Timeless Tales Watch on YouTube
Napoleon, a cartoon general in a black bicorne hat and a navy coat, raising his sabre.

History, told by a tiny general.

Borders, empires and unsolved mysteries in under a minute. Hosted by a very small, very confident general.

Watch on YouTube See where he went

Pick your kind of story.

A cartoon scroll with a face and a red ribbon.

History

Empires, wars and the people who lost them.

 A cartoon globe with a face and a gold stand.

Geography

Why borders look the way they do.

 A cartoon hourglass with a face and gold sand.

Mysteries

Puzzles the history books never solved.

Meet the cast.

Napoleon hosts. The explorer handles maps, the professor the dates, the detective the cold cases, and the mystic whatever nobody can explain.

  • The explorer, a cartoon character in a pith helmet holding a compass.

    Explorer

    Maps and borders

  • The professor, a cartoon character in a graduation cap holding a red book.

    Professor

    Dates and empires

  • The detective, a cartoon character in a fedora holding a sealed envelope.

    Detective

    Cold cases

  • The mystic, a cartoon character in a black hooded cloak holding a golden key.

    Mystic

    Unsolved mysteries

Where is Napoleon today?

A toy general, a phone camera and real places. Every clip starts with one photo and one question: where next?

The toy Napoleon figure turning around to look for his next destination.
On the old map of Europe
A toy Napoleon figure on a windowsill, seen from behind, watching the sun set over a city.
Watching the sun set
A toy Napoleon figure with a raised sabre facing a robot vacuum cleaner on a kitchen floor.
Facing a robot vacuum
Crossing the dunes
A toy Napoleon figure on a museum floor looking up at an ancient stone tablet in a glass case.
Visiting the museum
A toy Napoleon figure standing on a library shelf between old leather books, in a beam of sunlight.
Hiding between old books

Recent stories

  1. Why Poland Lost the East and Gained the West

  2. How Did Prussia Disappear Forever?

  3. Why Is Kaliningrad Russian?

  4. How Portugal Became a Separate Country

  5. Did Some U.S. States Get Borders They Never Agreed To?

  6. The Secret Plan Where Britain And France Almost Merged Into One Country

Hi, I'm the one behind the hat.

I make Timeless Tales: short, funny videos about why borders look so strange, how empires fell apart and the mysteries history never solved. Every map, joke and voice line is put together by hand, one short at a time.

Napoleon started as a quick doodle and ended up running the show. These days he travels too: onto old maps, across the dunes and, once, into a standoff with a robot vacuum.

  • 50K+subscribers
  • 175+shorts made
  • 60sper story
The toy Napoleon figure saluting.

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Napoleon meets a robot vacuum.

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Napoleon's head turning slowly on top of a rainbow of arches.