Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912, but it faced skepticism from the scientific community. It wasn’t until 1965 and 1967, with the publication of two papers, that the theory evolved into plate tectonics and gained widespread acceptance. Meanwhile, NASA was wrapping up its Gemini Program in 1966, which not only delved into space exploration but also paved the way for the Apollo missions and manned lunar landings. This illustrates that scientists were venturing into space before f consensus on the dynamics of the Earth’s crust.

The possibility of more Ice Age sequels arises from the fact that a small population of woolly mammoths persisted on Wrangel Island, located about 90 miles off the coast of far eastern Siberia, until around 1650 BCE. During the construction of the oldest of the so-called “Great Pyramids” in Egypt, which occurred between 2667 and 2648 BCE, woolly mammoths were indeed alive and thriving, as noted by Redditor LastKill.

Highlighted by Redditors TheFairyGuineaPig and Iamreeve, it’s a startling fact that the last public hanging in the UK occurred on May 26, 1868, when Michael Barrett was executed in front of a crowd of two thousand people outside Newgate Prison in London.

Interestingly, the Barbican London Underground station, originally named Aldersgate Street, was established in 1865 and is merely a 10-minute walk from Newgate Prison (now the Central Criminal Court), as per Google Maps. This suggests that it was entirely feasible for Londoners to have utilized the tube to attend such a morbid event.

While many associate McDonald’s with post-WWII America, the chain’s origins trace back to May 15, 1940, when brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. Remarkably, just five days later, the first prisoners arrived at Auschwitz concentration camp, as noted by Reddit user Shieee.

Indeed, the penultimate time the Chicago Cubs clinched the World Series was in 1908, a full decade before the Ottomans were defeated in World War I and 14 years before the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. This intriguingly implies that the Cubs’ second-to-last significant victory predates the establishment of modern-day Turkey.

The Japanese gaming giant Nintendo was established on September 23, 1889, originally specializing in handmade playing cards known as hanafuda. Surprisingly, this means that the company behind iconic characters like Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, Kirby, and that forgotten copy of Wii Sports in your parent’s basement was contemporary with the legendary London serial killer Jack the Ripper. While all the murders attributed to Jack occurred in 1888, in September 1889, Londoners still feared his presence: he was a suspect in the murder of an unidentified woman, referred to as “The Pinchin Street Torso,” just weeks before Nintendo’s founding.

In the typical narrative taught in schools about the formation of the United States, the story often begins with the Pilgrims setting sail from England and landing at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, in 1620. However, this narrative overlooks the fact that Spanish explorers and conquistadors had already established settlements in what would become the United States long before the Pilgrims’ arrival. By 1610, for instance, they had constructed the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, marking a significant settlement in the Southwest.

So, while tales of harsh winters, Native American conflicts, and survival struggles are commonly associated with the early settlers in the North, similar challenges and endeavors were also faced by those who ventured to places like Santa Fe in the Southwest.

Hamida “Pimp Killer” Djandoubi was executed via guillotine in France on September 10, 1977, for the torture and murder of a 21-year-old woman. Remarkably, this marked the last time France carried out an execution by any method, as François Mitterrand abolished the practice in 1981. As highlighted by Redditor LastKill, in the same year when a man in a First World country faced capital punishment, children worldwide were eagerly queuing up to watch Star Wars, which premiered in the U.S. on May 25, 1977, and in the UK on December 27, 1977.

Swiss women were unable to vote until 1971 due to the country’s requirement for national referendums for constitutional changes, which only allowed men to vote at the time. This occurred 65 years after Finland became the first European country to grant women the right to vote, and 51 years after the United States did so. Meanwhile, in 1971, the US achieved the remarkable feat of driving a “moon buggy” on the lunar surface.

While it was men who operated the lunar vehicle, the stark contrast between these events, as pointed out by Redditor fasterplastercaster, is indeed striking. This discrepancy is particularly notable given Switzerland’s modern reputation as a progressive nation.

