askhistorians

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Where did the message that young, white, able bodied men have been “robbed” and “lied to” come from? I especially see this message in the film “Fight Club” and online discourse. Are these two example related in some way?	19
Did JRR Tolkien almost join Alan Turing in breaking the Enigma code?	18
Were sheets of music/Western music theory shared with Asian delegates in the 19th century? How did/did both cultures translate sheets of music that relied on a foreign alphabet? I don’t see how one can transliterate D minor into Japanese, and vice versa m for the music theory used in Asian countries	17
Is the development of the modern clown (clumsy, big lips) related at all to racial stereotyping/minstrel shows?	17
Did big-name alcohol companies spend money on campaigns to hide the bad effects of alcohol like cigarette companies did? If not, why did the public only know about things like brain damage, FAS, etc to the point that a pregnant woman in Rosemary’s baby celebrates being pregnant by drinking?	17
What was the queer scene like in Germany in the 19th century? What were academics, religious groups, and individuals saying about homosexuality/other queer folk? I asked about a broad time because I don’t know about specific instances, feel free to zero in on anything earlier or later	16
How did we get to modern conceptions of a witch being female, and a wizard, warlock, or sorcerer being male?	16
Where did the (probably incorrect and racist) voodoo practices seen in popular media come from? I’m taking about the “witch doctor,” voodoo doll, etc. And where did voodoo actually come from?	16
[META] I can’t seem to find the lino to donate to the fundraiser for the symposium, has it been taken down?	15
When did Christians being calling themselves Christians? Were they originally a splinter group of people who still considered themselves Jewish?	15

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