AskHistorians

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Right now the Rio Olympics opening ceremony appears to be suggesting that the Wright Brothers did not undertake the first human airplane flight? Have I been wrong this entire time?	639
How on Earth did Yazidism come about: It seems to be a mash-up of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. What is the story and timeline of the formation of this faith?	467
What did the church think of the Black Death? Was there any suggestion of a divine influence in the plague? What strategies did the church use in response?	421
The American defeat to the Nazis at Kasserine Pass (Tunisia, 1943) is said to have let to ‘sweeping changes in unit organisation and equipment’. Can you explain what these changes were?	242
Why does Germany have 'Free Cities' and 'Free States' etc, instead of a standardised system? Is it a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire or is it a more modern arrangement?	230
Did the apostle Paul ever struggle with legitimacy, considering he probably didn't know Jesus? Were early church communities aware of and/or bothered by this?	205
Supposedly the 'Red Ripper' evaded detection for so long because the USSR believed serial killers to exist exclusively within capitalist societies. Is this a valid historical viewpoint within the Communist and/or Soviet movement?	189
How did the combatant nations of WW2 disarm their soldiers when fighting ended? Did lots of soldiers hold on to their weapons, and/or take sidearms home with them? How much military hardware was unaccounted for?	181
Eric Schlosser says the USSR's first nuclear weapon was almost identical to the one used on Nagasaki because a 'network of Communist spies' at the Manhattan project 'simply took' the plans. Was the US atomic program really this compromised?	167
Were Western adventurers to Indian surprised to find people recognisably practising Christianity?	123

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