23 American History Questions Most Americans Get Wrong

7. What started the great Chicago fire of 1871?

Correct: It remains uncertain
Incorrect: A cow kicking over a lantern

If you thought it was a cow kicking over a lantern, you believed in a widespread rumor that started when the fire first took place. As some local boys began to say that the fire was caused by a woman named Catherine O’Leary, who was allegedly milking her cow in her barn, the newspapers reported the story and published it.
There has never been evidence, however, that the tale was real. In fact, O’Leary vigorously denied the argument stating that she was in bed at the time and couldn’t have been held accountable. In 1997, the Chicago City Council officially cleared Catherine— and her cow— of all the blame.

If that’s the case, what really caused it? Well, no one knows for sure. Some people claim that men were gambling in O’Leary ‘s barn, and that one kicked over a lantern while he was drunk. Others say that one man, Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan, stole some milk from O’Leary and, in the process, accidentally knocked over a lantern. Although others have gone as far as to speculate that the fire was caused by a meteorite shower.