/u/fiftythreestudio's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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Why does New Jersey have no big cities? How'd it become so fragmented?

4685 upvotes

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It's a common trope in 19th century fiction for a character to descend into insanity. What would 19th century "insanity" mean in modern medical terms?

1667 upvotes

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I'm Jake Berman. I wrote "The Lost Subways of North America." Let's talk about why transit in the US and Canada is so bad compared to the rest of the developed world. AMA.

1241 upvotes

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Did ancient physicians know about food allergies?

549 upvotes

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Tennis has a weird scoring system. Where does it come from?

411 upvotes

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What did the people of Alsace think of being switched from France to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War?

410 upvotes

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In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo goes to an ordinary pharmacy (or apothecary) to get a deadly poison, with which he kills himself. Would ordinary 17th-century apothecaries always have deadly poisons on hand?

346 upvotes

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How did the Mongols manage to win sieges so quickly?

328 upvotes

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How common was it for 19th-century European families to have a legal ward? Is young ward just a plot trope, or was it actually common?

324 upvotes

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Why did Somalia fall apart in 1991?

182 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Why does New Jersey have no big cities? How'd it become so fragmented?	4685
It's a common trope in 19th century fiction for a character to descend into insanity. What would 19th century "insanity" mean in modern medical terms?	1667
I'm Jake Berman. I wrote "The Lost Subways of North America." Let's talk about why transit in the US and Canada is so bad compared to the rest of the developed world. AMA.	1241
Did ancient physicians know about food allergies?	549
Tennis has a weird scoring system. Where does it come from?	411
What did the people of Alsace think of being switched from France to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War?	410
In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo goes to an ordinary pharmacy (or apothecary) to get a deadly poison, with which he kills himself. Would ordinary 17th-century apothecaries always have deadly poisons on hand?	346
How did the Mongols manage to win sieges so quickly?	328
How common was it for 19th-century European families to have a legal ward? Is young ward just a plot trope, or was it actually common?	324
Why did Somalia fall apart in 1991?	182