askhistorians

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How recognizable would the Greco-Roman pantheon at the time of the Theodosian decrees (389-391 AD) have been to someone living in Rome around 40 BC?	549
There are only 66 years between Kitty Hawk and the Sea of Tranquility and it's a little hard for me to wrap my head around that fact. What made the aviation tech tree so much easier to unlock after 1903?	514
According to Wikipedia, the Transcontinental Railroad cost about $100,000,000 ($2,000,000,000 today.) What was the fight over this bill like in 1862, considering the cost of war also had to be taken into account?	476
Some of George H.W. Bush's fellow pilots were executed and eaten by their captors after being shot down over the Bonin Islands in WWII. How common was cannibalism in the Pacific Theater?	408
"But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?"	399
How did the cliche coffee shop-writer (or people who want others to think they're a writer) symbiosis gain so much traction? It must pre-date free wifi, right?	370
I just read that Queen Victoria survived seven assassination attempts while in her carriage. This sounds like she had the worst security detail ever. How were so many assailants able to attack in such a similar manner?	278
When and why did the bumbling idiot dad become a staple character? Do Homer Simpson and Al Bundy have a clear lineage?	276
Did JFK have any plans for dealing with a military coup? I know the possibility was probably extremely remote in his mind, but didn't certain generals like Curtis LeMay border on outright insubordination? Or is that an exaggeration?	260
What was the explanation for a woman giving birth to twins in the Middle Ages?	252

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