As most people have long since picked up on, for the past day or so, /r/AskHistorians has been transformed into /r/AskFantasyHistorians, bringing our usual eye for quality and detail from the historical to the fictional. As they day's festivities come to a close, the mod team would like to extend their thanks - to all of the users of the sub of course, but especially to those who thought up some of the fantastic questions that came in, as well as those who put in the time and effort to answer them. When we were planning this out, we couldn't even begin to fathom the amount of interest this would generate, and it is really amazing to see how much (almost) everyone enjoyed this!

A few shout-outs to be made. Firstly, if you enjoyed this, I highly suggest you start frequenting /r/AskScienceFiction, a subreddit which fields these questions daily. Additionally, I know that users are looking to get both /r/AskFantasyHistorians and /r/AskFictionHistorians off the ground in a style to imitate what we were doing here, I believe with the intention of the same sort of mock seriousness encouraged here today, so check those out, and maybe help get them off the ground.

Additionally, /u/gunslingrburrito deserves a little recognition for now having the all-time top submission in the subreddit with How did the Eagles manage to rescue Frodo and Sam at Mt Doom and still have time to record "Hotel California"?, which as some have pointed out, is not without irony as it displaced [META] This is one of the few subreddits that has maintained a high level of quality and professionalism over time, thank you..

Of course, to my fellow mods, who together registered over 4,500 moderation actions during April Fools, most especially /u/searocksandtrees and /u/vertexoflife whose behind the scenes work was a key part of ensuring the day ran smoothly.

And finally an apology to all of the users who made non-April Fools submissions over the past day that got drowned out in the noise. Please do consider resubmitting them, and we promise that our flairs are doing penance for the tomfoolery by being extra diligent in their responses for the next few days.

As of this evening, new Fantasy submissions have been turned off for a few hours now, so you will notice new submissions returning to normal, real historical topics. We know that few people were able to keep an eye on everything, so there are a few ways to peruse this year's April Fools threads. The existing threads - which you are still welcome to post in right now - are being marked with "April Fools" flair to easily distinguish them (currently in progress), and additionally we have done our best to compile a complete list of the submissions over the past day, which you can find here (and check out last year's here). With several hundred threads created over the past 30 or so hours however, we know that wading through it all can be rather daunting, so we also have compiled a list of just the top voted submissions here for your enjoyment.

How did the Eagles manage to rescue Frodo and Sam at Mt Doom and still have time to record "Hotel California"?

According to Cultural Analysis of the First Galactic Empire, Palpatine was insistent on spreading Nabooean culture across the galaxy. Is this accurate?

Is there a historical consensus as to why Gandhi was so obsessed with nuclear warheads?

What's the current consensus among historians as to whether Billie Jean was Michael Jackson's lover? Was she just a girl claiming to be the one? Or was the kid truly not his son?

Do we have any proof that Scar actually assassinated King Mufasa? Or was this just a propaganda story created by the Simba Regime to legitimatize Simba's transition back to Lion Apartheid over a racially intergrated kingdom of lions and hyenas (under scar)?

Why did so many survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre become guards in Skyrim?

Did the 'genocide' against the Air Nomads REALLY happen?

What led to the split between the People's Front of Judea and the Judean People's Front in the first century?

If the Terminator keeps changing history, is there even a point in being a historian?

Would King Arthur and his knights really have had access to enough coconuts in c.932AD England to outfit the whole Grail expedition?

What was the effect of mounted calvary in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields? Did the Rohirrim use superior mounted tatics against the Orcs?

Why did the Stormcloaks of Skyrim resist the banning of the worship of Talos by fighting the Imperial Legion instead of the Thalmor?

In A Land Before Time, dinosaurs are depicted as existing in highly mixed cohesive interspecies communities. Was there really this much tolerance and multispecism among dinosaurs of that period?

[Urgent Essay Help]How did the experience of working at Mr Burns' Nuclear Plant influence Homer's composition of the Iliad and Odyssey?

If Franz Ferdinand assassination was the inciting cause for WWI, how are they still able to go on tour?

Why was Prince Hans of the Southern Isles left in charge of Arendelle when Queen Elsa disappeared?

