There are quite a few people who mistakenly see history as a boring subject. Learning about events that happened years ago or people who are long gone may seem like a waste of time. But the truth is, it’s actually much more than memorizing a whole lot of dates, figures, and names. And it can be pretty entertaining, too!
Just take a look at the r/HistoryMemes subreddit, which is purely dedicated to sharing epic jokes about the old days. More than 3.6M self-described history experts continuously share hilarious takes on our past and mix in a little fun to the facts.
We have selected some of the best posts from the r/HistoryMemes online community to prove that history is not dull at all. Continue scrolling, and let us know which ones you enjoyed most! Also, if you can’t get enough of funny history memes, be sure to check out our previous posts right here, here, and here.
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Impressive
History Meme
I Am Confusion
Since 2012, the r/HistoryMemes subreddit has amassed more than 3.6M members with several thousand researchers scrolling through the forum at any given time. Online communities like this one show us how learning events that happened before us can help us better understand the present.
Finding the time to explore history is always a great idea. This way, we fill our heads with compelling knowledge and valuable context that allows us to see how our actions shaped the world. While not all things in our past are fun and full of joy, there are plenty of interesting topics for virtually everyone.
To learn more about this subject and why history buffs enjoy looking at hilarious Reddit memes about our past, we reached out to Darren R. Reid, Ph.D., a lecturer in history at Coventry University. When asked whether funny pictures and jokes can be used in teaching, he said that they are a great way of communicating complex ideas in a fun and accessible way.
It Really Do Be Like That (Via: @russiansinlondon)
We Love Petty
Thanks For Clarifying
History Meme
One man's hut is another man's sustainable housing made from local materials with heritage techniques
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I know next to nothing about African history other than Egypt, it just wasn't talked about in history classes :(
Same. My teachers said there's no point to even learning something like the basic geography of Africa because the political borders are still changing. :(
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I was about to comment that the bottom left picture was Mesa Verde, but the buildings didn't look quite right, so I googled it: Dogon cliff dwellings in Africa! I'm surprised how much they look like the Anasazi Cliff Dwellings!
Also the first university in the world was in Africa, in Morocco. There is also the thing that people from outside Africa continue to take photos of African countries to try and make the whole continent look backwards whereas of course they have sophisticated cities and suburbs. So disgraceful how the world treats Africa.
Yeah, it would be like photographing the slums in Paris that the Roma were banished too, and then saying that all of Europe looks like this.
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Pre-colonial Africa invented the first vaccine. An enslaved man named Onesimus first brought the knowledge to the Americas. If that's not a giant indication of a smart and developed culture, I'm not sure what is.
C-sections, too! Specially in Uganda, and most mothers survived, differently from the c-sections performed by European doctors
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French president Sarkozy once gave a infamous speech in Dakar about, I quote, "the African man, who didn't make History", and of all the b******t I've heard French politics say and still after 15 years, I think of this as the cringiest, most infuriating speech I've ever heard.
It’s amazing what ancient people were able to do with sticks and huts! They could make them look like stone buildings!😲 Amazing!
Shut up we don't want them to find out about it or else they will try to sack it again
nah it was the british who colonised africa and wrote inaccurate history in english. the american "scholars" inherited their biases.
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Africa is the Birthplace of homosapiens, that seems pretty historic.
My DIL thought South Africa was full of huts and people being eaten every day by lions. She refused to visit us when we lived there near a National Park. We even sent pics of our very modern house.
Yes they do. I'm surprised you haven't heard it before.
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We hear the same s**t here. There is no history in the US. Dude, there are literally homes made of dirt that are still in use.
Pretty sure the lower-left corner picture is in the Americas, not in Africa. I could be wrong though
That's the Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali. It does look very similar to Mesa Verde in Colorado though. Fascinating that they're 7 time zones and an ocean apart.
Load More Replies... Who even says such things? Why? Sounds like a lukewarm racist trying to sneak dis black people
Please use upper and lower case properly instead of writing like an idiot.
What are the places on these pictures? Recognize Sudanese Pyramids and an Ethopian Church and Dogon cliff dwellings...but what are the rest???
I'm not sure you'd want to treat Africa as a lump... It's diverse. Also, for much of history crossing the med has been less hassle than crossing the Sahara.
Will someone puleese tell me what the deal is with capital letters and lower case letters in the same word?
precolonial Africa be giving the middle finger to the eurocentric people.
It has nothing to do with Eurocentrism. It has more to do with Africa not having much literature, art and written languages or books with history. We are not in a contest, children. If it was a contest, the Asians (from the Mediterranean to Pacific) would kick all our assess. Of course, Africa has the longest human history but so much is speculation.
Nope, it's not. It does look similar though. That's the Bandiagara Escarpment (Dogon cliff dwellings) in Mali.
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Approx 8 billion people on this earth, many of them abject fools, using "nobody" about ANY foolishness is in itself quite foolish, my dude.
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Just because you haven't personally witnessed a problem doesn't mean it doesn't exist. People really do believe and say nonsense like this. I remember this comment thread I saw on Facebook a few months ago with hundreds of people commenting that sort of nonsense. https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10161591329182796&id=714042795
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Where do you think Ethiopia is? The top left image is from Lalibela in Ethiopia and is a UNESCO heritage site
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100 pt for me! my old school books you entitled b***h.
