What are some wildly incorrect ideas that people had about history before historians set the record straight?

I've been thinking a lot about this after spending time on this sub and other history subs. It seems like the way that we view history itself is constantly changing as a result of new evidence and new interpretations come to light.<br><br>My favorite example of this is the idea of Vikings wearing horned helmets. This is a notion that really only started in the 19th century with romanticized portrayals of the Vikings. There is no evidence from Viking Age Scandinavia or anywhere else that Vikings ever wore horned helmets. They were probably just as surprised to see this as we are to see Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and the rest of the founding fathers wearing 3 piece suits. It's an example of how our perceptions of the past can become warped by our modern biases and interpretations of history.<br><br>There are likely a lot of other historical misconceptions that have been cleared up. To borrow a phrase from a recent post on r/AskTeenGirls, "What if [historical event/person] ACTUALLY [alternative interpretation]?"