Many news stories are gripping to read, but are not of serious world historical importance. Most will be considered trivial decades from now. Which stories are different? Which will be included in respected world history textbooks of the future?
Specifically, think about textbooks on modern/contemporary world history, in use by college or high school courses, and/or published by established textbook publishers in the 2050s.
Here are some current textbooks to look at for reference. What news stories from the 90s are recorded in these books?
Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, from 1500 to the Present
International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond
The Twentieth-Century World and Beyond: An International History since 1900
When resolving the bet, I will randomly select an active publisher from the list below and choose a world history textbook comparable to the ones above. I will continue until I have three such textbooks. I will then check each proposed story against the table of contents and index. If a proposed story appears in one of the three books, the bet will resolve as “yes” for that story.
Publishing Companies
Oxford University Press
Cambridge University Press
St. Martin's / Bedford Books
McGraw-Hill
University of California Press
Cengage / Wadsworth Publishing
W. W. Norton
Routledge
Columbia University Press
Pearson / Merrill Prentice Hall
1,000