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.
It’s another glorious day on the finest history subreddit with Ask in its name. I’ve got a fantastic number of threads to share with you, from across a staggering number of themes and fields. So pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable, and lets get reading. Its another doozy of a list here, so you’ll have plenty of material.
The best way to start is with the usual weekly posts. Check them out below, and don’t forget to upvote your favorite writers and thread!
Huge thanks to /u/KatieEBarclay for the great AMA! I’m Katie Barclay, a historian of emotion and family life and I’m here to answer your questions. Ask me anything.
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 161 - Oral History with Sephardi Voices UK was a fascinating listen!
Start things off on a sick note with Tuesday Trivia! We're talking about the HISTORY OF ILLNESS AND INJURY today, though if you want to write about COVID you'll have to bookmark this page til Jan 1, 2040!
Get some good reading ideas in the Thursday Reading and rec thread!
Join the banter in the Friday Free For All!
The Saturday Showcase featured /u/J-Force and /u/WelfOnTheShelf writing about the Crusades!
That’s it for this week. Huge thank you to the many flairs and non flairs who make my weekly reading so incredibly enjoyable. Enjoy the threads and I’ll see you next Sunday!
Once more we have a chance to share some fascinating threads that slipped under the radar and still hope for a great answer. Feel free to post your own or any that caught your eye.
/u/rasputinette asked What kind of cosmetics did Amerindian women historically use?
/u/vincentvang_hoe asked What are the most accurate resources to learn Indigenous history from a non-colonial point of view?
/u/Poobeard76 asked Are any resident historians watching Showtime’s “Good Luck Bird,” about John Brown? If so, anyone want to weigh in on the historical accuracy of it?
Every week I like to identify some of "The Real Questions" of /r/AskHistorians! Here, we honor the more atypical questions that get asked here: the bizarre, abnormal, strangely niche or oddly specific, interestingly worded or built on uncommon premises, or otherwise amusing questions that make me say, "Finally, someone is asking the real questions!" We look at little-known customs, unexpected historical anecdotes, unusual cultural traits, and other more unique questions that go beyond the regular brand of sociopolitical history that this subreddit so fabulously covers.
Below are my entries for this week! Questions with a ‡ feature a link to an older answer(s) instead of or along with a direct reply. What do you think were the realest questions this week?