askhistorians

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In 1914, the Russian Tsar banned the sale of vodka. Did this cause the Russian revolution of 1917?	24
The Reichstag fire took place 1 month after Hitler came to power, and allowed him to seize complete control of the German state. Is there any evidence that Hitler was behind the fire? Or was it really just a huge coincidence?	22
Cecil Rhodes dreamed of the British Empire stretching from the “Cape to Cairo”. Was this just his dream or an actual purpose of the British Empire? Were any steps taken with the express purpose of achieving this goal?	19
20 years ago today, OJ Simpson was found liable in a civil case for the wrongful deaths of Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. What were the main differences between the civil and criminal cases? At the time, did people expect OJ to escape civil liability?	15
In November 1688, William of Orange “invaded” England. He deposed James II and was proclaimed King in January. This event is called the Glorious Revolution. Was it a revolution, an invasion or both? How did the common people understand it and react?	12
In 1994, the British politician Stephen Milligan MP was found dead, apparently self-strangled by auto-erotic asphyxiation. Various conspiracy theorists have suggested that he was killed by Russian Agents or MI5. Is there any evidence for those theories?	8
The US introduced Prohibition in 1919 and has always had a strong anti-alcohol movement. Was there a similar movement in the UK? Why was it not as successful as the US?	6
On 1 March 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant created Yellowstone National Park - widely believed to be the first National Park in the world. Is that true? Did other counties have National Parks? Where did the idea for National Parks come from?	6
Prior to the 19th century, were there any "nations" or "nationalists"? Would Ancient Rome count as a nation? Or England from the 10th century?	6
Where did the first settlers of Easter Island come from? How did they cross the vast distances of Oceania / Polynesia and find an island to inhabit? Was the journey one-way or was there ongoing contact with their place of origin?	6

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