askhistorians

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When (and why) did we start celebrating birthdays?	50
How did Broadway (and theater more generally) become to be seen as a "gay" profession in the United States?	40
What is the origin of hairdressing as a specialized profession? I assume that for a long time, if you were rich, your servants would cut your hair, and if you were poor, you cut your own hair, so when did this change?	36
In 1807, Britain outlawed the slave trade, and outlawed slavery altogether in 1833. Yet during that same period, they were busy conquering Nepal, India, Ghana, and Burma. What explains the contradiction between morally ending slavery and ruthlessly exploiting the rest of the world at the same time?	35
The "Great Man" view of history would attribute the astonishing rise and success of the Mongols in the thirteenth century to the genius of Genghis Khan, but what are some non-Genghis-related theories to explain Mongol expansion and success (e.g. population growth, climate change, technology, etc)?	32
The Olmecs, the Mayans, and many other pre-Columbus cultures in Central and South America had writing. Do we still have access to that writing? What did they record? Do we have indigenous records of the Spanish Conquest, or the plagues that immediately proceeded it?	31
In the days before modern hygiene, was everybody sick all the time? Was it weird not to have at least one disease at any time? Was life as miserable as it seems like it would be?	30
My professor told me that one of the worst mistakes a historian can make is to engage in a teleological reading of history. What is that, and why is it so bad?	28
For much of European history, criminal punishment was extraordinarily brutal by today's standards, with mutilation and death far from uncommon. What led to the decline of violent punishment in the modern era?	27
What are some common misconceptions people have about medieval Europe?	27

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