AskHistorians

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We hear a lot about horse-mounted cavalry, but almost nothing about camel-mounted cavalry. How effective were camels in combat? Were horses superior as mounts in all but the ability to survive without water for long periods?	246
Before California created the US's first no-fault divorce law, someone wanting a divorce would have to have (or fabricate) a reason why their partner had violated marriage norms. Did divorce involve a lot of slander? Did people make up reasons to get divorced?	244
Olive oil and olives aren't cheap foods today, and the poor probably don't consume a lot of them. Yet they seemed ubiquitous (used for eating, cleaning, and lighting) and cheap for all classes in ancient Rome. Why was Roman olive oil so cheap?	244
The Electric Chair seems like a horrible way to be executed. Was it more humane compared to firing squads and hangings?	242
The interview has dominated media for a century or more, but the format didn't seem to exist in the written media of past literate cultures. When and why did interviews become so important?	241
Medieval historian Umberto Eco believed that the spread of beans in the 10th century allowed people to eat more protein; "as a result, they became more robust, lived longer, created more children and repopulated a continent." Did beans have a massive impact on European population recovery?"	240
Today we have birth certificates, social security numbers, and passports to prove we're citizens of our countries. Was there a central registry of Roman citizens that could be checked? How would a citizen traveling from his remote province to Rome prove he was a citizen?	240
When Hippocrates said, "Let Food Be Thy Medicine," there wasn't much in the way of processed foods to make unhealthy choices with, so what foods were people making themselves sick with, and what were viewed at the medicinal foods?	236
I regularly read that Romans, Greeks, and Byzantines never ate breakfast. But what about ientaculum? Where did the no-breakfast myth come from.	236
The American-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion force, which landed in Cuba, was too small to hold territory. Success depended on a large-scale Cuban uprising once they made it ashore. Did the Americans think this was realistic or likely? It seems like gambling on an unlikely outcome .	234

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