For those of us of a certain age, you might remember being told at school that the children’s rhyme "Ring a Ring a Roses" was all about the Great Plague that swept Britain in AD 1665 to 1666. The evidence from studying folklore suggests its all a myth.

You could be forgiven for thinking the medical procedure known as Caesarean section was named for Roman statesman and general, Gaius Julius Caesar. It is, however, a myth. Find out why.

We keep hearing mention of pasta's ancient Roman roots, but as far as we can ascertain pasta in the form familiar to us today simply did not exist until the 13th century at the earliest.  Here at Tastes Of History we have attempted to work out why this popular misconception persists.

Placenta cake is not what you might at first think. To the ancient Romans, placenta, like its erstwhile fellow, libum, were cakes made with honey to be used in important religious services. Here's a recipe to recreate this delicious dish.

One of the history workshops that Tastes Of History offers for schools is on the Vikings. In doing so, we try to get our costume as accurate as possible so, just like the Vikings, we don't wear horned helmets. Find out why as we dispel a myth.

Today we use the term “Viking” for anyone from the Scandinavian communities of Denmark, Norway and Sweden during the late 8th to late 11th centuries.  In Britain, therefore, the “Viking Age” is commonly understood as the period from the earliest recorded raid in AD 793[1]until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.  To call all of these people 'Vikings' is mistaken as the name doesn't really describe the distinct tribes, groups or communities of the Early Mediæval period. Fi

Ancient Athens in the 5th-century BC is often held to be the birthplace of democracy.  The idea, however, was not unique to Athens.  Other city-states (poleis, sing.polis) also adopted the principle of giving their citizens the right to decide on the issues facing them, but none are as well documented as Athens.  So, for most western democracies it is to ancient Athens that they look for inspiring modern government. But how much would we recognise of Athenian democracy?

Most people in western culture recognise the "thumbs up" gesture as one that indicates all is well, while conversely "thumbs down" means the exact opposite. Reinforced by movies and the media, nearly everyone accepts that the gestures hail from the days of the Romans. But it's a myth. Find out why.

Dispelling the popular myth that Cleopatra's Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk in London has any connection with the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt.

What have the Romans ever done for us? How about they created the earliest known recipe for burgers.

In April 1606 Britain adopted a new national flag, but is it a "Union Flag" or a "Union Jack"? Find out here.

Recipes for sausages filled with blood that are cooked or dried and mixed with a filler are found worldwide.  Find out more about Blood Sausages.

A brief history of the long and lucrative worldwide spice trade.

Colin Freedbear's brief guide to some of the best preserved bits at the Kourion Archaeological Site in Cyprus.

A brief history of the chilli pepper.

Once again a recently broadcast popular UK television programme promoted yet another “factoid”. A throw away comment, on camera, repeated the fiction that people in the 17th-century believed the Earth was flat. Sadly this myth was debunked ages ago.

In an effort to continually improve our knowledge we came across “History…The Interesting Bits!”, a blog by Sharon Bennett Connolly. In October 2019, the blog posted a piece by guest writer James Wright, a buildings archaeologist with Triskele Heritage, who busted several myths surrounding the construction of castles.

Keep Calm and Carry On was a motivational poster produced by the British Ministry of Information in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, but was never issued. Find out why.

Look up whilst you are visiting castles and you will often see voids in the overhead masonry. Find out how these "murder holes" aided the defence of a castle.

Sometimes when watching a television programme or film, the simplest thing can ruin its enjoyment. For example, an officer walks into a room and a soldier salutes. All well and good but where does the idea of saluting come from?