Ummm ... wow. I'm extremely touched by this news, more so by the very kind words. But really what I want to say at this point is that I see the entire process as a very two-way thing. Of course I do try to help shed light on historical problems that are posed here where I can, but, equally, the questions that are asked often open up avenues to some fascinating new lines of research I'd never have even thought of pursuing if it hadn't been for this sub.

Take, for example, the problem of sin-eating, which I responded to a query on back in 2018. I've continued to research that ever since, and am now finally almost ready to publish some results that move the whole subject substantially forward, something that would never have occurred if it hadn't been for someone asking about it here. Much the same goes for topics such as Arab-Chinese seaborne trade in the 7th and 8th centuries, which has become another major long-term interest of mine thanks to AH, or the question of Waterloo Teeth, one of the most enjoyable bits of research I've worked on in years, or the mystery of what the remains of a new-born baby were doing in the coffin of St William of York...

So, in a real sense, the thanks ought to go both ways. I've loved being part of such a worthwhile community, and the next really compelling question is rarely ever more than a day or two away for me round here.

Thank you, and here's to a brighter 2021 for the whole of this sub.

Congrats to all the winners! It is with heavy heart that I hand over my Flair's Choice crown but it couldn't go to a better batch of historians!

I am utterly speechless. Like... wow.

Given the amazing high quality of responses, the sheer brilliance of the contributors, and the collective expertise of those involved here, to be even nominated was a singular and spectacular honour.

To come in 2nd in User’s Choice?

Just plain wow...

Thank you. I am humbled and grateful.

This sub is awesome. A huge thank you to the mods as well for keeping this sub from turning into the dumpster fire that consumes so many decent subs.

And a personal thank you for the keepers of the book list. I always go there first when I'm looking for a new book.

Congrats! Always happy to post this comment when it won't be removed: This sub is the best of the best!! Thanks to all who make that happen!

Thank you so much to all the people who take their time and knowledge to contribute to this place. I love history, and with an undergrad history degree, know just enough to know that I basically know nothing. So I really appreciate the fantastically sourced answers here and have spent so, so much time falling down rabbit holes from one answer or another.

This is my absolute favorite sub. Thanks to all who not only won, but to those who participated

A huge, amazing congratz to our brilliant winners! You folks are what makes this community the incredible place that it is!

Thank you to /u/BullsLawDan, /u/thefeckamIdoing , /u/undercoverclassicist

Well, thanks!

I feel I am getting too much credit here... The answer was more than enough!

And congrats to the winners, and a general thank you to all those who help keeping this place up.

Congratulations!!!

Finally, I can contribute to a thread in this sub

Wow, I'm super flattered.... but.... are you saying there are actual real prizes? For a bit of fun with an old TV show I like?

Amazing! And I didn't even have to build a Cart of Death to win!

I guess if there's a mug I will have a vessel for my Girlie Girl beer! What do I do?

I can't help but notice all of these questions are about European history. Perhaps there should be awards that improve the visibility of non-European history as well.

I just recently found this sub and while I’m always slightly baffled by the amount of deleted comments, I love coming to see the questions even still, and I really love that a mod team works their tails off (by deleting those pesky comments) to keep it a safe, educational, and interesting space for everyone.

Reddit seems to have gotten wild lately so this has been really nice. I love history, don’t know really anything at all but I love to read these well thought out replies and learn more about all sorts of cool things.

Huge congratulations to all of this year's winners!

Personally I want to thank /u/BullsLawDan for his incredible answer one more time, as I believe it is the most enjoyable read I have found not only in this sub, but on this entire platform. Well earned, good sir, well earned.

Also, and I'm not under duress at the moment with a large mug wielding historian behind me dictating this, I want to give a huge thanks to the mods for yet another reason this is the best sub.

Congratulations to /u/BullsLawDan and /u/mikedash from this 2015 best-of winner!

Congrats and thank you to our winners, for their tremendous contributions!

And a thank you to the mods for making this sub so special!

Thank you to everyone who contributes to this sub—the question askers, the knowledgeable repliers, & especially the mods who keep the integrity of the whole thing. Unlike many other subs, I find this one really makes me concentrate & leads me to want to learn more. The outcome is I realize that the more I know, the more I realize I don’t know. I guess that’s part of the fun though.

Wow! This is an unexpected honor, as always! It’s always wonderful to be able to contribute to such a wonderful community.

The moderation in this community, and the member-base enabled me to write my winning answer. In many other communities, a second, dissenting answer might have been shunned, removed, or abused. But the community on AskHistorians is such that I was comfortable enough to do so. So thanks to the community and mods for keeping this sub civil and for always leaving questions open for further discussion.

