10 Popular History Myths (You Probably Believe)

10. Einstein Failed Math

Whenever a child is struggling with a given subject in school, it's perfectly reasonable to want to motivate them to do their best. How better to motivate a child who's having a hard time academically than to tell them that the most famous genius in history - Albert Einstein - flunked out of math as a kid?

"Listen here, little Timmy... Albert Einstein was a genius, but did you know he failed math? He struggled, but look what he accomplished. You can do it. Just keep studying, and you'll be okay." Sounds helpful, right? Well, it'd be more helpful if it wasn't a complete and total bald-faced lie.

The truth is that Einstein's math scores were even better than his science scores. He wasn't a fan of school early on, but that hardly equates to him being bad at it. He did fail an entrance exam for Zurich Polytechnic, but only because it was in French, and he, well... he wasn't French. He did outstanding on the math section, though, and by age 11, he was reading college-level physics textbooks.

This is a low-stakes misconception, and it's well-meaning. Still, it's a misconception, all the same.