/u/SamwiseRosieGW's posts in /r/askhistorians

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The year is 1200. My wife and I run a small barley farm in rural Scotland and we just found out she’s pregnant. What’s the plan for delivering the baby? Would I know what to do? Do we send her to her mother’s? Is there a doctor in the nearby village?

5176 upvotes

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The beginning of the film A Knight’s Tale features a knight with three peasants squiring for him. Is this at all realistic?

125 upvotes

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How did sailors in The Age of Sail deal with/avoid sunburns?

48 upvotes

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In the United States, firefighters and police are both unionized. Police unions seem much more overtly political compared to firefighter unions. Why is that?

27 upvotes

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The 8th decree in the French Revolution Levee en Masse requires “Unmarried citizens or childless widowers, from eighteen to twenty-five years, shall go first…” Why was 18 selected as the youngest age? Certainly 16-17 year olds regularly served in the military at that time.

8 upvotes

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I just watched Jon Favreau’s Swingers and, after a bit of research, was surprised to learn the title is not a reference to anything sexual but actually refers to music. Did people know this at the time? Would people in the mid 90s realized they were in the midst of a Swing revival?

1 upvotes

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In English mariner and submariner are pronounced differently. Why is that?

0 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
The year is 1200. My wife and I run a small barley farm in rural Scotland and we just found out she’s pregnant. What’s the plan for delivering the baby? Would I know what to do? Do we send her to her mother’s? Is there a doctor in the nearby village?	5176
The beginning of the film A Knight’s Tale features a knight with three peasants squiring for him. Is this at all realistic?	125
How did sailors in The Age of Sail deal with/avoid sunburns?	48
In the United States, firefighters and police are both unionized. Police unions seem much more overtly political compared to firefighter unions. Why is that?	27
The 8th decree in the French Revolution Levee en Masse requires “Unmarried citizens or childless widowers, from eighteen to twenty-five years, shall go first…” Why was 18 selected as the youngest age? Certainly 16-17 year olds regularly served in the military at that time.	8
I just watched Jon Favreau’s Swingers and, after a bit of research, was surprised to learn the title is not a reference to anything sexual but actually refers to music. Did people know this at the time? Would people in the mid 90s realized they were in the midst of a Swing revival?	1
In English mariner and submariner are pronounced differently. Why is that?	0