/r/askhistorians

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What did people think of static electricity before electricity was understood?

166 upvotes • Pomgoth

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Do we know how many Scandinavians ended up permanently settling in Britain? I’ve seen that there is still a large genetic presence, but I’ve never seen any hard numbers or guesstimates as to the demographics around say the time between Cnut and the Norman Conquest.

166 upvotes • AustinioForza

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In ‘the musketeers’ by dumas, duels were fought in 1600s France over things as small as picking up a handkerchief or insulting a horse. How accurate is this?

166 upvotes • venus7113

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How do I know which sources of history to trust?

166 upvotes • Agreeable_Page3330

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I am a mid-level Imperial bureaucrat in 5th Century Hispania, and I've just learned the Visigoths are "taking over" duties for the state. How catastrophic do I think this is? What changes in my day-to-day life and work?

166 upvotes • Basilikon

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There is a large 45 year gap between the end of the American Civil War and the beginning of the Great Migration (1910s-1970s). Given the bad conditions for African-Americans in the American South why didn't they start migrating several decades sooner?

166 upvotes • UndyingCorn

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Did public latrines in ancient Rome lack any privacy or were there any sort of wooden dividers that didn't survive to today?

166 upvotes • cmrunning

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There was significant cultural osmosis between Japan and China during the former's ancient and medieval periods, so why did it take until the 1300s for Japan to stop hollowing out logs to use as ocean going vessels?

166 upvotes • 19peter96r

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When did goblins become green?

166 upvotes • Cranyx

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Where does the parenting tradition of marking kids’ progressive heights in door frames originate?

166 upvotes • Meat_your_maker

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
What did people think of static electricity before electricity was understood?	166	Pomgoth
Do we know how many Scandinavians ended up permanently settling in Britain? I’ve seen that there is still a large genetic presence, but I’ve never seen any hard numbers or guesstimates as to the demographics around say the time between Cnut and the Norman Conquest.	166	AustinioForza
In ‘the musketeers’ by dumas, duels were fought in 1600s France over things as small as picking up a handkerchief or insulting a horse. How accurate is this?	166	venus7113
How do I know which sources of history to trust?	166	Agreeable_Page3330
I am a mid-level Imperial bureaucrat in 5th Century Hispania, and I've just learned the Visigoths are "taking over" duties for the state. How catastrophic do I think this is? What changes in my day-to-day life and work?	166	Basilikon
There is a large 45 year gap between the end of the American Civil War and the beginning of the Great Migration (1910s-1970s). Given the bad conditions for African-Americans in the American South why didn't they start migrating several decades sooner?	166	UndyingCorn
Did public latrines in ancient Rome lack any privacy or were there any sort of wooden dividers that didn't survive to today?	166	cmrunning
There was significant cultural osmosis between Japan and China during the former's ancient and medieval periods, so why did it take until the 1300s for Japan to stop hollowing out logs to use as ocean going vessels?	166	19peter96r
When did goblins become green?	166	Cranyx
Where does the parenting tradition of marking kids’ progressive heights in door frames originate?	166	Meat_your_maker