50 Of The Most Interesting Historical Photos From The “History In Pictures” Facebook Page

The ‘Things From The Past’ project has over half-a-million followers, and it’s easy to see why. The content they post is pretty broad in scope. There really is a bit of everything for everyone: from fashion lovers and architecture fans to artists and those who have a more traditional understanding of what the word ‘history’ is all about.

The fun thing about accounts like this one is how much they spark our interest. You can’t help but want to Google a bit, surf Wikipedia, and learn more about the past. You start with a simple photo, a tiny tidbit of trivia, and you end up spending hours researching something you might not even have known existed that morning.

Did you notice? We’re fans of learning new and interesting stuff. We always like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. But when it comes to information that’s shared online, we like to be slightly skeptical: it’s important to do your own research, whatever fact or photos you might come across. Even a simple Google search can work if your inner alarm bells go off.

That way, you can cross-reference facts and even check the reliability of the source before you go resharing something on social media. We know how awesome it is to tell your friends about some totally cool historical thing. However, we also know that in this (arguably) post-truth world, it’s better to be careful than naive. Just because something’s repeated constantly doesn’t make it the truth. And conspiracy theories can spread like wildfire thanks to the double-edged sword that is the internet.

Professor Joseph Pierre, an expert in psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, previously explained to Bored Panda that certain historical events get a lot more attention than others. That means that some people come up with way more conspiracies about them.

“It is true that certain historical events do tend to attract conspiracy theories and there is evidence that times of societal upheaval or crisis when people are feeling unsafe and desperate for clarity offer a kind of fertile soil for conspiracy theory beliefs,” the professor told Bored Panda.

“Over the past 60 years, the assassination of JFK, the death of Princess Diana, and 9/11 are the most obvious examples of national traumas surrounded by conspiracy theory beliefs. We should acknowledge that many conspiracy theories, like the idea that the Earth is flat, aren’t really based on any kind of obvious traumatic event,” Professor Pierre said.

The expert said that those who believe in conspiracies tend to have a simplistic view of the world. They see everything as a struggle between good and evil. There are no nuances, only black-and-white tones.

“People who believe in conspiracy theories are also often attracted to the Manichean narratives that conspiracy theories offer, involving battles of good and evil pitting against each other in an almost apocalyptic fashion. So, it should come as no surprise that conspiracy theories might sprout up from World War II—a real-life apocalyptic battle between good and evil,” he said.

Meanwhile, physicist Steven Wooding told Bored Panda: "If a theory explaining an aspect of reality has monocausal tendencies (or even shamelessly presents itself as monocausal), it is highly likely to be wrong. We should develop a habit of thinking about this every time we hear a theory supposed to explain some 'hidden truth' to us. Then, if you think to yourself, 'Wow, that sounds pretty monocausal!'—it's a sign you should do your research."

According to the scientist, people love conspiracy theories because they want simplicity and clarity in a world that is anything but.

"The world is complicated: many processes are going on that we don't have time to follow, don't have the knowledge to explore, don't have an awareness of their existence. Conspiracy theories are usually simple: in their worldview, one cause determines everything (the world is ruled by lizard people, etc.)," he told Bored Panda.

He said that conspiracy theorists provide a clear vision of the world that’s grounded on a narrative where good and evil clash. “They give the false impression of thoroughly understanding and explaining the world in a simple way. Studies prove that people who believe in one conspiracy theory are much more likely to believe in another. In this sense, I think that every conspiracy theory is wrong. They differ only in scale, but they are all part of the same mechanism."