The Druze religion accepted new members and actively evangelized between its founding in 1017 and the "Closing of the Divine Call" in 1043, when it ended new membership and became an exclusively hereditary faith. What social classes, people, and communities in the Fatimid Caliphate became Druze? (old.reddit.com)
[META?] "The Nazis improved the economy", "Clean Wehrmacht", "The Wehrmacht had the best tanks and was a highly mechanised army" ... are but some of the popular history falsehoods that seem to just not want to die. How do historians deal with that? (old.reddit.com)
During the War of 1812, the United States’ war effort was financed in large part by loans from a British merchant bank, Barings. How was it possible for a British financial institution to directly support an enemy state at a time of war? (old.reddit.com)
How was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a person who was black and a bastard, able to become a general in the french army in the 18th century?? (old.reddit.com)
The 14th century French nobleman Robert de Thibouville sided with enemies of the French Crown not once, but twice, and not only survived both these betrayals but retained his lands and title. What made de Thibouville so either beloved or invaluable as to absolve him of two discrete acts of treason? (old.reddit.com)
Was it legal for a British newspaper or person to openly and publically support the Patriots/Americans during the Revolutionary War in Great Britain? Or was this considered treason? (old.reddit.com)
I’ve seen in crime shows and movies that witnesses are able to describe the suspect in detail, enough to make a sketch. Am I the only one who couldn’t even ’describe’ my own family and friends? Let alone a stranger. (old.reddit.com)
According to the Pew Research center, 29% of South Koreans identify as Christians. Why were Christian missionaries so successful at converting people in South Korea, whereas they experienced far less success in other East and Southeast Asian countries? (old.reddit.com)
Both Denmark and Sweden-Norway were awarded "most-favoured-nation" status by the Qing in the aftermath of the Opium War. How did they achieve this? What was the history of Scandinavian diplomacy in China up to that point? (old.reddit.com)
What happens if a person who was previously vaccinated against rabies gets bitten by a rabid animal (and doesn’t go get booster shots or anything, they just rely on their previous vaccination)? (old.reddit.com)
Back when pregnancy was extremely deadly, did they take into account size difference between the (to be) married man and woman (especially hip size for women)? (old.reddit.com)
Were franchise opportunities given to Black people in the South prior to the Civil Rights Movement? Let's say I wanted to own a Texico gas station. Would it have been difficult to start one? (old.reddit.com)
Many people seem to instinctively fear spiders, snakes, centipedes, and other 'creepy-crawlies'. Is this fear a survival mechanism hardwired into our DNA like fearing heights and the dark, or does it come from somewhere else? (old.reddit.com)
How instrumental was Heinrich Kramer (author of the Malleus Maleficarum) in kicking off the European witch hysteria? Can it really all be laid at his feet? (old.reddit.com)
Mothers with a daughter, do you tell your girl that she is beautiful? And if so, do you genuinely think that she is beautiful? When you say it, do you refer to physical beauty or other 'types' of beauty? (old.reddit.com)
I have health insurance for the first time in my life as a 30 year old and I don't know who to contact. How do I get to the point where I can see a doctor for things? (old.reddit.com)
People of Iranian ancestry seem over-represented as authors of early Islamic religious texts and historical works. I've heard that this is because Iran had a literary culture while the Arabs did not. But I've also heard very little Sassanian writing exists. Are there 'lost' Sassanian works? (old.reddit.com)
Coffee was first cultivated in Ethiopia, first brewed as a drink in Yemen, and was first introduced to Europe by the Turks. How then did "Java", an Indonesian island, become the source of a popular name for the drink while no other place had that happen? (old.reddit.com)
If someone had a hand-gun and removed the magazine to "prove it was empty", is it possible there could still be a bullet in the chamber which they could fire? (old.reddit.com)
The US federal government grants far more money to some states than it collects in tax revenue from them, effectively redistributing the nation's wealth from the wealthiest states to the poorer ones. When did state-to-state redistribution become a major outcome of federal tax/spending policy? (old.reddit.com)
Has anyone noticed that newer commercials almost exclusively pick non-white actors/actresses, and if they do pick a white person, it is usually a female? (old.reddit.com)
Why do people get mad at billionaires for evading taxes but no one is mad at the government for mismanaging trillions of dollars over the last 20 years (old.reddit.com)
What is the polite equivalence to sir/ma'am when speaking to a non-binary person (or someone who you think might be NB and don't want to offend)? (old.reddit.com)
