Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Debate The The Most Overrated Historical Figures

People Debate The The Most Overrated Historical Figures
man speaking in front of crowd

By now it's common knowledge that history is written by the winners.

But it's also written by the swooners, the myth-makers and exaggerators, the ones who turn a blind eye to the ugly parts of the bio.


Indeed, the “winners" have some selective imaginations.

The great heroes, for all the historically influential deeds, were hardly. Even the saints weren't.

u/HotfoxK asked, "Who is the most overrated figure in history?"

Hype Tomb

King Tut

Really wasn't all that of an important pharaoh and is only well known because a dude named Howard Carter found his tomb and showed his treasure around the world

u/benx101

Dial Down the Penis Talk, Man

Sigmund Freud

His impact on psychology is largely overstated and most if not all of his research and claims are not recognized by modern psychology.

A good equivalent would be comparing him to astrology. Fun to read and think about, but don't take it too seriously.

u/rdg-lee

Sounds Like Grad School

Thomas Edison

Guy was the absolute biggest douche and a good portion of his patents were stolen from his apprentices and students

u/Jackforreall

Frequently Disremembered Racism

FDR

First he interred Asian Americans, actual citizens. We complain about Trump and his detention centers, but they legally aren't allowed to be here. Not saying it is right, but you can't love FDR and complain about border camps.

He refused to accept Jews who he knew would be killed.

He helped create red lining that has caused most, if not all, of the systemic racism in housing.

u/h0sti1e17

Panic Move, Woodrow

Woodrow Wilson

He was a racist and a sexist, and was pretty incompetent with the whole WW1 treaty, where he basically got walked all over by Congress and the others in the Big 4.

u/GamerWrestlerSoccer

Hell of a Set of Jowls, Though

Winston Churchill

The guy had a couple successful years, even that's arguable. The rest was steeped in failure, bloodshed and ash.

u/greengiantsbaby

Not Exactly a Healer

Mother Teresa

She was a sadist who thought poor people were better off suffering because their was purity in their suffering or other such bullocks (making her status as a kindhearted person incredibly ironic).

u/Dash_Harber

Peace and Independence, For Some

Gandhi

He was a racist (he wrote letters to Hitler and they began with "Dear friend"), he forced his lady companions to have enemas daily.

u/TechnicalCase

One Fish, Two -- Wait, what?

Dr Seuss. He only started writing children's books because his porn didn't sell. He based his Grinch character on himself. Cheated on his wife while she was ill with cancer, she committed suicide over it, writing in her note to him that "I cannot conceive of life without you". He later married the mistress.

lovelyb1ch66

The Less Than Wonderful World of Disney


Walt Disney was a racist, sexist, Nazi-sympathizing plagiarist who stiffed his workers.

Virtually everything positive that has ever been attributed to the man was shamelessly stolen from someone else... up to and including Mickey Mouse, who was the creation of an animator by the name of Ub Iwerks. The fellow whose empire now controls a sizeable chunk of the world's entertainment was essentially a media-focused reincarnation of Thomas Edison.

RamsesThePigeon

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Sabrina Carpenter and Madonna at Coachella
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella

Madonna Pleads For Safe Return Of Vintage Clothes From Her Sabrina Carpenter Coachella Performance After They Go Missing

Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's performance at the second weekend of Coachella is pretty much THE pop culture event of the moment, but it ended on something of a low note for the Queen of Pop.

Madonna joined Carpenter onstage to celebrate both the 20th anniversary of her 2006 performance at Coachella to promote Confessions On A Dance Floor, and the forthcoming release of its sequel, Confessions II.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alex Jones and

Alex Jones Has Shirtless Meltdown After 'The Onion' Reaches Deal To Take Over 'InfoWars': 'They're Body Snatchers!'

On Monday, InfoWars founder Alex Jones flipped out, crashing an X livestream shirtless, in reaction to The Onion's bid to license his website and all associated branding potentially moving forward.

In November 2024, Global Tetrahedron, parent company of The Onion, attempted to buy InfoWars through a bankruptcy auction, but the move was blocked by the judge overseeing sales of Jones' property.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Tim Cook
Alex Wong/Getty Images; John Nacion/FilmMagic

Trump Just Shared A Truly Unhinged Tribute To Tim Cook After He Announced He's Stepping Down As Apple CEO—And, Hoo Boy

President Donald Trump shared an unhinged tribute to Apple CEO Tim Cook—whom he again referred to as "Tim Apple"—following Cook's announcement that Apple will have a new leader starting in September, openly reminiscing about all the times Cook would call him to "kiss my ass."

Cook took over from Steve Jobs and reshaped Apple by leaning on his operations expertise. He streamlined and expanded global supply chains, introduced Apple-designed chips, and pushed the company beyond hardware into services, launching subscription offerings like Apple News, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay, which have since become major revenue drivers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Donald Trump
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Alex Brandon/Pool/Getty Images

AOC Offers Hilarious Take On Why Trump's Golfing Amid Iran War Might Actually Be A Good Thing

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke frankly with MeidasTouch Network's Pablo Menriquez when asked about President Donald Trump's second-term golfing habits, pointing out why Americans might actually want him on the "golf course more than you want him in the Oval Office."

She said it was “awful” that Trump was golfing while the U.S. is at war with Iran and facing rising prices, arguing he should be focused on his responsibilities instead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahlex Jones; Donald Trump
@RealAlexJones/X; Allison Robbert/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Alex Jones Claims Trump Has A 'Deal' With The 'Deep State' To Throw The Midterms—And MAGA Is Crashing Out Hard

Former friend of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, grifter, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones widened the gap between himself and the MAGA movement he helped create back in 2015.

In the caption for his five-minute video posted to X on Friday, Jones wrote:

Keep ReadingShow less