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.
Welcome dear readers to yet another fabulous Sunday Digest! My favorite time of the week, and an excellent chance to share the wealth of AskHistorians near and far! We have some important special news, and don’t forget to thank, upvote and show some love to those awesome writers who put so much time into this little corner of the internet.
First we have the super very important awesome news! Get the Best AskHistorians Content Beamed Directly to Your Brain with the AskHistorians Newsletter! Sign Up for It Here!. Seriously, I cannot state just how hyped I am for this.
Looking for a book, or want to tell people about one you just read? The perfect thread is the Thursday Reading and rec!
Kick back and relax with the Friday Free for All thread.
/u/PM_ME_UR_SADDLEBREDS, with a teaser from /u/Starwarsnerd222 took the spotlight in the Saturday Showcase.
There’s a marvelous META asking Can we have a periodic "New Pop History Books That Aren't Garbage" Feature?
And with that my folder is empty, the links lie copied, and its back to the shadows of the subreddit to lurk for another week. You (yes you specifically) have yourself a fantastic week and I’ll see you next Sunday!
Catching up on February
/u/AdhesivenessLow630 answered Unions in the United States seem much weaker and more conciliatory now than 100 years ago. How has their relationship to capital changed? Why do their goals and tactics seem so much less grand now?
/u/Adrian5156 on Is there a 'feigned amnesia' over British and European Imperialism in academia?
/u/ahistorylover answered If hard drugs were commonly available as medicine back in the day, why wasn't drug addiction more of an issue?
Time for another installment of "The Real Questions", where take a look at the wilder side of r/AskHistorians! Here, I give a shout-out to people asking the more atypical questions on this sub: questions that investigate amusing, unique, bizarre, or less common aspects of history, as well as ones that take us through intriguing adventures of historiography/methodology or niche/overlooked topics and moments in history. It's always a wide (and perhaps confusing) assortment of topics, but at the end of the day, when I see them I think, "Finally, someone is asking the real questions!"
Looks like my list is kinda dainty this week, but that's more on me. Feel free to chime in with any questions *you* think thought were pretty real as well.
Below are my entries for the week - questions with a link to an older response are marked with ‡. Let me know what you think were the realest questions you saw this week, and be sure to check out my full list of Real Questions.
Sunday is also a chance to shout out the overlooked questions that still hope for the attention of an expert. These are just a handful of the ones that caught my eye, but feel free to post your own!
/u/-Knul- needs help hammering out details on I'm a 12th century blacksmith in continental Europe. For some reason I need to move to a different city far from home. How difficult is it to set up shop in an unfamiliar place?
/u/RusticBohemian asked if Did European countries generally respect the Monroe Doctrine? How frequently did the US have to throw its weight around to enforce it?
/u/hellotushy needs some help with How did toilet paper become the default post-poop cleaning method?