askhistorians

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Short stories were once incredibly popular in the United States, but have dramatically fallen in popularity. What factors lead people to read books but abandon short stories?	5
After working for the independence of the 13 colonies, Benjamin Franklin spent more than three years as governor of Pennsylvania. How well did he do at governing his adopted state?	5
When did the negative interpretation of littering become a norm in the United States?	5
Is it true that the majority of silent movie reels were destroyed after the invention of "the talkies," because studios thought they were outdated and wanted to save on warehouse space?	5
Rome managed a sprawling empire with a surprisingly small bureaucracy. How far forward in time would we have to travel to see a large and effective group of civil servants administering a state?	5
Was the idea of extinction - that human and environmental factors could wipe out an entire species in total or in a given area - common among early civilizations?	5
Ben Franklin suggested the outgunned Continental Army fight the British with bows and arrows. How sensible was his idea?	5
There is a regulated and licensed essential oil sub-specialty in French medicine/pharmacology that does not seem to have a scientifically-respected parallel in the English-speaking world. How did this come about, and what sort of evidence motivated the use of essential oils in France?	5
How many hours per day might a Roman Legionnaire on road building or garrison duty be expected to work? Were Roman soldiers worked very hard, or did they get a good amount of downtime?	5
How well did the work of female writers and poets sell during the 19th century? Was there public disinterest in their work? We're publishers unwilling to give them a chance?	5

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