15 Facts That Will Mess with Your Perception of Time
The subreddit r/BarbaraWalters4Scale may surprise you every now and again. But that’s no credible source. So instead, I’ve compiled a list of facts that, while true, are also hard to believe because they sound like they couldn’t have happened at the same time.
Pablo Picasso lived to see Pink Floyd
While thought to have been lost to the 1930s (with some thinking he lived in the 1500s), Pablo Picasso lived into his 90s, and died on April 8, 1973, meaning he lived to see Pink Floyd release The Dark Side of the Moon on March 1 of that year.
Starry Night and the Eiffel Tower were completed in the same year
The Eiffel Tower began construction on January 28, 1887, and was completed on March 31, 1889. And Starry Night was finished in June of 1889. On top of this, Hitler was born on April 20 of that year, 21 days after the Eiffel Tower was completed.
A samurai warrior could send a fax to Abraham Lincoln
This one is one of the most famous facts of this type. The samurai period lasted from 1185 to 1868. The fax machine was patented in 1843. And Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. This also means that, theoretically, pioneers who rode the Oregon Trail could also send faxes. Though, for the sake of complete logic, if Lincoln were to do this, he would have had to travel to Japan with two fax machines and then send one to a samurai warrior. And, needless to say, there is no real reason he would have done that.
When the Chicago Cubs won the world series for the first time, the Ottoman Empire still existed
Prior to their historic win in 2016, the Cubs won the World Series in 1907 and 1908. The Ottoman Empire didn’t fall until 1922, after suffering the loss of territory and many soldiers as a Central Power during the First World War.
Charlie Chaplin died the year Apple was incorporated
Though a famous movie star of the silent film era, Chaplin lived another 50 years after the first non-silent film, The Jazz Singer (1927). Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977, while Chaplin died on Christmas Day that year. Just a friendly reminder of how fast times changed in the 20th century. Oh, and another tidbit of trivia, Chaplin was 4 days older than Hitler.
Frank Sinatra died on the day Seinfeld ended
The already-tragic date for Seinfeld fans in question is May 14, 1998. This date would also mark a sad day for fans of Frank Sinatra, as he passed away at the age of 82 that day.
Betty White was born before sliced bread was sold
Most people's favorite actress from Golden Girls was born on January 17, 1922, and bread wasn’t sold sliced until 1928, a whole six years later. That's where the joke "sliced bread is the best thing since Betty White" came from. And for once, that joke holds up to scrutiny.
France was still executing people by guillotine when Star Wars: A New Hope was released
We often associate the guillotine with the late 1700s, given that the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror took place then. But the guillotine was used well after the 1700s. As in, France didn’t stop using it until 1981. Yes, the year of Don't Stop Believin' by Journey and the first DeLorean DMC-12 rolling off the assembly line.
The Gospel of Luke was written as the Colosseum was being built
The Gospel is said to have been written between 80 and 110 CE. The Colosseum ended construction in 80 CE, which would've been around the time Luke decided to write down his thoughts.
Woolly mammoths were still around when the Pyramids of Giza were being built
It's easy for some to forget that mammoths were not the dinosaurs. You may have thought that the long-extinct relatives of modern elephants died out before humans began proper civilizations. But that would be wrong. Mammoths were actually around for hundreds of years after the Pyramids were built.
Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than to the construction of the Pyramids
Speaking of Ancient Egypt, we may think of the Elizabeth Taylor-portrayed Egyptian queen as ancient history, but that's not entirely true. The Pyramids were built in 2550 BCE, and Cleopatra wasn’t born until 69 or 70 BCE. After working out the math, this means, theoretically, that the Pyramids are as old to Cleopatra as Socrates is to us.
Nintendo was founded when Jack the Ripper was still at large
Nintendo was founded in 1889 (another event of that year, aside from the Eiffel Tower and Starry Night, listed above). Originally, Nintendo produced handmade playing cards called Hanafuda. But not everyone was in the mood for playing cards. Jack the Ripper was still on the loose in London when the company was founded in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Japan.
The last Civil War widow lived to see the COVID-19 pandemic
Helen Viola Jackson was 17 when she married 93-year-old Union Civil War veteran James Bolin. Bolin proposed to her because, when he died, she could receive his veteran pension until she died. They married in secret in 1936, and Bolin would die in 1939. Jackson herself died on December 16, 2020, at the age of 101. This means she also lived to see the first Black president, Barack Obama, be elected.
We have known about Pluto (the planet) for about as long as Pluto (the Disney character)
The planet was discovered on February 18, 1930, and the Disney character debuted on September 5, 1930. In addition, the Disney character was named after the planet. Not the other way around, as some have thought.
Orville Wright lived to see the first supersonic flight
Wright passed away on January 30, 1948, and the first supersonic flight was made on October 14, 1947, by a Bell XS-1 piloted by Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager. This also means that, unfortunately, he lived to see his invention used to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He actually wrote a letter saying “I thought the airplane would end wars. I now wonder whether the airplane and the atomic bomb can do it.” Once again, we are reminded that the 20th Century changed everything in a relatively short time frame.
Which of these facts surprised you the most? Leave a comment!
Sources: Mental Floss, History Snob
Ellen Gutoskey
Maria Cruz
