/r/askhistorians

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Elon Musk's remark about civilizations through history declining technologically only to recover millennia later, is it accurate?

1265 upvotes • call_of_duties

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Many facets of American social culture appear to have gotten less "formal" over the course of the last 100 years (male/female dress, reverence for elders etc). Are there any noticeable examples of American society becoming more formal over this time period?

1264 upvotes • druhyelew

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I was taught that slavery died out in England in the Middle Ages and that it was officially banned in Cartwright’s case in 1569, but it seems from portraits and old newspaper adverts that in the 18th and early 19th century there were black slaves in England, so was it re-legalised?

1264 upvotes • kali___yuga

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According to popular conception, Western beauty standards (especially for women) have fluctuated between fat and thin because those physical traits have been correlated with wealth. Is this true from a historical perspective?

1263 upvotes • Gynandrous

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It's 1940, a lovely day in England and I want to call/write my German cousin. Was that possible? What was international communication between the civilian populace of warring WWII powers like?

1262 upvotes • Artyomic

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In Jane Austen novels, everyone seems to know the size of everyone else's fortune and income, and they talk openly about it. We would find this vulgar today - how and when did this change?

1262 upvotes • PooperOfMoons

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Was draft dodging common in the Third Reich? How would a prospective draft dodger go about it?

1260 upvotes • OSkorzeny

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When did women's breasts become hyper sexualized?

1260 upvotes • Ethan_Chandler

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Why do clowns look the way they do?

1260 upvotes • rottt4

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Were there plans in place of how to deal with Hitler had he been captured alive?

1259 upvotes • Dimensha

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Elon Musk's remark about civilizations through history declining technologically only to recover millennia later, is it accurate?	1265	call_of_duties
Many facets of American social culture appear to have gotten less "formal" over the course of the last 100 years (male/female dress, reverence for elders etc). Are there any noticeable examples of American society becoming more formal over this time period?	1264	druhyelew
I was taught that slavery died out in England in the Middle Ages and that it was officially banned in Cartwright’s case in 1569, but it seems from portraits and old newspaper adverts that in the 18th and early 19th century there were black slaves in England, so was it re-legalised?	1264	kali___yuga
According to popular conception, Western beauty standards (especially for women) have fluctuated between fat and thin because those physical traits have been correlated with wealth. Is this true from a historical perspective?	1263	Gynandrous
It's 1940, a lovely day in England and I want to call/write my German cousin. Was that possible? What was international communication between the civilian populace of warring WWII powers like?	1262	Artyomic
In Jane Austen novels, everyone seems to know the size of everyone else's fortune and income, and they talk openly about it. We would find this vulgar today - how and when did this change?	1262	PooperOfMoons
Was draft dodging common in the Third Reich? How would a prospective draft dodger go about it?	1260	OSkorzeny
When did women's breasts become hyper sexualized?	1260	Ethan_Chandler
Why do clowns look the way they do?	1260	rottt4
Were there plans in place of how to deal with Hitler had he been captured alive?	1259	Dimensha