Myths obscure the real facts about our favorite vices: smoking, drinking and gambling. Discover which nation had the first anti-smoking campaign, what those three X's on a jug of moonshine mean, or where our first slot machines appeared.

Myths taint our knowledge of the 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day, and our favorite mini-holiday, the weekend. We should celebrate Independence Day on July 2nd, St. Patrick wasn't Irish, and the idea of a fun weekend is a recent creation.

Much of what we know about the old west is myth, not fact, drawn from movies and TV. Gunfights never started with a quick draw, cowboys weren't all white, and Native Americans feared enemies more menacing than settlers and soldiers.