askhistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
How did prostitutes in the old American West circa 1865 - 1900 treat LGBT clients?	3104
My Grandfather served with the Rhodesian SAS in Malaya from 1951-53. He described the men as being "trigger-happy illiterate hicks who's sole qualification for life was that they could kill the coloureds without loosing sleep over it." Was his description of the SAS truthful in their tour?	3011
50 years ago today the Mai Lai Massacre occurred during the Vietnam War where American soldiers murdered over 300 civilians due to conflicting orders. Why didn't any officer or enlisted trooper face serious jail time afterward?	767
There is a scene within the movie Gangs Of The York where newly arrived Irishman straight off the boat are directly recruited (much to dismay of 1 family) into the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Is this scene acurate or simply a minor drama plot in a film?	581
How did April Fools become a thing?	541
For a veteran of the Confederate Army in the American Civil War was thier any stigma of suspicion if they tried to become Soldiers or officer's in post 1865 US Army?	284
In the film "Full Metal Jacket" a Marine chopper gunner is seen mowing down civilians without protest from any subordinates or fellow Marines. He claims to killed 100 people. I understand that Tiger Force would often use these brutal tactics in the Mekong but was this common place in other units?	264
Why was NWAs album Straight Outta Compton so revolutionary in the terms of the music industry and the creation for mass following of the Rap genre from youth?	202
I have heard many (some questionable) claims on the internet that during the islamic invasions of india an estimated 80 million hindus were killed by muslim invaders. Are these claims even remotely true and historical?	197
What was the state of the city of Rome in 477 AD, one year after the "fall" of Western Rome?	196

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