AskHistorians

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Is there a record of Native Americans that directly observed tornadoes? I'm interested in knowing what they thought of them (e.g., if tornadoes were tied up with any sort of mythology/spirituality) and whether they mentioned tornadoes to early European settlers or those that travelled west.	3004
After an explorer returned home with newly charted maps, did their king/queen ever make fake maps to mess with other countries?	1341
Can historians pinpoint the origin of the "magical mirror" that is so prevalent in children's stories? And what led to it being so widespread?	90
Are there any examples in matriarchal cultures of women-designed sports that were not influenced by other sports developed largely by men? If so, what were the like?	12
What is known about major wars/conflicts affecting a region's ecology? I imagine blasting the tar out of a place, ripping up habitat from military movement, polluting water sources, and feeding soldiers by extracting resources (like wild game) could devastate particularly vulnerable organisms.	6
Did ancient indigenous tribes use drugs outside of spiritual practices (i.e. to just get wasted)?	5
In temperate regions where winter was basically freezing temperatures for months, but before people had an idea of insect life cycles, what did people think about insects all of a sudden showing up in the Spring? Do we have any records of what people thought happened to insects during the winter?	3
Is there any evidence to suggest that there were people from indigenous cultures throughout the Americas that today we call "skeptics" or "non-believers" of their culture's religious/spiritual beliefs?	2
Why do some nations last for long periods of time, while other seemingly prosperous nations don’t?	1
What is the longest lasting nation to have existed? And what are some hypotheses for how it managed to remain stable across time?	1

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