AskHistorians

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Canada, Australia, New Zealand: these former British colonies enjoy an unusually high quality of life compared to the rest of the former British Empire, and sometimes even outdo the UK itself in democratic/journalistic freedoms, medical care, etc. How did this come to pass?	1567
What do we know about Judaism's polytheistic period? What was YHWH's role in that pantheon? And how was the faith similar or dissimilar to its contemporaries?	680
Stalin disappeared for several days following Hitler's invasion of Russia. Was he blackout drunk, expecting to be overthrown, or was he planning brilliant counterattacks in secret meetings? I've heard both versions, and they both sound like propaganda.	470
In 'It Happened One Night' (1934), Claudette Colbert's character is shocked to see Clark Cable's character eat raw carrots. How did American cuisine treat fruits and vegetables in the 1930s?	321
"Traditional" English food is stereotyped as bland and unhealthy. But I've heard the popularity of this style of food is a consequence of rationing in WWI and WWII. What was home English cooking like in the 1890s-1900s? Did WWI/WWII change it?	220
In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, cavalry seem to plough through infantry like they're bowling pins. What would a late medieval cavalry charge actually look like to eyewitnesses?	192
What elements of the ancient Egyptian religion persist in present-day religious traditions? I have often heard that the cult of Mary is an adaptation of the cult of Isis, for instance.	167
When Handel became a British subject in 1727, it was under a special act of Parliament titled, "An Act for naturalizing Louis Sekeyhaye, George Frederick Handel, and others". Who was Louis Sekeyhaye?	140
What explains the decline in popularity in North America of male secret societies (Masons, Shriners, etc.) in the time between, say, 1945 and 1991? Why were they once popular in the first place?	136
Why is Atheism so much more common in the former territories of East Germany (and the Czech Republic) than in the other post-Communist states in Europe?	118

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