/u/Wil-Himbi's posts in /r/askhistorians

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There are two places (that I know of) in the Bible where a mob of people come to the door of a house demanding the right to gang rape a visitor - Judges 19:22 and Genesis 19:5. Does this sort of thing happen in other, contemporary ancient texts? If this was a semi-regular thing, why?

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"🎵 For the New World is like heaven and we'll all be rich and free, or so we have been told by The Virginia Company! 🎵" Were early new world colonies advertised as is suggested in this song from Disney's Pocahontas? How were early colonists persuaded to travel to the new world?

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In Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", he says that, circa 1875, it was economical to ship dirty laundry from California to Hawaii for cleaning, citing "special circumstances". Is this a true story? If so, what were the circumstances and how was the situation resolved?

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I've heard that some ancient people used to believe your soul left your body while you sneezed. Is this true? What strange things did people used to believe about farts, or peeing, or pooping or any other bodily functions?

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In November of 1980, the US federal interest rate was 15.85. By the end of Reagan's Presidency, in November of 1988, it had fallen to 8.35. What efforts did Reagan make to decrease the interest rate? What other factors contributed to it's dramatic decrease?

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
There are two places (that I know of) in the Bible where a mob of people come to the door of a house demanding the right to gang rape a visitor - Judges 19:22 and Genesis 19:5. Does this sort of thing happen in other, contemporary ancient texts? If this was a semi-regular thing, why?	5901
"🎵 For the New World is like heaven and we'll all be rich and free, or so we have been told by The Virginia Company! 🎵" Were early new world colonies advertised as is suggested in this song from Disney's Pocahontas? How were early colonists persuaded to travel to the new world?	5
In Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", he says that, circa 1875, it was economical to ship dirty laundry from California to Hawaii for cleaning, citing "special circumstances". Is this a true story? If so, what were the circumstances and how was the situation resolved?	2
I've heard that some ancient people used to believe your soul left your body while you sneezed. Is this true? What strange things did people used to believe about farts, or peeing, or pooping or any other bodily functions?	1
In November of 1980, the US federal interest rate was 15.85. By the end of Reagan's Presidency, in November of 1988, it had fallen to 8.35. What efforts did Reagan make to decrease the interest rate? What other factors contributed to it's dramatic decrease?	1