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.
We’ve come to the first Digest of November, and creep ever closer to the end of the year. Get comfortable because we’ve got a wealth of threads here for you to browse, and tons of really fantastic stuff.
Start off with our usual weekly features, and don’t forget to upvote and thank the people who put in so much hard work!
Check out the Thursday Reading and recommendations!
It was a busy Friday Free For All.
That wraps us up for the week. Enjoy all the good history and keep asking great questions. Keep it classy out there community folks, and I’ll see you next week!
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?
Every week we get some fascinating questions that struggle to get answers. Sometimes experts just don’t have time, or perhaps they just don’t come across them in the first place. This is a chance to shout them out, draw some more attention to them, and inspire others. Feel free to post your own!
/u/AgentShabu asked Why do former Presidents of the USA always seem to retire? Why not go to the Senate? Or be a Governor? Or at least take a cabinet position?
/u/Little-Bears_11-2-16 asked How serious was belief in Martians in the 40s and 50s?
/u/JJVMT asked What happened to catchy, upbeat US presidential campaign jingles like "I Like Ike" and "Kennedy for Me"?