Publisher's Synopsis
Humanity Loses Its Homework: The Library of Alexandria Burns (Again and Again)
Still chuckling about the blunders in Volume 1? Get ready for the next chapter in monumental mistakes with So, That Happened: History's Hiccups! This time, we tackle arguably the most infamous, devastating case of collective carelessness in intellectual history: the destruction of the legendary Library of Alexandria.
Imagine the sum total of ancient knowledge - philosophy, science, literature, history - all gathered in one magnificent center of learning. Think Google, Wikipedia, and every university library rolled into one... but made of scrolls and papyrus. So, what happened? How did humanity manage to misplace, burn, or otherwise completely lose the greatest collection of wisdom the ancient world ever produced?
Spoiler alert: It wasn't just one bad day involving a clumsy librarian and a candle. Oh no. In true History's Hiccups fashion, the story of the Library's demise is a messy, centuries-long saga of potential culprits, conflicting accounts, and repeated facepalm moments. It wasn't just one fire; it was likely a series of unfortunate events!
Dive into Humanity Loses Its Homework as we investigate:
- Was it Julius Caesar's fault during an inconvenient harbour fire? (Oops.)
- Did zealous religious figures decide the scrolls were heretical firewood? (Yikes.)
- Was it Caliph Omar's alleged decree that if the scrolls agreed with the Quran they were redundant, and if they disagreed, they were blasphemous? (Talk about a no-win!)
- Or was it just centuries of neglect, budget cuts, and maybe a few too many scrolls used as bathhouse kindling?
Volume 2 untangles the myths from the maybes, explores the likely suspects (spoiler: there are several!), and reveals how the gradual loss of this ancient 'hard drive' set humanity back in ways we're still trying to figure out. It's less a single bonfire and more a slow-motion tragedy sprinkled with baffling decisions.
Perfect for history lovers who enjoy a good mystery and anyone who's ever really regretted losing an important file, Humanity Loses Its Homework serves up this epic historical blunder with the signature wit and humor of the So, That Happened: History's Hiccups series.
Find out how the ancient world effectively lost its homework - pick up Volume 2 today!
