AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
The US went on a canal-building spree a few decades before railroads exploded and connected everything. Did all those canal investors lose their shirts? Did the state-financed canals all go belly up too?	2
The Ptolemies moved their capital from inland Memphis to coastal Alexandria. What advantages did the new capital give them that made the move a logical one?	2
Was NATO originally a more capable war-fighting alliance than it became after the collapse of the Soviet Union? Did it pretty much become a hollowed-out shell after the Berlin Wall fell?	2
The Nords speak better English than many Americans. Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have English fluency rates of 54%, 53%, and 47%, respectively. Why do so many Nordics speak excellent English while English fluency in Itay and Spain are 13% and 12%, respectively? What lead the Nords to study English?	2
After the US failure in Vietnam, did any foreign powers assert themselves, assuming that American powert was in decline?	2
How much technology of use outside of space exploration came from the US's massive investment in the Apollo program? It cost 25 billion dollars, or 2.5% of GDP for 10-years. Did that investment yield a great tech dividend?	2
Were provincial city councils in the Roman Empire responsible for raising money for public infrastructure by taxing themselves, or were these projects financed on the "federal," level by the Roman Senate?	2
DVDs became highly profitable for studios. Did VCRs and betamax have the same huge financial impact?	2
How did Thomas Jefferson's "conservative" economic policy of slashing expenses and government income while borrowing to finance the Louisiana purchase work out for the nation?	2
Nasa's budget went from 4.41% of the federal budget in 1966 to 0.44% today. Where did NASA's money get siphoned to?	2

« < > »