history lesson

[waider]

The Irish Times has a supplement today showing the map of Europe at various points between the Roman Empire and the recent EU expansion. Two things that I didn't quite realise before seeing this:

• Ireland has spent most of the last Millennium as a united country of one sort or other, albeit for 120-odd years as part of the United Kingdom. (It's only since 1921 that it's been a partitioned country.)
• Austria seriously lost out in WW I

Comments

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

Austria seriously lost out in WW I

This is often cited as a contributing factor in history classes covering World War II in the U.S. (Something I noticed after moving to Seattle--on the east coast in high school, we mostly looked at Europe when studying World War II. We studied the Pacific theater as well, but not as extensively. Out here, what was going on in the Pacific is much more immediate--not least because there are still forts and things, and people who remember the Japanese internments.)

It reminds me of an SNL sketch I saw once: The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Discuss.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Ha, that was SNL? Will wonders never cease.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

IIRC, the original of that, minus the "discuss", is a quotation from Voltaire.