/r/askhistorians

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"Rugged Individualism", "Man Alone", and the "Fair Go": the American, Kiwi and Australian national self-images all emphasise self-sufficiency and masculine values. Why is this the case, and what implications has it had on international Anglophone culture?

1177 upvotes • normie_sama

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Before chemistry, what did people consider rust to be? How did various cultures try to deal with rusting tools and structural bits?

1176 upvotes • CatWhisperer5000

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The war to end all wars?

1176 upvotes • Kxan91

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Was oral sex something that was typically "on the menu" in brothels in the wild west or was it considered taboo at the time?

1175 upvotes • jake4200

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How did Buddhist-majority nations reconcile state violence (wars and so on) with Buddhist precepts of non-violence? Did they bother to do so?

1175 upvotes • lychos_

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There was TIL today how Alexander the Great sent 18 tons of spices to his tutor as a joke. Someone in the comments claimed that most similar stories from ancient times didn't actually happen. How do historians study the historicity of these stories? How likely it is that this story truly happened?

1174 upvotes • [deleted]

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When was the Roman Colosseum last used, what would that have looked like and why wasn't it used again?

1174 upvotes • trspanache

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Were women crucified as well?

1174 upvotes • acopista

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In the TV series 'Sharpe', British officers of the Napoleonic wars are portrayed as uniformly posh and utterly inept at their jobs, with only a scant minority being actually upstanding and competent officers. How true is this?

1174 upvotes • Enleat

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If William the Conqueror attended a modern (20th century & onwards) coronation, would the service be overly familiar to him (apart from the language)?

1174 upvotes • piersgaveston21

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
"Rugged Individualism", "Man Alone", and the "Fair Go": the American, Kiwi and Australian national self-images all emphasise self-sufficiency and masculine values. Why is this the case, and what implications has it had on international Anglophone culture?	1177	normie_sama
Before chemistry, what did people consider rust to be? How did various cultures try to deal with rusting tools and structural bits?	1176	CatWhisperer5000
The war to end all wars?	1176	Kxan91
Was oral sex something that was typically "on the menu" in brothels in the wild west or was it considered taboo at the time?	1175	jake4200
How did Buddhist-majority nations reconcile state violence (wars and so on) with Buddhist precepts of non-violence? Did they bother to do so?	1175	lychos_
There was TIL today how Alexander the Great sent 18 tons of spices to his tutor as a joke. Someone in the comments claimed that most similar stories from ancient times didn't actually happen. How do historians study the historicity of these stories? How likely it is that this story truly happened?	1174	[deleted]
When was the Roman Colosseum last used, what would that have looked like and why wasn't it used again?	1174	trspanache
Were women crucified as well?	1174	acopista
In the TV series 'Sharpe', British officers of the Napoleonic wars are portrayed as uniformly posh and utterly inept at their jobs, with only a scant minority being actually upstanding and competent officers. How true is this?	1174	Enleat
If William the Conqueror attended a modern (20th century & onwards) coronation, would the service be overly familiar to him (apart from the language)?	1174	piersgaveston21