8.0/108 votes#1 - World War 2
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 1/21/2017
The war waged by America's greatest generation is obscured by myth. Few remember that an American admiral played a pivotal role in showing Japan how to attack Pearl Harbor or that the German army was not the mechanized wonder it's reputed to be.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.7/107 votes#2 - Smoking, Drinking and Gambling
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 1/21/2017
Myths obscure the real facts about our favorite vices: smoking, drinking and gambling. You won't believe 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.5/106 votes#3 - Liberty, Leprechauns and Lounging
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 1/28/2017
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.4/108 votes#4 - The Real West
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 1/28/2017
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.4/107 votes#5 - Secret Societies
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 2/4/2017
Much of what we know about America's secret societies is myth, not truth. The Freemasons have no evil agenda, the Mafia took root not in New York, but the South, and Harvard's Skull and Bones does not control a sinister shadow government.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
5.3/106 votes#6 - Space: The Final Frontier
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 2/4/2017
Myths eclipse the real facts about NASA's dramatic rescue of three astronauts aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft; and Hollywood movies have a hit-and-miss track record of depicting the realties of interstellar exploration.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.6/105 votes#7 - The Atomic Age
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 2/11/2017
The real facts of the nuclear age are clouded by myth. Manhattan played a major role in the Manhattan Project; there were closer calls to World War III than the Cuban Missile Crisis; America's nuclear security hinges on a football and a biscuit.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.4/105 votes#8 - American Villains
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 2/11/2017
Myths litter the stories of America's most infamous bad guys. Al Capone was a philanthropist as well as a hood; Benedict Arnold was a hero as well as a traitor, Jesse James was no wild west Robin Hood; and we've got Billy the Kid's nickname wrong.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.0/106 votes#9 - Famous Feuds
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 2/18/2017
Myths distort the stories of two of America's most renowned rivalries. Before their fateful duel, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were law partners; and the conflict between the Hatfields and McCoys didn't end in the backwoods, but a courtroom.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.2/106 votes#10 - The Civil War
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 3/4/2017
Myths cloud the real facts of America's Civil War. The North's biggest city tried to secede; the Union didn't go to war to end slavery; most deaths weren't caused by battle wounds, and Grant and Lee didn't end the conflict; two other generals did.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#11 - Bad Medicine
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 3/11/2017
America's medical history is infected with myths. George Washington's doctors may have inadvertently killed him; Abraham Lincoln used a toxic remedy that warped his mind; and heroin was once a best-selling cough suppressant.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#12 - Moments That Changed History
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 3/18/2017
Myths and misconceptions surround four pivotal historic moments: the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#13 - Bonus Round: Fire in the Sky
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/28/2017
On this special edition of America: Facts vs. Fiction, we explore the myths behind extraterrestrial spacecraft and we learn the truth of two pioneering flights.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of America: Facts vs. Fiction Season 5
Every episode of America: Facts vs. Fiction Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of America: Facts vs. Fiction Season 5!
History as we generally know it is full of holes or half-truths, and a mother lode of juicy details have been lost, distorted, covered up...
Genre:Documentary
Season 5 Ratings Summary
"World War 2" is the best rated episode of "America: Facts vs. Fiction" season 5. It scored 8/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 1/21/2017. This episode is rated 1.3 points higher than the second-best, "Smoking, Drinking and Gambling".