Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Major Historical Events Many Folks Don't Realize Happened Around The Same Time

History is fascinating, because while we're busy thinking about important events, sometimes we lose context of how long ago that event actually happened.

We might forget that two important figures in history were alive at the same time, or we might picture an event as if it happened 100 years ago instead of 20.

Remembering the context in which these events happened makes them all the more powerful.


Redditor drichm2599 asked:

"What are two historical events most people don't realize happened at about the same time?"

Diary of a Young Girl

"Anne Frank was born the same year as actor James Hong, who attended the Oscars [this year]."

- CityAbsurdia

Oxford May Be Older Than You Think

"Oxford University is older than the Incan Empire."

- Iknowr1te

"It sounds crazy until you know that the Inca were from late medieval and early modern history, rather than ancient history."

- David_bowman_starman

Galileo at Harvard

"There was a six-year period in which Galileo could have taught at Harvard."

- monkeydo54

Vienna 1913

"Hitler, Stalin, Trotsky, Tito, Freud, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand all lived in Vienna in 1913."

- AdamBombKelley

"So a communist, a socialist, a fascist, and a monarchist walk into a bar..."

- nuclear-launch-codes

"Freud: Clearly all their thoughts dwell on their mothers."

- Guy_with_Numbers

The Guillotine Isn't So Outdated

"The last execution by guillotine in France and the release of the first 'Star Wars' movie took place in the same year (1977)."

- justanotherstr4nger

Meanwhile, 'Toy Story 3' Was Released 13 Years Ago...

"The most recent execution by firing squad in the U.S. took place the same day 'Toy Story 3' was released in 2010."

- ScorpionX-123

The Samurai Address

"There was a 22-year period when Abraham Lincoln could have sent a fax to a Samurai."

"The fax machine was invented in 1843. The samurai were abolished in 1867. Abraham Lincoln died in 1865."

- SnooGrapes2914

Egyptian Civilization

"Wooly mammoths were still around when the Egyptians were building the pyramids."

- BaconReceptacle

"Cleopatra was born closer to the moon landing than to the pyramids being built. By a lot."

- Selith87

"We generally do not appreciate how long the ancient Egyptian civilization was around. Narmer, Pharaoh of the First Dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period, lived over 3,200 years before Pharaoh Cleopatra VII Philopator died, ending the line of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. And there are Pharaohs before Narmer, such as Iry-Hor, a candidate for the earliest person whose name we know."

"Egyptian culture existed for over three millennia, evolving, changing, sometimes enduring massive fractures, collapses, and invasions. Either via conquest or being conquered, they had an uncanny ability to absorb the cultures of other peoples into their own, creating this mutable yet eternal cultural identity."

"The gods of Egypt were old by the time Hatshepsut sent her expedition to Punt. They were even older when Ramesses II fought the Battle of Kadesh. By the time the Roman Republic was founded, they were ancient."

"Ancient Egypt existed for a really f**king long time."

- Nerevar1924

The Dinosaur Timeline

"One that trips me out is that T-rexes are closer to being alive with us than they would be to the Stegosaurus."

“Tyrannosaurus lived 68 - 66 million years ago, and Stegosaurus lived 155 - 145 million years ago. That puts the gap between those two, 77 million years and 66 million years between the Tyrannosaurus and us.”

"Insane, as I always think of dinosaurs being around in the same basic time period."

- Rollotommasi5

Historical Overlaps

"Joe Biden was alive when Nikola Tesla died."

- Shevek99

"Ancient" Civilizations

"The founding of the capital of the Aztec civilization in Tenochtitlan (which would become the foundation for Mexico City a few centuries later) and the beginning of the 100 Years War over in Europe are only about a decade apart (~1325 vs. ~1338)."

"In fact, the major civilizations of the Americas that were ultimately taken down by European conquests and diseases all roughly rose and fell over the course of the 11th through 16th centuries."

"I always find it funny if someone refers to the Incan, Mayan, or Aztec civilizations with words like 'ancient', considering they rose and fell during the same periods as the Mongolian and Ottoman empires, and we don't typically call those ancient."

- rizhail

The Summer of '69

"In 1969 in August Hurricane Camille hit the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the rain storm at Woodstock was part of that storm, and Manson’s group had just gone on the murder spree. The US was as crazy as ever."

- BinxMcGee

So Eerie

"The iconic cover photo of the Beatles' 'Abbey Road' album was taken on the same day as the Manson murders."

- President_Calhoun

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

"Fenway Park opened the same week that the Titanic sunk."

- redsoxsteve9

Kind of Wild

"We are more years in the future from the release of the movie 'Back to the Future' than the movie traveled back in time."

"If we traveled back in time the same amount of years they did, you could still get a VHS copy of 'Back to the Future' in a bargain bin."

- McFeely_Smackup

While we may know these different pieces of history, it's fascinating to think about how they all fit together into the world's timeline. Some of it's interesting, but some of it feels mind-bendingly surreal.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Andy Ogles; Bad Bunny
Heather Diehl/Getty Images; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

MAGA Rep. Dragged After Claiming Bad Bunny's Halftime Show Depicted 'Gay Pornography'

Tennessee Republican Representative Andy Ogles was widely mocked after he claimed Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show was "pure smut" that depicted "gay pornography"—even going so far as to write a letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee demanding "a formal congressional inquiry" into the "indecent broadcast."

The rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, delivered a largely Spanish-language show that has been hailed as a "love letter to Puerto Rico" and that drew from his latest album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which won the Grammy for Album of the Year just a week ago.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chris Brown (left) and Bad Bunny (right) are pictured separately amid online backlash and praise following Bad Bunny’s record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance.
Marc Piasecki/WireImage; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Chris Brown Slammed After Appearing To Throw Bizarre Shade At Bad Bunny's Halftime Show

Bad Bunny’s record-breaking halftime show pulled in over 135 million viewers—fans, stans, casual watchers, and yes, professional haters who tune in just to be mad. Which brings me to the loudest one in the room: Chris Brown.

Brown took to social media to offer an unsolicited—and frankly bizarre—reaction to the Puerto Rico-inspired performance, posting a cryptic message that immediately rubbed people the wrong way.

Keep ReadingShow less
Todd Richards; Big Air Snowboarder Seungeun Yu
@btoddrichards/Instagram; Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

NBC Broadcaster Speaks Out After He's Caught On Hot Mic Trashing Men's Snowboarding Competition At Olympics

Well, we've officially got our first hot mic oopsie of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics!

Broadcaster Todd Richards took to Instagram Sunday to apologize for comments he made during the men's big air snowboarding event that he didn't realize were being broadcast.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amber Glenn; Donald Trump
Andy Cheung/Getty Images; Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Olympic Figure Skater Reveals 'Scary Amount' Of Threats She Got After Her Criticism Of Trump

Amber Glenn, the first openly queer woman to represent the U.S. in figure skating, spoke out in an Instagram post about the torrent of threats she's received after criticizing President Donald Trump's treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.

Glenn had voiced criticism of the Trump administration earlier in the week during a pre-Olympics press conference, describing the period as especially difficult for herself and others in the LGBTQ+ community. Her comments were among several political statements made by U.S. athletes in the run-up to the Winter Games in Milan, Italy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rick Scott
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

MAGA Senator Slammed After Saying U.S. Olympians Critical Of Trump Should Be 'Stripped Of Their Olympic Uniform'

Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott was slammed after sharing a video criticizing U.S. Olympians who are conflicted about representing the United States amid President Donald Trump's controversial policies.

Scott spoke out after multiple Olympians made headlines for criticizing the Trump administration amid its nationwide immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less