Some of the most exciting stories you’ll ever hear are those that come straight out of history books. But sadly, the way these tales are often delivered tends to bore us to tears or leave us snoring through our lessons. So if you’re interested in taking your understanding of history into your own hands, we’ve got the perfect list for you, pandas.

Below, you’ll find photos of some of the most fascinating moments from the past couple centuries that have been captured on film, courtesy of the Incredible History Instagram account. Enjoy scrolling through this virtual blast from the past, and keep reading to find a conversation with Luke Rosa, teacher and creator of Students of History!

#1 Iran, 1979 - Thousands Of Iranian Women Protesting On The Streets Against Prospects Of Mandating Hijab

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#2 650 American Officers And Enlisted Men Paying Tribute To More Than 8 Million Horses, Mules And Donkeys That Died In Service In The World War I

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#3 A Shepherd From The Village Of Kınalık With His Children, Azerbaijan, 1970's

Image credits: incrediblehistory

The Incredible History Instagram account has made quite an impact on the platform, as it has shared over 2,350 posts and amassed an impressive 41.6k followers. The account’s bio states, “Nihil novi sub sole,” meaning “there is nothing new under the sun” in Latin, and notes that the page is for sharing history, stunning places and interesting facts. So if you pandas need to brush up your knowledge of historical events, or need a reminder of why learning about history is so important, Incredible History has got you covered.

To learn more about why we should all be interested in history, we reached out to Luke Rosa, teacher and creator of Students of History. Luke was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share what inspired him to become a history teacher in the first place, as well as why he's so passionate about the subject.

#4 Shavarsh Karapetyan, An Armenian Finswimmer(10-Time World Record Holder), Who Saved Lives Of 20 Drowning Passengers In A Sinking Trolleybus Which Fell Of A Bridge Into The Yerevan Lake

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#5 Polish Border Guard And His Horse Drinking Water From The Stream In The Bieszczady Mountains During A Patrol, 1980

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#6 "Mother's Eyes" The Bedouin Mother; Photograph By Ilo Battigeli, 1948

Image credits: incrediblehistory

“I wanted to help make learning history fun for all kids,” Luke shared. I felt like there was too much memorizing of dates and facts and not enough appreciation for the amazing stories from the past. I also saw it as a way to bring people together. Learning about diverse cultures helps kids see how alike we are and also to appreciate the accomplishments of others.”

And as far as why we should all care about history, Luke says it’s about much more than memorizing facts. “It’s about understanding who we are,” he told Bored Panda. “World History introduces kids to the rich diversity of world culture and fosters empathy and respect for those of different backgrounds. US History helps kids evaluate sources, analyze evidence, and think critically. And my US Government classes help students understand the importance of rights and freedoms and how to be an active and responsible citizen.”

#7 German And British Pilots Engaged In A Dogfight Above St Paul's Cathedral During The Battle Of Britain, London, 1940, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#8 The Arkadiko Bridge, A Mycenaean Bridge Near The Modern Road From Tiryns To Epidauros On The Peloponnese, Greece. Dating To The Greek Bronze Age, It Is One Of The Oldest Arch Bridges Still In Existence And Use Today And The Oldest Preserved Bridge In Europe

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#9 A Lone Dog Sits In Snow Next To A Column Of Retreating Italian Soldiers Near Stalingrad, Soviet Union, December 1942, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

We were also curious if Luke is partial to any particular moments or events in history. “I love so much of History!” he shared. “For World History, I love teaching about Ancient Egypt. It’s so mysterious and a unit kids love to explore. In US History, I love teaching the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a living example of how society can transform for the better and an opportunity to help students understand the struggles of marginalized communities.”

#10 The Bridge To Nowhere

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#11 A 9000-Year Old Skeleton Was Found In A Cave Near Cheddar, England, And Nicknamed "Cheddar Man"

His dna was tested and it was concluded that his living relative, a history professor, is living a 1/2 of a mile away from the cave, tracing back 300 generations to each other

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#12 Remains Of An Ancient Roman City Of Timgad In The Aures Mountains Of Algeria

Image credits: incrediblehistory

Luke also noted that social studies education is more important than ever. “Americans are blasted with a fire hose of information every day. Some is real, and much of it is not. In social studies, kids learn critical thinking and how to evaluate sources,” the educator explained. “This teaches kids how to discern facts from fiction and make informed decisions. At the same time, social studies connects kids with different cultures and fosters empathy. Lastly, history shows students the progress we’ve made in terms of civil rights, gender equality, and social justice, and hopefully inspires them to continue the fight for a better, more inclusive world.”

