Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 39

[cahn]

Last post, along with the usual 18th-century suspects, included the Ottonians; changing ideas of conception and women's sexual pleasure; Isabella of Parma (the one who fell in love, and vice versa, with her husband's sister); Henry IV and Bertha (and Henry's second wife divorcing him for "unspeakable sexual acts"). (Okay, Isabella of Parma was 18th century.)

Comments

Re: Once-current events that are now history

[mildred_of_midgard]

Acid rain, 90s: check!

Nuclear annihilation: I missed out on this entirely! I remember reading Madeleine L'Engle in middle school and being *so* confused by what the characters were talking about. She clearly expected you to be able to fill in the blanks, and in hindsight I understand why, but it was a long time before my "history" knowledge was good enough to supply the context.

Satanic scare: That one made it onto my radar, as did Waco (omg Waco). As in, "Don't do things that might make people erroneously think you are a Satanist or cultist!"

AIDS, 90s: check.

Gorbachev, glasnost, and perestroika: Nope. This one I learned as history.