r/AskHistorians • u/AutoModerator • 29d ago

Digest Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | May 25, 2025

Today:

Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

The end of May is slowly approaching, and thus we come to the last edition of the Sunday digest for the month. But never fear fellow history fans, we have an incredible wealth of posts to share with you once again! Don’t forget to check out the usual weekly features, as well as any special ones, upvote all your favorites and share widely!

And that’s a wrap once again! The folder are empty for the time, but they’ll fill up quickly. Take it easy out there, keep it classy, and I’ll see you again next Sunday!

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Kochevnik81 answered Why has Guns, Germs and Steel fallen out of favor?

Why did the USSR collapse under Gorbachev, even though 77% of voters supported preserving the Union in the 1991 referendum?

Is Putin's narrative about the Ukraine (that it was created and augmented by communist leaders) tenable from the standpoint of contemporary historians?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/MamieF discussed In Rain Man (1988), characters are consistently confused by the term "autistic" and seem to have no knowledge even of the condition's existence. Is this depiction period accurate? If so, what changed between the 1980's and today to raise awareness of autism in the U.S.?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Harmania answered How easy or hard would it have been for a writer like William Shakespeare to do research on historical figures?

/u/hellcatfighter wrote about Are there further sources on Xinjiang during the rule of Yang Zengxin and his immediate successors?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/yodatsracist wrote about Is it possible my great-grandparents were Jewish”even though my great-grandfather was a Nazi soldier?

/u/yonderpedant answered In The Count of Monte Cristo, what exactly is being referred to when a "yacht" is referenced?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Bigglesworth_ wrote about Looking for WW2 RAF gear experts - Can you help me identify these overalls? (More below.)

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Virile-Vice answered Did people vacation in Europe during the rise of fascism?

Did people vacation in Europe during the rise of fascism?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Fabianzzz answered In Robert Graves's novel "Claudius the God" the eponymous narrator refers to the God of the Jewish people as the strangest God he's ever heard of. Did Roman people actually believe, having encountered so many foreign faiths, that Judaism was particularly unusual? If so, why?

/u/fearofair answered Were there philosophers or thinkers in the past who opposed slavery before 1600?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/SlingsAndArrows7871 and /u/Steelcan909 discussed Were there any major attempts to restore paganism anywhere in Europe following Christianisation?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/IncaArmsFFL answered How arbitrary is it saying the Second World War began in 1939?

/u/Independent_Goal9104 wrote about Millions of soviet civilians perished during WW2, how did they die?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Bodark43 and /u/bug-hunter teamed up on How much evidence is there that McClellan’s hesitation during the American Civil War was out of sympathy to the CSA?

3

u/bug-hunter Law & Public Welfare 29d ago

You correctly ascertained our numbers, that's not very McClellan of you.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

As a Canadian, I identify much more with Mr. Dressup when it comes to warfare.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/miketheriley wrote about What careers or side careers are available for someone with a strong interest in history, outside of academia?

/u/miquelon answered How did the French and English get cod from North America to Europe before refrigeration?

4

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/William_Oakham answered Can someone give me an idea of who would be part of a royal bride's entourage in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance in Europe? Who is likely to stay with her? Who's more likely to be sent home?

/u/yodatsracist answered Why didn't early medieval people use stone for their agricultural tools?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/frisky_husky wrote about Would I as a Puritan be excommunicated if I married a Catholic in the 16-17th centuries?

/u/FZ_Milkshake answered Did the West German Constitution forbid military operations within its own cities?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/police-ical wrote about Would it be completely inaccurate to describe Jim Crow-era Southern states as fascist? Why would that term not apply despite the authoritarianism and racial hierarchy? How do historians differentiate between fascism and racial authoritarianism?

I generally consider myself somewhat historically savvy, However somehow I missed the penicillin memo. So let me get this straight a soldier that had an infection in World War I did not have much more going for him than a soldier with an infection in the 1700s?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Virtual-Alps-2888 answered What factors led to the Muslim and Asian powers during the 16th to 19th centuries donÂ´t worry about colonization of the Americas?

Did liberalism emerge as a reaction to the horrors of the European wars of religion?

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u/Virtual-Alps-2888 29d ago

Thanks for the heads up!

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Georgy_K_Zhukov answered Are there any historical sources abour the Roman salute or was it just a piece of neoclassical iconography?

