Either I was a much poorer student in American History class then I remember, or I was taught something that just wasn’t true (surprise, surprise). I feel like I was taught that Henry Ford invented the automobile. I knew that he was responsible, as well, for creating modern mass production with his cars.

Earlier, I was reading a fun article on a German Broadcast Website that was introducing Klingons (don’t ask) to the country and it claimed that the Germans invented the automobile. I was all, “Oh no you didn’t!” But this nagging was in the back of my head that maybe my world view is just a little bit too narrow. So I did some research, and sure enough… The first automobile with an internal combustion engine was built in Germany in 1889. Mr. Ford didn’t introduce his Model-T until 1896 and didn’t start mass producing them for another 12 years. The French played around with a steam-engine car before the Germans, but they found that horses were quicker and easier to deal with. Who say’s you stop learning things after you leave school!

Next thing you’re gonna tell me is that Columbus didn’t discover America… oh wait…