Like most people, I learned history in discreet chunks: world history, American history, economic history etc. The overlaps are often overlooked.

While reading David McCullough’s biography of John Adams, it dawned on me that, while Adams and Thomas Jefferson were living in France, Mozart was at the peak of his career. They might have seen him.

Abigail Adams, who had never seen a play performed (Boston had no theaters at the time) until she arrived in Paris to join her husband, was thrilled by the opera and theater scene.

Of course, not all entertainment was high-brow. She, like many of the uppercrust, went to see such curiosities as “the learned pig.” She was so impressed, she insisted Jefferson go see the pig, which he did.

Actor, magician and historian Ricky Jay (you’ve seen him in David Mamet’s movies) wrote the wonderful Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women. The pig’s repertoire:

…consisted of spelling names, solving problems in arithmetic, telling time and even pointing out words of flashcards –correctly selecting those thought of by the audience.

It’s heartening to be reminded that even people who got their faces carved on Mount Rushmore were human.