AskHistorians

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The Chemical Weapons Convention (1993) has prohibited the use of tear gas in warfare, but explicitly allows its use in riot control. What is the logic behind it being too bad for war, but perfectly acceptable for use against civilians?	13284
This clip of the famous "Who's On First?" routine was posted on r/videos. No one is laughing. Was the routine not considered funny in its time, or seen more as clever than laugh out loud funny?	2514
Did the pre 1800s world have "so bad they're good" plays? Was there a Tommy Wiseau of the ancient world?	459
I've read the Nazi high command realised the war was unwinnable as early as 1941. Do we know if they considered surrender an option? Why or why not?	55
Was the act of throwing tomatoes to show disapproval ever a real thing? Where did the cliche originate?	42
Did people in feudal societies just wake up and work all day, every day or face starving to death? What was a typical workweek like for the most common jobs in those types of societies?	38
Star Wars uses a lot of wipe transitions. These would be consider amateurish by today's standards. How were these viewed at the time by both critics and general audiences?	32
Were there any towns or cities that managed to avoid the Black Plague by simply closing their borders?	31
It's 1850 and I live in London. I just finished writing my first novel. How do I get it published? How is it advertised? How far from London would it be distributed? How would it differ to the same process in 1750?	25
In the movie Jojo Rabbit, children are shown fighting, and even being used as suicide bombers. To what extent were children actually used in the latter days of the war in Europe? Is this an accurate representation, or are some artistic liberties taken?	17

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