9 erroneous beliefs about world-famous places of interest

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Find out the most widespread myths about world-famous sights that we believed were true. Perhaps, they will surprise you too.

Sometimes facts about the most popular places of interest are such an absolute truth for us as the fact that Earth revolves around the Sun. We don't question them, though maybe occasionally we should: some of them are nothing more than just legends or misbeliefs.

#1 Big Ben - is a clock tower

One of the most recognizable symbols of London and the whole of England - the clock tower we all call Big Ben. In fact, it is called Elizabeth Tower, renamed in 2012. Before that it was known as the Clock Tower of Westminster palace.
Why then is it called Big Ben? That's because it's the name of the tower's biggest bell, known for its "voice". This is also the reason for saying Big Ben is ringing. The tower cannot be ringing, but the bell can.

#2 The water of the Dead Sea is the most salty

It is true if you say that the Dead Sea is the saltiest of all seas, but it's erroneous to believe its water is the saltiest in the world. The Dead Sea's salinity level reaches 28% which is impressive, but is not a record.
A pretty big Assal lake can boast its record 35% water salinity. It is located in Djibouti Republic in Eastern Africa.

#3 Stonehenge was built by Druids

Few people know that contemporary scientists dismissed the "Druids'" origin of one of the most recognizable places of the world and proved by means of radiocarbon analysis that Stonehenge is much older than the Druids, so it's not them to thank for its construction.
At the present moment scientists stick to the opinion that mysterious Stonehenge was built in several stages, first of which can be attributed to the period of 3000 years BC.

#4 Architects of Saint Basil's Cathedral were blinded

It's a well-known story about Ivan The Terrible being so impressed by the beauty of Saint Basil's Cathedral that he ordered to blind the masters Barma and Postnik Yakovlev so that they could never build a more beautiful cathedral.
But if Postnik participated in the erection of St. Basil's Cathedral, he could not be blinded then, because several years later he was working at the construction of Kazan Kremlin.

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#5 Pisa tower is the most tilted one

The main "falling" sight is actually very slightly tilted - only 3,54 degrees.
And Capital Gate skyscraper, also known as Abu-Dhabi Falling Tower was included in "Guinness book of records" as a building with the biggest lean angle in the world - it is leaning 18 degrees to the west.

#6 St.Peter's Cathedral is the biggest

St.Peter's Cathedral also known to us as the heart of Vatican is often mistakenly regarded as the biggest cathedral in the world. Although its dimensions are impressive and it can house 60 000 people, its rival - The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) - is twice bigger. It is also included in "Guinness book of records" as the biggest church in the world.

#7 Niagara falls - the highest in the world

Ask anyone about which waterfall is the highest in the world and you are very likely to hear the name of Niagara. In reality, Niagara falls "Horseshoe", "Bridal Veil" and "American Falls" are astonishingly wide but not high at all - 53 meters, of which only 21 meters are visible.
Really impressive is the height of another American waterfall called Angel. Located in Venezuela, it is 979 meters high.

#8 Pyramids stand in the desert

We imagine Egyptian pyramids according to the books we've read and movies we've seen and believe they are standing in an unmanned desert, blown by rough winds. In reality poor districts of Kair come up to them very closely, so the view is not too impressive.

#9 The Great Wall is seen from space

This myth has been widely circulated for a long time. It said the Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure, that can be seen from space. Alas, in 2003 Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei refuted it. This event stirred public interest so much that the Chinese government promised to delete this information from all textbooks in the country.

Did you know these facts are just misbeliefs? Or maybe you can recall other misperceptions of well-known places that most people believe to be true? Your commentary is welcome!

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