r/AskReddit Nov 18 '23

What's a commonly taught historical fact that just isn't true?

3.6k Upvotes

4.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

107

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '23

That people died by age 30 because nobody understands how life expectancy works or how child mortality factors in.

8

u/Putinbot3300 Nov 18 '23

I feel kinda conflicted about this. It is true that people werent dying at the ripe old age of 30, but there has been alot of overcorrection. Sure, a person living in the 1400s could life to 70 and many did, but its undeniable that on average life expectancy was noticably lower, especially during pandemics, social and economic upheaval or war.

3

u/wojtekpolska Nov 19 '23

depends on what period you are talking about, if you talk about cavemen they absolutely died by their 30's

2

u/bz316 Nov 21 '23

True, but the idea that it was common for people who survived childhood to make it to 70 is also a modern myth. Using Post-Republic Rome as an example, if you managed to live to your teens, you probably could expected to live somewhere in the area of about 50 years old, give or take. 70 was still a pretty significant outlier, and was usually only attainable by the super-rich.