AskHistorians

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Prior to an understanding of common descent, how did people explain why apes look suspiciously human?	30
Why do bishops in chess have that little notch in them? What is it supposed to represent?	30
How did HIV/AIDS go from a certain death sentence that killed scores upon scores in the 1980s to routinely hearing about people living comfortably with the disease for 30 years, at least in the US?	29
When and why did we stop thinking of castles as "big fortified stronghold for keeping the hordes at bay" and start thinking of them as "pretty building where the princess lives"?	28
Today if I referred to the person who I pay to clean my house as my servant, I would be considered at best incomprehensibly gauche and out of touch and at worst actively dehumanizing. Given that the definitions are the same, when did this connotation of the word change?	27
When did public restrooms become an expectation?	27
What led the Allies to trust Germany to be independent post WW2, and why was Konrad Adenauer specifically able to gain the trust necessary to be the first independent German leader post-Hitler? It occurs to me that any ambitious German adult would have likely been viewed with suspicion.	26
Today I learned the root of "gargoyle" is likely the same as "gargle", because gargoyles were originally just decorative gutter spouts on stone buildings. How on earth did we go from gutter spouts to magical stone monsters?	26
I'm an average person in the middle ages in Europe. Could I have survived on a vegetarian diet? Vegan?	25
The cause of World War I is often boiled down to "Germany", despite having very complex origins. Was this a popular perception in the interwar period, or did it only emerge post World War II?	24

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