Thinking Like a History Detective
Like Duolingo, but for Thinking Like a History Detective. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Thinking Like a History Detective
- Physical features like weight and lack of power cords indicate manual labor or heat-retention needs
- Artifacts are defined by their ability to provide data or context
- Objects are designed to solve specific problems of their time
- Even 'trash' can be an artifact if it reveals a habit or choice
- Physical design reflects past habits and technological constraints
- Distinguishing between an artifact and junk
- Wear patterns indicate how often and in what way an object was used
- Manufacturing marks provide a timeline for technological standards
- Distinguishing between an artifact and junk based on the presence of historical information
- Mapping specific object features to the historical 'clues' they provide
- Primary sources provide direct evidence from witnesses who were physically present
- Extreme emotional language often signals a motive to persuade rather than inform
- Second-hand accounts often lose specific sensory details or introduce outside bias
- Accounts written many decades after the fact are prone to memory gaps or 'stretching' the truth
- Evaluating the reliability of a source based on the creator's proximity to the event
- Identifying red flags that suggest a source may be biased or unreliable
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Thinking Like a History Detective the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You find a heavy iron tool in a kitchen drawer with no electrical cord. What does its weight and lack of power suggest?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
Where Thinking Like a History Detective takes you
Stop memorizing dates and start solving mysteries. Learn how to piece together the past using the clues left behind by real people.
- 1
Solve Your First Mystery
- Finding Clues in Your Own House
- Spotting a Fake Story
- Reading Between the Lines of an Old Letter
- Why Two People See the Same Event Differently
- 2
Digging Deeper Into the Past
- What Trash Can Tell Us About Ancient Life
- Listening to Stories Passed Down for Generations
- How Buildings Tell the Story of a City
- The Secrets Hidden in Old Photographs
- Mapping How Ideas Travel Across Oceans
- When Science Meets History
- 3
The Big Picture of Why It Matters
- How the Past Shapes Your Morning Routine
- Why Some Stories Get Forgotten
- Using History to Predict What Happens Next
3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Thinking Like a History Detective is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More History on Tomo
India: The Fabric of Power
Move beyond dates and dynasties to see how trade, faith, and rebellion stitched together the world's largest democracy. Explore the hidden threads that connect ancient silk routes to the modern global stage.
The Fire of Florence: Savonarola’s Vision
Step into the radical world of Girolamo Savonarola, the monk who challenged the Renaissance. Learn how he transformed a city through moral reform, political upheaval, and the famous Bonfire of the Vanities.
The Revolutionary War: Beyond the Battlefield
Step into the boots of a colonist to see how a ragtag group of rebels outmaneuvered an empire. Explore the secret alliances, high-stakes espionage, and the messy reality of building a new nation from scratch.
The Great War: Beyond the Trenches
Move beyond basic dates to understand the human experience, the shifting maps of empires, and the technological leaps that changed warfare forever. Discover how a single spark ignited a global fire that still shapes our world today.
Living Like a Roman
Step into the sandals of a Roman citizen to see how they conquered the world and built a lasting empire. From gladiator fights to clever engineering, discover why their way of life still shapes ours today.
The Secret History of Great Wealth
Ever wonder how the world's richest families actually built their fortunes? Go behind the scenes of history's biggest bank accounts to see the moves they made and the systems they used.
Start Thinking Like a History Detective today.
Download Tomo, search Thinking Like a History Detective, and play your first lesson in under a minute.