askhistorians

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Give that occupational names - Smith, Baker, Carpenter, Butcher, etc - come from ancestors who did those jobs, how did "King" become a relatively common surname?	389
Content warning for child sexual abuse. In 1871, Delaware lowered its age of consent from 10 to 7. Why? Why was it so low to begin with, there and everywhere else? What's the point of having such a low age of consent? NSFW	383
It's generally accepted by mainstream historians that Robert E. Lee was not actually a genteel anti-slavery advocate who was compelled by reluctant honor to choose his homeland, but did Lee himself work to build this image, or was it built for him by Lost Cause advocates after he died?	375
Was Paul Revere a good silversmith? Do we have any extant reviews of his products?	283
When did a few seconds of harp music become associated with dreaming or memories?	272
0 is often called a "late addition" to math. We may like to imagine a guy seeing the last apple being taken from a bowl and having an existential crisis, but this seems unlikely. For the average person, did daily life or the way of thinking change because of the introduction of the 0?	218
When and how did dive watches, a pretty specific tool for a pretty specific activity, become the standard high-end watch?	198
Is The ACME Corporation parodying or referencing anything, or is it just a funny plot device conceived of by the Looney Tunes people?	197
What is the history of blowing out candles on your birthday? When you think about it, it's kinda weird to make a pastry, set it on fire, and then extinguish the fire while wishing for something.	184
Given that they had been together for over 15 years, why did Hitler bother getting married to Eva Braun when they both had just 40 hours to live? Was it genuine affection, just something on his bucket list, or was there some legal consequence of dying a married man?	172

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