To find out more about this miscellaneous corner of Reddit known as BarbaraWalters4Scale, Bored Panda spoke with one of its moderators, ImAwomanAMA, who happily shared some insights.

The community which is now home to 50.5k members was created back in January, 2019. The moderator said that it all started when one particular meme was posted. “It showed that Martin Luther King, Anne Frank, and Barbara Walters were all born the same year, 1929.”

ImAwomanAMA recounted: “The timeline comparisons were being discussed and it was mentioned how interesting some of these concepts were, seeing as how we often see things as being in different eras (such as Martin Luther King and Anne Frank being the same age as Barbara Walters). Thus, a sub was born.”

Because BarbaraWalters4Scale was born from a popular thread, there were many people who joined quickly, the mod explained. “There were many posts that have evolved more from ‘these things existed at the same time’ and now there are more of the time distance between events compared to today or other events in history,” they continued, referring to the transformation the community embraced.

According to ImAwomanAMA, there are so many things that can fit into the concept of timeline comparisons and it allows for many intriguing posts. “For example, did you know that Abraham Lincoln never used a doorknob? The doorknob that we know didn't exist until after his death. Now you find yourself wondering, ‘what did they use to open doors and keep them shut?’"

Part of the community’s appeal has to do with the fact that time passing between events seems to be very popular or at least greatly discussed. “If you ever want to feel old, those are the way to go. There are several posts that discuss the setting in movies and what the differences would be if they were set in today's world (like which song would have been played, etc.),” the moderator explained.

When asked about their favorite examples of timeline comparisons that have been shared on the subreddit, the moderator said that it must be the original, “the one that inspired us will be my favorite. Barbara Walters, Anne Frank, and Martin Luther King.”

“However, the others that I like are the ones where the historical figures could have seen 'this' or used 'that' because you often just don't think about how many inventions were actually brought about way sooner than we would think,” ImAwomanAMA added.

The moderator concluded by saying that “I thoroughly enjoy the community and wish I had more time to dedicate to it!”