Reddit user ampellang drew an intriguing parallel: Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates in April 1975, at a time when Spain was still under the rule of fascist dictator Francisco Franco. Franco presided over a regime characterized by state terror and national indoctrination through controlled media and the state education system, as noted by the BBC.

Unlike Germany or Italy, Spain did not undergo a “denazification process” following World War II, meaning that fascist political influences persisted well into the early years of the home computing era.

The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the first steel-wire suspension bridge ever, coincided with “Custer’s Last Stand” at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, as noted by Redditor LastKill. Remarkably, the bridge was still six years away from completion when George Armstrong Custer and his men faced defeat by Crazy Horse and members of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes in eastern Montana territory.

Orville Wright, along with his brother Wilbur, is widely credited with inventing the airplane, or “fixed-wing powered flight.” It’s indeed remarkable that Orville witnessed the use of planes to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. While Wilbur passed away from typhoid fever in 1912, Orville lived long enough to express his regret about the destructive potential of airplanes. In an interview, he stated, “No, I don’t have any regrets about my part in the invention of the airplane, though no one could deplore more than I do the destruction it has caused.”

In the year the Titanic sank, scientists in Germany synthesized MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly known as Ecstasy, with the potential intended use as an appetite suppressant, as highlighted by Reddit user sobeita. Merck patented the compound the following year but ultimately chose not to market it.

Historians mark 1428 as the beginning of the Aztec Empire, which governed the Valley of Mexico until 1521. Surprisingly, Oxford University in England predates the Aztecs by several centuries, as noted by Redditor LastKill. According to Oxford’s official website, teaching activities were already present in some form in 1096, and the institution experienced significant development from 1167, particularly after Henry II prohibited English students from attending the University of Paris.

Despite nearing the end of his life, William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917), the iconic figure of the Wild West, lived through much of World War I. It’s intriguing to consider that the famous cowboy, renowned soldier, and former Pony Express rider likely heard about the German Zeppelins bombing Paris in January of 1916, just a year before his passing.

This juxtaposition is indeed peculiar, as Cody is often associated with gunslinging duels and interactions with Native Americans, while World War I is remembered for its technological advancements and the introduction of weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was as ancient to the Romans as the Romans are to us. The pyramid was completed around 2560 BCE, making it over 2,000 years old by the time Rome was at its peak in the 1st century CE.

The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated the same year that Van Gogh painted his iconic “Starry Night” (1889). This juxtaposes the marvels of engineering and art in a single moment in time.

Harvard University was founded before calculus was fully developed. Harvard was established in 1636, while calculus was being formulated by Newton and Leibniz later in that century.

The first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid down the same year the last known Tasmanian Tiger was born (1936), marking a moment of technological progress and ecological loss.

Queen Victoria was still on the throne when the Wright brothers made their first powered flight (1903), illustrating the rapid pace of technological innovation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. were born in the same year (1929), linking two pivotal figures in 20th-century history who became symbols of the fight against oppression.

The lifetime of Socrates (c. 470–399 BCE) overlaps with the construction of the Parthenon in Athens (447–432 BCE), a testament to the rich intellectual and architectural legacy of ancient Greece.

The last known widow of a Civil War veteran died in the same year Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States (2009), bridging the Civil War era with modern America.

Shakespeare and Cervantes, two of the most influential writers in English and Spanish literature, respectively, died almost simultaneously in 1616, though the exact dates are slightly offset due to different calendars in use.

The invention of the first practical automobile by Karl Benz (1885) predates the massacre at Wounded Knee (1890), placing the dawn of the automobile age against the backdrop of the closing frontier in the American West.

The last use of the guillotine in France (1977) coincides with the advent of personal computing and the founding of Apple Inc. (1976), illustrating the overlap of an ancient method of execution and the birth of the digital age.

Alaska was sold to the United States by Russia the same year the Canadian Confederation was formed (1867), reshaping North American geography and politics in a single stroke.

The construction of New York City’s iconic Flatiron Building (completed in 1902) happened at the same time as the last confirmed sighting of the now-extinct passenger pigeon (1901), juxtaposing urban expansion with natural decline.