If you’d like to expand your own knowledge of history or improve your plans for teaching it to students, be sure to visit Luke’s website Students of History! 

#13 111 Football Games Played At Hackney Marshes, London, United Kingdom In 1962

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#14 Princess Elizabeth At 19 Years Of Age Is Seen In The Auxiliary Territorial Service In The 1945, During World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#15 March 16, 1945: A U.S. Marine Approaches A Japanese Soldier On Iwo Jima, Japan During World War II

The Japanese soldier was buried for 1 1/2 days in this shell hole playing dead and ready with a live grenade inches away from his hand. The marines feared he might be further booby trapped underneath his body after knocking the grenade to the bottom of the shell hole. Promising no resistance, the prisoner is given a cigarette he asked for and was dragged free from the hole

Image credits: incrediblehistory

Aside from how fascinating it is to see images from World War II or a snowball fight in France in 1896, it’s actually important that we ensure history isn’t forgotten. According to University of the People, studying history is a key factor in understanding our world better. Systems that we may simply accept, such as governments and how societies function, can be understood by examining the past and how these structures came about in the first place.    

We can also deepen our understanding of people and ourselves through studying history. Ever wonder why certain countries have such strong bonds or distaste for one another? Just look back in time, and you can clearly see how wars, occupations and alliances have bonded nations or torn them apart. And the impacts of these events can last long after they actually took place.

#16 Actor Yul Brynner Arriving To The Premiere Of The Movie "The Ten Commandments" In His Mercedes 300 Sl Roadster, 1956

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#17 Goodyear’s Illuminated Tires - A Woman Adjusts Her Stocking Using The Light Emitted By The Goodyear Tire On An October Night In 1961

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#18 Activist Ben Masel Smokes A Joint While Voting In The 1976 Presidential Election Taking Advantage Of An Apparent Law That Prohibits Arrest While Voting

Image credits: incrediblehistory

Looking back in time also helps us understand our own identities. The culture of any specific place or group of people likely took centuries to form, and it’s impossible to understand why your grandmother always prepares tamales on Christmas or why you celebrate Halloween in that way without learning the historical context. We can feel closer to our ancestors when we learn about their ways, and when we understand how traditions came about, we’re more likely to consider them significant and continue passing them along.

#19 Painter Marc Monnier Paints A Canvas On The Front During The Gulf War In October 1991, Kuwait

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#20 To Protect It From Drying Out, A Worker Sprays Water Onto A Millennia-Old Chariot Recently Unearthed In The City Of Luoyang In Central China

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#21 Paris, France, 1890

Image credits: incrediblehistory

Another way you can learn more about history that An Historian About Town recommends is doing things the old fashion way: actually going to the library. She explains that many public libraries actually offer talks and presentations from authors, professors, politicians, artists, historians and more that can quickly teach you a bit about anything at all! If you’re not even sure where to start or which topics interest you, it can be great to simply see what information is available and dive into whatever piques your interest.  

#22 A Soldier Of The French Foreign Legion Holding The Dog "Fritz", The Battalion Mascot, At Bir Hakeim. Fritz "Moved Over To The Other Side" And Joined The Battalion In Narvik In 1940, And Stayed With Them Ever Since

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#23 The Coins That Saved A Soldier's Life- At The Beginning Of World War I

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#24 The Cockpit Of An American B-24 Bomber From The 392nd Bomb Squadron Of The 30th Bomb Group, Damaged By A Japanese Anti-Aircraft Shell On January 27, 1945, During A Sortie To Bombard Iwo Jima

The projectile badly damaged the instrument panel, the co-pilot and the navigator of the bomber were injured by shrapnel, but miraculously the pilot managed to return the aircraft to base

Image credits: incrediblehistory

If you do know which time periods or events interest you the most when it comes to the world’s history, then you can certainly find books, podcasts, documentaries and more on those topics. Learning about history can be much more fun when you get to decide what you want to know, and becoming curious about a topic will likely lead you down a rabbit hole of learning more and more. It doesn’t matter where you start, just pick up some fun facts and you’ll certainly be able to impress your friends with interesting knowledge any day now! 

