/r/askhistorians

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What were the northern lights to the ancient world?

256 upvotes • grizzlysbear

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When was the world's first clean shave?

256 upvotes • ajvl

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After taking a course on early civilizations, it seemed as though Judaism (later Christianity) was heavily influenced by other forgotten religions - so how original was Judaism from a historical perspective and which components can really be traced to being borrowed from other cultures?

256 upvotes • wellplayedsirs

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Why was Constantinople promised to the Russians and not to the Greeks after World War One ?

256 upvotes • Dingilama

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If Denmark had such poor quality soil in the early Medieval period, how was it able to raise and field such a large army of soldiers for the Great Heathen Army ('vikings') that invaded England in the 9th Century?

256 upvotes • SomeHairyGuy

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Why are there so many people with last names that include "de la" (Spanish) or "van der" (Dutch) but never English "of the"?

256 upvotes • JoeyBACON

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Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn by Charles II. This seems very different from the other 13 colonies. Did the King envision this as a sort of personal fief for the Penn family, similar to European Nobility? Or as something else entirely?

256 upvotes • MercurianAspirations

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How come that Spain, Netherlands and Portugal soon declined in contrast to France, Germany and UK which remain respectably powerful today?

256 upvotes • bluerobot27

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So the KKK in the mid-1920s could boast having 4-5 million members. By 1930, it dropped to 30,000. What kind of people joined the KKK just to leave in a few years?

256 upvotes • Paulie_Gatto

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Elephants have been used as powerful animals of war, but were rhinoceroses ever used or considered? If considered, why were they decided against?

256 upvotes • AbeLincolnsFreckles

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
What were the northern lights to the ancient world?	256	grizzlysbear
When was the world's first clean shave?	256	ajvl
After taking a course on early civilizations, it seemed as though Judaism (later Christianity) was heavily influenced by other forgotten religions - so how original was Judaism from a historical perspective and which components can really be traced to being borrowed from other cultures?	256	wellplayedsirs
Why was Constantinople promised to the Russians and not to the Greeks after World War One ?	256	Dingilama
If Denmark had such poor quality soil in the early Medieval period, how was it able to raise and field such a large army of soldiers for the Great Heathen Army ('vikings') that invaded England in the 9th Century?	256	SomeHairyGuy
Why are there so many people with last names that include "de la" (Spanish) or "van der" (Dutch) but never English "of the"?	256	JoeyBACON
Pennsylvania was granted to William Penn by Charles II. This seems very different from the other 13 colonies. Did the King envision this as a sort of personal fief for the Penn family, similar to European Nobility? Or as something else entirely?	256	MercurianAspirations
How come that Spain, Netherlands and Portugal soon declined in contrast to France, Germany and UK which remain respectably powerful today?	256	bluerobot27
So the KKK in the mid-1920s could boast having 4-5 million members. By 1930, it dropped to 30,000. What kind of people joined the KKK just to leave in a few years?	256	Paulie_Gatto
Elephants have been used as powerful animals of war, but were rhinoceroses ever used or considered? If considered, why were they decided against?	256	AbeLincolnsFreckles