Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Major Historical Events Many Folks Don't Realize Happened Around The Same Time

Make us preferred on Google

History is fascinating, because while we're busy thinking about important events, sometimes we lose context of how long ago that event actually happened.

We might forget that two important figures in history were alive at the same time, or we might picture an event as if it happened 100 years ago instead of 20.

Remembering the context in which these events happened makes them all the more powerful.


Redditor drichm2599 asked:

"What are two historical events most people don't realize happened at about the same time?"

Diary of a Young Girl

"Anne Frank was born the same year as actor James Hong, who attended the Oscars [this year]."

- CityAbsurdia

Oxford May Be Older Than You Think

"Oxford University is older than the Incan Empire."

- Iknowr1te

"It sounds crazy until you know that the Inca were from late medieval and early modern history, rather than ancient history."

- David_bowman_starman

Galileo at Harvard

"There was a six-year period in which Galileo could have taught at Harvard."

- monkeydo54

Vienna 1913

"Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, Tito, Freud, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand all lived in Vienna in 1913."

- AdamBombKelley

"So a communist, a socialist, a fascist, and a monarchist walk into a bar..."

- nuclear-launch-codes

"Freud: Clearly all their thoughts dwell on their mothers."

- Guy_with_Numbers

The Guillotine Isn't So Outdated

"The last execution by guillotine in France and the release of the first 'Star Wars' movie took place in the same year (1977)."

- justanotherstr4nger

Meanwhile, 'Toy Story 3' Was Released 13 Years Ago...

"The most recent execution by firing squad in the U.S. took place the same day 'Toy Story 3' was released in 2010."

- ScorpionX-123

The Samurai Address

"There was a 22-year period when Abraham Lincoln could have sent a fax to a Samurai."

"The fax machine was invented in 1843. The samurai were abolished in 1867. Abraham Lincoln died in 1865."

- SnooGrapes2914

Egyptian Civilization

"Wooly mammoths were still around when the Egyptians were building the pyramids."

- BaconReceptacle

"Cleopatra was born closer to the moon landing than to the pyramids being built. By a lot."

- Selith87

"We generally do not appreciate how long the ancient Egyptian civilization was around. Narmer, Pharaoh of the First Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period, lived over 3,200 years before Pharaoh Cleopatra VII Philopator died, ending the line of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. And there are Pharaohs before Narmer, such as Iry-Hor, a candidate for the earliest person whose name we know."

"Egyptian culture existed for over three millennia, evolving, changing, sometimes enduring massive fractures, collapses, and invasions. Either via conquest or being conquered, they had an uncanny ability to absorb the cultures of other peoples into their own, creating this mutable yet eternal cultural identity."

"The gods of Egypt were old by the time Hatshepsut sent her expedition to Punt. They were even older when Ramesses II fought the Battle of Kadesh. By the time the Roman Republic was founded, they were ancient."

"Ancient Egypt existed for a really f**king long time."

- Nerevar1924

The Dinosaur Timeline

"One that trips me out is that T-rexes are closer to being alive with us than they would be to the Stegosaurus."

“Tyrannosaurus lived 68 - 66 million years ago, and Stegosaurus lived 155 - 145 million years ago. That puts the gap between those two, 77 million years and 66 million years between the Tyrannosaurus and us.”

"Insane, as I always think of dinosaurs being around in the same basic time period."

- Rollotommasi5

Historical Overlaps

"Joe Biden was alive when Nikola Tesla died."

- Shevek99

"Ancient" Civilizations

"The founding of the capital of the Aztec civilization in Tenochtitlan (which would become the foundation for Mexico City a few centuries later) and the beginning of the 100 Years War over in Europe are only about a decade apart (~1325 vs. ~1338)."

"In fact, the major civilizations of the Americas that were ultimately taken down by European conquests and diseases all roughly rose and fell over the course of the 11th through 16th centuries."

"I always find it funny if someone refers to the Incan, Mayan, or Aztec civilizations with words like 'ancient', considering they rose and fell during the same periods as the Mongolian and Ottoman empires, and we don't typically call those ancient."

- rizhail

The Summer of '69

"In 1969 in August Hurricane Camille hit the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the rain storm at Woodstock was part of that storm, and Manson’s group had just gone on the murder spree. The US was as crazy as ever."

- BinxMcGee

So Eerie

"The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' 'Abbey Road' album was taken on the same day as the Manson murders."

- President_Calhoun

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

"Fenway Park opened the same week that the Titanic sunk."

- redsoxsteve9

Kind of Wild

"We are more years in the future from the release of the movie 'Back to the Future' than the movie traveled back in time."

"If we traveled back in time the same amount of years they did, you could still get a VHS copy of 'Back to the Future' in a bargain bin."

- McFeely_Smackup

While we may know these different pieces of history, it's fascinating to think about how they all fit together into the world's timeline. Some of it's interesting, but some of it feels mind-bendingly surreal.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Video Of Trump Getting Handsy With Handsome Male Golfer Has The Internet Weirded All The Way Out

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump served as the honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup international golf tournament at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

It was Trump's first time in the Illinois city since his second term began in 2025. Chicago, its leadership, its people, and Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker have been frequent targets for ridicule and puerile insults from the POTUS.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump before and after he fell asleep
MeidasTouch Network

Trump Mocked 'Sleepy Joe Biden' During Oval Office Press Event And Then Promptly Fell Asleep—And It's Beyond Parody

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after he attempted to call out "Sleepy Joe Biden" during an event in the Oval Office only to fall asleep just moments later with the cameras still rolling.

Trump was speaking during an event that served as a launching pad for a $15 billion steel plant construction project in eastern Iowa. At one point, he took the opportunity to once again attack his predecessor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Eric Schmitt and Jack Smith
@atrupar/X

MAGA Senator Ripped After Confusing Basketball Teams In Embarrassing Attempt To Link Jack Smith And Fani Willis During Senate Hearing

Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt was widely mocked after confusing his basketball teams when he attempted to link former special counsel Jack Smith with Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis by claiming Smith went to an Atlanta Hawks game to collude with Willis about bringing charges against President Donald Trump.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Schmitt accused Smith of perjury after repeatedly questioning him about whether he had attended an NBA game in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024. The Atlanta Hawks hosted the Golden State Warriors that evening.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ben Affleck Opens Up About The Hilariously Savage Way His Kids Roast Him—And Fans Are Cracking Up

Twenty-four years ago, Ben Affleck was People’s Sexiest Man Alive. These days, his toughest critics live under the same roof.

The Oscar winner may have spent decades charming moviegoers, but apparently none of that star power works on his three kids—especially when Dad starts handing out relationship advice. Affleck shared that lesson during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he revealed how his kids keep him humble while promoting his new film, Animals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie Taylor Greene; screenshot of migrant caravan

MTG Rips GOP With Blunt Theory After Suspicious Migrant Caravan Spotted Heading Toward The U.S.

Responding to a report about a migrant caravan of more than 600 people from Honduras traveling through Mexico toward the U.S. border, former Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Republicans of orchestrating a crisis for political convenience.

The episode echoes a similar political controversy from 2018, when a much larger migrant caravan became a major issue in U.S. politics and was seized upon by the far-right. President Donald Trump, then in his first term, seized on the caravan ahead of that year’s midterm elections, describing the migrants’ arrival as an “invasion.”

Keep ReadingShow less