It's hard to laugh at the state of the world when we're living through turmoil. War, political chaos, economic collapse, rising gas prices and leaders acting like lunatics are no joke. But as history has proven time and again, human beings will find the humor in just about anything... eventually. Even if it once terrified them.
Some of our darkest moments have produced the most unexpectedly funny memes, jokes, cartoons, films and pieces of satire. There's a whole corner of the internet dedicated to turning historical disasters into comedy gold. Memesfromalexandria claims to have the "best memes this side of constantinople." The page is bottomless pit of the past, brought back to life through bite-sized posts. It pokes fun at history, wars and ancient evils. Bored Panda has put together the best gems from the account. Many prove that history is in fact funny as hell.
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The reason for right to bear arms was to protect against tyranny from a standing army. It was supposed to be the militias (the state's "forces", what we would now call the national guard). Instead, we got people that believe it is their right to carry guns to rallies and voting places and such, and a president that is calling out that same (national guard) that was supposed to be the protection to do the tyranny.
There's nothing funny about countries going to war. But here we are laughing at battles fought in years gone by. History memes provide the perfect proof that us humans can turn almost anything into a joke. That's not necessarily a bad thing, say some experts. In fact, history memes are changing the game when it comes to how younger generations interact with, and learn about, the past.
Research has shown that we retain information better when it’s tied to an emotional reaction, like laughter. Or as Theo Marlowe writes, "A well-timed history meme can turn a forgettable fact into something you’ll recall years later, if only because it made you snort coffee through your nose."
Jason Steinhauer is the author of History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past, and says he's seen first-hand how the digital world is turning history education on its head.
"High school teachers repeatedly tell me their students form their ideas about history from what they see on social media. A college student told me that she and her peers get their history from Twitter threads, op-eds, news stories and Wikipedia, and that her younger brother gets his history from 15-minute videos on YouTube," writes Steinhauer, adding that another student told him that she watches up to five history videos on YouTube just while making dinner.
Abu Simbel is spectacular, and remarkably, its design which only allows sunlight to go straight to the back of the temple to illuminate one particular statue at sunrise on two days of the year, was preserved when they moved the entire monument to a different island when they created the Aswan Dam.
That’s always been a ridiculous argument, considering the Confederate constitution banned states from restricting slavery.
"How we understand, learn and communicate history has been completely disrupted by technology," says the expert. "Historical information is now a fragmented and atomized part of the news feed, intertwined with the onslaught of information that reshapes our perceptions of reality each day."
Marlowe says that one of the reasons history memes are such a hit is because they "strip away the intimidation factor that comes with thick textbooks or dense academic lectures." In other words, memes make history approachable to people who might otherwise avoid it altogether.
Can we just end this "no one:..." joke format? It adds absolutely nothing.
It started in Kansas, but was kept hushed until the Spanish king got it.
How many wars has Germany declared in the last 80 years? Fought? How many wars has the US declared in the last 80 years? Fought?
Not "birth control" but maybe the birth control pill. "...The earliest recorded use of a c****m-like device dates back to around 3000 B.C. with King Minos of Crete, who reportedly used a goat’s bladder, while ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Greek cultures used linen sheaths or animal intestines/bladders...". And of course abstinence, invented by the church.
Im bringing back the Aztec religon. Lets serve hearts to eagles!
The same meme for any western country, but with capitalism and oligarchs.
I think, historically, that being able to understand the scripture was one of the main drivers of Protestantism.
The political cartoons about how big George4 was were true though.
Obama on the top Trump on the bottom then Biden on the top Trump on the bottom and they aren't even related.
Another meme which harkens back to the eighties - The USSR was dissolved in the early nineties. Yet somehow very modern as well.
Every episode of Timeless. It was a good show. The one Black guy only got in trouble once.
Listen to the lyrics. Their songs are mostly pro-god, anti-droogas. Dont do this cool tjing, kids. Dont summon Satan, go to church.
Civ games. Until recently Gandhi beelined for nukes then threatend and used them. It stopped being funny in civ3.
This is an old-time novelty photo, not a portrayal of a real treatment.
And for the gents there's Jocasta (sometimes called Epicaste), Queen of Thebes, also known as Oedipus' mother.
Wow. I learned something. Though apparently, there is some debate about the subject.
Napoleon. France saved our butts twice. Georgie Porgie got the war he wanted. Watch Lucy Worsley.
Balistas will take care of that. The pilum was designed to get stuck in shields and neutralize them. Every soldier carried two. The gladius is a stabbing sword, not a slashing one.
Not a good picture of a bustle. A shoplifter stealing a piano under her dress would be more appropriate.
Not only are those the most populous countries with those languages, it probably reflects the accent and dialect that is going to be used.
