/r/askhistorians
As a kid in the 1990s, I seem to recall movies regularly taking a year to come out on home video following their theatrical release. Why did they take so long, and why did this ultimately change?
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The Banana Massacre of 1928 allegedly saw the Colombian military, at the behest of the United States government, kill over a 1000 people during a strike against the United Fruit Company. How accurate was this figure, and what was the historical context of this event?
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When did the US shift to a huge majority of automatic cars instead of manual ones and why did it not happen in Europe?
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If German unification in 1871 threw many of Europe's alliances and the balance of power on top of itself, why didn't the victors revert Germany back to its many smaller states post either world war?
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Prostitution is often referred to as the oldest profession. How common was it in early civilizations? What were the attitudes towards it? Was it possible to barter for sex before the development of currency? NSFW
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A popular meme states that Nazi Germany and the USSR had trouble figuring out how to prepare for US military doctrine because the US forces themselves where not good at following it. To what extent is any of this true?
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Jules Verne discussed the possibility that hunting will drive some animals to extinction, and yet, he seems completely okay with it. Did most people think this way back then?
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Did the slaves coming to the new world from Africa know they were being shipped there to work as slaves? How much would they know about the lands they were heading to? About the role they were going to fill? And did they for the most part except their fate, or would many put up fights?
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