askhistorians

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I'm a servant of a noble in 12th century France who has just had great feast. How do I do the dishes?	70
When and how did we end up with a system where the people vote for presidential candidates rather than state legislatures or the people voting for members of the electoral college?	58
It's well known that the female roles in Shakespeare's plays were performed by boys. How far back does the prohibition on women in the theater go? Was it just in England or all of Europe? Why did it stop?	58
In It's a Wonderful Life, a character says, "It's against the law to commit suicide around here." What did anti-suicide laws look like in the '40s in the U.S.? Incarcerate people who attempt suicide?	57
What was the on-the-job life of an elite MI6 agent really like 1953-1964? Mostly baccarat and martinis with beautiful women in order to prevent rogue scientists from interfering with the US space program, right?	56
When the vote was limited to property owning white men and reform movements arose to expand the vote to all white men in the early U.S. and 19th century France and Britain, what sort of arguments did the opponents of these reform movements make?	55
Both The Federalist Papers and George Washington's Farewell Address warn that republics are particularly susceptible to foreign influence. Why is that? It seems to me that monarchies would be at least as susceptible to foreign influence	54
An article titled "Abraham Lincoln said war was over taxes, not slavery" is "rising" at r/politics. What's AskHistorians reaction?	52
I just saw a TIL post saying that the fax machine predates the telephone by several decades. Please tell me anything and everything about the history of 19th century fax machines. How did they work?	52
What would your typical 12th century English peasant's house be like? How about your typical blacksmith's house of the same time and place?	49

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