Van Gogh Cut Off His Own Ear: It is widely believed that Vincent van Gogh cut off his entire ear, but he actually only severed a part of his earlobe. The incident's exact details are still debated.Medieval People Believed the Earth Was Flat: By the Middle Ages, most educated Europeans knew that the Earth was spherical. The flat Earth myth was largely propagated by 19th-century writers.The Trojan Horse Was a Large Wooden Horse: While the story of the Trojan Horse is a famous part of Greek mythology, its historical accuracy is dubious. Some historians believe it might have been a metaphor for a siege engine or a clever ruse rather than a literal wooden horse.