askhistorians

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In movie westerns, there's often a brothel and a lot of prostitution. Today, in America, prostitution is only legal in some Nevada counties. What happened? How and when did prostitution go from common to firmly underground in America? NSFW	1187
In the 1950's and 60's, what made people vote Republican or Democrat? It wasn't just a question of conservative or liberal yet, and I'm having trouble understanding how groups chose one candidate or the other.	1105
How did Indonesia and Malaysia become majority-Muslim when they were once dominated by Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms?	957
In 1931, the German Communist started using the slogan "After Hitler, Our Turn". Did they actually believe this, that they'd get their shot after Hitler failed? Did other believe this?	605
In 1926, British unions pulled off a rare feat: a nation-wide general strike. The consensus is that this had no effect on British Industrial relations. Why did it have no effect? This seems uncommon for general strikes, which usually have had either clear positive or negative effects for labor	424
Since it's Thanksgiving: what did the Pilgrims, the residents of the Virginia Colony, and other 17th century English colonists in North America think of each other? Was it "those non-conforming nuts up on Massachusetts Bay" and "those sinners on the James"?	316
How did Israel and Armenia end up with such big diamond industries, when diamonds are mined in neither country?	269
"Between the Americans’ victory in 1783 and Irish independence in 1922, not one country was able to eject the [British] Empire." Is this true? How does this record compare to other Europeans'?	266
Update on the Timbuktu Library: "[The Islamist militants] managed to find less than 5 percent" (with mods' permission)	187
In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, certain saints' bodies never decayed. This “incorruptibility" is a sign of their holiness. A similar Buddhist tradition exists. What is the earliest evidence of a belief that holiness can prevent bodily corruption? When do these traditions develop?	177

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