AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
What's up with Ragnarok? Did it already happen? Does it still have to happen? Or both, and did the Norse believe we were in some timeloop? How else would they know that Thor has to fight Jormungandr, for example?	1372
I'm a pretty rich merchant in the 14th century. Rich enough to not have to go sell the goods myself. What's preventing some of my "employees" from running off to an entirely different country with a ship full of spices and other goods?	1314
I'm a time traveling farmer who went from 2020 to feudal Europe. Am I an objectively better farmer because I know more about basic biology and how to optimize my farm, or would I be completely useless because I rely too much on modern tools and vehicles like tractors and combine harvesters?	335
Did we actually lose the technology/skill to make things like Damascus steel, Ulfberht swords, Greek fire, Stradivari violins, Roman concrete, Antikythera mechanisms, "flexible glass" and so on or is this just the result of inaccurate clickbait articles? Has there been any succes in recreating some?	331
The first condoms are said to have been made from animals bladders or intestines. This, of course, doesn't sound too clean nor does it sound comfortable either. Did people get infections from these? Was the ancient condom just a curiosity, as it very likely might not have felt good for both parties? NSFW	205
I'm a 'wizard' or 'sorcerer' at the court of a lord or some king. Do people believe me? What do I do all day? Do I even genuinely believe I have some kind of magical power?	116
I slipped and fell, and broke my shoulder. I can't lift my right arm anymore. By modern standards I would have to stop working for 6 weeks and maybe even get surgery. What are my options as a medieval peasant? Can I rely on family, or some early form of "welfare" from my liege lord?	82
Many (historical) alphabets are based on symbols representing something. (Think hieroglyphs, chinese, ...). Is the Latin, Arabic or Cyrillic alphabet we use today based on ancient symbols representing something or was this always a somewhat abstract concept not based on "intuitive" imagery?	60
I'm a Roman Legionnaire who just fought a battle. I threw my pilum at the enemy, and as intended it bent on heavy impact so that the enemy could not throw it back. 3 days later we fight another battle. Do I have a new pilum from some supply cart, or is it just me, my comrades, shield and my gladius?	48
In movies and series, we often see peasants get slaughtered and their farms and villages burned down to the ground. Is this accurate? Why do this if your intent is to conquer and hold the territory and presumably collect profits in the long term?	46

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