Are Records Always Right?

I am a family history buff and have been going through my deceased aunt's ancient files to make sure every name and date is on FamilySearch. I ran across a 1956 letter from cousin Bessie Young where she reports her frustration that many family dates conflict with each other. To emphasize the point, she included what a local talk show hostess had said:

 "I am celebrating two birthdays this year. I had always celebrated the fourth of February until I received my birth certificate and found my birthday was the fifth!"

A few days later, a lady from Monet (MO) wrote the hostess and said, "Well I have thought all these years I was a female, but when I received my birth certificate, I learned I was a male."

Ha, ha! Records can be wrong. Headstones are notoriously in error. So don't think what you think is the dead truth is set in stone.