History is often taught as a neat, chronological progression of events, but the reality is far messier and more fascinating. When we look at historical timelines more carefully, we discover mind-bending overlaps that challenge our perception of time and progress. Here are seven strange historical facts that will completely reshape how you think about the past.
1. Woolly Mammoths Were Still Alive When the Pyramids Were Built
While we typically imagine woolly mammoths as Ice Age creatures that went extinct long before human civilization developed, a small population of these magnificent beasts actually survived until around 1650 BC on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean. Meanwhile, the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed around 2560 BC. This means that when the ancient Egyptians were putting the finishing touches on one of humanity’s most enduring architectural achievements, woolly mammoths were still roaming the Earth. The last mammoths outlived the completion of the pyramids by nearly 1,000 years!
2. A Samurai Could Have Sent a Fax to Abraham Lincoln
This mind-boggling fact demonstrates how technologies we associate with different eras actually overlapped. The first fax machine (then called the “Electric Printing Telegraph”) was patented in 1843 by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain. The samurai class in Japan wasn’t abolished until 1868, three years after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. This creates a 22-year window where, theoretically, a Japanese samurai could have sent a fax to President Lincoln. While no such communication ever took place, the technological possibility existed—a bizarre connection between feudal Japan and Civil War America.
3. Oxford University is Older Than the Aztec Empire
When we think of the Aztec Empire, with its impressive cities and complex civilization, it seems like an ancient historical entity. However, teaching began at Oxford University in 1096, and its oldest colleges were established in the mid-13th century. The Aztec Empire, meanwhile, wasn’t founded until 1428, making Oxford University over 300 years older than the mighty civilization in Mesoamerica. By the time the Aztecs were building their capital city of Tenochtitlan, Oxford scholars had already been studying and teaching for centuries.
4. Nintendo Was Founded When Jack the Ripper Was Still Active
Nintendo, the Japanese gaming company we associate with Mario, Zelda, and modern video entertainment, has a surprisingly long history. The company was founded in 1889 as a playing card manufacturer, during the same year that the infamous Jack the Ripper was terrorizing the streets of London. While Nintendo was establishing itself in Japan, London newspapers were filled with horrifying headlines about the Whitechapel murders. It’s remarkable to think that a company now synonymous with family-friendly entertainment began during one of history’s most notorious crime sprees.
5. Star Wars Was Released the Same Year as France’s Last Guillotine Execution
In 1977, George Lucas introduced the world to the futuristic sci-fi universe of Star Wars, forever changing cinema and popular culture. That same year, France carried out its last execution by guillotine. Hamida Djandoubi was beheaded on September 10, 1977, months after moviegoers had watched the high-tech space fantasy unfold on screens worldwide. The juxtaposition of a medieval execution method being used in the same year that depicted advanced space travel and laser swords highlights how unevenly different aspects of society progress into the modern age.
6. Cleopatra Lived Closer in Time to the Moon Landing Than to the Building of the Pyramids
Cleopatra, the last active ruler of ancient Egypt, lived from approximately 69-30 BC. The Great Pyramid of Giza was completed around 2560 BC, about 2,500 years before her birth. The first moon landing occurred in 1969, roughly 2,000 years after her death. This means that Cleopatra lived closer in time to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon than to the construction of the pyramids that we so closely associate with ancient Egypt. This fact dramatically illustrates how our perception of “ancient history” often compresses thousands of years into a single mental category.
7. The Eiffel Tower Was Completed the Same Year Van Gogh Painted “Starry Night”
In 1889, two iconic works were created: the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, and Vincent Van Gogh painted his masterpiece “Starry Night.” Today, both are instantly recognizable worldwide—one as a symbol of architectural innovation and the other as a pinnacle of artistic expression. While we might imagine them belonging to different eras, they emerged simultaneously, representing the remarkable creative diversity of a single year. The industrial achievement of the Eiffel Tower and the emotional depth of Van Gogh’s brushstrokes were contemporaneous expressions of human ingenuity.
These strange historical facts remind us that history isn’t a simple progression but rather a complex web of overlapping events and developments. They challenge our tendency to categorize the past into neat eras and demonstrate that the timeline of human achievement is far messier—and more fascinating—than we often imagine. Next time you think about historical figures or events, remember that the connections between them might be stranger and closer than you ever suspected.