#HistorianSignBunny: Top 50
Over the weekend I happened to notice several witty and insightful tweets floating by in my timeline with the #HistorianSignBunny hashtag. Each tweet containined a little ASCII art bunny holding a sign, which itself contained a short statement about history. For example:
After a little digging and scrolling it became apparent that there were literally tons of these bunnies. So I did some data collection with twarc and was able to identify what looked like the earliest tweets, which were from @GiorgiaV, who let me know that #HistorianSignBunny actually started its life en Français as #lapinhistorien by @reinemedievale, who created the first historian bunny but credited @furetus31 with creating the hashtag (whew):
I made the first bunnies but @furetus31 created the hashtag that goes with them
— Bérangère 🐰 (@reinemedievale) July 15, 2018
At any rate it appears that the first bunny with a historical message by @reinemedievale was:
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Bérangère 🐰 (@reinemedievale) July 8, 2018
LE MOYEN ÂGE N'EST
PAS UN TEMPS
OBSCUR
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
But it also seems a fair number of tweets circulated without either hashtag such as:
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— PatríciaMMarcos (@PatrciaMMarcos) July 13, 2018
History doesn’t
Repeat itself.
People repeat history.
History is a
human production
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
Unfortunately, it was difficult to search for the characters in the bunny itself using Twitter’s search syntax. It seems like the index ignores most of the punctuation? If you happen to play with that and figure it out please let me know.
I was also surprised to learn that the bunny-with-a-sign is actually a meme that goes back to 2013 at least. But using it to communicate historical topics appears to be something fresh and brand new.
Top 50
So, of course, I wanted to see what the top 50 #historiansignbunny and #lapinhistorien were. With twarc and a few of its external utilities this wasn’t too hard to do:
# get the data
% twarc search 'historiansignbunny' > tweets.jsonl
# get the top 50 retweets
% utils/retweets.py --results 50 tweets.jsonl > retweets.jsonl
# convert the 50 retweets to html embeds for this post
% utils/embed.py retweets.jsonl > retweets.html
All in all there were 28,570 tweets and retweets with the hashtags. Of those there were 961 original tweets by 600 users.
So without further ado, here are the top 50. If you want access to the entire dataset of original tweets I’ve put a CSV up as a Google Sheet. Note they are ordered in descending order by number of retweets. But since these numbers can change over time they may slip out of order.
One thing to notice in each tweet is that in addition to being retweeted, they are also the start of some seriously long conversation threads. Some are kind of painful to read (because the web), but they are interesting nonetheless.
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— asiniiwiikwe | ᐊᓯᓃᐐᑴ | 💎💎💎 (ziibiing) 04:50:51 PM July 11, 2018
Indigenous People
Had Whole-Ass Societies,
Trading Networks &
Sustainable Lives
Before Colonization.
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Dr. Audra J. Wolfe (ColdWarScience) 12:57:47 AM July 12, 2018
Science
has always
been
Political
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Liam Hogan (Limerick1914) 10:21:45 PM July 14, 2018
It benefits the far-right
if Nazi Germany is viewed
as an anomalous outlier
rather than an
ethno-nationalist model
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Just another George (fl. cir. 2015 c.e.) (ProfessorGeorgy) 12:01:20 PM July 12, 2018
“Judeo-Christian” is a
20th century backreading
Of European history that
Tries to cover up centuries
Of Anti-semitism
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Varsha (_varsha_venkat) 02:15:31 PM July 12, 2018
WE SHOULD TEACH
LABOR HISTORY
IN HIGH SCHOOLS.
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Mar Hicks (histoftech) 04:21:47 AM July 12, 2018
Technologies
are regressive
not “revolutionary”
if the same people
remain in control
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Ovnastia (Ovnastia) 01:29:27 PM July 11, 2018
| L’INVISIBILISATION
| DES FEMMES EN |
| HISTOIRE EST |
| VOLONTAIRE, |
| IDÉOLOGIQUE |
| ET POLITIQUE |
| (et à combattre !)|
|__________________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ”
#lapinhistorien
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Eric Gonzaba (EGonzaba) 02:22:27 AM July 12, 2018
IF YOU TEACH MODERN
U.S. HISTORY AND DON’T
DISCUSS THE AIDS CRISIS,
YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Peter A. Shulman 📚 (pashulman) 11:55:51 PM July 12, 2018
THE HISTORIAN’S
OBLIGATION IS TO
REMEMBER THE THINGS
THAT SOCIETY WOULD
RATHER FORGET
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— jeffrey marsh (thejeffreymarsh) 10:02:19 PM July 11, 2018
NONBINARY/TRANS
FOLKS
HAVE EXISTED
ALWAYS I MEAN
COME ON USE
GOOGLE💛
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Eric Gonzaba (EGonzaba) 07:30:09 PM July 12, 2018
THE AMERICANS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT
IS ONE OF THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT PIECES OF
LEGISLATION EVER
PASSED BY CONGRESS
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Senthorun Raj (senthorun) 07:15:00 AM July 14, 2018
CIVILITY DOESN’T
GENERATE JUSTICE.
