askhistorians

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What exactly were the Japanese Fart Wars? NSFW	2627
I saw mention in a textbook of Christians who believed the Black Plague to be gods punishment and went around whipping themselves and others with chains or studded whips to atone. Does this have any truth to it? Wouldn’t this have spread the Plague more?	37
As a Kentuckian, I’m not even sure how the Kentucky Derby became the dominant horse racing event. When did the Kentucky Derby become established as the most famous horse race? Why?	14
Why did US naval ships make the switch from dark blues and camouflage to flat grey post-World War 2?	5
How big of an issue where corpses after World War 1 and 2? Who cleaned them all up afterwards?	4
In “All Quiet On the Western Front” there is mention of how German barbed wire was near impenetrable and that some sections had electric currents running through them. How much truth is there to this? What other methods were used to fortify trenches throughout the first World War?	4
Two 19th-century cannons were used to sink the German Blücher during the Nazi invasion of Norway. How often was century-old weaponry used in World War 2?	3
Historical sword fighting is usually depicted as drawn out battles. But this depiction from the Crusader Bible shows a lot of head stabbing. How common was this tactic and did it ever fall out of favor with soldiers?	3
In Slaughterhouse 5 theres a Nazi wearing American flag trying to convince the POW’s to fight against Russia instead of Germany. Did anything like that actually happen?	2
How did holidays like Fathers (Mothers, Flag, etc) day gain acceptance? Was there any influence from foreign holidays celebrating similar ideas?	2

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