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I would qualify that statement if I were you. America (and I'm assuming you mean USA) has an incredibly rich history before European colonisation
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"They can be very clever and I think students really appreciate using memes to help them to connect to the topics they’re studying," Reid told Bored Panda. When so many people enjoy encountering funny history memes online, the lecturer said that "when they’re good, they are intelligent, witty, and fun. They also help people easily understand (and remember!) important events or ideas."
While some believe that history is a dull subject that is slowly losing its significance in the academic world, Reid said that it’s, in fact, one of the most enduring and popular ones.
"Practically everyone, at some point in their life, will set out to learn something about the past. History memes let us explore that enthusiasm in a new way, connecting with a broader and younger audience."
"If someone doesn’t love history yet, they probably haven’t learned about the area and period that will capture their imagination," he continued. "Memes are a great way to tell stories in a really accessible way — and they help people to learn about compelling chapters of the past that they didn’t even know existed."
It Do Be Like That
History Meme
History Meme
Big Brain Meme
Studying the little details, even if from Reddit memes, that surround a specific era or event can help us deepen our knowledge and grasp why things happened the way they did. After all, learning about our past can change our perspective, improve critical thinking, and let us come up with new brilliant ideas. While the basic facts provide us with context, understanding how civilizations, cultures, and governments evolved is the truly fascinating part.
I Still Do This
Sober me and drunk me need to have a talk about online shopping then 🤣
You’ve Got My Support
Quit Horsing Around
I can see myself doing this in that past life, and ending the whole plan in one snort😂
Father Of John Wick
If you’re wondering why people should pursue history at all and why there are so many members in the r/HistoryMemes subreddit, it "teaches you how to investigate complex, world-shaping events," Reid explained. "It teaches you how to systematically find and analyze evidence. It teaches you how to communicate your ideas. At Coventry University, our students even learn how to make documentaries."
"People who study history become critical thinkers with a powerful analytical toolset and the ability to communicate complex ideas," he added. "Those are incredibly important skills — and they develop them whilst learning about the past and the forces that have shaped our society."
Reid stressed that studying history is not just about gaining knowledge: "It’s about gaining important skills that can be used to find success in a dizzying array of jobs and careers."
First Roman Meme
Inspired By A Different Post Made By U/Modshave2muchpower
I Love How The Horseshoe Crab Refuses To Evolve
I learned recently that modern cats are very similar to ancient cats. Dogs though have evolved quite a bit. From only an evolutionary standpoint, that would suggest that cats evolved humans to better serve them instead of the other way around.
The Great War Was Just One Big Tragedy
War is so sad. Millions of people dying for small increases in land or the fact that one person believes in a different facet of a god. Or in the case of many wars, nothing at all.
More Like Months
However, with so much information and funny history memes floating around the web, not every historic truth or detail is true. Some might even believe in false facts and bogus theories without actually knowing they are incorrect. Reid explained that we must check our sources. "The internet is an incredible tool, but it is also responsible for producing and disenchanting a lot of bad information."
Absolute Queen
Somebody Wanna Tell Him?
After One Of Stalin's Speeches People Were So Scared To Be The First One To Stop Clapping That The Applause Went On For 11 Minutes. Eventually The Director Of A Paper Factory Was The First One To Sit Down. That Night He Was Arrested And Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison
The More You Know
And over the years, the Dutch has learnt from this and enhanced their wall building skills. They are now able to keep even the sea at bay back home.
"Don’t take anything for granted," he said. Today, we can find documents, letters, speeches, and many more sources quite quickly, so it’s always important to check how people support their points. "Look to the works of credible scholars to ensure the accuracy of whatever you’ve read or whatever you intend to produce," the lecturer added.
But for now, let’s return to our selection of Reddit memes on historical events, shall we? There’s still plenty of them on this list for you to check out!
Deep Stuff
Sounds Like A Donda Bar
For The Glory Of Rome
Darren R. Reid advised you to be curious and explore the past. "Learn the lessons our ancestors teach us through their words and actions. Learning about the past is one of the best ways to understand why we — all of us — act the way we do."
On October 26 2001, An Entire Country Decided To Wipe Their Ass With Their Own Constitution.
Family Tree Goes Brrrrrrr
Gotta Respect The Ogs
Come On Bruv
Are you sure you've been laughing for 10 minutes straight? Have you checked the clock?
Goes For Almost Every Movie
Smart Tactic
Tanegashima Go Bang
Stock Market Hurts So Bad Rn
In the end, Caesar gets free, assembles an army, catches the pirates and has them crucified.
Who's Ready To Lose A Few Limbs And Earn A Whole Penny?
Two Cities Famous For History Of Slave Trade
We Need More Chungus
Please Help Me
Guilty Pleasure
Note: this post originally had 130 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
We need more of these. We need to laugh at these things. And fast forward a few hundred years get laughed at. We're now preserving our own stupidity rather well. That is, if we don't end up blowing ourselves up...
Yes they are... if you read the claim, it wasn't saying that they were accurate, it said "Most Accurate History Memes That People Shared On This Group"... so out of everything posted on that group, these were the most accurate. But comparing accuracy to other things posted on Reddit, that isn't setting the bar very high.
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We need more of these. We need to laugh at these things. And fast forward a few hundred years get laughed at. We're now preserving our own stupidity rather well. That is, if we don't end up blowing ourselves up...
Yes they are... if you read the claim, it wasn't saying that they were accurate, it said "Most Accurate History Memes That People Shared On This Group"... so out of everything posted on that group, these were the most accurate. But comparing accuracy to other things posted on Reddit, that isn't setting the bar very high.
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