PROTEST DOES.
🏳️🌈
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Hannah || #Insulin4All (lollydaggle) 03:34:49 PM July 14, 2018
SINCE 1996, THE
PRICE OF INSULIN HAS
RISEN 1200% FROM $21
A VIAL TO $275 FOR
THE SAME EXACT
INSULIN
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny #Insulin4All
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Brian M. Watson (HistoryOfPorn) 08:50:12 PM July 12, 2018
SEX WORK
IS REAL WORK
AND HAS
A REAL HISTORY
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
#histsex #histporn #sexworkers
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Dr Erin Bartram (erin_bartram) 03:09:11 AM July 13, 2018
DON’T DISMISS A
HISTORIAN’S ANALYSIS
JUST BECAUSE IT
MAKES YOU FEEL
UNCOMFORTABLE
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Andrés Pertierra (ASPertierra) 01:01:50 PM July 12, 2018
Coverage of Latin American
immigration to the US should
always touch on US foreign
policy, colonialism, and land
tenure.
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Samar Ziadat | سمر زيادات (samarziadat) 09:05:35 AM July 13, 2018
IF YOU TEACH MODERN
AND CONTEMPORARY
ART HISTORY AND DON’T
DISCUSS RACISM
YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ |
— almost Dr Imani Mosley, ABD, MA x 2, MM x 2, BMus (imanimosley) 01:12:34 PM July 12, 2018
| WHITE |
EUROPEAN |
MEN AREN’T |
THE ONLY |
PEOPLE WHO
COMPOSED |
CLASSICAL |
MUSIC |
| ______ |
(_/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny #lapinhistorien
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— 18th Century Studies (BSECS) 11:20:04 PM July 12, 2018
THE 18TH CENTURY WAS
THE MOST INTERESTING
CENTURY & IS UNFAIRLY
OVERLOOKED
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— GiorgiaV (ParvaVox) 11:11:08 PM July 9, 2018
NOTHING DARK
ABOUT THE DARK AGES
FANTASTIC WEATHER
PLENTY OF FOOD
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
#lapinhistorien
#LightUpTheDarkAges
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Liam Hogan (Limerick1914) 09:51:10 AM July 15, 2018
Nazism was partly influenced by the
work of American white supremacists, eugenicists and official racist U.S. immigration policies.
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Farrah Khan (farrahsafiakhan) 12:35:08 PM July 13, 2018
Sex Ed
Saves Lives
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny #sexed
 ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— avalon’slaw + PROTEST MAKES AMERICA GREAT (LaceyWilson4) 12:53:09 AM July 12, 2018
CONFEDERATE
MONUMENTS ARE
ABOUT THE HISTORY
OF PROPAGANDA AND RACISM
IN AMERICAN POLITICS
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Eric Gonzaba (EGonzaba) 01:36:56 PM July 12, 2018
ROSA PARKS WAS AN
ANTI-RAPE ACTIVIST BEFORE
THE 1955 MONTGOMERY
BUS BOYCOTT
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Heath Carter (heathwcarter) 04:34:49 AM July 13, 2018
The overwhelming majority of white Christians were neither abolitionists nor Civil Rights activists.
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Elizabeth “Prof” Bridges (EGBridges) 12:34:57 PM July 13, 2018
Ppl didn’t just wake up in Nazi Germany. It built up slowly over four years. 1934-1938 was a daily creep of ever crueler policies.
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Just another George (fl. cir. 2015 c.e.) (ProfessorGeorgy) 12:19:16 PM July 12, 2018
Reading the Quran to
Understand militant movements
Is like trying to understand
Brexit by reading Beowulf.
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
#ReligiousStudiesSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Dr Janice Liedl (jliedl) 07:43:22 PM July 13, 2018
IF WOMEN DON’T
FACTOR INTO YOUR
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS,
GO BACK & TRY AGAIN
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Kevin 💾 Baker (kevinbaker) 06:28:31 PM July 13, 2018
Studiously insulating your
profession or method from
politics is itself a political
act (and not a neutral one.)
|_____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Annabel LaBrecque (labrcq) 03:12:22 PM July 11, 2018
THE AMERICAN REV.
