I live reading this subreddit but this is my first post here - I hope it meets the community guidelines. TBH I am most interested in the impact of the grid, but I wanted to leave the question more open. Thanks!

Just curious how crews of say, frigates, were able to make minute movements to line up with docks without the assistance from modern technology, namely, outboard motors. Anyone have the answer?

I hope this question isn't too general/simple. From what I understand, the role of archers in battles (and other skirmishers) was generally to harass the enemy lines as they approached. What I can't seem to find is what they would do after the lines of both sides clash.

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Would they try and keep enemy archers at a distance, or try to hit exposed enemies on the flanks? Would they try to shoot at the enemy engaged with their own forces, potentially risking hitting friendly soldiers? Would they sit around resting? All of the above?

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My interest was peaked recently in U.S. civil war military history as well as Napoleonic military history. What are some good resources to learn more about the specific movements in battles and the more broad happenings? I'm interested in reading longer in depth content but would also really enjoy some content that gives a quick basic but maybe not comprehensive understanding. thanks!

Many seem to claim that the burning of the Library of Alexandria has set us back at least 1,000 years in terms of technology and the advancement of civilization. I do understand that there is very little known about the contents of the library, but how far back did the burning of the Library really set us back according to what we do know about it?

Is there a scientific explanation why people for thousands of years choose to believe in Dragons even though no one saw them?

So many Christmas/holiday songs mention chestnuts (and roasting them), yet I don't know anyone who actually takes part in this tradition! I'm in the US, so I'm wondering if this is something that's still commonly done at Christmastime in other parts of the world. If not, when did it begin to lose popularity?

(I was recently in Seoul and noticed that roasted chestnuts are a popular street food; however, I'm guessing that this isn't what led to their being mentioned in so many Christmas songs.)

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In Gunnar Myrdal's analysis on the "American Creed" in his work An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem & American Democracy (1944), he states this:

America has had gifted conservative statesmen and national leaders, and they have often determined the course of public affairs. But with few exceptions, only liberals have gone down in history as national heroes.

I realize that he is generalizing and that the terms "liberal" & "conservative" have represented MANY different things throughout American history, but how accurate is this statement?

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This question was inspired by the song "Marley and Marley" from The Muppet Christmas Carol. In this song, the ghosts of Jacob and Robert Marley recount how they evicted an orphanage and left the children out in the cold with their "frostbitten teddy bears."

Obviously, the term "teddy bear" is anachronistic, as the story takes place in the 1840s, about 60 years before Teddy Roosevelt's famous bear cub incident that inspired "Teddy's bear." However, did the concept of plush bear toys exist at the time?

I have done some searching but couldn’t find a concrete answer, likely because this surely did vary from one marriage to another.

I’m curious how much power the husband of a Queen Regnant, I.e. a Prince Consort or King Consort, actually had. Obviously from a legal standpoint the succession and legal power come from the Queen in this situation, and that led to a great deal of “unofficial” power for the husband- but how much official authority did that title confer? Was there ever a situation in which the King Consort could overrule the Queen? Or wield great authority officially in her stead?

Thanks in advance!

Seeing the current "Keep Christ in Christmas" stuff makes me wonder about how Christians accepted Santa Claus. One could argue there is a connection between St. Nicholas and Santa, but the way Santa is described these days is its own legend and not something linked to Christianity. It seems like most people focus a lot more on Santa than on Jesus relating to Christmas, and they spend a lot more time, effort and energy on the gift giving related to Santa than on religious stuff.

This seems like something Christians should have objected to strongly a long time ago. Did many object strongly in the past, and how did those objections fade away?

Hi everyone! I'm looking for some good leads on reputable sources on Polynesian tattooing. A lot of the sources I have found are from very dated and prejudiced sources from explorers. I'm wondering if there's better sources about Polynesian tattooing written by actual Polynesian people and not explorers. (I say Polynesian because I'm interested in multiple cultures like Maori, Tahitian, Samoan etc. so whatever you have about those cultures would be wonderful!)

I'm from the Portland area and am familiar with Fort Vancouver and its history. However from what I understand Vancouver was a larger fort/trading operation designed to manage a huge area, playing old Oregon Trail games I remember several forts were stops along the route, what was life like in those smaller forts? How were they made, who would live there.

Also if anyone has any reading/research reccomendations I would love to delve deeper.

Welcome to Tuesday Trivia!

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Come share the cool stuff you love about the past! Please don’t just write a phrase or a sentence—explain the thing, get us interested in it! Include sources especially if you think other people might be interested in them.

AskHistorians requires that answers be supported by published research. We do not allow posts based on personal or relatives' anecdotes.

All other rules also apply—no bigotry, current events, and so forth.

For this round, let’s look at A Day In The Life! What was an ordinary day like for a person in your era? Pick a peasant, pick a priestess, pick Eleanor of Aquitaine—whoever it is, walk us through their day to day life!

Next time: History that passes the Bechdel Test

Based on combat footage I’ve seen, it seems like wars have evolved to have longer and longer distances between enemies with more shooting into a cover. How did WW2 compare to this?

Apologies if this is a common question, my searches came up empty both on this sub and the internet.