Surprising Overlaps in Historical Events

We tend to learn history in segments, often separated geographically. We learn European history separately from Asian history or American history, and end up with a timeline in our heads for each of them. But if you pick a year, things were happening in all those places and more. Another thing that warps our sense of time is that many of the things we think of as "modern" are much older than we realize. They just weren't part of our everyday lives until they became affordable. When we link these disparate items and events together, it can mess with our sense of time. Who knew that Mohandas Gandhi was lurking around London during the killing spree of Jack the Ripper? Not that he was a suspect... at least not until now. Casual Lectures has a list of historical confluences that show us how our perception of history can be confused by compartmentalization.