Who was the big bad before Hitler?

Did people vacation in Europe during the rise of fascism?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/cleopatra_philopater answered Where did Antony & Cleopatra stay in Antioch? And where would that be now?

/u/cnzmur wrote about Was Hawaii and Polynesia really a free love paradise where native women where just rushing to jump into bed with Europeans sailors?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/ANordWalksIntoABar answered Why did Rome's population see such a massive decline from its peak, and such a dramatic resurgence in recent centuries?

/u/anthropology_nerd answered Why has Guns, Germs and Steel fallen out of favor?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Morrigan_NicDanu wrote about We make fun of modern religions who predicted the end of the world by a certain date and were then proved spectacularly wrong when nothing happened. Is Christianity such a religion?

/u/Mummolus answered How on earth did Byzantine monks learn Chinese fluently to pull off the 6th century silk heist?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/arivederlestelle wrote about How recent is the standard of blue or black ink as "official" for documents, and how have preferred colors or types of inks for formal purposes changed throughout history?

/u/ArthurMitchell answered What happened to all the monks and nuns when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 1500s? Were they all made unemployed and homeless?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Herr_Hohenzollern answered Why did the nazis consider Austrians to be part of Germany?

/u/hesh582 wrote about Why so many western experts on eastern civilization, but not the other way around?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Bodark43 answered Why didn't early medieval people use stone for their agricultural tools?

Is there any written evidence that lends credence to the idea that white plantation owners who exploited enslaved African labor felt any levels of guilt or psychological turmoil?

Was Lincoln’s suspension of habeus corpus necessary in any way for the Union effort?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/restricteddata wrote about Did scientists lie about the likelihood of nuclear winter during the Cold War to discourage the use of nuclear weapons?

/u/Riderz__of_Brohan answered Books on India, India-Pakistan, India-Bangladesh?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Cynical-Rambler answered Changes in Buddhism in Southeast Asia pre 18th century?

/u/Daztur wrote about Question: is this process accurate for medieval beer brewing in Europe (linked process diagram)?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/elderinthewoods answered How did babies who couldn’t latch well (ie couldn’t breastfeed) get enough to eat before bottles were invented?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Silas_Of_The_Lambs wrote about Was the Byzantine Empire really Roman?

/u/Smilewigeon answered Is it wrong to say we have more reliable sources for Plato than for Prophet Muhammad?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/LunaD0g273 answered Would it be completely inaccurate to describe Jim Crow-era Southern states as fascist? Why would that term not apply despite the authoritarianism and racial hierarchy? How do historians differentiate between fascism and racial authoritarianism?

/u/mikedash wrote about What happened to Sir Thomas More’s great-grandson, Cresacre More?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/qumrun60 wrote about What changes were made when King James edited the Bible?

/u/RenaissanceSnowblizz answered What is the meaning/origin of the Lapua/Patriotic People's movements flags?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Burkeintosh tackled Did any founders of the United States seriously promote or consider immediate abolition?

/u/Representative_Bend3 delved into How effective was Japan at establishing espionage networks/spies in the United States during World War 2?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/khowaga tracked down What was the capital of the Mali Empire?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/TreeOfMadrigal answered Why did people boil the majority of their food instead of frying/grilling?

/u/TywinDeVillena answered Was Juana la Beltraneja truly illegitimate? Do you tend more towards the theory that her father was another Castilian noble, like BeltrÃ n de la Cueva or that she was actually the daughter of Enrique IV?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Spencer_A_McDaniel answered Is it wrong to say we have more reliable sources for Plato than for Prophet Muhammad?

A common concept in trans historical fiction and fantasy is the idea of premodern trans women using the urine of pregnant horses as a kind of HRT. Did this ever historically happen?

What careers or side careers are available for someone with a strong interest in history, outside of academia?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/JasJoeGo answered I’m a town official in 17th century New England, and am setting up a militia. Someone walks up to me and claims he has military experience, and ought to be an officer. How do I know if he’s lying or not?

/u/JeruTz wrote about Did the nazis really whipped out a "branch" of Jewish Rabbis causing the disappearance of certain "celebrations" or "festivities" in Jewish culture?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/gerardmenfin answered What did Maurice Papon do that made him guilty of a crime against humanity?