I recently read a censored book that tells the true history of the Empire. Is it true that Palpatine and Vader were benevolent rulers?

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Is there historical consensus as to who actually Shot the Sheriff?

Just found a book about the war between Oceania and Eastasia (??)--HELP

Battle of the Blackwater: Could wildfire REALLY melt wooden beams?

It is widely claimed that the Klingons killed their own gods in a war millennia ago. Does this story find its roots in any real events, or is it just a myth?

To what extent was Voldemort right in saying Wizards were oppressed by Muggles?

Was the rapid build-up and militarization of the Imperial Navy due to the Empire preparing for the Yuuzhan-Vong Invasion or was it for some other purpose?

Is "Sailor Moon" an accurate representation of what it was like to be a Magical Girl in the 1990's?

How significant to WWII was Hitler's death at the Le Gamaar cinema in 1944?

Does Mario's willingness to fight alongside, and play sports with, his main enemies propagate the idea that Italians switch sides?

Is there a consensus on the disappearance of the Dwemer?

Was Joffrey Baratheon REALLY an illegitimate child born out of incest? Or was this just Stark propaganda? Will we ever know for sure?

Are Prof. Steve Martin's claims that King Tutankhamun was "born in Arizona" and "moved to Babylonia" accurate?

Is Buffy the first slayer to ever have died and been revived? If so, how is that possible?

How could Scrooge McDuck have maintained his extraordinary wealth from the 1940s onward without destabilizing the entire world's economy?

What impact, if any, did Bill and Ted have on the timeline? Did their actions have any substantial impact on historical events?

Is there any truth to Gerudo persecution being the motivation for Ganondorf to invade Hyrule?

What's the history of prostitutes in Wessos?

Why did Sally choose to sell Seashells in a saturated marketplace instead of somewhere with actual demand?

Why were the Knights of Ni still using herrings to chop down trees when the rest of Britannia favored the larger, more durable Atlantic cod?

To what extent was General Veers personal leadership during the battle of Hoth responsible for the ultimate Imperial victory?

Why was Abraham Lincoln not considered a war criminal for his ruthless genocide of Vampires during the War of Northern Aggression?

Why did Horus turn his back on the God-Emperor of Mankind and become a heretic?

What sorts of ships did the people from Kobol use to colonize the twelve colonies? Are there any historical depictions of them?

For how long has humanity enslaved Pokémon (Poké-kin?), and what is the origin of pitting them against each other in brutal, gladiatorial combat?

To what extent did the Battle of the Morannon affect the demographics of Middle Earth in the Fourth Age?

How much historical whitewashing has gone on regarding Optimus Prime and his Autobot campaign on Earth?

Did Han Solo really shoot first? Or is this just revisionist history?

What happened to J. Robert Oppenheimer after the nuclear blast of the Trinity test turned him into death, destroyer of worlds?

During the Mandalorian Wars, the Republic Navy used the triangular Centurion-class cruiser. In the Jedi Civil War just 5 years later, they had upgraded to the non-triangular Hammerhead, but in the Clone Wars almost 4000 years later Star Destroyers went back the Centurion's archaic design. Why?

Why is Cthulhu the most widely worshiped Great Old One? Does he simply fit the modern American values?

How close are archeologists to discovering the site of Plato's cave?

Are their any sources citing the amount of wounded and killed legionaries during Caesar's countless attempts to conquer the last Gallic village, led by Vitalstatistix and his mighty warriors Asterix and Obelix?

Now this is a belief I have heard repeated a couple of times, and I wonder if there is any truth to it. I have heard that the way to tell apart boy and girl toddlers from the mid-19th Century (back when both would be dressed in off-the-shoulder dresses) is to look at the hairstyle; boys would have parts on the side, girls in the middle. Here is an example supposed boy and girl based on the hairstyle, both images from the 1850s.

Do we actually know if these hair parting 'rules' (side for boys middle for girls) were usually followed at this time? Is there another way to tell boys and girls apart in photos of this time? Are there subtle differences in the dresses that my eye is missing? Or were boys and girls at this time dressed and styled totally interchangably before age 3 or so.

Edit: I only mean in the United States.