There were still Romans alive when America was discovered
When most of us think of the Roman Empire, we picture a historic civilization that was dubbed the Western Roman Empire, which was disbanded in 476. However, the Eastern Roman Empire survived much longer, almost until the discovery of America.
In fact, the ancient Empire fell in 1453, only 39 years before Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the American continent on his way to India. This means that there were people who considered themselves Romans still alive in 1492. This fact is quite mind-blowing.