4 Wild West Myths Many People Still Believe

This week's Mega Curious Tips teamed up with our sister site Voxel to bring some myths and truths about the Wild West. In late October, the game "Red Dead Redemption II" will be released for PS4 and Xbox One, one of the most anticipated of 2018. The game will focus on the adventures and missions of gangster Arthur Morgan, Van der Linde gang. But is all that is said of this period of US history true?

First of all: the aim of the Wild West cowboys was not as accurate as the movies try to show. In fact, there are reports that they were pretty bad at calculation, so much so that legendary sheriff Bat Masterson, who lived between 1853 and 1921, suggested that, to hit someone's heart, it was better to aim at the groin!

old West

Another detail that the movies suggest is that everyone was armed at that time. If access to weapons in the United States is easier today, then control was much tighter. So it was very unusual for people walking with revolvers around their waists to be seen on the streets. Even bank robberies happened much less often than movies try to make us believe.

We also have the idea that most cowboys were American, but this is also a myth: in fact, most of them were of Mexican, Hispanic, or Black origin! Already the posters that offered a reward for some bad cowboy even existed, but those who hunted them were usually the sheriffs or the people connected with the government, not anyone who wanted easy money.

***

Do you know the Mega Curioso newsletter? Weekly, we produce exclusive content for lovers of the biggest curiosities and bizarres of this big world! Register your email and do not miss this way to keep in touch!