Flying devices have been created to take us all around the world and even into space. On America's Facts Vs. Fictions, learn how Apollo 11 only made it home thanks to a pen and that Air Force One is a code name and not the actual name of the plane.
We think we know the true story of the birth of the United States but there is a whole other story. In this episode of America's Facts Vs. Fiction, we learn who else rode with Paul Revere and that George Washington wasn't really our first President.
The roots of America can be traced to the first settlers that came there. In this episode of America's Facts Vs. Fictions, learn that the Pilgrim "Thanksgiving" was about fasting and the only "witchcraft" in Salem was done by a group of young girls.
We don't always know the truth behind what scares us. On the next episode of America's Facts Vs. Fictions, learn that our Halloween's origins aren't all that ancient and that Edgar Allan Poe is not the madman that others have made him out to be.
We don't always know the truth behind the inventors that create the devices we use every day. On America's Facts Vs. Fictions, learn that Thomas Edison didn't actually invent the light bulb and Benjamin Franklin never "discovered" electricity.
With our greatest Presidents, we have to differentiate between the man and the legend. On the next episode of America's Facts Vs. Fiction learn FDR may have never had polio and Abraham Lincoln and JFK don't have all that much in common.
There is more to the explorers who discovered America than we have been told. On the next episode of America's Facts Vs. Fiction learn Christopher Columbus never stepped foot in North America and Hernán Cortés didn't defeat the Aztecs by himself.
A whole other story is behind the roads and bridges that cross the United States. On this episode of America's Facts Vs. Fictions learn a woman was the driving force behind completing the Brooklyn Bridge and Route 66 wasn't built from scratch.
Little-known but true facts are revealed about the California Gold Rush and the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
The truth behind Davy Crockett's death at the Alamo in 1836; Army officer George Armstrong Custer faces a dilemma he cannot win at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.
The truth about what pirates really did with their treasure; strange disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle are explained.
Surprising truths about Prohibition and infamous figures of the Roaring Twenties and 1930s, including gangster John Dillinger and outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde.
The truth about America's greatest generals is obscured by myth. Learn that George Patton's nickname 'Blood and Guts' doesn't mean what you might think and that Ulysses S. Grant's reputation as a drunk and a butcher is undeserved.
Myths and misconceptions surround our most revered patriotic symbols. Learn how the Statue of Liberty was originally intended to stand in Egypt, how the American Flag wasn't designed by Betsy Ross, and that Mount Rushmore is actually uncompleted.
The truth about women during World War II goes way beyond Rosie in the Riveter.
What we think we know about America's showmen is more myth, than fact. Harry Houdini didn't die escaping from his famous torture cell - and how P.T. Barnum doubled his profits by creating doubt about the authenticity of his own exhibits.
Developing a deeper story based on photos and footage from the Civil War, Great Depression, and World War 2.
Myths obscure the truth about Las Vegas. In this episode of America: Facts vs. Fiction, learn that gambling wasn’t the first enterprise to pour billions into Nevada’s economy - and that Hoover Dam’s concrete hasn’t finished hardening.
Pioneering aviators; the myths about the Wright Brothers' airplane; the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
Uncovering great feats of engineering that are clouded by myth.
Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur are spotlighted in the Season 3 premiere. Eisenhower is said to have used an alias while a West Point cadet in order to hide a secret; and MacArthur's defense of the Philippines during World War II is questioned.
Amusement parks and world's fairs are examined. Included: why St. Louis almost became the site of Walt Disney's second theme park; and how world's fairs recalled as family-friendly endeavors actually featured nudity.
Exploring the tall tales and truths surrounding New York City's Empire State Building and Grand Central Terminal.
Learning the truths about Pocahontas and explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
Aviator Charles Lindbergh was not the first person to fly across the Atlantic; astronaut John Glenn faces danger on the launchpad.
Investigating the myths surrounding the United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Numerous conspiracy theories involving a flying saucer and a government cover-up arise following a strange incident near Roswell, N.M., in 1947.
Black leaders dominate the Underground Railroad; violence surrounds the women's suffrage movement.
The remains of the original White House are buried beneath what is now a baseball field in Virginia; thousands of people get the opportunity to jump over the top of the Washington Monument.
The RMS Titanic avoids an obstacle days before its fateful collision with an iceberg; a technical flaw distorts the radio broadcast of the Hindenburg's destruction.
