askhistorians

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According to food historian Mark Essig, the udders and uteruses of female pigs were the most valuable cuts of meat in a Roman meat market. How would Romans have actually cooked these strange cuts? Why were they so popular?	66
In the American Revolution, the patriot cause was supported by France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Why is France’s contribution remembered/celebrated so much more than the Spanish and Dutch?	65
How did John/Jane Doe become the default stand-in names for an unknown person?	63
Today, the American far-right and white-supremacist movements include a number of prominent Hispanic men such as Nick Fuentes and Mauricio Garcia. Would Hitler and the original Nazis have considered Chicano/Mestizo people white?	52
The given name Dov (literally, “Bear”) is very common among Jewish men. Since Judaism arose in Israel (a land without bears), and migrated to Europe (where bears were mostly seen as destructive/evil in folklore), how did this happen?	47
I work a desk job in New York City, and even with air conditioning and modern relaxed dress codes these summer heatwaves can be miserable. How did office workers keep cool in the days before AC?	43
A lot of the of British sources write the word “Hindu” as “Hindoo.” When and why did the English spelling of this word change?	40
The comic XKCD published a popular guide for dating world maps based on the features they show (ie, if Bolivia has a coastline but Buda and Pest are marked separately it’s from 1868-72). Would it be possible to make a similar guide for restaurant menus?	39
How did people getting crushed by falling pianos become a common cartoon trope?	38
Where does the “ancient Egypt” melody from cartoons originally come from?	28

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