George Washington never said "I cannot tell a lie" after chopping down his father's cherry tree. Both the tale and the phrase were invented by Mason Locke Weems, one of Washington's early biographers, who added the anecdote after Washington's death to show his exceptional honesty. Weems, a minister and book seller, wrote a popular biography that mixed fact with moral stories. The cherry tree myth became part of American folklore and is repeated in school lessons, though no evidence supports it.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.