The Feed

Posted by /u/yaymukund_

I read a thing that said South Indian languages (e.g. Tamil, Kannada, Telegu) have curved scripts because they were written on leaves and writing straight lines was more likely to tear the leaves. Is that true?

Posted by /u/FunYesterday4511

How did the Nazis identify Jews if they didn't the wear Star of David badge?

I know that during WW2, Jewish citizens were forced to wear identifiers on their clothing to show that they were Jewish. How did they (the Nazis) know which people were Jews and how did they enforce the wearing of the star? And if they refused to wear the star, how would anyone…

Posted by /u/bo-bebop

META: Historians of the Bronze Age/Mediterranean cultures, how are we enjoying this sudden influx of Odyssey-related questions?

What are people getting most wrong? Are there any questions that haven’t been asked you’d like to deep dive into? Any thoughts on the movie?

Posted by /u/hisholinessleoxiii

In shows like “The Gilded Age” or “Downton Abbey”, they sometimes say that men are staying/sleeping “at the club”. What kind of clubs were these?

Were they charitable/social organizations similar to the Elks Club today, or were they more like country clubs? Did members have assigned rooms, or did they just get an empty one? The way they describe it they always sounds like the club is a kind of hotel they can stay at on a…

Posted by /u/Mocha4040

When did the modern concept of staying hydrated develop?

I notice that even though I can extremely easily have access to clean fresh water, I often forget to drink water for hours until I start feeling bad. In the past, people didn't always have the same kind of easy access, didn't work in environments with clean water available etc.…

Posted by /u/morango_verde__

At what point in history could chicken nuggets realistically have been made?

I’m not asking when chicken nuggets were actually invented. Instead, I’m wondering when they could have been made if someone had come up with the idea. At what point in history did humanity already have all the necessary ingredients, tools, and culinary knowledge? For example, d…

Posted by /u/ThatOneBLUScout

Did old engines get compared enough to horses to actually standardize "Horsepower" as a metric, or is there more of a story behind "Horsepower" becoming the standard metric for engines?

Horsepower is the standard for gauging engine power nowadays, but the term has always slightly felt a bit archaic, especially for modern engines. I don't know why I need to know that ~250 horses would be the equivalent of one engine nowadays, yet that is the standards, so I was…

Posted by /u/WavesAndSaves

In 1699, the Christian Holy League defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War, a war sometimes called "The 14th Crusade". By the 1800s, European states were intervening in wars explicitly to aid the Ottomans. When did Islam and t…

Posted by /u/FakeRedditRedditor

Historically, did certain civilizations express remorse or regret when an animal species became extinct?

Posted by /u/Some-Peak3924

Given that millions of French people in the 1790s didn’t actually speak ‘French,’ how did the Revolutionary Government explain new laws to rural regions?

Posted by /u/EarlyDecemberDawn

What usually happened to a noblewoman who become a mistress and had an illegitimate child with her overlord or other nobleman?

I read the biography of Tancred of Lecce, King of Sicily, who was an illegitimate son of Roger III and his mistress Emma, a daughter of Count of Lecce. Roger III was said to have married to another woman after his affair with Emma, however there was little to no mention of what…

Posted by /u/bineybash

What is considered the world’s first professional team sport?

While there may not be an official answer due to lack of evidence, I’d like to know what contender stands strong.

Posted by /u/Prestigious_Tie_8635

God touched my heart

I grew up in the LDS religion. It was my understanding that salvation was earned. If I did all I could, then God would accept me into the highest kingdom of heaven. It was all arbitrary rules (like not drinking coffee, not showing shoulders) so I went through the motions without…

Posted by /u/Caligapiscis

How did Romans travel to Britannia?

As in, what mode of transport and what route? I always pictured the initial invasion as comprising legions crossing the Channel from Gaul, but the alternative (assuming Rome itself as the starting point) would be to sail through the Strait of Gibraltar, around Gaul, and up to Br…

Posted by /u/chicken-adile

What kind of coffee would have been made in 1930s Paris and how did espresso and Nespresso conquer each European county’s coffee culture?

I was recently reading a novel written in the 1940s that takes place in 1930s Paris, France and it mentions “putting on a pot of coffee”. This got me wondering what kind of coffee would have been made at home and how would have it been prepared in France in the 1930s? Additional…

Posted by /u/JarlFrank

English was influenced by Norman French in the centuries after William's conquest, but was Anglo-Norman French also influenced by Anglo-Saxon?

It's well-known that the modern English language was significantly influenced by Norman French during the middle ages, when the Norman nobility spoke French while the native Anglo-Saxons kept speaking their own language. As it happens with linguistic contact, the languages start…

Posted by /u/Truebluejello

Does Dobbs correlate with the Male Lonliness Epidemic?

I've been wondering about something, and I'm genuinely curious if there's research on it. There's been a lot of discussion about rising male loneliness, fewer young people dating, and declining relationship formation. But one factor I rarely see mentioned is the Dobbs decision.…

Posted by /u/Extension-Beat7276

Why did the Ancient Greeks not consider themselves the inventors of philosophy?

It is well established that Greek civilization absorbed many elements from the civilizations of the ancient Near East. The Greek alphabet was adapted from the Phoenicians, monumental sculpture drew heavily on Egyptian artistic conventions, and Greek astronomy, mathematics, medic…

Posted by /u/Lochumility

Eternal suffering is something my mind simply cannot comprehend

I just can’t get my head around the idea of experiencing pain with no end. Not for an hour, a year, or a thousand years - but eternity. I’m not saying that to question God. I know hell wasn’t created for us, but the thought of eternal suffering is genuinely terrifying to compreh…

Posted by /u/DepressedTreeman

Was the South going to secede if Stephen A. Douglas won in the 1860 election?

Reading A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, she mentions that Douglas, by 1860, became hated in the South for his Popular Sovereignty policy, an example of Southern radicialization during the 1850s. Does this mean that the South would have seceded if he won?