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

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Iraq looks to be coming apart at the seams, and it's one of those weeks where everyone likes to remind themselves that Sykes-Picot (and other European border-drawing) destroyed the Middle East and set it up for a century of war. How do historians regard this argument?

102 upvotes

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By what condition did parts of the map--particularly in Gaul--"turn red" to indicate that they were part of the Roman Republic or Empire?

76 upvotes

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Pearl Harbor was followed by, I think, half a year or so of Japanese advances in the Pacific. Why were our possessions so undefended?

68 upvotes

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Blacksmithing I get--I can see how someone 5,000 years ago might be doing something like that. But how on earth did Bronze and Iron Age (or even pre-modern) people make thin wire or metallic thread?

60 upvotes

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Why didn't the United States use atomic weapons during the Korean War?

38 upvotes

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How did Mohammed and his followers--and, for that matter, his immediate predecessors and fellow Arab people of the time--come to believe in a bunch of the same stuff as the Jews did?

35 upvotes

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Ancient lost texts: to what extent can we expect to find any more of them?

21 upvotes

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Did the Native Americans of North America have a semi-common sign language, as Lewis & Clark seem to suggest?

11 upvotes

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Has any major American presidential candidate ever had to withdraw because of health issues in the middle of the campaign?

8 upvotes

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The Anglo-Saxons invaded sub-Roman Britain from their homes in the north Germanic/Scandinavian area. Hundreds of years later, they themselves are invaded by people from the same-ish area. Did anyone consider this... ironic?

2 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Iraq looks to be coming apart at the seams, and it's one of those weeks where everyone likes to remind themselves that Sykes-Picot (and other European border-drawing) destroyed the Middle East and set it up for a century of war. How do historians regard this argument?	102
By what condition did parts of the map--particularly in Gaul--"turn red" to indicate that they were part of the Roman Republic or Empire?	76
Pearl Harbor was followed by, I think, half a year or so of Japanese advances in the Pacific. Why were our possessions so undefended?	68
Blacksmithing I get--I can see how someone 5,000 years ago might be doing something like that. But how on earth did Bronze and Iron Age (or even pre-modern) people make thin wire or metallic thread?	60
Why didn't the United States use atomic weapons during the Korean War?	38
How did Mohammed and his followers--and, for that matter, his immediate predecessors and fellow Arab people of the time--come to believe in a bunch of the same stuff as the Jews did?	35
Ancient lost texts: to what extent can we expect to find any more of them?	21
Did the Native Americans of North America have a semi-common sign language, as Lewis & Clark seem to suggest?	11
Has any major American presidential candidate ever had to withdraw because of health issues in the middle of the campaign?	8
The Anglo-Saxons invaded sub-Roman Britain from their homes in the north Germanic/Scandinavian area. Hundreds of years later, they themselves are invaded by people from the same-ish area. Did anyone consider this... ironic?	2