/u/Gradath's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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At its heyday, Cahokia was a city of 30,000 - 40,000 people and the Mississippians didn't have any domesticated livestock. How were they able to get enough protein for all those people? Are there any estimates of the impact on local prey animals?

2419 upvotes

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Ancient cities must have had thousands of fires going constantly for cooking and light; was air pollution ever a problem? If not, why not?

826 upvotes

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How close did the 1775 Invasion of Canada by the Americans come to succeeding? Was it realistic for the Americans to think that the Quebecois would support the rebellion if they had captured Quebec City?

272 upvotes

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The Chateau Gaillard was built by Richard Lionheart and is considered one of the best castles ever built, but it fell in only six months the first time it was besieged. Why?

98 upvotes

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Lots of artists online make money by doing commissioned fetish porn. Was this a common practice before the internet? Are art museums full of renaissance paintings that were made primarily as porn? NSFW

54 upvotes

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Did the contemporary audience of the King Arthur tales understand that they were anachronistic?

24 upvotes

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How is it that the legend of King Arthur be part of English national mythology when it centers on celtic Britons who fought against the Angles?

22 upvotes

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Why was the twentieth century Austro-Hungarian army so ineffectual and poorly equipped if many of the leading scientists and thinkers of the time were Austrian?

20 upvotes

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Why wasn't the Bell System broken up earlier than 1984?

13 upvotes

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Why was the Taliban able to succeed where so many others failed in controlling Afghanistan?

9 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
At its heyday, Cahokia was a city of 30,000 - 40,000 people and the Mississippians didn't have any domesticated livestock. How were they able to get enough protein for all those people? Are there any estimates of the impact on local prey animals?	2419
Ancient cities must have had thousands of fires going constantly for cooking and light; was air pollution ever a problem? If not, why not?	826
How close did the 1775 Invasion of Canada by the Americans come to succeeding? Was it realistic for the Americans to think that the Quebecois would support the rebellion if they had captured Quebec City?	272
The Chateau Gaillard was built by Richard Lionheart and is considered one of the best castles ever built, but it fell in only six months the first time it was besieged. Why?	98
Lots of artists online make money by doing commissioned fetish porn. Was this a common practice before the internet? Are art museums full of renaissance paintings that were made primarily as porn? NSFW	54
Did the contemporary audience of the King Arthur tales understand that they were anachronistic?	24
How is it that the legend of King Arthur be part of English national mythology when it centers on celtic Britons who fought against the Angles?	22
Why was the twentieth century Austro-Hungarian army so ineffectual and poorly equipped if many of the leading scientists and thinkers of the time were Austrian?	20
Why wasn't the Bell System broken up earlier than 1984?	13
Why was the Taliban able to succeed where so many others failed in controlling Afghanistan?	9