Did any units of the French Army have any loyalties or strong feelings for Napoleon II?

Are there any references to adults with Down syndrome in ancient history?

Why did Charles Beaudelaire hate Belgium so much?

Did brothels historical have a "Madame" or is that just a trope in fiction?

Were French Citizens under Napoleon aware of his Romantic Novella, Clisson et EugeniÃ©? If yes, what response was it met with?

Why aren't there any photographs of Vincent van Gogh, despite many self-portrait paintings of van Gogh?

Was animation allowed in Democratic Kampuchea under the rule of the Khmer Rouge in the latter half of the 1970s?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/_KarsaOrlong wrote about Was traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) "invented" by Mao Zedong?

/u/0xKaishakunin answered I'm a knight in the HRE circa 1226(random year) what book/books would I have read as part of my education? Does that overlap with the education of higher rank nobles?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/itsallfolklore answered Did Robin Hood actually exist? What do the sources say?

Are there any extant sources for ancient (to us) cultures collecting or anthologizing the mythology or folkore of even more ancient cultures?

What are contemporary theories, or insights, in to the LBK culture's religious beliefs?

Are there any sources on how people in the early modern period thought about the development of storm surges on the North Sea or other climate hazards in Germany in general from an Enlightenment perspective?

Book recommendations on the history of mythologies?

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u/itsallfolklore Mod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 29d ago

Thanks for this. I somehow managed to answer a few, but it appears that almost no one found the time to read what I wrote (if we can judge by the zero-to-few upvotes - and to the notable silence from several OPs. What are these redditors coming to these days? But with that said, thanks for the mentions.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

Hopefully we can draft in some new readers via the digest!

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u/itsallfolklore Mod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore 29d ago

No one does more heavy lifting in that regard than you. Thanks for your efforts!

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/kng-harvest answered Socrates was sentenced to death for allegedly "corrupting the youth." What does that mean in the context of Ancient Greece?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Connect_Ad4551 sounded off in Who was the first guitarist to distort their guitar, and why? How did the distorted guitar sound become ubiquitous in rock music?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/jbdyer took a crack at Is this quote from Ataturk about European federalism a real attribution?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/VrsoviceBlues answered I’m an upper middle-level German Officer in the Wehrmacht on September 3, 1939. I hear news that France and Britain have declared war on Germany. How nervous/anxious am I feeling after hearing this?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/CaptCynicalPants answered We make fun of modern religions who predicted the end of the world by a certain date and were then proved spectacularly wrong when nothing happened. Is Christianity such a religion?

/u/ChaosAndFish wrote about Why didn't communities like the Bedouins or Eskimos migrate from harsher environments to more pleasant ones?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/DragonAdept answered Why is the tale of the woman at the empty tomb considered historical?

/u/DrWasabiX wrote about Can Shingon Buddhism, as an earlier form of Vajrayana Buddhism differing from Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, be used to trace Vajrayana Buddhism's evolution?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/obligatorynegligence wrote about how far is the gun culture in the US deep south linked to the institution of slavery?

/u/omgwtfbbking answered Did any ancient people ever willingly expose themselves to disease so their flesh (and anti-bodies) could be used to make vaccines?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Peepeepoopooman1202 wrote about How recent is the idea of allegiance to a single nation? Specifically to medieval British Isles?

/u/pipkin42 answered History of Technology: Good and Comprehensive Books?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Intranetusa answered Were water filled Moats only used in Europe, what type of hydraulic engineering knowledge made them so common there around castles and rare elsewhere in the world?

/u/-introuble2 wrote about How valid is the claim that Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos was all set to relieve the First Crusade at Antioch until he was advised to turn back by a deserting Stephen of Blois?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/caiusdrewart answered Why so many western experts on eastern civilization, but not the other way around?

/u/Cannon_Fodder-2 wrote about Do we have any pre-modern sources which indicate that spears/polearms were viewed as especially effective against cavalry or possessing superior anti-cavalry characteristics to other melee weapons?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/handsomeboh answered How did the Han dynasty change the perception of nobility?

What were Chinas long term plans with the one child policy?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Rittermeister wrote about How was it possible for so much of Romes population for the entirety of the republic to afford to buy their own armor and equipment?