#25 The Crew Of British Hm Submarine ‘Unison’ Display Their ‘Jolly Roger’ At Devonport, Plymouth, Having Returned From A Successful 16 Months In The Mediterranean. 1943, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#26 Snowball Fight In Lyon, France, 1896

#27 Drive-In Theater, Los Angeles, 1949

Image credits: incrediblehistory

Have you learned something new about our world through scrolling through these photos, pandas? We hope they’ve provided you with a different perspective on a certain time or place, and remember to keep upvoting the ones that deserve to be seen by everyone. Feel free to share in the comments what some of your favorite historical moments are, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article, we recommend this one featuring images of some of the darkest moments in history.

#28 J. Robert Oppenheimer With Albert Einstein At The Institute For Advanced Study, 1947

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#29 Young Boy With Prepared Molotov Cocktails On A Rooftop Of A Building In Derry, During The Battle Of The Bogside, August 1969

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#30 A Fake Tree Used As An Observation Post And Sniper Nest On The Frontline By The British Army During World War I

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#31 Portus, Roman Empire's Imperial Port, As It Would Have Appeared In The Past Compared To Today. The Port Was Established By Emperor Claudius, And Enlarged By Emperor Trajan, To Supplement The Nearby Port Of Ostia

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#32 Last Sword Duel In History In France, 1967, Between The Mayor Of Marseille -Gaston Defferre, And Another Member Of French Parliament, Rene Ribière

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#33 Jordanian Brides Wearing Full-Face Veils Seen Waiting Patiently For Their Mass Wedding Ceremony

This largest ever mass wedding ceremony in Jordan brought together 48 couples in a ceremony funded by islamist Charity group which covers all expenses for couples who cannot afford to pay for their wedding. Amman, Jordan, 1999

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#34 A 1960's Coca Cola Advertisment Made By Spreading Grain For Pigeons In St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#35 Babies Left To Sleep Outside In The Freezing Cold, Enforcing Their Immune System, Moscow, Soviet Union, 1958

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#36 Germany, 1923: During Hyperinflation, Banknotes Had Lost So Much Value That They Were Used As Wallpaper, Being Much Cheaper Than Actual Wallpaper

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#37 Members Of The Fat Men's Club Of New York, 1904. All Members Had To Be At Least 200 Pounds(91kg), Pay A One Dollar Fee And Learn A Secret Handshake And Password

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#38 Canadian Police Officer Guarding The Pharmacy In Waist-High Flood Waters In Galt, Ontario, 1974

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#39 Japanese Samurai, 1870's

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#40 American Pilot Robert L. Brown Of Denver, Colorado, Poses In The Cockpit Of An F6f Hellcat Aboard The Uss Yorktown (Cv-10) Aircraft Carrier With “Scrappy,” The Ship’s Mascot, November-December 1943, In Pacific, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#41 Mugshot And Fingerprints Of Benito Mussolini, Bern, Switzerland, 1903

Image credits: history_20thcentury

#42 World War I Us Army Helmet With Skull Trench Art On The Front

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#43 Pavlik Manukyan, Armenian War Hero During The First Nagorno-Karabakh War In The Early 1990's, Seen During A Visit To His Family Away From The Frontline. He Is Posing Armed With A Pkm Machine Gun, Standing Next To His Son

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#44 Luftwaffe Pilot Adolf Galland Preparing To Take A Gift Basket Of Lobster And Champagne For General Osterkamp's Birthday, 1941

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#45 American Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali During His Visit To Egypt, June 1964

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#46 Digital Reconstruction Of Untouched Manhattan, New York, In Year 1609, In Comparison To Year 2021

