/r/HistoryAnecdotes
Home to the most interesting, and often humorous, anecdotes and short accounts from history.
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Welcome to HistoryAnecdotes!
Here, we post the most interesting, and often humorous, anecdotes and short accounts from history. History of any culture and era is welcome here.
Ultimately, the purpose of HistoryAnecdotes is to entertain and inform, but we encourage any academic discussion that may be the result of a submission. We heavily encourage other fans of history to post their own content - the more the better!
Anecdote
ˈanəkˌdōt/
noun
a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.
"told anecdotes about his job"
Be sure to check out these similar subs!
/r/HistoryWhatIf
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Rules
Rule 1: All submitted content must be a historical anecdote.
Submissions should either be a historical anecdote or account. For our purposes, we tend to follow this definition. If you are confused as to whether or not your submission would qualify, feel free to contact the mods and we will be happy to weigh in on the issue.
Rule 2: Submissions must be verifiable.
Either link directly to a reliable source that supports every claim in your submission, or cite your sources in the text post. Citations do not necessarily have to follow a specific format, but they should include a title for the source-material, author, page, and year published, when available.
Rule 3: Don't break Reddit's rules.
Violations of the global user agreement will not be tolerated.
Rule 4: Be civil.
Spamming, personal attacks upon, or harassment of a user will not be tolerated.
Rule 5: Factually inaccurate content may be removed or sent to the Hall of Shame.
Factually inaccurate submissions & comments are subject to removal or entrance into the Hall of Shame (complete with Debunked! flair). The user will be notified of this in the event of a submission/comment removal, and anything being re-flaired for entrance into the Hall of Shame will be given a stickied comment from the mod team. All such cases are subject to the discretion of the mod team.
Rule 6: No pseudo-history or holocaust denial.
The merits of these things are best discussed elsewhere and are inappropriate material for the sub. This is not the place to "wake up the sheeple."
Rule 7: No politics or soap-boxing will be tolerated.
Submissions & comments that are overtly political will be removed; political topics are only acceptable if discussed in a historical context. Comments should discuss a historical topic, not advocate an agenda. This is entirely at the moderators' discretion.
Rule 8: Follow the 20 Year Rule.
We consider an event to be appropriately historical if it happened 20 years or more in the past. Anything taking place in the last 20 years will be removed. This is similar to rule 1 in that we do not allow contemporary politics and events.
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/r/HistoryAnecdotes
102,455 Subscribers
Mere weeks into his first term as US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped an assassination attempt thanks to a quick thinking woman swinging her hand bag.
20:10 UTC
In 1935, professional faster Albert Wolly was on public display in a glass box to go 30 days without eating. On Day 12, a girld taunted him by waving an eclair in front of him, causing him to go insane and smash his way out.
22:12 UTC
During the Great Depression, two siblings, aged 7 and 9, were habitual thieves, culminating in them robbing a bank. They were caught after being discovered by their sister, who turned them in after refusing their offer of a bribe.
17:07 UTC
Is the Harappan Civilization Actually a "Fail" City? Maybe It's a Paradox...
We all hear about how the Harappan cities (Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, etc.) were incredibly advanced for their time—well-planned streets, sophisticated drainage systems, and thriving trade networks. They’re often considered the most modern cities of their era. But, what if there’s another way to look at it? Could it be that these cities were, in a way, a "fail city"?
The Harappan civilization was known for its impressive engineering and city planning, but something went wrong. These cities were suddenly abandoned, and we still don’t know exactly why. Was it climate change? A shift in the rivers? Maybe their grand vision just couldn’t last because they couldn’t sustain it. There’s a lot we don’t know, and that makes it even more intriguing.
It kind of reminds me of Lavasa—a modern city built with tons of ambition but facing economic and environmental struggles despite all the hype. They had this dream of creating a perfect city, but the reality didn’t quite match up. And in a way, Harappa had this grand vision too, but it didn't survive forever.
Here’s the thing though: We still don’t know much about why Harappa declined. Was it a natural collapse, or was there something deeper at play? Honestly, it’s all still up in the air. And that makes it all the more paradoxical.
So, is it fair to call Harappa a “fail city”? Maybe not, but it’s definitely an interesting thought. The fact that we still don’t know much about why these cities fell makes us question if they were truly the success we think they were.
12:59 UTC
Women in secretary positions.
04:18 UTC
Ruth Blay was the last woman executed in New Hampshire. She was hanged because of a stillborn baby.
20:05 UTC
The man who got 4 Ivy League college degrees because his school's football team couldn't beat their rival
In the 1920s, a Columbia University student made a bet that he would stay enrolled in school until their football team beat Cornell. Unfortunately, it took years to accomplish, and in the meantime, he earned 4 degrees and was in the midst of getting his law degree when they finally won. https://historianandrew.medium.com/how-a-lost-college-football-bet-caused-a-man-to-get-4-ivy-league-degrees-d7275ac77cdc?sk=1e14488697b3de2a04c7fd365ddf659a
17:12 UTC
Last person executed by guillotine was in 1977
02:42 UTC
In 1925, a waiter got thrown out of a 9th story hotel window after guests became enraged that three sandwiches cost $3.45.
02:17 UTC
The Dancing Plague (Europe, 1518)
In July 1518, residents of Strasbourg (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) began dancing uncontrollably for days, with some even dancing to their deaths from exhaustion or heart attack. The cause remains unclear, though theories range from mass hysteria to ergot poisoning (a hallucinogenic fungus).
This mysterious event has sparked debates on mass psychology, medieval medics, and the potential dangers of psychoactive substance.
If you like this post please go r/SilentHistory where we dive into all the interesting FACTS about history that aren’t told in our history books.
22:12 UTC
Chronicles of Ancient Greece launched!
09:46 UTC
In 1921, a murderer sentenced to be executed was able to avoid death because the sheriff simply forgot to hang him-- leading to his sentence being commuted to life in prison.
18:35 UTC