Europe Said Black Swans Didn’t Exist

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Did you know all of Europe thought black swans were impossible?

[00:00:04]There was even a saying back then to call something a black swan meant it could never exist.

[00:00:12]Kind of like how we say when pigs fly today.

[00:00:16]But in 1697 I sailed into a strange river on the western coast of Australia and saw them.

[00:00:25]Hundreds of them. Black feathers, red beaks, gliding across the water like ghosts.

[00:00:33]At first I thought my crew was lying to me.

[00:00:36]Europe had believed for thousands of years that every swan on Earth was white.

[00:00:42]But Australia proved us wrong.

[00:00:45]I am Willem de Vlamingh and I discovered the bird Europe thought could never exist.