Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.

There is no easy way to say this, so I'll just be blunt.

Benjamin Franklin, the most colorful of America's founding fathers, had a misunderstood, electrical,

and ultimately homicidal relationship with turkeys. Where should we begin? Well, probably

with the longest running episode of fake news this country has ever seen.

Going back more than 100 years, many Americans have genuinely believed that Franklin thought

so highly of turkeys that he wanted one to serve as the country's national bird and symbol.

Even at this very moment, children researching Franklin on a variety of online education

sites will find stories of how Franklin preferred the turkey over the bald eagle.

So, where did this vague news emerge?

Well, not Russia.

According to a Harvard University project that debunks myths concerning the Declaration of Independence,

the Franklin Turkey saga is all just one giant misunderstanding that stemmed from Franklin being misquoted a very long time ago.

Here's what happened.

Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams were on a committee that was supposed to come up with a national seal.

The founders were many things, but not artistic.

In the letter to his wife, Abigail, Adams wrote,

Dr. F. proposes a device for a seal, Moses lifting up his wand and dividing the Red Sea,

and Pharaoh, in his char chariot overwhelmed with the waters.

Jefferson proposed the children of Israel in the wilderness, led by a cloud by day.

As for Adams, he proposed Hercules.

There was no mention of turkeys or bald eagles, or any other birds, for that matter.

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