Tidbits That Really Put History In Perspective For Us

Sometimes we think we have a basic understanding of history, and then one fact can turn our whole perception upside down and make us question if our internal time clock is off. Maybe it’s because we learned about world history in segments instead of holistically, but how did we miss that the Wild West and the Civil War happened simultaneously? Were we sleeping when we were taught how recent Cleopatra compared to the Great Pyramids? Is it our public education school system or our own fault for not realizing George Washington could not have possibly known about dinosaurs? 

Of course, with all these random facts rattling around in our noggins, it’s hard to keep a chronological record of what goes where. But sometimes, when we see black and white photos, it’s easy to forget how recent that is. (Don't forget that the queen of thirst traps, Martha Stewart, only has black and white childhood photos.) 

10

CRACKED The Starry Night was painted the same year Nintendo was founded H CARD CO B Van Gogh painted his most famous painting in 1889, the same year Fusajiro Yamauchi started producing playing cards under the Nintendo name.

9

CRACKED Woolly mammoths were alive when Egyptians built the pyramids. The last known group of woolly mammoths survived until 1650 B.C, about a thousand years after the Pyramids of Giza were built.

Source: National Geographic

8

CRACKED Emmett Till was born the same year as Bernie Sanders. Sharing a birth year with Martha Stewart and Bob Dylan as well, Till could still be alive today if he wasn't brutally murdered at 14 years old.

7

CRACKED Pablo Picasso died the same year Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was released It's possible (but highly improbably) that the Cubist painter could have gone to a laser light show since he lived until 1973.

6

CRACKED The United States had 14 presidents during Queen Elizabeth's reign The Queen met with 13 of the sitting Presidents, starting with President Harry Truman. (But, for an unknown reason, didn't meet with Lyndon Johnson.)

Source: NPR

5

CRACKED President John Tyler (born in 1790) has a living grandchild. In the office between 1841-1845, the tenth president had children in his 60s. His son had a kid at age 75. As of publication, that grandchild, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, is 93 years old.

Source: Washington Post

4

CRACKED Homo sapiens were alive at the same time as hobbits. Homo floresiensis were 3 feet 7 inches ancient humans who lived around 100,000 to 50,000 years ago in Indonesia. Homo sapiens emerged 300,000 years ago in Africa.

Source: Smithsonian Museum

3

CRACKED Peter Capaldi was 5 years old when Doctor Who first aired. Capaldi was born in April 1958. Не would go on to play the 12th incarnation of the Doctor in 2013, at 55 years old.

2

CRACKED One of the last known children of an enslaved person died in 2022. Daniel Smith died in October 2022 at 90 years old. His father, Abram Smith, was born into bondage during the American Civil War in Virginia.

Source: CBS News

1

CRACKED Biden was born closer to Lincoln's inauguration than his own. Lincoln's second inauguration was on March 4, 1865, only 77 years before Biden's November 20, 1942, birthday. Biden was 78 on his inauguration.