/r/askhistorians

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I regularly read that Romans, Greeks, and Byzantines never ate breakfast. But what about ientaculum? Where did the no-breakfast myth come from.

236 upvotes • RusticBohemian

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I’ve heard that the “I was only following orders” excuse is a bad excuse the nazis on trial used, so I’m curious what did happen to people who didn’t follow the orders in the nazi regime?

236 upvotes • lliH-knaH

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A lot of Classical Greek names are compounds of words which seem like a weird thing to name your child (Xenophon = "Foreign Voice", Polubios = "many lives"). How much do we know about the origin and evolution of Greek given names?

236 upvotes • ChubbyHistorian

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TvTropes claims that Ancient Greeks saw Zeus as being better than in his myths, to the point that Plato thought the myths were blasphemous slander and wanted them banned. Is this true? NSFW

236 upvotes • Red_Galiray

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Did big cities like New York and Chicago absorb smaller cities into them as they grew?

236 upvotes • Rejoicing_Tunicates

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I came across this claim in a news article, that according to some scholars, "Andalusia fell into Christianity in the 15th century due to the removal of the requirement to wear the hijab.", which I was immediately sceptical of. What, if any, historical basis does such an assertation have?

236 upvotes • Minivalo

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How realist is the "apolitical struggle" in House of the Dragon?

236 upvotes • TcheQuevara

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The novel (and to a lesser extent the film) "From Here To Eternity" depicts the US Army before WWII rather negatively - a system full of sadists, torture, harsh treatment, cruel punishment. The novel is based on the author's experience, so how bad was it to serve in the Army before Pearl Harbor?

236 upvotes • Paulie_Gatto

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Where does the classic twirly-mustache, dark-clothed villain tying people to railroad tracks come from? Is this based on any real world person?

235 upvotes • TueuEnSerie

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In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea the character Ned Land states "The common man may still believe in fabulous comets crossing outer space". What were comets to people in the 19th century?

235 upvotes • IlluminatiRex

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
I regularly read that Romans, Greeks, and Byzantines never ate breakfast. But what about ientaculum? Where did the no-breakfast myth come from.	236	RusticBohemian
I’ve heard that the “I was only following orders” excuse is a bad excuse the nazis on trial used, so I’m curious what did happen to people who didn’t follow the orders in the nazi regime?	236	lliH-knaH
A lot of Classical Greek names are compounds of words which seem like a weird thing to name your child (Xenophon = "Foreign Voice", Polubios = "many lives"). How much do we know about the origin and evolution of Greek given names?	236	ChubbyHistorian
TvTropes claims that Ancient Greeks saw Zeus as being better than in his myths, to the point that Plato thought the myths were blasphemous slander and wanted them banned. Is this true? NSFW	236	Red_Galiray
Did big cities like New York and Chicago absorb smaller cities into them as they grew?	236	Rejoicing_Tunicates
I came across this claim in a news article, that according to some scholars, "Andalusia fell into Christianity in the 15th century due to the removal of the requirement to wear the hijab.", which I was immediately sceptical of. What, if any, historical basis does such an assertation have?	236	Minivalo
How realist is the "apolitical struggle" in House of the Dragon?	236	TcheQuevara
The novel (and to a lesser extent the film) "From Here To Eternity" depicts the US Army before WWII rather negatively - a system full of sadists, torture, harsh treatment, cruel punishment. The novel is based on the author's experience, so how bad was it to serve in the Army before Pearl Harbor?	236	Paulie_Gatto
Where does the classic twirly-mustache, dark-clothed villain tying people to railroad tracks come from? Is this based on any real world person?	235	TueuEnSerie
In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea the character Ned Land states "The common man may still believe in fabulous comets crossing outer space". What were comets to people in the 19th century?	235	IlluminatiRex