AskHistorians

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During WWII, what did the Japanese public know about the accumulating losses in the Pacific Theater?	320
It is 1000 BCE and I'm a farmer in the Eastern Mediterranean. Trade networks for copper and tin have collapsed. Bronze is scarce and expensive. I need to chop firewood and butcher meat. Do I have access to iron yet? Do I use stone tools?	66
Embalming became a major industry during the American Civil War, as families wanted to bury fallen soldiers at home. How did the embalmer get paid? How did they know which of the rapidly decaying corpses would be connected to a family who could pay? Did soldiers buy some form of burial insurance?	36
I'm a metallurgist transported back in time to inspect a Roman legion's equipment. How much is steel, and how much is wrought iron?	33
During the Soviet era, aircraft were produced by entities like Sukhoi or Tupolev. Were these corporations? How did they function in a planned economy? Could they hire and fire people?	31
In the early twentieth century, blackface was a staple of entertainment. In the late twentieth century, it was viewed as abhorrent. How did this change take place? Are there notable examples of media like newspaper articles that helped to change minds on the subject?	18
Why were chemical weapons not widely used in WWII?	15
How would a moneylender in medieval Europe collect on a bad debt? Could a Jewish banker expect to win a legal case against a knight or earl?	13
The British fought the Opium Wars to prevent the Chinese from regulating Opium consumption. How was opium regulated (legally or socially) before the British began importing it? Did these practices change from ancient to modern times?	5
Minoan Crete is said to have had a "palace economy" where elites taxed producers and redistributed goods, rather than trading at a market. What evidence is this notion based on?	4

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