It's been a rough couple of weeks on AH, so here is something cute and fun: medieval giraffes!

I ended up doing quite a bit of research for this question on the events leading up to the murder of Hypatia the philosopher, which I am quite happy with. As Hypatia is often discussed as a 'martyr' for science rather than examined as a historical figure in her context, I hope others will find this answer interesting as well!

• /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov answered "How did the concept of the duel of honour come to be in 16th century France?" and on "Was painful Acne ever an issue in WW2? If I slept in the dirt for weeks between ages 17-22, I'd have breakouts constantly. Is Hollywood's portrayal of dirty--yet unblemished--soldiers accurate, or do we have photos, documentation to show otherwise?"

• /u/hergrim on "How terrifying was a medieval melee for the common footsoldier?"

• /u/skedaddle answered "What sort of humor would be unacceptable to a 19th century audience? Do we have any edgy jokes from that period?"

I had the opportunity to answer a question about Africa in World War II which I've wanted to do for quite some time.

Hello there, inhabitants of AskHistorians land, hope you’re all having a great weekend! Here are some of the popular and/or interesting questions from last week, which did not receive an answer yet:

/u/vanpunke666 asked why was there such a widespread "concern" about masturbation in the 1800's to mid-1900's

/u Klesk_vs_Xaero would like to know more about the Czechoslovakian point of view on the Munich agreement

/u/ViscountPaddington inquired about Indian folklore used by British parents to scare their kids during the days of the Raj

Let’s look at back athe theme of the week! What did we learn about the 1960s?

/u/AncientHistory and /u/grantimatter discussed 1960s futurism

/u/chocolatepot talked about the 1960s men’s headgear trends!

I thought the Silk Road AMA went really well! I was not really sure what to expect (did not expect almost no Mongol questions), but the questions were really good, particularly the ones nobody could answer (an expect result of the nature of the topic).

I found /u/xenophontheathenian's response to Was Pompey a Populares during the Triumvirate? If so, why did he become leader of the Optimates in the Civil War? a fascinating read.

I will toot my teeny tiny horn and mention that I talked about why was cannabis first forbidden by the International Opium Conference and the again through the Marijuana Tax Act