AskHistorians

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A biography of Abraham Lincoln claims that "In jumping, foot-racing, throwing the maul, pitching the crowbar, he [...] usually won" - what were those last two sports, and what was their history? Were they popular in rural Kentucky?	111
When and why did the convention come about of translating Native American names into English common nouns?	27
If I understand correctly, Mussolini excavated and reconstructed Ostia Antica (the ancient port and current tourist destination). How accurate was this reconstruction? What changes did he make? How has the site changed in the decades since Italy was fascist?	22
What roles did people of color play in the women's suffrage and early feminist movements in the United States?	13
What Greek and Latin texts would someone educated in a Victorian public school typically have read in the original languages?	11
What happened to refugees and survivors of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD? Did they return to the area after the eruption? Get land elsewhere? Join Rome's urban poor?	9
How badly did Russia suffer after the USSR collapsed?	8
Menthol cigarettes. Overall, some 30% of American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes - but more than 80% of African-American smokers smoke menthols. How and why did this racial distinction come about?	8
Where there any historical figures who just "wanted to watch the world burn"?	7
As far as I know, no astronauts have ever been "lost in space" (drifting away from their vehicle/station with no way to return to it). But what was the closest anyone ever came to it? What was the riskiest/most dangerous extravehicular activity ("space walk") performed by an astronaut?	5

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