AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Is the "ball and chain" an accurate depiction of prisoners being captured? Where did it start and where did it end?	5
Where did RIP (Rest In Peace) first emerge and when? Have there been other common phrases such as that throughout history?	5
How did bell towers (the musical type such as with churches or clock towers) get started? What are some of the earliest examples of bell towers?	5
I have seen a million memes and comments about how in WWII Russia just threw bodies and resources at the Germans and won only because they sacrificed millions of lives, tanks, planes, etc... (the implication being that Russia only won because of sacrificing their own citizens). Is any of that true?	5
How accurate is the image of a King sitting upon his throne as villagers come up one at a time asking him to solve a dispute or rule on something? If this isn't true... where does this image come from?	4
What was the rationale behind making suicide punishable with the death penalty? Was anybody ever put to death for attempting suicide?	4
Memes aside... How effective were Trebuchets? Do they live up to their reputation of being extremely effective siege engines? What are some examples of Trebuchets being effective? What are some examples of Trebuchets not being effective?	4
What is the evil eye? Why does it seem to be present in so many cultures? Can it be traced back somewhere?	4
What happened to the toga? When/How/Why did it fall out of fashion?	4
At what point in the United States did people start considering those arriving from other countries "immigrants" (or whatever word they used for the concept at the time). Surely at first people weren't considered "immigrants" as they were the first people to arrive?	4

« < > »