The gladiator stands in the sand, exhausted, and the crowd roars. The emperor lifts his hand and turns his thumb down. Everyone knows exactly what that means. It's over for him.

Or is it? Cass has seen the films. Pip wants one simple thing: which Roman actually wrote that down? What they find is a gap in the record you could drive a chariot through, a famous painting that quietly filled it in for everyone, and the bravest thing a historian can say: "we don't actually know."

Got a myth you want us to put on trial? We'd love to hear it, email hello@thetruthisweirder.com.

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