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If you used to doze off during World History class, it’s probably because the teacher never promised you any memes at the end. Still, history is a favorite subject for many students, never mind the lack of memes in the curriculum. In the U.S., 80% of adults say they loved Social Studies or History in high school, and men are usually more likely to say it’s their favorite.

We here at Bored Panda believe that learning can always be more fun when you do it with a little bit of help from memes. That’s why we’ve got some funny posts here from “Classic History Posting” that we think history enthusiasts should like. So, here are a few memes poking fun at Spain’s penchant for civil wars, hobbyists who like reading about ancient generals perhaps a bit too much, anachronisms like having WhatsApp in the Roman Empire, and many more!

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    #2

    Historical memes: A young Napoleon and his Darth Vader-like shadow as Emperor, a highbrow humor meme.

    classichistoryposting Report

    KitchenToto
    Community Member
    Premium
    5 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That may explain many of his later actions

    #3

    A historical meme showing two medieval figures, one crowned, with text questioning the British Museum's artifacts. Highbrow humor.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    55 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "We keep them safe from the destabilisation and war that we caused in countries that we plundered for their resources. Praise us!"

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    #6

    A historical meme with a bell curve showing the belief in witches over time, from 1000 to 1950, highlighting highbrow humor.

    classichistoryposting Report

    LakotaWolf (she/her)
    Community Member
    Premium
    33 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And now, in 2025, we're back to believing in witches again. Well, some of us believe we are witches ;)

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    #7

    A historical meme showing a person looking confused, representing Americans during the French Revolution, for humor.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    58 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The USA had a big mouth making fun of the 'cowardly' French, and now look who has a revolution against a powerful elite and an effective resistance movement against a f*****t power - and who hasn't even one proper general strike against a child ra/pist....

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    #9

    A historical meme depicting Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin dividing Germany, with a German figure pondering a complex map, perfect for highbrow humor.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "I love Germany so much that I am delighted there are two of them." (François Mauriac, mid-20th century French writer, diplomat, and politician)

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    #11

    A historical meme illustrating an ancient Roman arena filled with spectators, with a lion approaching people, depicting life in the moment.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The lion has a tiger and a cocker spaniel as backup, just in case.

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    #14

    A historical meme showing a tweet and a map of Asia, highlighting Japan's territory after 1942.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Francois
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not true, Japanese navy was in tatters after the battle of the Midway and US already managed to drive out the Japanese out of the Phillipinesa and conquered two Japanese Islands Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

    #15

    A historical meme displaying a map of Kaliningrad Oblast as a geopolitical anomaly, appealing to those who enjoy highbrow humor.

    classichistoryposting Report

    OneWithRatsAndKefir
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The answer to the anomaly, from what I remember and could be misremembering, is that none of the surrounding countries wanted the land, because Russia will Russia (see the situation with Ukraine and Crimea for reference).

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    #20

    A historical meme about the Swedish Colonial Empire, with a person saying I'm something of a c*******r myself, a highbrow humor meme.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Francois
    Community Member
    2 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Anybody thinks that Swedes were mostly harmless (after the Viking era) might want to brush up their history lessons. There is probably not a single decade were Swedes were fighting, usually outside their own country.

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    #21

    A historical meme showing the Trojan horse with text about Greek soldiers, a humorous take on ancient history.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For the earliest-known depiction of the Trojan Horse see Wikipedia: Mykonos vase. The Greek soldiers look they're riding in a multi-decker excursion bus.

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    #27

    A historical meme showing Obi-Wan Kenobi as Napoleon, saying Of course I know the French Revolution. He's me.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Francois
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ??? French revolution ended with the rise of Napoleon and his role was initially minimal.

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    #37

    A historical meme showing different depictions of Ancient Greek philosophers. This image uses highbrow humor with a historical twist.

    classichistoryposting Report

    WindySwede
    Community Member
    1 hour ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aristotle: "Red cylinder goes in the square hole!" ⤵️⤵️⤵️

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    #45

    A historical meme showing the Irish flag with text about forgetting language after colonization, a highbrow humor meme.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Balseraph
    Community Member
    2 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They didn't "forget" their own language. The English tried to eradicate it.

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    #46

    A historical meme displaying maps of Britain's empire before and after Churchill, showing its dramatic reduction.

    classichistoryposting Report

    Wonky Donkey
    Community Member
    1 hour ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The alternative was to do nothing and let the N.azis win.