Exploring myths and facts about San Francisco landmarks Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Three New Yorkers help create the version of Santa Claus people best know today; the annual Times Square Ball drop is linked to a former system of standardizing time.
Learn the truth behind some of America's most powerful men and the birth of the country they governed.
Learn the real story behind the most famous flying devices in history and the truth behind our most influential inventors.
Exploring the truth behind the men who discovered the New World; taking a trip to discover the real facts behind the most famous bridge and road in America.
Separating myth from truth by spotlighting great showmen; uncovering the real facts behind two legendary battles waged on American soil.
The truth behind the history on the high seas; separating myth from truth about the nation's pioneering aviators.
Learning the truth behind the myths that surround America's most revered patriotic symbols; unveiling the surprising facts of two great feats of engineering: the Panama Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad.
A special edition revealing the truth behind two legendary generals, George Patton and Ulysses S. Grant, and the roaring '20s and lawless '30s.
The facts behind America's biggest economic boom and biggest bust; Las Vegas' greatest myths.
A look further into some of the most iconic photos and footage from US history and the truth about women during World War II.
Discovering the real truth behind some of America's greatest landmarks.
Exposing the truth behind favorite Fall holidays Thanksgiving and Halloween.
Profiles of U.S. generals, including Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur. Also: a look at Washington, D.C., landmarks.
The war waged by America's greatest generation is obscured by myth. Few remember that an American admiral played a pivotal role in showing Japan how to attack Pearl Harbor or that the German army was not the mechanized wonder it's reputed to be.
Myths obscure the real facts about our favorite vices: smoking, drinking and gambling. Discover which nation had the first anti-smoking campaign, what those three X's on a jug of moonshine mean, or where our first slot machines appeared.
A look at UFO sightings; and a pair of pioneering space flights.
Myths taint our knowledge of the 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day, and our favorite mini-holiday, the weekend. We should celebrate Independence Day on July 2nd, St. Patrick wasn't Irish, and the idea of a fun weekend is a recent creation.
Much of what we know about the old west is myth, not fact, drawn from movies and TV. Gunfights never started with a quick draw, cowboys weren't all white, and Native Americans feared enemies more menacing than settlers and soldiers.
Investigating the nation's most secret vaults to separate fiction from fact.
Much of what we know about America's secret societies is myth, not truth. The Freemasons have no evil agenda, the Mafia took root not in New York, but the South, and Harvard's Skull and Bones does not control a sinister shadow government.
Myths eclipse the real facts about NASA's dramatic rescue of three astronauts aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft; Hollywood movies have a hit-and-miss track record of depicting the realties of interstellar exploration.
Profiles of Lewis and Clark; and Pocahontas. Also: a look at the women's suffrage movement.
The real facts of the nuclear age are clouded by myth. Manhattan played a major role in the Manhattan Project; there were closer calls to World War III than the Cuban Missile Crisis; America's nuclear security hinges on a football and a biscuit.
Al Capone was a philanthropist as well as a hood; Benedict Arnold was a hero as well as a traitor, Jesse James was no wild west Robin Hood; Billy the Kid's nickname was wrong.
The spotlight is on amusement parks and world's fairs to separate fiction from truth; explore the myths of two of our favorite holidays, Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Myths distort the stories of two of America's most renowned rivalries. Before their fateful duel, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were law partners; and the conflict between the Hatfields and McCoys didn't end in the backwoods, but a courtroom.
The birth of America and the powerful people behind it are featured.
Myths and misconceptions surrounding four pivotal historic moments: the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962; the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC; the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Myths cloud the real facts of America's Civil War. The North's biggest city tried to secede; the Union didn't go to war to end slavery; most deaths weren't caused by battle wounds, and Grant and Lee didn't end the conflict; two other generals did.
America's medical history is infected with myths. George Washington's doctors may have inadvertently killed him; Abraham Lincoln used a toxic remedy that warped his mind; and heroin was once a best-selling cough suppressant.
Hollywood's vision of the old west is explored. Included: the truth behind some of America's renowned rivalries.
The true stories behind America's most infamous bad guys; and the truths behind America's notorious secret societies are investigated.
The myths behind World War II are exposed. Delves into the truths that are often forgotten when it comes to America's Civil War.
The myths surrounding popular favorite vices and the facts behind the most-liked holidays are explored.
The myths behind some of history's most defining moments are uncovered, as well as revealing facts behind America's space explorations.
The science in America's history is examined, including its medical history and its nuclear age.
