A Facebook post recounting the ahead-of-its-time ingenuity of so-called “tide-millers” in Nova Scotia in the 18th century caught the attention of readers in early September.

The post, which included a striking image of a mill attached to a rock face, claimed wooden water wheels built in narrow inlets were used to harness the extreme tides in the Bay of Fundy to grind grain, saw lumber and power small forges.

However, experts say that while tide mills did exist during the 1700s, they did not operate the way the post describes.

THE CLAIM

“On the coast of Nova Scotia, where the tides of the Bay of Fundy are the highest in the world, a unique community of tide-millers harnessed this raw power for centuries,” read a Sept. 2 Facebook post with more than 1,000 reactions on an account called

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