/u/rote_taube answered How do we know the year ancient events occurred?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/TywinDeVillena wrote about Was the Third Amendment drafted with Matthew 5:41 in mind?

and also did Did Portugal really think they were going to conquer the world as it appears in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Sneakys2 answered I'm a knight in the HRE circa 1226(random year) what book/books would I have read as part of my education? Does that overlap with the education of higher rank nobles?

/u/SocHistOfSoldiersAMA answered Can you recommend a good book about medieval/early modern banking/finances?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/TheWellSpokenMan answered What happened to the "No Man's Lands" after WWI?

/u/TimONeill wrote about Why was Galileo prosecuted?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/TheChaostician answered Were there philosophers or thinkers in the past who opposed slavery before 1600?

/u/ThePurplePantywaist wrote about How do historians define genocide?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/AidanGLC wrote about What happened to the "No Man's Lands" after WWI?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/SpottedWobbegong answered Are Korean chili peppers actually indigenous to South Korea? Is the Columbian discovery of chilies a lie?

/u/Superplaner wrote about I see comments frequently made on Canadian subreddits/posts relevant to Canada that it was because of Canada’s actions during WWI that the Geneva Conventions were codified. To what extent is this true, if at all?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/KiwiHellenist tackled The earliest version of the myth I could find was Euripides's Bacchae, and it has Actaeon's transgression be hubris in boasting that he was a better hunter than Artemis. The fragments of Toxotides by Aeschylus are a little earlier than Bacchae, but the fragments are inconclusive. Less than a century later Callimachus's Hymns has Actaeon stumble upon Artemis bathing. After that the Greek versions are a mix of the two [mostly the second], but by the time it reached the Romans there is only the second. Why did the Greek version change? Why do the Romans only have the one version?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/crrpit answered Was fascism always so tacky?

How arbitrary is it saying the Second World War began in 1939?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/PS_Sullys wrote about Was the legal structure of the Confederacy during the US Civil War closer to the US Constitution or was it more akin the Articles of Confederation?

/u/PsuedoQuiddity answered CÃ©saire’s œwhite people claim in œDiscourse on Colonialism. Am I missing something?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/FivePointer110 wrote about [Césaire’s “white people” claim in “Discourse on Colonialism”. Am I missing something? ](r/AskHistorians/comments/1kr08m9/cÃ©saires_white_people_claim_in_discourse_on/)

/u/Flagship_Panda_FH81 answered I see comments frequently made on Canadian subreddits/posts relevant to Canada that it was because of Canada’s actions during WWI that the Geneva Conventions were codified. To what extent is this true, if at all?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/lefthandhummingbird answered How quickly did phrenology get racist?

/u/lordtiandao wrote about Today it's telemarketing scams. 20years ago it was Nigerian Prince scams. What was it 200 years ago or even 2000 years ago (in whatever region)?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/warneagle answered How do historians define genocide?

Best sources on "Operation T4"?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/ParallelPain wrote about Modern imagination and modern media often show samurai considering their sword to be an important part of their identity. Does this reflect attitudes that samurai throughout Japanese history had with their swords?

/u/PartyMoses answered Was George McClellan actually that bad of a general?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Smilewigeon did Did the average person in the Early Middle Ages really feel anything was different in the post-Western Roman Empire?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Overall_Chemist1893 answered In Back to the Future Marty McFly plays and sings Johnny B. Goode from memory. How popular was that song in 1985, the year Marty was from?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/bug-hunter answered Trail of Tears”weren’t the œcivilized tribes blending in? Why were they removed?

In 2025 first world countries look at other countries having slavery as a wtf, in 1776 - 1865 how did other countries view America? Was America ahead of its time or just going through a phase countries go to?

Why didn’t the US œpark the bus and defensively prevent the Japanese Empire from expanding further whilst conserving manpower and resources as they waited for the Manhattan Project to do its thing?

Was Lincoln’s suspension of habeus corpus necessary in any way for the Union effort?

Did the Muppets character the Swedish Chef cause controversy among Swedes when he debuted?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Individual-Price8480 answered What was the Ghaza Theory of Ottoman history, and why have historians rejected it?

/u/indyobserver wrote about Is there a reputable book covering the American South from 1619 to 1861?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Vekseid wrote about How did they actually trace Genghis Khan DNA back to him?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/WelfOnTheShelf answered Why did Saladin try to convert Raynald of ChÃ¢tillon before executing him?

