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Posted by /u/Reebok_MF_classics

Why are Māoris considered indigenous but Falklanders aren’t?

As I understand it, the Māori were originally a people from across the sea who sailed to New Zealand, an uninhabited island at the time, and then began settling it. They formed a bond with the land when it was empty, and, as such, are correctly and universally considered the ind…

Posted by /u/snugglebunny822

Of the roughly 1.6 million Homestead Act patents issued between 1862–1934, is there any data or academic estimate on what percentage of that land remains in the hands of the original family line today?

Posted by /u/StrawberryPatient307

How empty (of population) was the ancient world?

When I look at Bronze Age maps, I see states and civilizations around the major rivers, not far from those areas the map appears completely empty. How should this be interpreted? Does it mean there simply weren’t many humans overall, or were humans living everywhere but not in t…

Posted by /u/Old_Temperature_5667

Is there a survivorship bias affecting the understanding of the lethality of "tarring and feathering," in Colonial America?

Help me settle a debate about the potential lethality of "tarring and feathering" in Colonial America. Because the science doesn't seem to match the records. I'm discussing (read: getting into an argument regarding) the "tarring and feathering" scene in the miniseries "John Adam…

Posted by /u/labarge3

AMA about the history of goblins from their folkloric origins in the Middle Ages all the way to the Covid-19-era phenomenon of going “goblin mode”

Hi all – my name is Matt King. I am an associate professor of history at the University of South Florida, and my latest book is A History of Goblins, which was published by Palgrave Macmillan this May. It considers the history of these fascinating creatures (and their many deriv…

Posted by /u/Impressive_Jello_909

When was 'Space' first called 'Space ', and what was it called before?

Who actually coined the term 'Space'? I find it weird to think that there was a time when people looked at the sky and would call it something other than space. I assume that in different cultures it was called different things, but when did it become more universally known as '…

Posted by /u/morbihann

Was "the beach" ever used recreationally i the middle ages?

So beaches obviously have always been useful for various activities scavange of washed out cargo, easy place to go in and with boats, etc.) but I got curious, is there any evidence of medieval people ever going to the beach for leisure. I cant imagine tanning was that needed, gi…

Posted by /u/Odd_Old_Professional

Children's Sleepovers: where does this tradition come from?

My youngest is having a sleepover, and it is kind of a weird custom. Where does this come from? How old is it? Was there an older custom that this grew out of?

Posted by /u/Naive-Actuary4414

Why do Western countries like the UK, US etc consider Greece and the Roman Empire as the basis of their "civilisation"?

Okay so I would like to explain my context so that you guys can better understand my question: I am a tribal, Indian guy from the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. And here in India, the basis of the Indian "civilisation" are considered to have been formed by Vedic cultur…

Posted by /u/PneumaticFizz

If someone died in 1905 at 65 of 'exhaustion,' is that diagnosis likely accurate? Or is it potentially a euphemism or a misdiagnosis?

I have an ancestor who died under the title's circumstances and was curious if this was an antiquated term. There was a great deal of stress and generational trauma in his life, so it seems entirely plausible that he died from exhaustion, but was curious if there was any precede…

Posted by /u/Ok_Iron_5381

The Lord Jesus Christ is real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen! I want to share my testimony about the Almighty God the Father and His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared to me in a vision given by the Holy Spirit…

Posted by /u/grapefruitcanteloupe

Why did so many communist parties historically view homosexuality as “bourgeois decadence”?

It seems that until relatively recently, most communist parties and leaders throughout history were against homosexuality. Some examples being Fidel Castro calling homosexuality a “bourgeois trait”, as well as the French Communist Party calling homosexuality “the rubbish of capi…

Posted by /u/ProfessionalKnees

Did women in 1920s America really wear their stockings rolled down and apply rouge to their knees for a night out, as the musical Chicago implies?

In the song All That Jazz from the musical Chicago, Velma Kelly sings: Come on babe, why don't we paint the town And all that jazz I'm gonna rouge my knees, and roll my stockings down And all that jazz Was common for women to do this ahead of a night out? Why? As someone who has…

Posted by /u/t-licus

Did medieval people know that the past looked different?

In medieval European art, you often see scenes and characters from the Bible depicted as if they lived in the artist’s present. Think Roman legionaires in full plate armor, Moses and the Israelites dressing like 14th century nobles, or Jesus’s Jerusalem looking like medieval Nur…

Posted by /u/screwyoushadowban

Did the US Navy SEALs have a reputation for "frat boy behavior" *before* the Great War on Terror?

For pretty much the whole time I've been alive the Navy SEALs have been a prominent part of pop culture surrounding the US military. Like, "ex-Navy SEAL" is near the top of the go-to shorthand list for an action movie or TV show writer to use to say "this character is a badass".…