9 Bizarre Historical Overlaps That Don't Feel Real

We often visualize history as a sequence of evenly spaced events on a timeline, where one era wraps up entirely before the next begins. In reality, history doesn't always keep events neatly separated. Occasionally, moments we imagine to be far apart in history actually unfolded in the same year. 

These simultaneous happenings make history feel a little mind-boggling. The physicist who developed the Theory of General Relativity was alive when Americans were eating the first McDonald’s Big Macs. The London Underground was in working order when the last public hanging took place in the UK. Technology that seems surprisingly modern was being developed while Americans were attempting to expand the United States’ Western border in covered wagons. 

These moments are proof that history is anything but linear; instead, it’s a web of fascinating stories happening all at once. 

Let's rewind the clock and try to make sense of nine bizarre historical overlaps that don't feel real.

1. The London Underground And The UK’s Last Public Hanging
2. McDonald's And Albert Einstein
3. The Titanic And Oreo Cookies
4. Japan's 'Last Samurai' And The First Telephone Call
5. Woolly Mammoths And The Construction Of The Pyramids
6. Star Wars And The Last Guillotine Execution
7. Oxford University And The Discovery Of The Aztec Empire
8. The Fax Machine And The Oregon Trail
9. The Brooklyn Bridge And The Battle Of Little Bighorn

The London Underground And The UK’s Last Public Hanging

It’s easy to believe that the London Underground and public hangings were separated by centuries, but in reality, their histories intersected. The UK's final public hanging took place in May 1868, attracting thousands of spectators. Those individuals could have ridden the Underground to Aldersgate Street (now Barbican Station) via the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines, located just ten minutes from the site of the hanging.

McDonald's And Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, famous for developing the Theory of General Relativity and the renowned equation E=mc², was alive when Americans were already ordering large fries at McDonald’s. Our minds usually place McDonald’s in a more recent era than Einstein, but their lives overlapped for a short while.

The Titanic And Oreo Cookies

Just as we might not expect Einstein and McDonald’s to share a space on history’s timeline, it seems strange that the tragedy of the Titanic in 1912 occurred the very same year Nabisco debuted the Oreo cookie. Yet, both events took place one after another. So, as one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters was unfolding, people were likely dunking Oreos in milk. 

Japan's 'Last Samurai' And The First Telephone Call

The “last true samurai,” Saigō Takamori, was alive when Alexander Graham Bell made the world’s first telephone call. While Takamori fought in the Satsuma Rebellion, the invention that would revolutionize communication was making its debut in the West. It’s not easy to grasp that the legacy of medieval Japan and the technological leap that was the first telephone call happened around the same time. 

Woolly Mammoths And The Construction Of The Pyramids

We usually think of the pyramids and woolly mammoths as belonging to separate chapters of ancient history, but they surprisingly coexisted. Egyptian's built the pyramids between 2667 and 2648 BCE. A colony of mammoths survived on an island near eastern Russia until 1650 BCE. So, while ancient Egyptians were building one of the Seven Wonders of the World, 13,000-pound mammoths that thrived during the Ice Age still roamed the Earth. 

Star Wars And The Last Guillotine Execution

We commonly associate the guillotine with historic revolutions, but its use as a method of execution actually lasted right up to the release of the first Star Wars film. Yes, really. The guillotine saw its final use in France in 1977, the same year George Lucas gifted the world Star Wars: A New Hope. As unlikely as it may seem, the two events took place in the same year.

Oxford University And The Discovery Of The Aztec Empire

It’s hard to imagine two historical events feeling more distant from each other. We tend to think the Aztec Empire was encountered centuries before scholars began studying at Oxford University in London, but the reality is quite the opposite. Oxford has been around since 1096, and the Aztec Empire wasn't discovered until 1428, hundreds of years later. 

The Fax Machine And The Oregon Trail

Few realize that the invention of the fax machine and the first major journey along the Oregon Trail took place in the same year. In 1843, while a Scottish inventor patented the Electric Printing Telegraph (the earliest ancestor of the modern fax machine), thousands of Americans were headed West in pursuit of new opportunities and land. 

The Brooklyn Bridge And The Battle Of Little Bighorn

The American Frontier and the bustling cities along the East Coast seem to belong to different periods, yet the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge coincided with the defeat of General Custer by Native American tribes. It's interesting to think that, as engineers worked on groundbreaking urban concepts in 1876, another part of the country was fighting in a battle that feels buried in time.

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