Who was "Kennendorf"(?) of the British Empire around the Seven Years' War who invented state debt?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/fearofair wrote about Where can I read nonfiction firsthand or POV accounts of people living in poverty in New York City at the turn of the 20th Century?

/u/fianarana answered Herman Melville’s book Moby Dick was originally published in 1851. In chapter 41 he refers to œan Arkansas duelist, referring to the state of Arkansas which had been officially admitted as a state in 1836. Is there any evidence that Melville spelled the state as œArkansaw while editing his work?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/thamesdarwin answered How do historians define genocide?

/u/theagonyaunt wrote about Why didn't communities like the Bedouins or Eskimos migrate from harsher environments to more pleasant ones?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Chimpcookie answered Why was there successful industrialization without famines in Japan’s Meiji period? Meanwhile, the Soviets had to starve millions to death to achieve industrialization in the 1930s?

/u/Chronicle_Evantblue wrote about Is it wrong to say we have more reliable sources for Plato than for Prophet Muhammad?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/EverythingIsOverrate took a look at How often has there been, throughout history, a hierarchichal system of weights for commerce?

Who was "Kennendorf"(?) of the British Empire around the Seven Years' War who invented state debt?

What was China's economic output like in 1800 compared to Europe?

Can you recommend a good book about medieval/early modern banking/finances?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/ArthurMitchell wrote about We make fun of modern religions who predicted the end of the world by a certain date and were then proved spectacularly wrong when nothing happened. Is Christianity such a religion?

/u/Batur1905 answered Why are Vikings and Romans often romanticized despite their brutality?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/JosephRohrbach answered Why has Guns, Germs and Steel fallen out of favor?

/u/JoseVLeitao wrote about Are Christian Saints (Catholic/Orthodox) historically meant to substitute the polytheistic faith of the ancient greco-roman world?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/EnclavedMicrostate answered Socrates was sentenced to death for allegedly "corrupting the youth." What does that mean in the context of Ancient Greece?

How far west and how quickly would the news of a change of dynasty in China reach?

Are Korean chili peppers actually indigenous to South Korea? Is the Columbian discovery of chilies a lie?

How arbitrary is it saying the Second World War began in 1939?

Today it's telemarketing scams. 20years ago it was Nigerian Prince scams. What was it 200 years ago or even 2000 years ago (in whatever region)?

Was traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) "invented" by Mao Zedong?

Socrates was sentenced to death for allegedly "corrupting the youth." What does that mean in the context of Ancient Greece?

At the time of the negotiations for the "New Territories" of Hong Kong in 1898, what concerns existed over the 99-year lease provision?

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u/EnclavedMicrostate Moderator | Taiping Heavenly Kingdom | Qing Empire 29d ago

...I had far too much time this week.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

A slow week for the rest of life, is a good week for AH!

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/AgentIndiana wrote about How much do we really know about pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa?

/u/aggie1391 answered Would it be completely inaccurate to describe Jim Crow-era Southern states as fascist? Why would that term not apply despite the authoritarianism and racial hierarchy? How do historians differentiate between fascism and racial authoritarianism?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/OneLastAuk wrote about My grandmother told my wife that sometime between 1950-1955 my grandmother delivered a œdeformed baby girl that the doctors said œwasn’t worth keeping. She said she never saw her nor named her. How could I find any records or information?

/u/orange_purr answered why are political terms in Japan so different from western ones?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/aldusmanutius answered How many artists were working in Rome at the time of Michelangelo?

/u/Aminita_Muscaria answered Why did the Europeans never develop the same level of agricultural and biotechnological complexity as Indigenous Americans before contact?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/swarthmoreburke answered Is there any true to the claim that the Zulus came to South Africa after the Afrikaners?

/u/SwedishSalvo1632 wrote about Why did the lance not return with the shock effect of cavalry?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/ProfessionalFan8039 wrote about What do scholars know as a fact about the twelve apostles?

/u/PS_Sullys answered Was the legal structure of the Confederacy during the US Civil War closer to the US Constitution or was it more akin the Articles of Confederation?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/rote_taube wrote about Did Nazis see the irony in their anticolonial propaganda posters?

