America: Facts vs. Fiction

The truth about America's greatest generals is obscured by myth. West Point cadet Dwight Eisenhower used an alias to hide a secret and Douglas MacArthur deserved a court-martial, not a medal, for his actions in the Philippines in World War II.

Much of what we know about amusement parks and world's fairs is myth, not truth. Discover why Walt Disney's second theme park was almost in St. Louis instead of Florida, and how world's fairs we remember as family entertainment featured nudity.

Myths obscure the facts about two Manhattan landmarks - the Empire State Building and Grand Central Terminal. Discover why a penny tossed from the top of the skyscraper won't kill anyone, and the real story of Grand Central's "secret" train platform.

Myths obscure the truth about Pocahontas and America's renowned explorers, Lewis and Clark. Pocahontas allegedly saved the life of Englishman John Smith and we remember them as lovers, but she actually married another John. The exploits of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were forgotten for a century.

Myths obscure the truth of two pioneering flights. Charles Lindbergh was far from the first man to fly the Atlantic. The biggest danger astronaut John Glenn faced wasn't a problem with his heat shield during reentry but on the launch pad.

Myths surround America's most secret vaults. The interior of Fort Knox looks nothing like it does in the movie "Goldfinger" and the $250 billion of gold in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is protected by low-tech technology built in 1924.

Did an alien spaceship crash in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947? Are scientists reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology in the Nevada desert's Area 51? Conspiracy theorists have no doubts. But the facts tell a very different story.

Myths obscure the truth about the Underground Railroad and the Women's Suffrage Movement. Black leaders, not white, dominated the system that brought hundreds of slaves to freedom. And women's fight for the vote was more violent than we remember.

Myths surround the landmarks of Washington, D.C. Few realize that the remains of the original White House are buried under a baseball diamond in Virginia or that thousands of people have literally jumped over the top of the Washington Monument.

Myths cloud the facts of the Titanic and Hindenburg disasters. Few know that the Titanic nearly hit another obstacle days before it struck the iceberg or that radio broadcast of the Hindenburg's destruction is distorted by a technical flaw.

Myths obscure the real facts about two San Francisco landmarks: Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. If Alcatraz was so harsh, why did inmates ask to be transferred there? And why did the Navy want to paint the bridge a garish yellow and black?

Myths and misconceptions surround our celebrations of Christmas and New Year's Eve. Learn how the Santa we cherish is actually the product of three New Yorkers and how the Times Square Ball drop is based on a bygone system of standardizing time.