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.
Another beautiful Sunday morning means another beautiful Sunday Digest! Our algorithms have been working hard to compile a least of only the finest AskHistorians threads for your perusal. From one continent to another, we’ve got something to interest everyone.
Don’t forget to check out the usual weekly fare and upvote your favorites! Thank those great writers for everything they do to.
We have a new podcast episode! AskHistorians Minisode - Uprisings in 19th Century China with EnclavedMicrostate
Then there’s a fantastic AMA: I am Alex Wellerstein, historian of science, author of the new book RESTRICTED DATA: THE HISTORY OF NUCLEAR SECRECY IN THE UNITED STATES — ask me anything about nuclear history or government secrecy with /u/restricteddata.
We declared the BEST answers of March!
We had some banter, GG&S discussion and more in the Friday Free for All.
/u/WelfOnTheShelf visited the Saturday Showcase.
And that wraps us up for another week! Enjoy the digest, dive deep into some history, and I’ll see you once again next Sunday!
Sunday is also a chance to share some of the interesting yet overlooked questions that caught our eye. Feel free to post your own, or call out others that you liked?
/u/Username-Is-Taken-yo asked How would an 18th century ship survive against even one broadside? What would be the damage control procedures?
/u/Warm-Sheepherder-597 asked What kinds of tools did Europeans in the Middle Ages use attempting to detect lies?
/u/TheHondoGod asked How would a medieval audience have perceived or reacted to the powerful Morganna le Fay in Arthurian Stories?
Time for another installment of "The Real Questions", where we 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!"
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.