/r/askhistorians

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In Disney's 1997 Hercules, he calls Meg "More beautiful than Aphrodite." Would this be acceptable in Ancient Greece or heresy to compare a mortal to a godess? What was Ancient Greek courtship like?

150 upvotes • dhowlett1692

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there's a scene in Boardwalk Empire where two characters enter a small town Diner and order spaghetti & meatballs. By the 1920s had Italian food become sufficiently normalised in America that you could expect to find something like spaghetti & meatballs in a back woods Diner?

150 upvotes • grapp

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My boyfriend says that in the 18th century, part of the reason the British Navy gave sailors “grog” was to make them alcohol dependant so they’d stay in Navy service. Is this true?

150 upvotes • ultimatebean

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Why did Europeans maintain a long, difficult trade route in the Silk Road rather than just importing the silkworms themselves to make silk in Europe?

150 upvotes • HarambeKilledEpstein

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Before the invention of Baby Formula, how did people feed babies when their mother or a wet nurse wasn't around?

150 upvotes • Sir_Maxwell_378

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Why did the British partition India instead of just leaving?

150 upvotes • nomiinomii

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What exactly caused people to think Beanie Babies would eventually be worth a fortune?

150 upvotes • [deleted]

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When and why did it become common for wristwatch manufacturers to market their products to the general public on the basis of their scuba diving performance characteristics?

150 upvotes • spikebrennan

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Are there inventions/technologies from the past that we still cannot understand or duplicate?

150 upvotes • craigalanche

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Did the Allies have a "Plan B" for re-taking Europe if D-Day failed?

150 upvotes • i_am_voldemort

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
In Disney's 1997 Hercules, he calls Meg "More beautiful than Aphrodite." Would this be acceptable in Ancient Greece or heresy to compare a mortal to a godess? What was Ancient Greek courtship like?	150	dhowlett1692
there's a scene in Boardwalk Empire where two characters enter a small town Diner and order spaghetti & meatballs. By the 1920s had Italian food become sufficiently normalised in America that you could expect to find something like spaghetti & meatballs in a back woods Diner?	150	grapp
My boyfriend says that in the 18th century, part of the reason the British Navy gave sailors “grog” was to make them alcohol dependant so they’d stay in Navy service. Is this true?	150	ultimatebean
Why did Europeans maintain a long, difficult trade route in the Silk Road rather than just importing the silkworms themselves to make silk in Europe?	150	HarambeKilledEpstein
Before the invention of Baby Formula, how did people feed babies when their mother or a wet nurse wasn't around?	150	Sir_Maxwell_378
Why did the British partition India instead of just leaving?	150	nomiinomii
What exactly caused people to think Beanie Babies would eventually be worth a fortune?	150	[deleted]
When and why did it become common for wristwatch manufacturers to market their products to the general public on the basis of their scuba diving performance characteristics?	150	spikebrennan
Are there inventions/technologies from the past that we still cannot understand or duplicate?	150	craigalanche
Did the Allies have a "Plan B" for re-taking Europe if D-Day failed?	150	i_am_voldemort