/r/askhistorians

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How did castles and cities hold out for months under siege before the invention of modern food preservation techniques?

1700 upvotes • Caridor

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Is the “Achilles heel” story a lesson for ancient warriors?

1699 upvotes • youryoureyouier

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Has a US president ever came out and said the state of the Union is bad in their SOTU address? Has any president been notable for brutal honesty when addressing the public?

1699 upvotes • adamantcondition

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Why are blue-inked pens so widely accepted as appropriate and professional in comparison to other colored pens?

1698 upvotes • Samonellamiller

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I am a young man in the Roman Empire with a profound interest in engineering. I want to build aquaducts and bridges when I grow up. How do I receive the training/education to do this?

1698 upvotes • Argos_the_Dog

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Germany clearly went from a democracy in 1932 to a fascist dictatorship in 1933. But when did Japan go from an absolute monarchy in the Meiji period to a liberal democracy and then to a totalitarian dictatorship in WW2?

1698 upvotes • Pashahlis

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[NSFW] In Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), when Dracula meets Mina, he takes her to a sort of Bohemian theatre showing what appear to be 1890's porno films. Did such films exist at the time? If yes, would they really have been shown in a place like that? NSFW

1697 upvotes • JJVMT

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Why did a thriving rock music scene emerge in Cambodia of all places during the 60s and 70s? Did South Vietnam and Laos also experience a similar music boom during the same period, particularly from US exposure?

1697 upvotes • Rlyeh_Dispatcher

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The early Seinfeld episode "The Limo" involves a mix-up with a neo-nazi who is to give a big speech at the Paramount Theater (now the Hulu Theater) at Madison Square Garden. Was this a nod to any sort of similar real-life, high-profile neo-nazi activity in the early 90s?

1697 upvotes • JJVMT

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"A Fijian canoe built in Samoa" could carry 500 to 600 people. How exactly did Pacific Islanders make canoes on such a scale, in a sea where cyclones aren't uncommon? And why did they need such enormous canoes?

1696 upvotes • PangeranDipanagara

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
How did castles and cities hold out for months under siege before the invention of modern food preservation techniques?	1700	Caridor
Is the “Achilles heel” story a lesson for ancient warriors?	1699	youryoureyouier
Has a US president ever came out and said the state of the Union is bad in their SOTU address? Has any president been notable for brutal honesty when addressing the public?	1699	adamantcondition
Why are blue-inked pens so widely accepted as appropriate and professional in comparison to other colored pens?	1698	Samonellamiller
I am a young man in the Roman Empire with a profound interest in engineering. I want to build aquaducts and bridges when I grow up. How do I receive the training/education to do this?	1698	Argos_the_Dog
Germany clearly went from a democracy in 1932 to a fascist dictatorship in 1933. But when did Japan go from an absolute monarchy in the Meiji period to a liberal democracy and then to a totalitarian dictatorship in WW2?	1698	Pashahlis
[NSFW] In Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), when Dracula meets Mina, he takes her to a sort of Bohemian theatre showing what appear to be 1890's porno films. Did such films exist at the time? If yes, would they really have been shown in a place like that? NSFW	1697	JJVMT
Why did a thriving rock music scene emerge in Cambodia of all places during the 60s and 70s? Did South Vietnam and Laos also experience a similar music boom during the same period, particularly from US exposure?	1697	Rlyeh_Dispatcher
The early Seinfeld episode "The Limo" involves a mix-up with a neo-nazi who is to give a big speech at the Paramount Theater (now the Hulu Theater) at Madison Square Garden. Was this a nod to any sort of similar real-life, high-profile neo-nazi activity in the early 90s?	1697	JJVMT
"A Fijian canoe built in Samoa" could carry 500 to 600 people. How exactly did Pacific Islanders make canoes on such a scale, in a sea where cyclones aren't uncommon? And why did they need such enormous canoes?	1696	PangeranDipanagara