It’s been a hard year. I’ve had my own slew of troubles getting the motivation to keep working. But if I can give someone else some entertainment or momentary distraction from their own troubles, then I’m happy to do it!

It's a pity the question about African students in the Soviet Union didn't get an answer. Would anyone like to take a shot at it?

Amazing! I wonder if the flairs here can answer a meta question of mine:

Could you describe why certain answers rank so highly compared to an "average" answer on the sub? Essentially, any explanation on the rankings? Quite curious about the judging process.

Of course, my thanks to everyone as always for creating such a wonderful community.

Miles de felicitaciones, one and all!

I love this. it adds a real sense of value to an excellent Reddit community that respects the historical method.

Those were excellent reads, thanks all!

The start of this new year was rough. The pandemic affects my life on such an intimate and personal level that I'm willing to take any bit of sun sent my way.

This is more than just some sunshine.

A year ago when I first contributed I was scared senseless because I felt this sub was the "real deal". I was afraid to see my post brought down but instead u/Gankom listed me in his Sunday Digest and reassured me that my post was a great read. Since then we joked that Gankom makes a lot of significant others happy by listing flairs and AskHistorians members every Sunday. I mean, we gloat proudly when we see our names on the Digest and our significant others do see our smiles. They get to enjoy our sheer pride and joy.

Gankom made a lot of people happy this year and he's the real MVP. He should get a Nobel Price at this point.

I turned to AskHistorians at a point in my life when I couldn't teach history yet and when I was a PhD drop out. This sub really helped me keep in touch with what I like the most about history and the study of the past. For that I'd like to thank the mod team who makes a freaking wonderful job keepint this subreddit clean.

I made a few happy encounters. I had a crush or two on some of you flairs for your minds and your knowledge is so sexy. I couldn't be happier to see u/CoeurdeLionne and u/J-Force get the first place in the Flair vote award. Plus, J-Force is actually the one who set up my awarded contribution with a former answer of his. I mean... dude... could you be more of a bad-ass? (Asking for a friend in search of a role-model.)

Yesterday I got really bad news, consoled my crying fiancee and got drunk on my best friend's ginger beer that I'd kept most preciously for months. My great-uncle is down with covid and so is my grand-mother (but she's a tough nut to crack and she's kicking it out of her system like Rambo). My aunt has cancer. My father-in-law lost his job as an airline pilot as his house is still under construction. Some of my students are battling depression. My fiancee is overly tired, stressed and weakened from the sanitory restrictions put in place in our country because we can't see our friends as much as we'd like and she's been working from home since the start of the pandemic. [I'm not sharing those facts to get any comfort but to remind you, if you read this, that you're not alone in your ordeals. We all have to stay strong in this day and age! I believe in you.]

Nevertheless, being voted best 2020 runner-up contributor on AskHistorians brought a wide smile on my face and lightened my heart. Thank you.

Thank you for giving serious answers to great questions!

so much wonderful reading!

I missed a few of those, thank you for putting it together and doing the amazing job you always do.

More can always be said ™, but congratulations!

I'm honoured (and perhaps a bit surprised). Thank you, thank you, and thank you, and i hope 2021 brings some more opportunities to share more knowledge, wherever I can!

Thanks to everyone who voted! This sub allows me some much needed time of Titanic-nerdery in my busy life and also allows me to answer different questions than the ones that come up consistently on reddit (No, She wasn't speeding! No, her fourth funnel wasn't a dummy!).

Thanks to the mods as well, and all those who contribute. See you on the next Titanic thread!

Can I comment freely in this thread as a dullard? My life is complete now.

Thank you very much for this honour & award! I'm currently slogging through some very dry essays & necessary reading about historiography (not a favourite of mine!) and so this award came as a great pick-me-up and an even greater excuse to browse this brilliant subreddit, from which I have learnt so much.

I am immensly greatful to those who provided such comprehensive answers to my question, in particular u/mikedash and u/J-force as well as the mods who have worked so hard to make this subreddit in to the community it is; academic, non-judgemental, and comprehensive.

Once I have fully carved out my own niche in history & feel confident enough to do so, I greatly look forward to giving back to this truly remarkable subreddit.

I love this sub. I have spent the entire afternoon reading all of these amazing questions and responses and I have learned so much. In addition I personally want to thank and congratulate u/yourlocaltitanicguy for the funniest one-liner in all of these threads. Among many serious, methodical and at times somber testimonies of the titanic sinking, here lies this gem:

Washington Dodes describes seeing the ship "bust in two". He was 4 years old at the time.

Well done to all the winners!

This is a flattering way to start the year.

My two academic ambitions for 2021: finish this sodding, delayed PhD- and answer more questions on this wonderful site.

This is alternative facts. You guys are all the best! :)

An astounding array of big brains on display here! Congrats to all the winners!