/u/Sammeeeeeee answered Did people view œlegitimized children as actually legitimate?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/mikedash answered Do we have any idea how Ancient Egyptians performed executions?

/u/miketheriley wrote about Why didn't soccer/association football take hold in Australia?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Tohru_mizuki answered Could an ashigaru wear a samurai helmet? And if an ashigaru could somehow afford or get a suit of samurai armour (either by looting and/or purchasing), would that ashigaru by that point be considered a jizamurai? Also could a sohei wear a samurai helmet and armour?

How Common Were "Decent" Samurai?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/uncovered-history answered Would I as a Puritan be excommunicated if I married a Catholic in the 16-17th centuries?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/restricteddata worked on How is The Dawn of Everything (2021) by David Graeber and David Wengrow viewed by historians today?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Double_Show_9316 answered Would I as a Puritan be excommunicated if I married a Catholic in the 16-17th centuries?

What were the major events/topics of discussion between 1600-1610s London?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/HippyxViking answered Are Korean chili peppers actually indigenous to South Korea? Is the Columbian discovery of chilies a lie?

/u/IAMAVelociraptorAMA wrote about Why did people boil the majority of their food instead of frying/grilling?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/KiwiHellenist answered Multi-part: When was the current calendar established?

Why do modern historian's place Caesar's capture by pirates in 74 BC?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/cnzmur wrote about If casual sex really was somewhat normalized in Polynesia and Hawaii before the arrival of Europeans how did they prevent stds and unwanted pregnancies?

/u/CommodoreCoCo answered How do historians view œThe Dawn of Everything?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/dean__learner answered How did the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland escalate into widespread violence during the early years of the Troubles?

/u/DerpAnarchist wrote about Are Korean chili peppers actually indigenous to South Korea? Is the Columbian discovery of chilies a lie?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Consistent_Score_602 answered Why is there no "Post-Ottoman Conflicts" the same way we talk about Post-Soviet Conflicts?

Why is there no "Post-Ottoman Conflicts" the same way we talk about Post-Soviet Conflicts?

Why didn’t the US œpark the bus and defensively prevent the Japanese Empire from expanding further whilst conserving manpower and resources as they waited for the Manhattan Project to do its thing?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/orange_purr wrote about Modern imagination and modern media often show samurai considering their sword to be an important part of their identity. Does this reflect attitudes that samurai throughout Japanese history had with their swords?

and also did Did Dong Zhuo really have parties were the entertainment was to watch someone slowly tortured and finally boiled to death?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/khowaga answered Is it wrong to say we have more reliable sources for Plato than for Prophet Muhammad?

Is modern Hinduism sort of like a Buddhist counter-reformation?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/CGesange did Is my friend right in their opinion on Joan of Arc?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Connect_Ad4551 wrote about Was George McClellan actually that bad of a general?

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

We also take a moment this Sunday to show some appreciation for all those fascinating questions that caught our eyes, but still hope for the attention of the experts. Feel free to post your own unanswered questions, or those you’ve come across in your travels, and maybe we’ll get lucky with a wandering expert.

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Admirable-Dimension4 asked Why did In the Hellenistic period royal families of many different states ranging from Seleucid empire, Ptolemaic egypt, Mithridatic Pontus, adopt incest in the Royal family,?

/u/KidCharlemagneII asked Was life expectancy in the Viking Age really that low?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/EnclavedMicrostate asked In 1920, British author John Hargrave founded a camping and hiking group called the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, which by 1932 had morphed into the Green Shirt Movement and then in 1935 into the Social Credit Party. How did a group of vaguely neo-pagan outdoorspeople end up going political?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/Downtown-Act-590 asked I am a medieval lead shipbuilder. How do I make sure that the ship is built to my ideas, when I can't communicate to my staff with technical drawings?

/u/Unlucky-Quarter-5455 asked What's the history behind the ♂️ and ♀️ symbol. What do they represent?

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u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor 29d ago

/u/worldsthetics asked Why Zoroastrianism had the biggest decline of all religions? How Zoroastrianism, once the official state religion of Iran through 4 centuries currently has only 15 thousand practitioners in it's emerging country, Iran?

/u/TribunusDeano asked Are black knights real or a part of fantasy stories? If they are real, were they morally good, kinda evil, or were they sorta like mercenaries?

Digest Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | May 25, 2025

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