This Instagram Account Shares Lesser-Known Historical Facts, And Here Are 40 Of The Most Interesting Ones
History isn't just about the past. By learning about those distant people and events, we also understand what shaped the present.
And while nothing will replace sound academic literature, every once in a while, it's healthy to balance it out with other forms of content, reinvigorating our passion for the subject.
That's why we at Bored Panda like covering online projects like 'Weird History' or 'Everyday History Facts.'
This time, we're inviting you to take a look at 'Amazing History', an Instagram account that focuses on the visuals and shares lesser-known historical pictures in an attempt to broaden its followers' horizons. Here are some of the gems it has shared so far.
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50 Years Ago They Tried To Stop Katherine Switzer From Running The Boston Marathon Because She Was A Woman. Last Month, At 70, She Ran It Again Wearing The Same Number
According to author, historian, and storyteller from the UK Dave Tonge, history can offer a lot to a person.
"It really depends on the type of history being taught," Tonge told Bored Panda. "I, like so many people, was fed a never-ending list of dates — of great battles and Kings and Queens. In other words, the history of the so-called 'great and good'. It's the kind of history that drives many away from the subject because it's 'elite' history that they cannot relate to."
1963
On January 19, 1981, Heavyweight Champ Muhammad Ali Became So Upset When He Found Out That A Vietnam Veteran Was About To Commit Suicide Near His Home, That He Dashed To The Scene In Just Four Minutes. Not Only Did Ali Prevent The Man From Killing Himself, He Also Personally Drove Him To The Hospital
Tonge, however, has always been interested "in the history of the common people (as presented in court documents, for example) and also in the history of riots and rebellions, where the poorer folk whose interests were not represented by the Church and State, rose up against the ruling classes."
"That's why I also got into storytelling; in the folk tales that people shared in the alehouse and by their own hearth at home, again we hear poorer voices coming through and learn something of their ideas, dreams, and beliefs that often conflicted with that of the ruling classes," he explained.
1940s Polio Outbreak
Madam CJ Walker in her Ford
American Aircraft Carrier
History is such a vast subject, one person can't possibly know it all. So Tong believes that its enthusiasts should focus "on periods, or rather events that lead to great changes, especially with regard to ideas and beliefs as well as leading to great social change."
"In medieval times, that might be events like the Black Death, which killed nearly half the population of Europe, but in doing so resulted in momentous changes for those who were left," the historian highlighted. "For example, fewer people had greater opportunities to escape the feudal system that had seen poor families tied to one master and the land upon which they were born."
This Is A 392-Year-Old Greenland Shark That Was Recently Discovered In The Arctic Ocean. He's Been Wandering The Ocean Since The Early 1600s!
Someone needs to assign it a fucken body guard cause everytime we find an animal like this... someone kills it... it happens everytime. It's so f****d up. This is an instance where putting a tracker on it would be understandable... or even like a necessity. He can avoid death in every way... but when it comes to human beings he's no match. I hope this dude stays safe. What a magnificent creature.
I completely agree with you. Humans destroy everything!!!
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All they know is that it is at least 150 years old: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/04/28/fact-check-age-greenland-shark-viral-image-not-known/4854186001/
Professor Richardson said that the existence of such long-lived species could help scientists discover how some animals reach such advanced ages. The mollusc's long life came to an end in 2006 when the British researchers – unaware of the animal's exceptional age – froze the specimen, killing it.
"He's been wandering the ocean since the 1600's" Of course he has!! Refuses to ask for directions, look at a map, won't use the new Google Maps on his phone, and has told the wife he knows EXACTLY where he's going.
They count the teeth to determine age, sadly, they had to go through 4 divers before they got the final count.
Try this: Researchers analyzed 28 female sharks, most of which had died after being caught in fishing nets. They estimated the oldest of the animals tested had lived between 272 and 512 years. The midpoint of that range was 392 years. Nielsen told USA TODAY the image is a screenshot from a video, which can be seen in a November 2020 Instagram post.
There's also a 500 years old clam called Ming. Imagine the stories they could tell.
Radiometric dating of inert (essentially dead) eye tissue.
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Yeah, but when they die they just sink to the bottom or they get eaten, truthfully how did they know it's age?
Yeah but when they die, they just sing to the bottom or get eaten, truthfully how do they know the age?
They studied specimens that were killed by fishermen so...
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His soul must have done something terrible in his past life to be reborn into an immortal blind shark cursed to swim the depths of the freezing ocean
They checked their Tinder profiles and then added 10 years to the female sharks and reduced the length of the males by 4 inches to get it right.
I really like these animals. They swim at a very slow pace and some of them get a parasite which burrows into their cornea and renders them blind. I decided once that was what happened to bad people when they die...they become Greenland sharks, and have to spend a few hundred years cold, slow, lonely and blind...
After googling this appears to be false . They are known to live over 200+ years but the age can not be determined.
Polish Girl, Lidka, 21, Member Of The Resistance, During Warsaw Uprising 1944. Survived The War, Died In 1993
Hedgehog
When it comes to the UK in particular, Tonge thinks momentous events like the Reformation and the English Civil war are also important because "not only do they mark changes to our religious and political system, but also they see poorer folk beginning to formulate their own ideas and beliefs separate to the church and state. "
Two Brave Armenian Women Pose With Their Rifles Before Going To Battle Against The Ottomans - 1895
Joe Medicine Crow
He lived an amazing life, and died at 102. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Medicine_Crow
Three-Year-Old Peggy Kennedy, A Polio Patient, Smiles At Therapy Ducks In A Pail Of Water. 1956
Letter From A Trapped Coal Miner Says Goodbye To His Wife, 1902
Fraterville Mine disaster Jacob Vowell and his son Elbert along with about 200 other miners were killed "“Ellen, darling, goodbye for us both. Elbert said the Lord has saved him. We are all praying for air to support us, but it is getting so bad without any air. Ellen I want you to live right and come to heaven. Raise the children the best you can. Oh how I wish to be with you, goodbye. Bury me and Elbert in the same grave by little Eddie. Godbye Ellen, goodbye Lily, goodbye Jemmie, goodbye Horace. We are together. Is 25 minutes after two. There is a few of us alive yet. Jake and Elbert Oh God for one more breath. Ellen remember me as long as you live Goodbye darling.”
