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I graduated high school before Instagram was created, and maybe that’s a good thing. Otherwise, I could've spent entire classes scrolling through accounts like The Historical Meme, laughing at the ineffectiveness of the Maginot Line instead of reading about it in my textbooks. Luckily, today I can indulge in this at 3 AM, so it doesn’t interfere with my life—yay! I invite you to join me, preferably at a more reasonable hour, to revisit what you've learned about our past (or discover it for the first time) in a refreshingly unconventional way.

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    To learn more about history, we contacted Howard Dorre, writer and co-host of the presidential history blog and podcast Plodding Through The Presidents, which he creates with his wife.

    "History can offer the average person a better understanding of their world, through real-life stories of conflict and triumph," Howard told Bored Panda.

    Indeed, these memes can ignite your curiosity, and that spark can continue to burn even after you're done scrolling through the list. Don't worry—you can continue your studies elsewhere.

    Some things, however, may offer the most value for your time and effort, depending on your interests and background, and provide valuable context that will help you get the bigger picture.

    #4

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    JimSteve
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Actually, the British are just one of the most recent of hundreds of civilisations who took things from other cultures. Everyone just hates on the British because they're still around.

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    "For Americans, I think it's important to understand the Revolutionary period and the formation of our Constitutional government, the history of slavery in the United States and the events leading up to the Civil War, the Reconstruction period, and the gains for African Americans that were erased with Jim Crow, the fight against fascism during World War II, and the Civil Rights era in the 1960s," Howard Dorre said.

    "Together these periods tell the story of America's promise of equality and freedom in a way that makes it clear that we're not on some automatic steady path toward a better world."

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    You can choose from a variety of sources to deepen your understanding of history!

    In the fall of 2020, a US survey of 1,816 people revealed that the top three were all in video format:

    1. Documentary film/TV — 69%;
    2. Fictional film/TV — 66%;
    3. TV news — 62%.

    Interestingly, more traditional sources, such as museums (35%), nonfiction books (32%), and lectures (12%) filled out the middle to lower ranks of this hierarchy.

    #12

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    Upstaged75
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I recently saw someone doing this on the lake where I live. He was on a paddleboard holding what looked like bat wings. It was a windy day, so he was getting some good air I guess. :)

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    Some much-welcome news is that the public sees clear value in studying history, even relative to other fields.

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    Rather than asking whether respondents thought learning history was important—a costless choice—the researchers asked instead how essential history education is, relative to such fields as engineering and business. The results were encouraging: 84 percent of respondents felt history was just as valuable as the professional programs.

    #14

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    Abel
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pictured: DJ Francis Drake rapping like there is no tomorrow

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    #15

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    LizzieBoredom
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    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Tea drinking came to England in 1650, but because it was expensive, didn't become the most popular drink in England until the early 19th century. It took oolong time.

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    #16

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    Corvus
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She didn't know at the time... and when she started to know, it was way too late.

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    #22

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    TotallyNOTAFox
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Everyone: "Tanks can't cross the Ardennes!" - Heinz Guderian: "Halt mal kurz mein Bier"

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    #24

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    Luis Hernandez Dauajare
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    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "When ze rockets go up, vho cares vhere zey come down...That's not mein department!"

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    #25

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    der sebbl
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    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For those who don't know: after WW1, Germany started to design new tanks, which they weren't allowed to because of the Versailles treaty. To disguise that, they stated that they were building tractors ( don't ask me why that worked)

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    #28

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    Tom Brincefield
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In terms of total air power, the US Navy is second in power to the US Air Force. 3rd is Russia, with the US Army and the US Marine Corp rounding out the top 5.

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    #29

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    Crystal
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So cruel! Ironically it was apparently Canada that passed laws to ban liquor first, then USA followed while Canada repealed decision. Canadian bootleggers got rich after that. 😁

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    #32

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    Corvus
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah yes, I knew a girl in college who admired Stalin. Told her that if he were in power, she'd very likely be designated an enemy of the state due to being in college.

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    #33

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    JimSteve
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Belgium: "I had one colony but I did some of the worst things out of all of you."

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    #34

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    JimSteve
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Boomers had to deal with all of the sh*t that happened afterwards so cut them some f*c*i*g slack modern hate culture!

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    #37

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    FreeTheUnicorn
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hawaii was unified in 1795 but it was independent for 800 years or so before that. By culture, language and customs, Hawaii was a country long before European maps designated it as such. If we applied the same metrics to Hawaii as contemporary European "countries" , Hawaii was a country a lot longer than. 103 years.

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    #38

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    Dragons Exist
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wyoming and Utah always look like two rectangles that overlapped and Wyoming won the overlapping corner

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    #40

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    Indosidius
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You forgot South Africa. The 50 000 white women and children that died under terrible conditions in concentration camps. And the 100 000's more African natives that also died in similar camps that no record was kept off, except for the skeletons in the mass Graves....

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    #42

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    Janissary35680
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This happens frequently to very flat countries with no natural geographical borders.

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    #43

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    Owen
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sacha Baron Cohen. He will always get an upvote from me. One of the best satirists of all time.

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    #44

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    Corvus
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Being well-fed is evil capitalism. Therefore, we shall stay hungry, comrades!

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    #45

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    Ellinor
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My great-grandfather was living in the region of Lorraine during WW2. History class became really weird when my teacher asked us to talk about our families' experiences in the war...

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    #46

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    #48

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    KittyGaming
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah what about France? We literally have a friendship bracelet with France, they have the Eiffel tower and they gave us the Statue of Liberty

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    #50

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    Janissary35680
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Portuguese end-ran the Ottoman Empire by methodically discovering the route around Africa into the Indian Ocean. The Spanish tried to one-up them by heading west around the globe instead. They didn't appreciate how far it was at the time or know that there was a whole other continent in the way.

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    #51

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    v
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish people would step away from the idea that the U.S. president is the cause of all good or bad that happens during their tenure.

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    #52

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    Nea
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My Himalayas 🧡 One of the best parts of being an Indian is to be able to visit the most beautiful hills in the world and call them mine 🙂🙂

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    #61

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    K- THULU
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That was the choice they gave Australia......( last time we had conscription ... all birthdates put in a barrel if you win, you fight)

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    #62

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    Corvus
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Spoiler alert: Mehmet II already had cannons. The walls didn't last long :P

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    #63

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    Wingsofwrath
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    See, that's the problem, you must have gotten confused, that's not your bae, that's the Byzantine empire circa 1250...

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    #64

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    #65

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    JimSteve
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The German armed forces were the most technologically advanced for the entire of the 2nd world war. They just couldn't compete with the allies' production capacity

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    #66

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    #69

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    Freya the Wanderer
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The running joke about the Holy Roman Empire is it was not an empire, nor Roman, nor Holy.

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    #70

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    #72

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    Ace
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    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    1939, not 1940. Do Americans really thin the war in Europe only started when they were forced to join in?

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