askhistorians

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Al-Ma'arri was an arab philosopher from the golden age of Islam who became an atheist and published several books criticising religion. Was, if any, was the impact on his work?	1275
What was the reaction of muslim scholars to the discovery of language families?	1220
How is it possible that at a time when the Hays Code forbid interracial couples in movies, one of the most famous couples of television, Lucy and Ricardo from "I love Lucy", where a white woman and a Cuban man?	928
In Medieval Europe there existed a superstition that fairies would sometimes kidnap people, usually babies, and leave changelings in their place. What would happen if a person really thought their baby was a changeling?	885
Is the story of Prometheus indication that ancient people knew the liver could regenerate?	826
How do we know that ancient drawings of dicks and boobs are part of 'fertility cults' and not people simply wanting to draw dicks and boobs? NSFW	759
In Seinfeld S02E10 Jerry can't get cable because "the cable companies are resolving their problems" and Kramer says they "will be in court for years", referencing something about real life New York at the time. What problem was this and how did it eventually end?	755
In Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" there is a passage where he describes celtic or saxon people worshiping a kid like a God, sacrificing him, and then parading his corpse as a sacred relic. Is this based on any historical practice?	740
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?	674
Sometimes when I read about aztec people they have names like Netzahualcoyotl or Cuautemoc, but other times they have names with numbers in it like 2 Rabbit or 15 Water, why?	593

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