/u/polishprocessors's posts in /r/askhistorians

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The lightbulb conspiracy (in Europe and the US) engineered planned obsolescence into their bulbs. Did the same thing occur in the Soviet Union?

1972 upvotes

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Were there vacations for the average worker in the USSR? If so, how much was given/where did they go?

114 upvotes

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How accessible was plane travel to the average Soviet citizen in the 'height' of the USSR (1960-1980)?

83 upvotes

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Why was the treaty of Versailles signed at the 11th hour of November 11th? Was there a significance to all the 11s?

79 upvotes

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Were Bosnians the only major population of Europeans to convert to Islam under Ottoman rule? If so, why?

55 upvotes

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How did ships in the age of sail get into port?

34 upvotes

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In the days before ubiquitous bank accounts and ATMs, how did people travel?

27 upvotes

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I’m in Ghent, Belgium and they have fountains there which have 3 levels on them: one up top with bird sculptures on them, a big central layer with horse sculptures on them, and a bottom one at ground level with dog sculptures on them. Were these never intended for human consumption?

26 upvotes

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What was the Nazis motivation behind many of their massive defensive structures at the end of WWII (Bauvorhaben 21, Berlin/Vienna flak towers, Keroman Submarine Base, Atlantic Wall, etc)? Do we have evidence they believed these megastructures could actually win the war?

23 upvotes

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I read in a book about Winston Churchill that, before dry cleaning was invented, men’s suits had to be fully taken apart and restitched together to be laundered. Is this true?

21 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
The lightbulb conspiracy (in Europe and the US) engineered planned obsolescence into their bulbs. Did the same thing occur in the Soviet Union?	1972
Were there vacations for the average worker in the USSR? If so, how much was given/where did they go?	114
How accessible was plane travel to the average Soviet citizen in the 'height' of the USSR (1960-1980)?	83
Why was the treaty of Versailles signed at the 11th hour of November 11th? Was there a significance to all the 11s?	79
Were Bosnians the only major population of Europeans to convert to Islam under Ottoman rule? If so, why?	55
How did ships in the age of sail get into port?	34
In the days before ubiquitous bank accounts and ATMs, how did people travel?	27
I’m in Ghent, Belgium and they have fountains there which have 3 levels on them: one up top with bird sculptures on them, a big central layer with horse sculptures on them, and a bottom one at ground level with dog sculptures on them. Were these never intended for human consumption?	26
What was the Nazis motivation behind many of their massive defensive structures at the end of WWII (Bauvorhaben 21, Berlin/Vienna flak towers, Keroman Submarine Base, Atlantic Wall, etc)? Do we have evidence they believed these megastructures could actually win the war?	23
I read in a book about Winston Churchill that, before dry cleaning was invented, men’s suits had to be fully taken apart and restitched together to be laundered. Is this true?	21