askhistorians

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Leif Erikson is famously the first European to arrive to the New World (5 centuries before Columbus). So how was a viking long boat able to carry supplies to last journey across the North Atlantic ?	1201
One of the most iconic lines in Game of Thrones is "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword". Meaning the one who condemns a man to death should be the one who carries out the execution. Is there any historical precedence for such a practice or is it just fantasy ?	532
In the movie "The Lighthouse" Willam Dafoe's character asks "yer fond of me lobster" to Robert Pattionson's character, after the latter complains about the food and wants a steak. What was food for like for late 19th century lighthouse workers ? Was there access to food like Steak or Lobster ?	497
In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the Sheriff of Nottingham compliments that Spanish swords are much superior quality, then English ones. Was Medieval Spain (or the Medieval Kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula) known for good sword making ? Was significantly better then English smithing ?	273
Why did King Arthur stories take off so well in England, despite the fact that many stories involve Arthur fighting Anglo-Saxons ?	209
Why did English names never have a "of" or "the" in them , when names where starting to be formalized, like in other languages ?	179
How did someone become a professor in a Medieval University ?	134
The reason that the Allies gave the researchers at Unit 731, immunity from prosecution was that their findings in microbiology where ahead of the curve. How truly groundbreaking where the findings?	129
In the WW1 the Japanese where lenient towards POWs. Allowing them to take hikes, visit villages and even put on orchestras. In WW2 Japanese POW camps where notoriously brutal (only rivaled by German death camps and Soviet Gulags). What changed between wars ?	114
Why did Spain and its former colonies, never formed a "special relationship" similar to the US and UK ?	101

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