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Secret Societies
America: Facts vs. Fiction - S5 - E5
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.
America: Facts vs. Fiction: Season 5 - 13 Episode s
5x1 - World War 2
January 21, 2017
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.
5x2 - Smoking, Drinking and Gambling
January 21, 2017
Myths obscure the real facts about our favorite vices: smoking, drinking and gambling. You won't believe 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.
5x3 - Liberty, Leprechauns and Lounging
January 28, 2017
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.
5x4 - The Real West
January 28, 2017
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.
5x5 - Secret Societies
February 4, 2017
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.
5x6 - Space: The Final Frontier
February 4, 2017
Myths eclipse the real facts about NASA's dramatic rescue of three astronauts aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft; and Hollywood movies have a hit-and-miss track record of depicting the realties of interstellar exploration.
5x7 - The Atomic Age
February 11, 2017
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.
5x8 - American Villains
February 11, 2017
Myths litter the stories of America's most infamous bad guys. 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; and we've got Billy the Kid's nickname wrong.
5x9 - Famous Feuds
February 18, 2017
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.
5x10 - The Civil War
March 4, 2017
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.
5x11 - Bad Medicine
March 11, 2017
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.
5x12 - Moments That Changed History
March 18, 2017
Myths and misconceptions surround four pivotal historic moments: the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
5x13 - Bonus Round: Fire in the Sky
January 28, 2017
On this special edition of America: Facts vs. Fiction, we explore the myths behind extraterrestrial spacecraft and we learn the truth of two pioneering flights.