AskHistorians

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How did university students take notes during lectures before paper became cheap and accessible?	2808
British monarchs claimed the title of "King of France" until 1801 — did Jacobite pretenders continue to claim this title while in exile in France? Wasn't this a bit awkward?	1347
Recipes in the ancient Roman cookbook "De Re Coquinaria" call for exotic ingredients like ostrige, flamingo, stingray, various fresh seafood, and dozens of fresh herbs and spices — assuming you had the money, how easily could one assemble the ingredients for these complex recipes?	331
A popular internet theory suggests that Coca Cola's "New Coke" campaign was just a ploy to disguise the switch from sugar to corn syrup. Is there any truth to this claim?	157
When Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court, prominent people including Hugo Bergmann, Pearl S. Buck, Martin Buber, and Ernst Simon argued for clemency. What was their reasoning?	148
Characters in historical fiction often fall into the trope of speaking multiple languages "cleanly," without an accent. Passing as a native speaker is rarely emphasized in modern language learning. How accurate is this trope, and how has modern language learning changed?	56
How did university students take notes before paper became cheap and prolific?	49
The saber duel scene from the 1974 film "The Deluge" is praised for its realism, but shows one duelist frequently switching his saber between his right and left hands. Is this really an element of ~17th century saber combat, and if so why is it seemingly absent from other western fencing styles?	15
How did high-ranking Allied/Axis commanders react to Paris and Rome being surrendered virtually without a fight?	6
Apicius' collection of Roman recipes calls for ostrich, crane, lobster, songbirds, cuttlefish, and dozens of herbs and spices. To what extent would these exotic ingredients have been available to Romans in the 4th century CE?	3

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