askhistorians

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What drove the people who labored their whole lives to build medieval cathedrals, knowing that they'd never see them completed? What motivated them?	1
What role did American scientists play in spreading nuclear technology to France, the Soviet Union, China, and the UK?	1
Were US presidential and federal elections less relevant for average Americans in earlier eras? Has the government continuously accreted more power, and so became more relevant? Were people less worried about who became president in previous eras because presidents had less power?	1
If I bought some tea in Europe in 1800, the leaves would have come in a compressed block which I would saw off into boiling water to brew. Would this tea taste good by modern standards? Is it significantly different than the tea we drink today?	1
What do historians make of Rodney Stark's "God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades"? It's praised in right-wing circles, and I'm curious to know what the academic view of it is.	1
This article claims the Roman elite were way more generous with their philanthropic ventures than the wealthiest 1% in the US today. Were they really spending huge parts of their fortunes on philanthropy? What motivated them?	1
How big of a deal was the opening of the Erie Canal for those traveling east or west in the United States? How about for trade?	1
Seneca liked to plunge into a canal/aqueduct in Rome in midwinter to harden himself. What would this have looked like?	1
The Vietnamese famously tortured hundreds of American POWs to get their military secrets. Did they get anything of value?	1
Is Charles Freeman's "The Closing of the Western Mind," considered and accurate portrayal of what actually happened in late antiquity regarding reason, religion, and free thought?	1

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