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

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When did "it's Year A" or "it's not Year B anymore" start gaining ground as a rhetorical device? Did people in, say, 1700 ever roll their eyes and say "please, it's not 1650 anymore"?

1077 upvotes

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In Europe, the centres of big cities are often the most expensive and "hip" places to live. In the US, "inner city" seems to be a synonym for "poor and crime-ridden". What caused this disparity?

550 upvotes

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A recurring theme in Ambrose Bierce's stories about the US Civil War is soldiers being sentenced to death for sleeping at their posts. Was this really common in the US Civil War and how does that compare to other times and places?

384 upvotes

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Why have places like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US fared so much better than other former European colonies (in terms of wealth, democracy and stability)?

324 upvotes

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In their 1967 hit "Soul Man", Sam & Dave claim to have been 'educated at Woodstock'. This was before the Woodstock festival – what significance would the name "Woodstock" have had to songwriters Isaac Hayes & David Porter?

138 upvotes

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What are historians' views of Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"?

118 upvotes

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How did horse-riding come to be seen as an activity for young girls in European culture? Older associations with horses seem to be quite masculine.

94 upvotes

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Modern maps of the Roman Empire tend to show the provincial borders quite precisely. How do we know where those borders were?

80 upvotes

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How did Erasmus’s mail get delivered?

56 upvotes

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How important is George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" as a source on the Spanish Civil War?

46 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
When did "it's Year A" or "it's not Year B anymore" start gaining ground as a rhetorical device? Did people in, say, 1700 ever roll their eyes and say "please, it's not 1650 anymore"?	1077
In Europe, the centres of big cities are often the most expensive and "hip" places to live. In the US, "inner city" seems to be a synonym for "poor and crime-ridden". What caused this disparity?	550
A recurring theme in Ambrose Bierce's stories about the US Civil War is soldiers being sentenced to death for sleeping at their posts. Was this really common in the US Civil War and how does that compare to other times and places?	384
Why have places like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US fared so much better than other former European colonies (in terms of wealth, democracy and stability)?	324
In their 1967 hit "Soul Man", Sam & Dave claim to have been 'educated at Woodstock'. This was before the Woodstock festival – what significance would the name "Woodstock" have had to songwriters Isaac Hayes & David Porter?	138
What are historians' views of Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"?	118
How did horse-riding come to be seen as an activity for young girls in European culture? Older associations with horses seem to be quite masculine.	94
Modern maps of the Roman Empire tend to show the provincial borders quite precisely. How do we know where those borders were?	80
How did Erasmus’s mail get delivered?	56
How important is George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" as a source on the Spanish Civil War?	46