askhistorians

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What was mealtime like on a ship of the imperial Japanese navy? What kinds of food could a typical sailor expect, and how was it cooked and grown?	10
Why are chopsticks used at dining tables in most of Eastern Asia, but not Vietnam?	9
Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated and captured twice, and both times he was exiled rather than killed - first to Elba, then to St. Helena. Particularly after he escaped and returned to power once, why did his captors keep him alive?	9
How did Manischewitz, a sweet kosher wine marketed toward Jews, become a popular drink among African Americans in the northeast?	9
Since the US played a leading role in structuring Japan’s modern democratic government, why did they opt for a British-style parliamentary system rather than an American-style president and congress?	8
I’ve read that a major reason why Europeans colonized India and Indomalaysia was the search for spices. Was there ever a serious effort to bring spice-producing plants back home to do away with the thousands of miles of sailing?	8
When Emperor Constantine converted himself and the Roman Empire to Christianity, was there any major pushback from leaders who wanted to stay pagan? How long did it take for Hellenic paganism to die out afterward?	8
Today, the Romanian region of Transylvania is associated closely with vampires thanks to Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. What did the people of Transylvania think of their portrayal when the novel first came out?	8
Why did Alexander the Great go east instead of west?	7
I have read that the Royal Navy would traditionally serve sailors a daily ration of a GALLON of beer or a full pint of hard liquor. That seems like an insane amount of alcohol to be consuming every day. Were sailors just constantly drunk?	7

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