AskHistorians

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When 'The Wizard of Oz' was premiered in 1939, was this film most people's first time seeing a film in color, or had most people already had that experience by 1939? Are there any interviews with people after seeing the movie?	418
During a US Senate meeting today, a Senator said that people used to have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar to vote. Was this an actual voting test? Was it widespread?	351
My professor says that 100 years ago in the 1910's there was a service similar to Uber called Jitney where individuals would drive you places for a nickel, but that it was regulated out of existence because of the streetcar industry. I would love to know more about this.	339
Socrates taught Plato. Plato taught Aristotle. Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. But who taught Socrates?	338
Before Eisenhower ran for President in 1952 he was approached by both the Republican and Democratic Party to convince him to run as a candidate under their party. Was this unprecedented at the time? Have there been other candidates that both parties tried to recruit?	335
Before germ theory there was miasma theory, which ran on the belief that all illness infects someone after they breathe in "bad air" and that "bad air" could be identified through bad smells. If this is true, why did people throw their urine and faeces on the city streets? And not bathe more often?	285
Where does the classic twirly-mustache, dark-clothed villain tying people to railroad tracks come from? Is this based on any real world person?	235
"God" in Judaism used to be just one god (named El) among many gods that were part an ancient polytheistic religion. Do we know how or why the first Jews decided El was the one true god?	235
A post on r/todayilearned says that Judaism emphasizes that sex is to be performed regularly, and insists that it be pleasurable for both members. Why did Christianity deviate so strongly from this?	205
How did escaping slaves and Jews during the Holocaust keep their babies quiet when hiding? As a new parent, there seems little that could be done in an emergency situation.	187

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