/r/askhistorians

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Bread was incredibly labor and energy-intensive to prepare. Why was it a staple for so many poor people in the premodern era when they could save time and energy by directly boiling whole grains or preparing them as part of a potage/porridge/soup?

2126 upvotes • RusticBohemian

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To what extent is it legitimate to say that Mao's cultural revolution "erased Chinese culture"?

2125 upvotes • spambulance

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Top Eight most common misconceptions about Oda Nobunaga that will completely change the way you view the Sengoku Era. You won't believe number four!

2125 upvotes • Georgy_K_Zhukov

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What did J.R.R. Tolkien think of later fantasy fiction?

2125 upvotes • Pale_Chapter

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I’ve often heard from political conservatives that early settlers at Jamestown & Plymouth nearly starved to death because they initially attempted “socialism”/collective farming, & that they only survived because they began using “capitalism” & privatized farmland. Is this in anyway true?

2125 upvotes • Damned-scoundrel

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The onion seems to be a staple ingredient in cultures around the globe. Has this always been the case , or was it introduced as trade routes opened up?

2124 upvotes • booboo_sousa_

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In the TV show "30 Rock", the character Tracy Jordan says that Zachary Taylor is "generally considered to be one of the worst presidents of all time". Is there truth in this joke?

2124 upvotes • withoutamartyr

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If I were a Roman citizen, fluent in Latin, in the time of Justinian the First, could I directly speak with a Roman from 700 years ago in the time of the Punic Wars?

2124 upvotes • [deleted]

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How close did the Soviets come to capitulation in 1942 and 1943? How did the Germans expect it to collapse?

2124 upvotes • SlipperyCheeseboy

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How critical was the capture of Moscow during WWII? Were the Germans really 1 mile away from essentially destroying the Soviet Union?

2123 upvotes • premeddit

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Bread was incredibly labor and energy-intensive to prepare. Why was it a staple for so many poor people in the premodern era when they could save time and energy by directly boiling whole grains or preparing them as part of a potage/porridge/soup?	2126	RusticBohemian
To what extent is it legitimate to say that Mao's cultural revolution "erased Chinese culture"?	2125	spambulance
Top Eight most common misconceptions about Oda Nobunaga that will completely change the way you view the Sengoku Era. You won't believe number four!	2125	Georgy_K_Zhukov
What did J.R.R. Tolkien think of later fantasy fiction?	2125	Pale_Chapter
I’ve often heard from political conservatives that early settlers at Jamestown & Plymouth nearly starved to death because they initially attempted “socialism”/collective farming, & that they only survived because they began using “capitalism” & privatized farmland. Is this in anyway true?	2125	Damned-scoundrel
The onion seems to be a staple ingredient in cultures around the globe. Has this always been the case , or was it introduced as trade routes opened up?	2124	booboo_sousa_
In the TV show "30 Rock", the character Tracy Jordan says that Zachary Taylor is "generally considered to be one of the worst presidents of all time". Is there truth in this joke?	2124	withoutamartyr
If I were a Roman citizen, fluent in Latin, in the time of Justinian the First, could I directly speak with a Roman from 700 years ago in the time of the Punic Wars?	2124	[deleted]
How close did the Soviets come to capitulation in 1942 and 1943? How did the Germans expect it to collapse?	2124	SlipperyCheeseboy
How critical was the capture of Moscow during WWII? Were the Germans really 1 mile away from essentially destroying the Soviet Union?	2123	premeddit