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

Year:

Only show posts with narrations

In Pulp Fiction, the opening/closing scene depicts two low-tier criminals robbing a restaurant, on the basis that no one's expecting it. After the movie was released, was there an increase in similar robberies? Was it common before?

956 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Does anyone know the origin of the 507th Engineer Battalion's motto "I cannot see it"?

698 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Why do guns have such bizarre calibers?

536 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Paul never met Jesus. So how is it that his letters make up such a significant portion of the New Testament?

362 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Why is West Virginia a thing?

302 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

In Starship Troopers, Heinlein makes a claim that all wars in human history are due to population pressures in the aggressor nation. Is this a defensible claim?

297 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

After the American Civil War, the US had a rather sizable number of Civil War Generals serve as President. After WWII, we had only one WWII general get elected president (though a few junior officers got elected). Why the difference?

268 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

I've read that Southern plantation owners in the US frequently held large amounts of debt guaranteed on the value of their slaves. What happened to that debt, and the plantation owners, after emancipation?

97 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Were black children actually used as alligator bait in the South?

63 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

I just saw a thing about pneumatic tubes in a Parisian library, and it got me wondering: What's the history of pneumatic tubes? Why aren't they more common today?

41 upvotes

Mark as read: Add to a list

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
In Pulp Fiction, the opening/closing scene depicts two low-tier criminals robbing a restaurant, on the basis that no one's expecting it. After the movie was released, was there an increase in similar robberies? Was it common before?	956
Does anyone know the origin of the 507th Engineer Battalion's motto "I cannot see it"?	698
Why do guns have such bizarre calibers?	536
Paul never met Jesus. So how is it that his letters make up such a significant portion of the New Testament?	362
Why is West Virginia a thing?	302
In Starship Troopers, Heinlein makes a claim that all wars in human history are due to population pressures in the aggressor nation. Is this a defensible claim?	297
After the American Civil War, the US had a rather sizable number of Civil War Generals serve as President. After WWII, we had only one WWII general get elected president (though a few junior officers got elected). Why the difference?	268
I've read that Southern plantation owners in the US frequently held large amounts of debt guaranteed on the value of their slaves. What happened to that debt, and the plantation owners, after emancipation?	97
Were black children actually used as alligator bait in the South?	63
I just saw a thing about pneumatic tubes in a Parisian library, and it got me wondering: What's the history of pneumatic tubes? Why aren't they more common today?	41