Good things can happen when you mix history and social media. Like, say, learning new things, connecting with new people and sometimes even laughing (out loud) at things those people share with you.
With that in mind, here are five fun, smart, history-related Twitter feeds you should be following:
1. @TweetsofOld
Self Description: “Real one-line brevities from old newspapers as they appeared—or close.”
Sample Tweet: “A hand-organ woman without any monkey accompaniment, made music for the hoodlums on the streets this week. IN1879”
2. @SlateVault
What You Will Find: Slate magazine's Twitter feed for The Vault, their blog of historical treasures, oddities and delights big and small.
Sample Tweet: “The CIA's WWII Guide to Sowing Office Dysfunction Perfectly Describes Your Toxic Workplace.” Here’s the document.
What You Will Find: Twitter posts highlighting an image or document from the US National Archives and related to that day in history .
Sample Tweet: Pic of “Machine gun crew north of the Chongchon River targets a North Korean position.” Here’s the pic.
What You Will Find: Twitter feed for the Stuff You Missed In History Class web site, blog and podcast.
Sample Tweet: “Ridiculous History: The Emu War.” Here’s the blog post.
5. @GirlsOwn
Self description: “Genuine replies from 1880s and 1890s problem pages, try applying them to your 21st century woes. If all else fails, try Cod Liver Oil.”
Sample Tweet: “Do not take a hot bath at any time, but a warm one once a week does good.”
For more fun and interesting history-related content -- and updates about our documentary The American Artist: The Life & Times of George Caleb Bingham, due out in 2016 -- please join our mail list.