5. Incorrect Historical Plaques In NYC

Unfortunately, this one is not a real hoax either which should raise some concern seeing that these plaques are supposed to denote factual historical information about the famous people who have lived or been in New York City over the past few hundred years. So here are two incorrect plaques in the city:

A plaque on Macy’s at 34th street between Broadway and 7th Avenue claims that Thomas Edison projected the first moving picture on April 23, 1896, with the “Vitascope” at a hall that used to sit where Macy’s is now. While that sounds cool, it’s not exactly true. It was Edison’s first moving picture and the first one to be played on screen to a paying audience. The actual very first one was in Paris in 1895.

Another plaque on 122 E. 17th Street claims that Washington Irving lived there. There is, however, no evidence that he lived there. Although, Irving’s nephew lived at 120 E. 17th Street and had a son named Washington Irving. This information is probably what led to some confusion and led people to believe the famous Irving resided at 122 E. 17th Street.

For more, check out other Lost and Incorrect Historical Plaques in NYC, and a woman’s quest to put up her own plaques.