/u/erissays's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Sherlock Holmes famously uses "the 7% solution," aka, injected cocaine, to stimulate his mind when he's not on a case. How easy would it have been to get cocaine in 1860s-1880s London, and who were the primary users?

3023 upvotes

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When did men start wearing wedding rings?

358 upvotes

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Before elastic hair ties were invented, what did people (especially women) use to hold their hair back? Especially for hairstyles where pins and ribbons weren't practical?

98 upvotes

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Bram Stoker worked as a civil servant in Dublin Castle for 12 years, and his first published work was based on his experiences there. Do we know how much of Dracula was influenced by his time there?

50 upvotes

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Is there any truth to the claim that the design of Ursula (from Disney's The Little Mermaid) was based on the drag-queen Divine?

47 upvotes

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What are the latest leading theories about what happened to the people of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and how much evidence exists to support them?

44 upvotes

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How did we come to use different kinds of glasses for different kinds of drinks? Why is there a difference between a "wine glass" and a "beer glass" for example, and how did these differences come to be?

22 upvotes

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Where does the traditional 'Middle Eastern/Arabian' music in Hollywood movies come from?

21 upvotes

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If a couple wanted to elope in 1920s/1930s Australia, what would the process look like?

11 upvotes

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When did we start calling medicine "medicine" or "medications" rather than things like "potions," "elixirs," "remedies," etc?

6 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Sherlock Holmes famously uses "the 7% solution," aka, injected cocaine, to stimulate his mind when he's not on a case. How easy would it have been to get cocaine in 1860s-1880s London, and who were the primary users?	3023
When did men start wearing wedding rings?	358
Before elastic hair ties were invented, what did people (especially women) use to hold their hair back? Especially for hairstyles where pins and ribbons weren't practical?	98
Bram Stoker worked as a civil servant in Dublin Castle for 12 years, and his first published work was based on his experiences there. Do we know how much of Dracula was influenced by his time there?	50
Is there any truth to the claim that the design of Ursula (from Disney's The Little Mermaid) was based on the drag-queen Divine?	47
What are the latest leading theories about what happened to the people of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and how much evidence exists to support them?	44
How did we come to use different kinds of glasses for different kinds of drinks? Why is there a difference between a "wine glass" and a "beer glass" for example, and how did these differences come to be?	22
Where does the traditional 'Middle Eastern/Arabian' music in Hollywood movies come from?	21
If a couple wanted to elope in 1920s/1930s Australia, what would the process look like?	11
When did we start calling medicine "medicine" or "medications" rather than things like "potions," "elixirs," "remedies," etc?	6