AskHistorians

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Recent research provides solid evidence that the spread of the Black Death in the mid-14th century in Europe was primarily caused by humans and their ectoparasites, and not rats' fleas. Will this cause historians to re-evaluate the spread of the plague at that time, and if so, how?	39
How the heck did these two guys end up wearing the same armor? What is going on here?	37
It's State fair season in the U.S. There are lots of agricultural contests, with awards going to First, Second and Third place pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, cucumbers, squash, tomatos, etc... Did Medieval festivals and fairs have anything similar?	32
Was a slave riding a horse really unusual during the US Antebellum period, or was Quentin Tarantino really making this up out of whole cloth in "Django Unchained"?	31
The "Bat Bomb" was a program designed to drop bombs filled with bats with incendiary devices attached to them over Japanese cities during WWII. Were commanders in the Pacific aware of this program and did they put much stock in it as Americans island-hopped closer to Japan?	26
"Leave your weapons at the door!" Was this ever a thing?	24
Downton Abbey question: Did English manor houses ever get used as convalescent hospitals during World War 1?	21
Did the cannibal cake-eating scene in the 1985 Alice in Wonderland video from Tom Petty for "Don't Come Around Here No More" really have anything to do with Tipper Gore's creation of the Parents Resource Resource Center?	11
Battering rams with animal heads? Was this a thing? Were they effective?	11
I'm going shopping in a large medieval European town or city in the Late Middle Ages. What can I buy?	10

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