Science fiction authors have often taken locations that were poorly understood at the time and used these for their stories (H.G Wells with Mars for example). Before explorers had charted the Arctic and Antarctic, was there ever a time of such fantasies set in the (then) unknown polar regions? (old.reddit.com)
In medieval times, how often did combat *not* take place after both armies met on the field? Was a peaceful resolution between both sides after a show of force often the expected outcome? (old.reddit.com)
Anyone else go through life feeling sub par? I have zero skills, zero ambition, crappy memory etc.? I feel broken, because I wasn’t made right? (old.reddit.com)
We hear a lot of the United States' treatment of Native Americans during their Westward expansion, but how did Russia treat local populations during their colonization of Siberia? (old.reddit.com)
If the Universal Studios logo were actually real, and huge solid letters spelling "UNIVERSAL" orbited the Earth, how fast would it have to be moving? (old.reddit.com)
Was there a clear cultural/political difference between the thirteen colonies of America and the British colonies in Canada before the revolutionary war? Or was "Canada" simply the group of colonies that didn't rebel? (old.reddit.com)
Most 50+ people I know in Europe describe the 1970s as the decade where "the last farmer", "the last fisherman" or the last craftsman of their village passed away. Is this a generality, or were the 70s a momentous generational change for European societies? (old.reddit.com)
Why did the internet enable Travis Scott for so long when there's all this evidence coming out from past years showing how he was violent/abusive/terrible all along? (old.reddit.com)
My Japanese grandmother is labeled as white on my mother's birth certificate. Was this a common practice in states with anti-miscegenation laws? (old.reddit.com)
It's the middle of the night and the Ku Klux Klan has just arrived at my house and looking to do harm. I have right to bear arms and a right to self-defense, so I start blastin'. Do I have any type of protection under the law in the Jim Crow South? Am I arrested the following morning? (old.reddit.com)
AskScience AMA Series: Greetings, Science fans. I'm a paleontologist, science editor and author, Henry Gee. AMA about evolution, extinction, apocalyptic disaster and my latest book 'A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth' (old.reddit.com)
Mark Zuckerberg covers his computer’s camera, and he seems like a guy who should know whether or not he should. What do you think is your most justified paranoia? (old.reddit.com)
How did most baby boomers go from “not believing everything you see on the Internet” to believing almost everything they see on social media? (old.reddit.com)
How is it possible that each star in the sky puts out enough photons that I can see it from any slight deviation in my position on earth? (old.reddit.com)
In Midsummer Night's Dream, Theseus decides to watch the Rude Mechanicals' play specifically because he expects it will be entertainingly terrible. Nowadays many watch movies like "The Room" for the same reason. Just how old is the idea of "so bad it's good" entertainment? (old.reddit.com)
Teenagers are at school from about 8-3. How are they supposed to work fast food jobs during breakfast and lunch shifts if they’re the ones who some think should be the only ones working those jobs? (old.reddit.com)
On December 15, 1970, the USSR's Venera 7 probe landed on the surface of Venus and managed to be the first (and only) mission to successfully transmit data from the surface of Venus to Earth. How big was the impact of this feat at the time? Did the US plan any similar missions? (old.reddit.com)
Should doctors be forced to disclose any commission or incentive received by Pharma companies when they prescribe any given med to their patient? (old.reddit.com)
When Europeans traded with India before British rule, did they ever describe India as being multiple countries and reference the different countries there? Or did they always just refer to the whole of India as one thing? (old.reddit.com)
What's the point of creating a better life for your kids if you're also gonna complain that they didn't suffer or work as hard as you did? (old.reddit.com)
In the Seinfeld episode "The Junior Mint", Jerry and Kramer are watching an operation of a man who gets his spleen removed. Kramer is eating Junior Mints, and fumbles one that drops into the cavity of the patient, unbeknownst to the doctors. What outcome would a patient have IRL if this happened? (old.reddit.com)
What do you do to cope when the sun starts setting at around 5:30 pm this time of year? How did you cope with your whole evening being dark? (old.reddit.com)
In Saving Private Ryan (1998) Tom Hanks (b. 1956) and Ted Danson (b. 1943) play U.S. Army/Airbone characters with the rank of Captain. Was it common for men in their early 40s to early 50s to be in such active combat roles in the US military during WWII? (old.reddit.com)
As we know today a lot of poisons need some time to take effect. How useful were food tasters employed to prevent poisoning for their kings / rulers really? Was the profession a placebo? (old.reddit.com)
In the Bible, Moses and an Egyptian Pharaoh Were Involved in a Bitter Dispute. Were the Events like the “Angel of Death” and Various Plagues by “Yahweh” Recorded by Egyptians? (old.reddit.com)