Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
Not sure if this is worthy of its own topic or not, so I’ll start here: In watching TV shows and movies about the Medieval and Renaissance periods, they frequently show large, choreographed dances among the nobles.
Did these happen? How long per day/week did they have to practice these? We’re they by region?
Thanks!
What are some of the basic investigation tools for deciding if artwork on pottery should be used as examples for military history. Also how are those tools used to decide witch cultures artwork should or shouldn’t be used to further knowledge of say, how soldiers held a particular weapon.
What are some notable old/ancient methods of keeping time before the 24-hour day? I know this kicks us back to the BCE (100-200’s BCE, not sure if that means late or early) but I am curious if other ancient cultures has an established method of telling time beyond the general sunrise, sundown, and noon.
I sometimes hear anecdotes about ancient cultures knowing advanced medicine (like techniques for sterilisation of tools or operating on brain). So how advanced was medicinal knowledge of (for more specific answers) Aztecs and Egyptians?
I’m on mobile but currently unable to post a thread about it (I also don’t know if it merits its own thread)
Civil rights and protest history have become points of extreme interest for me, and for my thesis in a graduate public history program(or at the least something to be published), I’d like to discuss the 1989 demonstrations and the historiography around them, as well as any cultural impacts of Mianzi on the movement.
I’ve tried doing a bit of research to see if anything recently about this has been published, but I don’t know if I’m looking in the wrong places, as I’m not finding much of anything past 2005.
Is writing about this feasible? Not interesting enough to warrant publication?
Thank you for any and all answers.
Weird question I'm posting on a whim.
Was there anyone associated with the HBC during the 19th century who was also a spiritualist?
I know that seances and mediums were quite the thing in Victorian society, but is there any evidence that their fans ended up in the fur trade?
Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap
Friday, August 28 - Thursday, September 03
###Top 10 Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 9,747 | 83 comments | How did Vanilla become the "generic" flavor of ice cream? |
| 5,669 | 48 comments | In 1952, Republicans and Democrats were close enough that Eisenhower could feasibly run for either party. What differentiated the parties and how did people choose which to vote for? |
| 5,458 | 151 comments | Why do we call it “Latin” instead of naming it after the original nation like we do all others (Chinese=China, english=England), aka why don’t we call it “Roman”? |
| 5,160 | 247 comments | [Great Question!] If samurais were mostly horse archer, and those on foot are mainly using spears, then how come we get the “the katana” culture that is so popular today? |
| 4,404 | 190 comments | There's an FAQ on "How did people wake up before dawn before alarm clocks?" and the answers all seem to be, "Before the Industrial Revolution, most people would just wake up at dawn." But presumably some people had to wake up before dawn. How did they do it? |
| 4,183 | 82 comments | Our current concept of Hell as a blazing inferno is based on Dante’s Inferno from the 14th century. What was the general idea of hell before then? |
| 4,168 | 784 comments | [Meta] Rules Roundtable XXVII: 'AskHistorians Sucks!' or: How I Learned to Stop Complaining and Go Somewhere Else |
| 3,167 | 37 comments | Today There Are Many Preppers and Survivalists Preparing for the "Coming Collapse", But How Old is the Idea of a Secular End to Civilization? |
| 2,595 | 96 comments | Why weren’t German Americans and Italian Americans detained in large proportions during WWII, while Japanese Americans were? |
| 1,586 | 225 comments | [Meta] Happy 9th Birthday AskHistorians! Thank you to our wonderful community for nine excellent years of doing history, and for many more to come! Now as is tradition, you may get a little rambunctious in this thread. |
###Top 10 Comments
Hi! How could this happen that Napoleon destroyed 1000years old Holly Roman Empire, won coalition against Russia Austria and Great Britain and all this during civil war in France?
Hello!
I'd like some recommendations to learn more about the history of science— books, online courses, blogs, anything really.
I'm currently reading "An Introduction to the Historiography of Science" by Helge S. Kragh.
Still waiting for a good suggestion to my question guys :(
I have a silly question on the entry to the republic Roman senate. One joins the senate by holding a magistrate position, I.e. The cursus honorum.
However, I can't find a clear answer to this question: Are you a senate member AFTER serving or already during?
Since the senate was supposed to be advisotory, I'm assuming it's after. But I just can't find a clear answer
I'm looking up my genealogy and cam a across a strange unit of measurement. My ancestor payed b8 for a pew in a local church. The b in this instance is not a b, where the curve is its more of a box. Does anyone know how much that could have possibly been? For reference the transaction occurred in 1755 in New Jersey.
Hold a deferred offer to study my PhD, waiting a year to see if I can acquire funding. Just thought I’d share the good news and if anyone has any tips for funding applications?
What are some good and accurate movies/TV shows depicting the Eastern Front of WW2, or just really any part of WW2 from the axis or allies perspective that aren’t just propaganda.
I had a question that nobody answered: Link
What do you guys think of "The Devil in History: Communism, Fascism, and Some Lessons of the Twentieth Century", it tries to say they are similarities between communism and fascism but I've seen this idea has been shown here a lot.
I've been wondering if I should ask that as a question because I haven't found a clear answer on the subreddit: how has GDP and GDP per capita become the references for growth and progress? (i.e. being reported on, focused on, promises being made based on that, etc)
I'm asking this because I've been hearing some economists say that GDP is not necessarily a useful metric for a whole lot of current debates (for my own experience, in discussions related to climate change) and the concept is overwhelmingly anchored in minds compared to most other possible metrics (of which, no doubt, economists have troves). While there could be discussions about "what else to use", I'd like to understand why we came to use this specific metric.
Would that make a decent subreddit question? Or perhaps someone already has a useful post to refer me to?
Thanks!
When did the idea of the 7 wonders of the ancient world come into being? Were there any other constructions "short-listed" or considered?