Are you constantly thinking about how you wish you were back in the “old days?” Don’t worry, so are we. Let’s take a walk down memory lane together as we explore the biggest hits from the past. From old novels we still can’t put down to Hollywood’s hottest actors who have graced our screens, Flashback History is all about reliving our fondest memories.
Emilie has been a content writer for Rough Maps since 2024. She holds a BA in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University and has been published in various magazines including Toronto Life and Exclaim. Her favourite topics to write about include food, traveling, health & wellness, and music. Emilie's favorite funny moment from history was The Great Emu War. Australian soldiers had an objective to machine gun down 20,000 emus as the population was out of control, but they were only able to hit 1,000.
Christy Chan is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, and designer. Though her travels are few and far between, she has no shortage of stories to share—trekking the Canadian wilderness, sampling poke along the Honolulu coastline, getting lost in night markets in Taiwan—and her wanderlust will eventually pin her somewhere foreign. Travels aside, if she isn't busy trying to bake the perfect cookie or relearning how to watercolour, she's scouring the nearest library, searching for the next spark of inspiration. As for her favorite piece of history with a ridiculous backstory: remember when everyone was convinced the world was ending in 2012? What a time that was.
With a fine arts degree from OCAD University under her belt, Megan dips her brush in many creative fields. She’s currently exploring the world of writing, working in niches from fiction to copywriting. Meg is either traveling or dreaming of traveling when she’s not writing. Her home base is in Canada until the lakes freeze over. Megan thinks that Victor Lustig's epic fake Eiffel Tower sale is one of the funniest con acts in history.
Chase joined Rough Maps as our inaugural employee in 2018, bringing with him a BA in Administrative Marketing from Fanshawe College and a fervent aspiration to become an advertising expert. His love for travel and his writing prowess seamlessly blend, enabling him to share captivating experiences about the wonders of our planet. Chase's favourite funny history moment is Henry of Champagne who was made King of Jerusalem in 1192 after Conrad of Montferrat was killed by assassins. In 1197 he tripped over his pet dwarf whilst watching a parade and fell out the window. What a way to go!
Farva has been immersed in the world of writing since earning her B.A. in English. In the past, she has written as a freelancer and has even worked on some novels. She enjoys exploring a variety of topics, including relationships, comic books, and global culture. Superheroes—ranging from iconic figures like Batman to niche characters like Morpheus—are some of her favorite subjects. Farva will always find it funny that the Napoleonic forces lost because of the weather in Russia.
Having dealt first-hand in the realm of digital content and media since 2019, David has committed himself to making full use of his BA in History and Political Science (that being an extremely loose definition of the term "full use"). Despite this complete 180, David's passion for writing and observing the world around him has lent itself to a steadfast commitment to producing content about the topics he cares about most: travel and pop culture. One of David's favourite funny moments in history is the almost slapstick nature of the 5 separate attempts it took to finally take down Rasputin.
Since the dawn of time, Maria has subjected people to her writing. From silly stories about baseball in her youth to silly stories about cowboys in adulthood, people have been unsafe for years. She brought that love of writing to UTM (U of T’s homely sister in Mississauga) where she spent five years on the campus newspaper, eventually becoming editor-in-chief. Her work has also been published in UTM’s annual journal and one of her short stories placed second in Scribbler’s Dialogue Contest. She believes she’s funnier than she is and would have made her entire blurb Smash Mouth’s lyrics to “All Star,” if only her boss had let her. Though it may be untrue, Maria will always laugh at Napoleon getting attacked by rabbits. Even if it didn’t happen, it’s hilarious that the rumor was spread at all.
Robbie has been with Rough Maps since 2019, first as a content writer and latterly as Director of Creative and Media. His essays and reports have been published in Maclean’s, Salon, The West End Phoenix and elsewhere. Robbie is a recipient of the Eugene Levy Writing Award, a three-time winner of the York University President’s Prize, and was the Humber Yuk Yuks Standup Champ in 2016. Despite the consequences, Robbie can't help finding the Defrenestrations of Prague funny.
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