/r/askhistorians

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How did people wake up at set times before the modern day alarm clock?

870 upvotes • Aruma47

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I just saw Henry Kissinger give a lecture, in which he invoked the idea that the governments of Europe were unprepared and unwilling to start WWI. Massie (Dreadnought) drew a much different conclusion. What's the state of scholarship here?

870 upvotes • daxelkurtz

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The Bible rarely mentions physical descriptions of its characters. Was this lack of physical descriptions a staple of ancient literature or is this only seen in the Bible? And when did that trend change to the long physical character descriptions we see today in literature?

870 upvotes • howtoreadspaghetti

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How invested in Nazi ideology was the average German soldier?

869 upvotes • jonnyboy01

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Are the customized uniforms (writing on helmets, cut-off sleeves) depicted in "Full Metal Jacket" historically accurate?

869 upvotes • desktopdrummer

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Today it is common to compare a seemingly authoritarian leader or far-right group to Nazis or fascists. Did Europeans of the interwar/pre-WWII period have an equally widespread go-to comparison to describe the actual rise of fascism and the Nazis?

869 upvotes • interlocken

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I recently read that Carter had some solar panels installed on the White House, which Reagan later had removed. What actually happened?

869 upvotes • Comprehensive_Try765

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I’ve heard many examples in history where underage girls were forced to marry adult men, but are their any examples of the opposite happening? Like underage boys being forced to marry adult women? NSFW

869 upvotes • OldKingBramble

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Today, Hitler and the Nazis are widely considered and offered as the ultimate in evil. Who or what was the popular analog before Hitler arrived?

868 upvotes • Rasalom

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So, a little update about moderators

868 upvotes • eternalkerri

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
How did people wake up at set times before the modern day alarm clock?	870	Aruma47
I just saw Henry Kissinger give a lecture, in which he invoked the idea that the governments of Europe were unprepared and unwilling to start WWI. Massie (Dreadnought) drew a much different conclusion. What's the state of scholarship here?	870	daxelkurtz
The Bible rarely mentions physical descriptions of its characters. Was this lack of physical descriptions a staple of ancient literature or is this only seen in the Bible? And when did that trend change to the long physical character descriptions we see today in literature?	870	howtoreadspaghetti
How invested in Nazi ideology was the average German soldier?	869	jonnyboy01
Are the customized uniforms (writing on helmets, cut-off sleeves) depicted in "Full Metal Jacket" historically accurate?	869	desktopdrummer
Today it is common to compare a seemingly authoritarian leader or far-right group to Nazis or fascists. Did Europeans of the interwar/pre-WWII period have an equally widespread go-to comparison to describe the actual rise of fascism and the Nazis?	869	interlocken
I recently read that Carter had some solar panels installed on the White House, which Reagan later had removed. What actually happened?	869	Comprehensive_Try765
I’ve heard many examples in history where underage girls were forced to marry adult men, but are their any examples of the opposite happening? Like underage boys being forced to marry adult women? NSFW	869	OldKingBramble
Today, Hitler and the Nazis are widely considered and offered as the ultimate in evil. Who or what was the popular analog before Hitler arrived?	868	Rasalom
So, a little update about moderators	868	eternalkerri