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Posted by /u/CaptainMikul

Why did it take so long to invent the T Shirt?

I was watching a video of a guy putting on a chiton, and it's basically just a square, turned into a tube, and then stitched to make a neck hole. A lot of ancient garments seemed quite involved to put on. Even early modern period, buttons are on everything. What is it about a t-…

Posted by /u/jocundry

Would an African or Western European be more exotic to the Ancient Greeks?

There is a particular movie out right now that has created controversy because a woman of Greek mythology is portrayed by an actor of African descent. Certain people are concerned that this is not historically accurate. However, a number of the movie's cast look like they are of…

Posted by /u/Melodic-Special4768

When and why did white people stop putting cinnamon on meat?

In most (all?) cuisines except Western European/Anglo/North American cultures, cinnamon is a savory spice, used in soups and stews and rubbed on meat and put in all sorts of (delicious!) dishes. In white cuisine, it's pretty much relegated to baked goods and hot drinks, except f…

Posted by /u/Powerful-Mix-8592

Why did so few French people migrated to the Americas during the 19th century?

During the 19th century, there was a wave of emigration out of Europe, driven by poverty, famine, endless warfare, etc. The top emigrants were the Germans fleeing poverty-stricken and heavily militarized/war-ravaged German states, followed by Irish fleeing the Potato Famine, Ita…

Posted by /u/fhota1

To what extent is the story of the workers on Qin Shi Huang's tomb being buried alive with him believed to be true?

So Im sure the work on the tomb was brutal and a lot of people died doing it, especially given his love of mercury and how bad that is for you, but the part about how after he was buried the tomb was sealed with hundreds to thousands of skilled craftsmen inside so nobody could k…

Posted by /u/Davey_BPM

In the movie Kingdom of Heaven, we see Balian of Ibelin digging a well to show the locals there is water to be used, the locals really didn't know this?

We've all seen the white saviour trope, how would Balian have known to dig wells? Ignoring that why did the locals who have lived there for hundreds of years not know to dig for water?

Posted by /u/metacyan

These Catholic sisters want to start a new order with a difficult mission: Helping clergy abuse survivors

Posted by /u/DopplerRadio

Why did Suriname end up with such a large Indian diaspora?

I recently learned that Suriname has a much higher Muslim and Hindu population than most countries in the Americas, which led to me trying to understand why that was the case. To quote Suriname's Wikipedia article: "Hindus are the second largest religious group in Suriname, comp…

Posted by /u/Extension-Beat7276

Why are Non-Greeks so prevalent as foundational figures in Greek Mythology?

I have noticed that especially for the oldest non-divine figures we see a lot non Greeks becoming very important to the mythological lineages. For example we have Cadmus and Europa, who were both Phoenician. Then we have also the Lydian/Phyrgian Pelops where the Péloponnèse gets…

Posted by /u/Legal_School_9375

I'm an atheist but I really just want to say that Jesus is cool

I've read the Bible and Jesus is just very awesome and I like him I honestly would like to believe Christianity is real because if Christianity is right then this guy might have his second coming soon and I'd love to meet him he just seems extremely chill and like a guy I could…

Posted by /u/Fickle_Quiet_7707

Was the singing of La Marseillaise allowed in German occupied France?

In Casablanca, there's a famous scene in Humphrey Bogart's Café where its patrons defiantly sing it in the midst of several German officers singing "Die Wacht am Rhine." Would singing La Marseillaise in public be dangerous for a Parisian in 1942?