Myth: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin

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Myth: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.

Fact: An article in the Journal of Southern History in 1965 documents that a device designed to remove the cotton seeds from the cotton was originally created in Asia and perfected in Santo Domingo in the 1740's, however Whitney did perfect the cotton gin to work on the slippery seeds of American cotton and he was the first to achieve a patent.

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