askhistorians

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In boot camp, recruits to the military are stripped of personalizing human characteristics (hair cut off, given identical clothes/gear, being deprived of privacy, randomly being subject to abuse). Where did this practice come from (it's clearly been thought out)? Has it evolved over time?	3110
It's a major element of the American Dream that in the US, anybody can 'make it big', start from nothing and make their fortune; how much class mobility was there really in the 19th and 20th centuries in the US? Did it stand out, in comparison to Europe over the same period?	3069
Henry Ford is probably responsible for 21st century Americans having heard of 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion', as he had 500000 copies given away free to people who worked for him. Was he recognized as a crackpot in his lifetime? Were there repercussions for his opposition to entering WWII?	2915
The Arthurian legend was largely developed in France through the middle ages (when England and France were significant rivals). Why did the English embrace a largely French creation? Were there any misgivings? What about from the French side?	2815
Larry Flint faced considerable backlash against his publications and became a political lightening rod in the '70s (a relatively liberal cultural time); why didn't Hugh Hefner face similar backlash establishing himself in a seemingly much more conservative time (the '50s), or did he?) NSFW	2748
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"- Would the average Elizabethan peasant 'get' what Shakespeare was getting at?	2702
9 years after the end of the second Punic war, Scipio Africanus encountered Hannibal at a banquet. How did this play out? Did either know the other would be in attendance? Was there any hostility between them? Rome pursued Hannibal til his death; was there a threat of violence?	2661
Is there a consensus among historians whether the 13th century 'children's crusade' actually happened? If it was a myth, do we have any idea where it sprung from, by whom, or why?	2576
Ted Kaczynski was, unbeknownst to him, subject of an abusive psychological experiment as an undergrad at Harvard, possibly as part of a joint program with the US government. Was this before ethical considerations were at the forefront of psychology? Were any precautions taken?	2550
Overt slavery seems a near continuous element of cultures through much of the history of the world, until around the 19th century, whereupon it fairly quickly became condemned and abolished in many different countries in short order. What triggered this sudden, widespread change?	2478

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