When it comes to choosing the right sources to get started, Tonge always recommends older history books aimed at school children.
"I'm talking about textbooks from the 1950s and 60s, because they tended to have a lot more detail than the very basic children's history books of today and often refer to original sources many of which are included," the historian explained.
A Reusable Shopping List From The 1920s
Oxford, U.k
225-Million-Year-Old Petrified Opal Tree Trunk Located In Arizona
Job Hunting 1930's
But Tonge's collections like Tudor Folk Tales or Medieval Folk Tales for Children are also great choices because their characters often relate to real historical figures or archetypes from various time periods and everything is based on legit historical documents.
But if it's more memes that you're currently after, check out our piece on History Memes Explained, a cool social media project that not only collects but also dissects the best memes about our past.
Chief Iron Tail
A Peruvian Elongated Skull With A Metal Plate Surgically Implanted, Estimated To Be From About 2000 Years Ago. The Broken Bone Surrounding The Repair Is Tightly Fused Together Indicating It Was A Successful Surgery
I don't know, why are most people today thinking, that our ancestors 2-3 or more thousand years ago, were "dumber" as the 21st century people. Sure, the technology was not as advanced, like today's is, but they had the knowledge.
Two Guards From Delhi Durbar With James Ricalton, An American 🇺🇸 Photographer Who Visited India In 1903
2019
This Is The Rms Queen Elizabeth Pulling Into New York With Returning Us Servicemen In 1945. Finally Ww2 Is Over
1500 Year Old Tree, Located In South Africa. The Oldest Living Thing On Earth
Tinder During 1901
However, if it's more memes that you're after, check out our piece on History Memes Explained, a cool social media project that not only collects but also dissects the best memes about our past.
Country Store On Dirt Road, North Carolina In 1939
This Skeleton Of A Roman Man, Who Was Crushed By A Flying Stone Slab During The Eruption Of Mount Vesuvius Nearly 2000 Years Ago, Was Discovered In May Of 2018
South Dakota 126 Years Ago. Indian Chiefs Who Had Council With General Miles And Settled The Indian War. 1. Standing Bull, 2. Bear Who Stands And Looks Back, 3. Has The Big White Horse, 4. White Tail, 5. Living Bear, 6. Little Thunder, 7. Bull Dog, 8. High Hawk, 9. Lame, 10. Eagle Pipe
Fossil Trees As Tall As Modern-Day Redwoods Have Been Found In Northern Thailand. This Petrified Trunk Measures 72.2 Meters In Length, Suggesting That The Original Tree Would Have Been Over 100 Meters Tall. Its Approximate Age Is 800,000 Years
Just Rare In 1964, Ringo Starr Snapped A Photo Of Some High School Students Who Had Skipped Class To See The Beatles During Their First Trip To The United States
1943 - Last Photo Of The Legendary Nikola Tesla
Jacob Miller
He looks like he’s wearing a bindi except it cost a lot of pain to get it
Young Oyster Shuckers, Josie, Six Years Old, Bertha, Six Years Old, Sophie, Ten Years Old, Port Royal, South Carolina, 1912. Work Began At 4 Am. Photo By Lewis Hine
Union Blue And Confederate Gray Veterans Reunite At Gettysburg In The Year 1913 — Standing By “The Bloody Angle” Where Pickett’s Charge Took Place 50 Years Earlier And Over 3,000 Soldiers On Both Sides Lost Their Lives — Now They Clasp Hands Over The Stone Wall As Brothers
Civil War reunions, attended by both sides, were very common at the end of the 19th century and early 20th. Former soldiers would meet up with friends they had not seen in decades and formerly reconcile with the other side. The last great reunion was in 1938 on the 75th anniversary of Gettysburg.
A German Woman With Her All Belonging Sitting Alone In War Ruined Cologne. 1945
A Triple Decker Bus. Germany, Berlin, 1926
US Veterans Of Four Different Wars, That Lived In The Same Town Of Geary, Oklahoma - 1940s
These days to be a veteran of 4 US wars, you only need to have 'served' 1 year...
Archaeologist And A Child From Pompeii
In 1895 In Paris, An Express Train Overruns A Buffer Stop, Crosses More Than 30 Meters Of Concourse Before Plummeting Through A Window At Gare Montparnasse
Note: this post originally had 74 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Pretty sure I already saw this list. On this site. At least five time.
It's possible they get recycled but it's the comments that change and make it different... sometimes. Sometimes I've seen "new" ones with 3 yr old comments
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A lot of these posts need fact checking. Someone needs to do that at Bored Panda, please
The mirror in the zoo, in Antwerp there was one too (in Dutch). Sometimes, I miss that mirror.
Why do they have some posts with and some without buttons to up / downvote?
Pretty sure I already saw this list. On this site. At least five time.
It's possible they get recycled but it's the comments that change and make it different... sometimes. Sometimes I've seen "new" ones with 3 yr old comments
Load More Replies... A lot of these posts need fact checking. Someone needs to do that at Bored Panda, please
The mirror in the zoo, in Antwerp there was one too (in Dutch). Sometimes, I miss that mirror.
Why do they have some posts with and some without buttons to up / downvote?
