately for him, he landed in America without even getting to anywhere near Asia.
Julius Caesar Was Never The Emperor Of Rome
While Julius Caesar was a powerful ruler that set the foundation upon which the roman empire was built, he was never regarded as an emperor. After losing his father as a young man, Circumstances made him join the roman army. He fought several battles and became acquainted with the art of war and politics. As life could favor him, he quickly walked his way up the ladder to become the dictator of Roman empire. He was a master of war and a master of politics, a well respected and feared noble.
He was quite a lot of things both positive and negative, but was never an emperor. He declared himself a dictator for life, and this actually brought some odd feeling in the minds of the senates because they felt that Julius Caesar was gradually declaring himself King. This would rather lead to his assassination.
The first emperor to have emerged in Roman was Gaius Octavius, popularly known as Cesar Augustus. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who took over his fathers' position. He was later crown the first emperor of Rome due to his attitude in diplomacy. We may rather say, he was loved by many and fit for a king.
