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.
Have there been cases where declassified archives have drastically changed historian's perception of some historical events? Have the conclusions 'sticked' in the collective memories or did the old vision preserve (or did nobody care)?
Who typically designed the uniforms in 18th and 19th century European armies? How frequently were the uniforms updated?
Following on from April Fool's Day, our latest podcast episode, with /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov and /u/commiespaceinvader, is on the subject of one of the great hoaxes of the 20th century, the Hitler Diaries!
I keep wondering about Harry Seldon's profession in Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Is it forever going to be an umattainable science fiction trope, like lead-into-gold or the northwest passage? Or might our application of statistical analysis get good enough that aggregates of humans become as predictable as molecules of gas in chemistry equations?
In this current time, it seems to me that the science of economics would have to merge with the science of ecology in order to usefully predict historical trends.
Economic bias against including externalized costs, and ecological bias against including humans in analysis designed for "lower animals" -these seem like the main obstacles to Harry Seldon's dream.
Though the science fiction story seemed much too precise a prediction to be realistic. I'd call it good, if we could simply avoid these economic boom-bust cycles, through better planning.
Are there YouTube channels or other easy introductions to world history centered around the Middle East in the Middle Ages? Most history narratives I came across seemed to center around Europe - from Persia to Greek to Romans to dark age to renaissance etc. But I’ve learned that many key events in Europe were actually reactions to events in the Middle East. For example, the First Crusade as a reaction to conflict between eastern Roman Empire and Seljuks, the age of discovery as a response to Turkish monopoly of spice trade, etc. Since they were literally at the center of the world in that period, a world history centered around the Middle East should provide a better perspective.
Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap
Friday, March 26 - Thursday, April 01
###Top 10 Posts
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 7,260 | 290 comments | [Meta] Top commenters of r/historians, what gives you the motivation to write a detailed elaborate write-up for 10/20 karma points. What do you get in return for spending hours of your time answering an internet question ? |
| 5,745 | 100 comments | Why do we translate Native American names into English, but seemingly no other culture's names? |
| 5,652 | 66 comments | Remember the Alamo... but why isn’t slavery mentioned as the main reason for the Texas Revolution? Actually slavery is often not even mentioned at all when talking about the war with Mexico 🤔 |
| 5,121 | 95 comments | A major method of advancement in many RPGs is loot from slain foes. Would a medieval foot soldier or levied peasant have been able to keep or use any weapons he might loot if he happened to manage to kill a knight or man-at-arms? Did any ordinary soldiers get rich from looted gear? |
| 4,433 | 126 comments | What even was the German plan to defeat America? |
| 4,365 | 71 comments | On this day in 1867 America bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million and paid... by check?! Was this normal for deals of such significance? How did nations typically purchase land from one another during this era? |
| 4,159 | 77 comments | I was looking at the floor plans to old Sears Homes from the early 1900s. At one point they go from naming things Parlors and Chambers to Living Rooms and Bedrooms. What caused this change? Was this a cultural thing? Why did we go from having parlors/chambers to living rooms and bedrooms? |
| 3,493 | 113 comments | The Hindenburg Disaster was 'only' the fifth-deadliest airship crash, and the last one before WW2, yet seems to have made a far greater impression on (Western) popular consciousness than earlier crashes like the Akron or the Dixmude. Why has the Hindenburg managed to be the best-remembered? |
| 3,050 | 45 comments | Did x- rays reveal a hidden epidemic of child abuse? |
| 2,726 | 79 comments | Why exactly did Nazi Germany and Japan ally amongst one another? Nazi ideology considered the Japanese inferior and Japanese ideology considered the Japanese to be superior to Europeans so what was the potential endgame between the two? Also, why didn't Japan open a 2nd front against the Soviets? |
###Top 10 Comments
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In Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino plays an Australian slaver who uses the slur "blackie," unlike the American characters. Is this accurate to how an Australian would have talked in the 1850s?
When did the Germanic tribes stop being considered Barbarians? I’m having an issue visualizing how the a group like the Francs went from being considered made up of Germanic barbarians to having kings and fancy clothes.