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#47 The U.S. Pacific Fleet Seen Positioning For Battle During The Marshall Islands Campaign, 1944, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#48 Burning Kuwaiti Oil Fires, Caused By The Iraqi Military Setting Fire To Approximately 700 Oil Wells As Part Of A Scorched Earth Policy While Retreating From Kuwait In 1991 Due To The Advances Of Us-LED Coalition Forces In The Gulf War. Photograph By Steve Mccurry

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#49 A British Soldier Is Seen Tempting Turkish Snipers To Give Away Their Positions While Others Snatch Some Shut-Eye During The Gallipoli Campaign In 1915, World War I

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#50 German Fallschirmjäger Armed With The Fg 42 Automatic Rifle, Seen During The Battle Of Monte Cassino, 15 March 1944, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#51 Us Marine Resting After The Capture Of Saddam Hussein's Presidential Palace In Tikrit, Iraq, April 14 2003

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#52 Croatian Soldier Attending A Mass In Front Of A Destroyed Church, Croatian Homeland War, 1991-1995

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#53 An Elderly Chechen Man Wearing Traditional Clothes, Poses On A Horse While Chechen Rebels Behind Him Stand On Top Of A Captured Russian Armored Vehicle, Grozny, Chechnya, First Chechen War(1994-1996

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#54 Kurdish Peshmergas, Iraq, 1970's

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#55 An American Soldier Poses On The Dragon At The “Nibelungenhalle” In Königswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany - 1945

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#56 Austro-Hungarian Officer At The Frontline In Galicia, Eastern Front, 1915, World War I

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#57 The Ball Turret On The American B-17 Bomber Plane, 1943, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#58 Oil Derricks And Beach-Goers At The Huntington Beach, California, 1930's

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#59 German Kaiser Wilhelm II Of The German Empire, Photographed Smoking In Silesia In 1913

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#60 Us Soldier Circa 1942 With A Flamethrower And Experimental Camo At Fort Belvoir, Which A Testing Ground For The Us Army

Image credits: greydynamics

#61 The Norrmalmstorg Robbery - Press Photographers And Police Snipers Side By Side On A Roof Opposite Of Kreditbanken Bank In Stockholm, Sweden, August 1973

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#62 Bosnian Girl With An Ak-47, Smoking Smokes While Waiting For A Funeral Service At Sarajevo’s Lion’s Cemetery On Monday, Sept. 14, 1992

Image credits: greydynamics

#63 Soldier Of The 1st Mechanized Guard Brigade "Tigers" Of The Croatian Army, Posing With A Tiger Cub, The Unit's Mascot. 1991, Croatian Homeland War

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#64 A Man Rushes Off With A Trolley Full Of Diapers During The 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Photograph By Kirk Mckoy

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#65 Lebanese Christian Militia Of The Phalanges. Note The Iraqi Made Ak ‘Tabuk’ And Hungarian Made Amd65 Rifles. Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#66 Continuation War, Finland. Close-Up Of The "Elephant-Gun", The Lahti L-39, Lipola

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#67 A Crew From The 16th/5th Lancers, 6th Armoured Division, Clean The Gun Barrel Of Their Crusader Tank At El Aroussa In Tunisia, 1943, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#68 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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#69 Rest In Peace, Tony Sirico

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#70 Town Of An-Loc, Vietnam. Soviet -Built North Vietnamese T54 Tank Destroyed By South Vietnam's 81st Airborne Ranger Group, 1972, Vietnam War

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#71 German Ski Patrol Equipped With A Mg 34 Machine Gun In Snowy Conditions In The Soviet Union, Winter 1942, World War II

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#72 A German Mg 34 Machine Gunner On The Eastern Front, World War II (Winter, 1941)

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#73 Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#74 Chechen Fighter, 1995, First Chechen War

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#75 Two Croatian Soldiers On The Frontline In Turanj, Croatia, 1992, Croatian Homeland War

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#76 Teenage Wasteland - A Young Us Marine Takes A Break During A Ground Movement 25 Miles North Of An Hoa, North Vietnam. 1969, Vietnam War

Image credits: incrediblehistory

#77 Members Of The 1st Guards Brigade - Tigers Of The Croatian Army, On Trpinja Road, Vukovar, 1991, Croatian Homeland War

Image credits: incrediblehistory