I do not know why this specific fact made to the front page or whether if it has something to do with the seige on Gaza right now and American Government being totally pog with it.

      • sooper_dooper_roofer [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        Fun fact: the original English definition of “Europe” excluded western Russia.

        The Brits didn’t even know what the Ural hills were until ~1870. When they found out about them, they jumped at the chance to make them define Europe, because they had no other geographic justification (btw these hills are not a plate boundary and do not impede movement, they are basically as nonexistent as hills can be)

        There were also multiple British geographers who wanted Britain to be its own continent separate from Europe.