askhistorians

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Was Pete Seeger correct when he said that Americans don't sing together nearly as much as they used to? If so, why don't Americans sing together anymore.	312
Why do figures in 16th-18th century paintings frequently seem to be pointing at something to the side of the frame, other than to tell us "shit's on fire, yo"?	312
What did "being a good husband" mean to the Romans? Was "being a good husband" synonymous with "being a good man" (virtus) or were they separate things? And do records of Roman women's opinions on the topic survive, or just the those of the husbands themselves?	295
Numerous media of the 90s and 00s make reference to a sense of post-Cold War disillusionment (i.e. "the world doesn't make sense anymore") from American and former Soviet diplomats, military, spies, etc. Was this really a common feeling, or an invention of fiction writers and journalists?	232
At what point in Europe and the Americas did seeing a mouse or a rat in the home go from "oh hi, Jeff" to "we need to deal with this RIGHT NOW" and how closely does that track with awareness of modern germ theory?	225
Modern language assumes a degree of agency when dealing with illness ("fighting cancer"/"don't give up"/"giving up and dying") and that personal will contributes at least a little to healing. Would someone in Mediterranean antiquity or Medieval Europe have thought the same way?	213
What's the history of the entertainment industry's infatuation with Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey"/monomyth? When did it become a thing for film & TV screenwriters to read it (... or the Wikipedia page on it at least)?	207
How did wealthy Antebellum Southern women (or their pastors for that matter) confront - if they did at all - the fact that their husbands, fathers, and most of their sons were regularly committing adultery and sexual assault in their own households?	200
How did wealthy Antebellum Southern women (or their pastors for that matter) confront - if they did at all - the fact that their husbands, fathers, and most of their sons were regularly committing adultery and sexual assault in their own households?	145
Many cultures traditionally placed the seat of consciousness in the heart or liver, etc, (i.e. not the brain). Did people in the medieval European or Islamic worlds believe that a chest/heart injury could lead to behavioral change the way moderns, in Phineas Gage fashion, believe about brain injury?	136

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