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The History Cool Kids Instagram account has amassed an impressive 1.5 million followers since its creation in 2016. But the page’s success will come as no surprise if you take the time to scroll through its feed. It has shared over 1,400 posts over the past 9 years and told just as many stories about fascinating moments that have taken place in the past.
Whether you want to learn about what groceries cost a century ago or see what kinds of clothes your great-great grandparents might have worn, History Cool Kids has got you covered. No matter how much you think you know about the past, I’m sure at least one post on this list will teach you something new. So let’s get learning, pandas!
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To learn more about why history is so fascinating, we reached out to Gemma Hollman, FRHistS, Author and Creator of Just History Posts. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share what she loves most about studying history.
"I personally am fascinated by just learning what life was like for humans at any period of time," Gemma says. "I find it so interesting imagining how my life would have been different had I not been born at this exact moment in time, especially as a woman. One of my favorite things is to find the similarities between now and another time, whether that be 100 years ago or 5000 years ago. Although so much has changed in the world, so little of human nature has."
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"You can read about petty jealousies between courtiers, or the love of a parent for their child, and in that moment, you feel connected to someone who lived so long ago that it is almost incomprehensible," Gemma continued. "I think that sense of empathy is so important."
"People – rightly – state that history is important to study so that we can learn from the mistakes of the past, or identify patterns of where we might be going in the future, but I think the simple act of learning about someone’s life and what happened to them, in circumstances so far removed from our own, and finding something that we can understand, is such a human act," she added.
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Next, we wanted to know if Gemma has any personal favorite moments or time periods from the past.
"I honestly love all of history; give me a book or a TV show about anyone, from any country, from any time, and I’ll drink it in," she told Bored Panda. "But one period of history that has always resonated with me is the Black Death which hit Europe in the middle of the 1300s."
"In just a matter of years, it is estimated that half of the continent died. Whole towns vanished, entire families could be wiped out within a matter of hours, and society was irrevocably changed," the history expert continued. "I remember the first time I properly studied the outbreak, and just sitting in silence trying to imagine even a fraction of what that might have been like. I suppose we had something of a taste of this with Covid, but even that cannot begin to compare. You can understand why people would have thought the world was ending."
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So if someone wants to expand their understanding of history, where should they begin? "I would suggest finding a medium they enjoy the most, and start by searching popular pieces from a range of periods," Gemma says. "This could be television, books, podcasts, or video games. If you’re enjoying consuming something – especially fiction – then it doesn’t matter how accurate it might be to start with."
"Once you’ve found something that sparks your interest, it’s easy to then want to dive into more," she noted. "Did that TV show portray that character how they really were? Did that podcast sensationalize that particular event, or was history really that wild?"
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Gemma also recommends following historians on social media, "as they are great at promoting their own and others’ work, so it’s an easy way to discover new people to read or time periods to explore. And get stuck in!"
"The best way to learn is by doing. There are so many online courses around, or you can take a class, or create something of your own; I started writing a history blog years ago, and I learnt so much history just by researching for my own pieces of writing," she shared.
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