AskHistorians

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There's an FAQ on "How did people wake up before dawn before alarm clocks?" and the answers all seem to be, "Before the Industrial Revolution, most people would just wake up at dawn." But presumably some people had to wake up before dawn. How did they do it?	4450
The Orthodox Church considers itself to be catholic. The Catholic Church considers itself to be orthodox. Why did "Catholic" and "Orthodox" become the names of the two churches after the schism of 1054?	3810
I would assume the people shouting "Segregation forever" didn't take down their "Whites only" signs the day after the Civil Rights Act or Voting Rights Act were signed. How did the implementation of those laws work? How did the segregationists resist?	2717
There's a legend that NJ and NY had a dispute over Staten Island which they settled by saying that NY would get whichever islands could be circumnavigated in less than one day. Is there any truth to this legend?	1521
How did torture go from very widespread (universal?) in the early modern era to almost universally banned today? What countries were first to ban it?	1000
In the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty," they mention female Scotland Yard employees, one who searches a female suspect and an investigator who goes undercover to gain the confidence of a suspect. What opportunities were available to women in policing in London in 1893?	796
Polls of the U.S. public from after the My Lai massacre was revealed showed overwhelming opposition to punishing the soldiers. Why?	720
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy identifies a simple clay cup as the holy grail, because it's "the cup of a carpenter." What would a cup used in a Passover meal by a Galilean carpenter ~33CE look like?	647
June 17, 1848, on the Oregon Trail. I have reached the Green River Crossing. I can ford the river or caulk the wagon and float. How do I go about doing either?	580
In depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus, he is usually shown wearing a loin cloth. 1. Would the Romans actually let crucifixion victims keep their underwear? 2. What underwear would a 1st century Jewish man living in Galilee normally wear?	539

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