Christopher Columbus Sleeps With Manatee

Yes, it'southward quite odd that Americans continue to celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, revering a conquistador who never even fix human foot on the mainland Northward American continent as "The man who discovered America." While I can certainly understand those who want to celebrate their Italian heritage, there are other, better ways to do that, likewise, considering that DNA bear witness suggests Columbus may not have even been Italian after all.

Much has been written and said (and rightly and then) almost Columbus'southward true legacy as a pillager, rapist, and royal killer. But not enough attention is paid to the etymological travesties he committed, which all the same persist to this day.

Showtime, there'south Costa Rica — "The Rich Coast," so named by Columbus for its wealth of gold. Upon his initial journey, Columbus claimed to have seen "more aureate in two days than in four years in Española."

Except in that location was no gold in what was now known as Costa Rica. Some experts recollect he but saw bananas.

And so there's the upshot of "carnivorous." When Columbus encountered indigenous people in the Caribbean, there were some who called themselves "Caribs." Upon hearing them refer to themselves equally such, Columbus went through several leaps of logic and/or bad hearing, according to the Online Etymological Dictionary. When they said "Carib," Columbus heard "Canib," which he took equally an indication that they were all descended from Genghis Khan, thus proving that he had in fact reached Asia by sailing due west across the Atlantic. This further mutated into "cannibal" when Columbus wrote about his unproven fears that some of the native people might swallow them. He never witnessed this happening, of course; only he decided it was not out of the realm of possibility, and thus, he dubbed the act of people-eating later on these descendents of Khan who were not in fact descendents of Khan because Columbus was a moron.

Columbus besides "discovered" manatees, and idea they were mermaids, lamenting that they were, "not one-half equally beautiful equally they are painted."

Remind me why anyone celebrates this man over again?

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