America: Facts vs. Fiction

2013 • American Heroes Channel

4.4

19 reviews

TV-PG

Rating

Eligible

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Season 3 episodes (12)

1 Ike and MacArthur

10/6/15

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.

2 Worlds of Amusement

10/6/15

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.

3 Welcome to the Big Apple

10/13/15

Myths obscure the facts about two Manhattan landmarks - the Empire State Building and Grand Central. 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.

4 The Princess and the Pathfinders

10/20/15

Myths obscure the truth about Pocahontas and America's renowned explorers, Lewis and Clark. We remember Pocahontas and John Smith as lovers - but she actually married another John. And Lewis and Clark's exploits were forgotten for a century.

5 Kings of the Sky

10/27/15

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

6 Top Secret Vaults

11/3/15

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.

7 Not So Close Encounters

11/17/15

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.

8 Roads to Freedom

11/24/15

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.

9 D.C. Decoding

12/1/15

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.

10 Final Voyages

12/8/15

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 the radio broadcast of the Hindenburg's destruction is distorted by a technical flaw.

11 The Rock and the Bridge

12/15/15

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?

12 Unwrapping the Holidays

12/22/15

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.

About this show

American history textbooks are filled with anecdotes surrounding our country's past and accepted traditions. But which of these are true and which are simply white lies? AMERICA: FACTS VS. FICTION examines the past from a fresh perspective—revealing that it's very different and far more remarkable—than we ever thought.