askhistorians

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Alan Turing was given the choice of imprisonments or chemical castration via estrogen for having sex with a man. Was this a common option given to gay men at the time? What was the theory behind giving men estrogen?	15
I’ve recently learned there were a large number of Jews in Georgia in its founding years. What enticed so many Jews to come over, and how did they deal with being the antisemitism they’d have endured?	14
In older versions of Snow White, her mother wishes for a daughter with “skin as white as snow,” I assume because wealthy people could stay inside and not toil in the fields; hence, they wouldn’t tan. Today the epitome of wealth is lazing by the poolside tanning away. How did this soft happen?	13
Halloween is coming up, and with it a slew of classic sexualized costumes such as the fireman, nurse, and cop. When and why did Halloween become sexy?	12
What was the public’s reaction, especially the white public’s reaction, to scientists learning about humanity having started in Africa?	11
Are the songs “This little light of mine” and “When pharaoh was in Egypt’s land” slave hymns or Jewish songs? Why do both groups sing these songs? Where did this meshing come from?	11
How has the depiction of childbirth in film/tv evolved over time?	11
The US Holocaust Museum states that “About 200,000 handicapped people were murdered between 1940 and 1945 under the T-4 program. The T-4 program became the model for the mass murder of Jews, Roma, and others in the camps.” Why isn’t this huge event more well known?	10
In any era/part of the world when there were more illiterate people than not, what would theaters do to make sure actors received proper credit? Would someone announce the actors names before the show started? Or were illiterate/literate classes too far removed to even go to the same kinds of plays?	10
Watching footage of older basketball games (80s I think?) I was stunned to see mostly white men on the courts. Does this mean the stereotype that basketball is a “black man’s game” is relatively new, or am I missing something here?	10

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