Columbus Day: 7 interesting facts about the famed explorer

3. Thought the world was pear-shaped

One of the most persistent historical myths is that Columbus proved to skeptical Europeans that the world was not flat. In reality, the vast majority of Europe already knew the world was round.

An added irony to the myth is that, later in life, while Europe continued to recognize the earth as spherical, Columbus himself came to believe the world was shaped like a pear.

According to historian Tony Horwitz's book A Voyage Long and Strange, during a voyage in 1498, Columbus concluded that the earth resembled a sideways pear, comparable to “a woman’s nipple,” with the tip having “the earthly Paradise.”

“In other words, Columbus thought he was sailing up the breast of the world to the Garden of Eden,” wrote Horwitz. “His actual location was present-day Venezuela, making the South American continent yet another of his unwitting discoveries.”