A man watches Israeli Air Force planes fly over the Mediterranean Sea from a beach at Tel Aviv during an aerial show as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day to mark the 66th anniversary of the creation of the state, May 6, 2014. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Pod of dolphins surf effortlessly through the waves in the wild traveling at speeds up to 20 mph. (Photo by Greg Huglin)

A group of policemen and passers-by survey the wreckage of a taxi in Stoke Newington, London. Its front wheel lies on the pavement next to a sign bearing the ironic instruction “All Cars Stop Here”. 14th February 1930. (Photo by Fox Photos). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

America in the 1970s: Texas. Motorcyclist loading his possessions onto a truck with the help of his friends in Leakey, May 1973. (Photo by Marc St. Gil/NARA via The Atlantic)

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

A young girl navigates her way around Hampton Court maze in the spring sunshine on May 2, 2009 in London, England. The Hampton Court maze is one of the most famous hedge mazes in the world and was planted between 1689 and 1695 by George London and Henry Wise. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Bonbibi, Treehouse Point, Fall City, WA. The Bonbibi is balanced on two steel yokes. The yokes spread out the load and allow for tree growth and movement in the wind. A small deck hangs from the beams below and uses the treehouse itself to shelter guests. (Photo by Pete Nelson)

View of a damaged bridge at the Iguacu Falls on June 12, 2014, in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, following the overflowing of the Parana river. In neighbouring Paraguay flooding has forced the evacuation of about 150,000 people in Paraguay's capital city Asuncion, authorities said. (Photo by Norberto Duarte/AFP Photo)