/r/askhistorians

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When I was a student in a private religious school as a child, my teacher told us that continental drift was a lie dreamed up by godless scientists to destroy America. Was there controversy surrounding continental drift in the late 1980s/early 1990s, or was that a fairly fringe opinion?

2536 upvotes • Ellikichi

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What mistakes did the British make to lose the US War of Independence, and could they have won it?

2535 upvotes • SinceIWasYoung

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I for one am deeply dissatisfied with the amount and quality of historical information available about the mullet. Can anyone properly enlighten me about the rise and fall of this magnificent hairwreck?

2535 upvotes • LukeInTheSkyWith

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Why is it still generally culturaly acceptable for Japanese government officials to deny thier countries World War Two war crimes when it is generally considered unthinkable in Germany to do this?

2534 upvotes • Footwart

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I have a +300 year old Medical Surgery Book from Switzerland. Can you tell me more about it?

2533 upvotes • LxSwiss

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During the period of racially segregated bathrooms in the US, and due to gender-separate bathrooms were there 4 bathrooms? Like 1 black-male, 1 black-female, 1 white-male, and 1 white-female?

2532 upvotes • M4yonnaise

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In a recent interview with the BBC, Mikhail Gorbachev state that he stepped down to avoid a civil war in the Soviet Union, which he claims they were 'well on the way to having'. Was that really a distinct possibility?

2532 upvotes • reddfloyd

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Enzo Ferrari is reputed to have said: “Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.” How did we come to associate race cars with the colour red? Is it the result of Ferrari?

2532 upvotes • EcoGeoHistoryFan

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Who was in Ireland before the Celts? Is it real the theory that there were Berbers or other Afroasiatic culture? Would that explain strange similarities between celtic languages and afroasiatic ones?

2531 upvotes • Primuri

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In 1983, in the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force shot down a civilian flight with a sitting US congressman on board. Given our image of Cold War tensions being as taut as piano wire, how did this not immediately make the war very very hot?

2531 upvotes • SaintShrink

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
When I was a student in a private religious school as a child, my teacher told us that continental drift was a lie dreamed up by godless scientists to destroy America. Was there controversy surrounding continental drift in the late 1980s/early 1990s, or was that a fairly fringe opinion?	2536	Ellikichi
What mistakes did the British make to lose the US War of Independence, and could they have won it?	2535	SinceIWasYoung
I for one am deeply dissatisfied with the amount and quality of historical information available about the mullet. Can anyone properly enlighten me about the rise and fall of this magnificent hairwreck?	2535	LukeInTheSkyWith
Why is it still generally culturaly acceptable for Japanese government officials to deny thier countries World War Two war crimes when it is generally considered unthinkable in Germany to do this?	2534	Footwart
I have a +300 year old Medical Surgery Book from Switzerland. Can you tell me more about it?	2533	LxSwiss
During the period of racially segregated bathrooms in the US, and due to gender-separate bathrooms were there 4 bathrooms? Like 1 black-male, 1 black-female, 1 white-male, and 1 white-female?	2532	M4yonnaise
In a recent interview with the BBC, Mikhail Gorbachev state that he stepped down to avoid a civil war in the Soviet Union, which he claims they were 'well on the way to having'. Was that really a distinct possibility?	2532	reddfloyd
Enzo Ferrari is reputed to have said: “Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red.” How did we come to associate race cars with the colour red? Is it the result of Ferrari?	2532	EcoGeoHistoryFan
Who was in Ireland before the Celts? Is it real the theory that there were Berbers or other Afroasiatic culture? Would that explain strange similarities between celtic languages and afroasiatic ones?	2531	Primuri
In 1983, in the midst of the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force shot down a civilian flight with a sitting US congressman on board. Given our image of Cold War tensions being as taut as piano wire, how did this not immediately make the war very very hot?	2531	SaintShrink