askhistorians

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The film, "Secrets Of The Incas" features a single cab train traveling fairly fast in its opening sequence. What type of train was this, and how common were they around the world?	80
It's 1818 and I've just written a fantastic novel that'll knock their socks off. There's just one problem — I'm a woman. How hard will it be for me to find a publisher if I use my own name? Will publishers really pass on a fantastic story just because of my gender?	79
Ask most people and they'll say they're really busy or "hustling," almost as a point of pride. Would the nobility, merchants, or laborers in Ancient Rome and Greece, or Medieval Europe, have taken pride in their lack of idle time? When did busyness become an achievement?	79
The United Nations is famous for gridlock and doing nothing controversial. But the "American," side of the Korean war was actually under the auspices of The United Nations. So how did the UN get behind a major "side," in an Asian land war in 1950? How did it escape the battery of vetoes?	78
Have "verbal ticks and placeholders," such as "um," "aaaa," and "like," always existed in human speech? Did Ancient Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese people use similar words? When did they show up in speech, and why?	77
Did Ancient mariners - rowers, deck hands, etc - protect themselves from the sun in any way, or did they just burn until their body developed as much tan as it could, and then maybe still burn some more?	77
Why did professional wrestling shift from a legitimate sport with serious contenders to the scripted, farcical "sports drama," we have today? What happened to the serious wrestling bouts of the early 20th century, and how were they replaced by the status quo?	76
The original Texas state constitution had an anti-corporation statute, requiring the Texas House to approve each corporation with a two-thirds vote, and blocking banks from incorporating entirely. Why was Texas anti-corporation? When and why did their outlook and the law change?	76
The British boycotted sugar in an attempt to end British slavery, and the effort seems to have worked. How successful was the boycott? How was it organized, and how was its impact felt?	75
Did Plato and Xenophon misrepresent Socrates to meet their own ends?	75

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