WAS AS MUCH ABT
TAKING INDIGENOUS
LANDS AS IT WAS ABT
TARIFFS & TYRANTS
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐞 (LeslieBoulay) 12:19:14 PM July 10, 2018
Napoléon 1er était misogyne,
esclavagiste et a muselé
la liberté de la presse
|_______________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#lapinhistorien
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Chelsea R. Miller (publichumanist) 01:39:20 AM July 11, 2018
THE CIVIL WAR
WAS ABOUT
SLAVERY
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
(•ㅅ•) | ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄
— Rutger K (AnotherAspirin) 09:29:06 AM July 13, 2018
 ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄| MOST OF THE TIME
|| / づ
OUR EVIDENCE (__/) || LOOKS LIKE |__________|
THIS!
#HistorianSignBunny #lapinhistorien
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Steven Schwinghamer (s_schwinghamer) 02:09:10 AM July 12, 2018
SEEKING ASYLUM IS A
RIGHT PROTECTED IN
INTERNATIONAL LAW. THIS
PROTECTION INCLUDES
A PROHIBITION ON
PENALTIES FOR IRREGULAR
ENTRY.
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— LibrarianShipwreck (libshipwreck) 12:53:47 PM July 12, 2018
Technology
is not
neutral.
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Eric Gonzaba (EGonzaba) 01:52:46 AM July 12, 2018
GAY HISTORY DIDN’T
BEGIN AT STONEWALL
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Ellie Murray (EpiEllie) 04:13:12 AM July 13, 2018
IF U DONT SMOKE,
U ALREADY
BELIEVE IN
CAUSAL INFERENCE
WITHOUT
RANDOMIZED TRIALS
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny #Epidemiology
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Liam Hogan (Limerick1914) 10:00:21 AM July 15, 2018
Modern racism has a transatlantic history. Concepts and ideologies used to rationalise oppression flowed in both directions
|______________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Eric Gonzaba (EGonzaba) 11:04:54 PM July 12, 2018
THERE WERE
FOUNDING MOTHERS, TOO
(including women of color)
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Joshua D. Rothman (rothmanistan) 11:56:59 PM July 13, 2018
History is lived forwards
Understood backwards
And is given meaning
Only by the present
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Michael Neiberg (MichaelNeiberg) 07:13:43 PM July 13, 2018
| I Study War. |
| I do NOT like |
| it. |
| ________ |
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Flint Dibble 🍖🏺📖 (FlintDibble) 07:16:14 PM July 12, 2018
All the bunnies you see on
Greek vases are actually
hare. Rabbits didn’t spread
from Spain until the
Roman empire
|___________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny https://t.co/rW452ifTOO
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Dr Kate Wiles (katemond) 03:41:32 PM July 10, 2018
THERE IS NO OLD ENGLISH
WORD FOR BUNNY
BUT THERE IS ‘HARA’
WHICH IS A HARE.
PROBABLY THE NORMANS
GAVE US BUNNIES
(ALSO PROBABLY THE ROMANS)
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Jeremy Neely (jeremyneely) 01:26:50 PM July 12, 2018
IT’S RIGHT THERE
IN THE
SECESSION
ORDINANCES,
PEOPLE
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Javier 🇵🇷 (MeteIeSazon) 11:18:25 PM July 14, 2018
LATIN AMERICAN, ASIAN,
AND AFRICAN HISTORY
SHOULD BE CORE
SUBJECTS TAUGH IN
HIGH SCHOOL
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— David Fouser (journeymanhisto) 10:44:28 PM July 13, 2018
STEM DEGREES MUST
INCLUDE HUMANITIES
OR STEM WILL CONTINUE
TO REINFORCE EXISTING
POWER STRUCTURES AND
INJUSTICES
|_____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— Varsha (_varsha_venkat) 07:46:41 PM July 12, 2018
THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE WAS
CREATED TO
PROTECT
SLAVEHOLDERS.
|_________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
___________________________
— LaTanya S. Autry (artstuffmatters) 05:51:59 PM July 12, 2018
| |
#MuseumsAreNotNeutral
NEVER WERE
CAN’T BE
|__________________________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— GiorgiaV (ParvaVox) 01:55:54 PM July 10, 2018
MEDIEVAL PEOPLE
DID NOT THINK
THE EARTH
WAS FLAT
|__________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny
#lapinhistorien
| ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄ ̄|
— William S. Cossen (WilliamCossen) 11:41:47 PM July 12, 2018
“HISTORY”
AND
“THE PAST”
ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
|____________|
(__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ づ
#HistorianSignBunny