Is there anything more boring than talking about war? Especially the damn Civil War? Every time I tell someone I teach history, they invariably say something to the effect of, “Oh, I/my son/my brother loves history! Isn’t the Civil War/World War II just the most interesting thing ever?” And inside my head, I’m screaming, “No, no, it’s not!” There’s lots of other things out there more interesting than those two stupid wars.

And I don’t know why this always happens with history. No one learns someone is an accountant and then says, “Man, addition. What an amazing mathematical operation!” or, “So, any fascinating audits lately?”