/u/RusticBohemian's posts
How did Mormonism transition from a rogue, semi-threatening religion against which President Buchanan sent military forces, to a mainstream, non-threatening American religion no one gives a second thought to?
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Alexander Hamilton had great success and helped build the United States, but by the end of the 1790s he told a friend that there is no place in this country for me. Why did he feel this way?
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Richard Nixon seems smarmy due to Watergate. But he also made "courageous" decisions that would have caused a lot of backlash among his supporters, in international relations, civil rights, and the environment. Were these decisions as courageous as they seem in hindsight?
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The Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty lasted 275 years, or more than the entire lifespan of the United States. Is it uncommon to see such long dynastic runs in Egypt or among other civilizations? What made the Ptolemies so successful?
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When Seneca got tuberculosis his doctors sent him to the dry climate of Egypt to recover, and a decade later he was well enough to return to Rome. 1854 years later, TB sufferers were flocking to the dry American west to recover. Did dry air really improve TB?
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Movies in the 1940s-1960s often displayed male "persistence" of courting behavior in the face of female disinterest/rejection that was rewarded by the eventual "capitulation" of the woman and the start of happily-ever-after scenarios. Was this "persistence" seen as extreme then?
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Europe's ancient, peaceful, matrilinear and matrifocal culture was wiped out by patriarchal invaders dubbed the Kurgan, according to Archaeologist Marija Gimbutaspeaceful. Is her Kurgan Hypothesis likely? Is it taken seriously today? Do we really know that preinvasion life was women-focused?
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The "Green Sahara," period ended 5,000 years ago when changes in the West African monsoon season dried out the area. How much of this was driven by expanding agriculture and the resulting deforestation?
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