Throughout history, quotes of famous people are often misrepresented. This happens for a variety of reasons - some original quotes are clumsy, some don’t seem to match the style of language we expect of a person, and some are changed for propaganda reasons. This is a list of ten of the most well known quotes that are, in fact, misquotes.

If you know of other famous misquotes, be sure to tell us about it in the comments.

Quote: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” (”Je désapprouve ce que vous dites, mais je défendrai à la mort votre droit à le dire”)

What Voltaire actually said was “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too” from Voltaire’s Essay on Tolerance - that certainly doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. The misquote actually comes from a 1907 book called Friends of Voltaire, by Evelyn Beatrice Hall.

(Read the rest of this list…)

Over the centuries, history is filled with wonderful tales of mysterious people - many of whom are never identified. This list is a selection of the most significant or mysterious people of this variety. As usual, if you know of other fascinating people that would suit a similar follow up list, be sure to tell us in the comments.

Monsieur Chouchani (died 1968) is the nickname of an anonymous and mysterious Jewish teacher who taught a number of highly regarded students including Emmanual Levinas (pictured above) and Elie Wiesel in Europe after World War II. Very little is known about Chouchani, including his real name. His origins and entire life history were kept a closely guarded secret. His gravestone in Montevideo, Uraguay where he died reads: “The wise Rabbi Chouchani of blessed memory. His birth and his life are sealed in enigma.” The text was written by Elie Wiesel who also paid for the gravestone.

There is no known body of work by Chouchani himself, but he left a very strong intellectual legacy via his students. Chouchani dressed like a vagabond but was a master of vast areas of human knowledge, including science, mathematics, philosophy and especially the Talmud. Most of the details of his life that are known come from the writings and interviews with his students.

(Read the rest of this list…)

“Death -oh- Death”. Everybody sing it now. The last cellphone call will be made to us all some day, regardless. Most of us wont know when or where or in what form. The big D has a way of creeping up and surprising the dumbfounded or snatching the innocent. Death can cause howling and screaming or a calm transition into the mysterious hereafter, and sometimes “The Slayer” just seems to ignore what is most obviously a bulls eye. The following list contains ten unbelievable but amazingly true accounts of human beings that beat death. Some of these “cheaters of death” are still among us (as of this posting). In no particular order, here are some of my favorites.

He’s nail free today, but in 2004, Mejia was doing construction work on the roof of a house when he fell. The fall didn’t kill him, but the six 3 1/2 inch nails that accidentally shot into his neck and skull certainly should have. He survived because the nails barely missed his brain stem and spinal cord.

(Read the rest of this list…)

The brunette, in history, has always been seen as the temptress, the siren; from Lilith of Hebrew mythology to Shakespeare’s ‘dark lady of the sonnets,’ the brunette has been the woman which gives men pause even while we desire her, as though we sense there’s a dangerous cleverness in her that will destroy us. No matter what we do, we can’t help ignoring our caution… and so we fall into her trap. If, in terms of popular motif, the blonde is traditionally ‘angelic’ (and/or bubble-headed) and the redhead ‘fiery’ (and troublesome) the brunette is… something dark and deeply intense. She’s alluring and alarming, all at once.

(Read the rest of this list…)