Friday Free-for-All | December 27, 2024

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Previously

Today:

You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.

As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.

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Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap

Friday, December 20 - Thursday, December 26, 2024

Top 10 Posts

score	comments	title & link
1,663	69 comments	I read a claim that the 40-hour work week had been conceived with the assumption that a spouse would be around to handle other tasks such as cleaning, cooking, caring for children and shopping, and therefore it has become outdated. What is the historicity of this claim?
1,131	40 comments	The villain in the 1943 Batman serial has a closed-circuit television security camera. Did these already exist in 1943 or was this prescient science fiction?
884	58 comments	[Great Question!] Why were prison gigs such a thing in the mid 20th Century?
872	24 comments	In WWII it's really common to see the belligerents listed as 'The Axis' and 'The Allies'. Surely the axis powers did not refer to their enemies as 'The Allies', so what would the Nazis, the fascist Italians or the Japanese call their enemies?
757	59 comments	So I’m reading Count of Monte Cristo, in which Edmond Dantes is accused of being a Bonapartist. What was wrong with being a Bonapartist?
735	105 comments	Why do Americans tend to identify with their Irish or Italian roots but not with English or German ?
641	44 comments	How did families in single-room homes procreate with no privacy?
503	44 comments	How accurate is this statement? (Found under Prager U’s slavery video which I think is dumb)
452	44 comments	Has Spain ever recovered from the "brain drain" caused by the Spanish Inquisition?
440	17 comments	[SFW] I just bought a home. The entire process seemed designed for the buyer and seller to never meet. How long has this been the case for? When did this shift happen and what motivated it?

 

Top 10 Comments

score	comment
1,143	/u/bug-hunter replies to during the jim crow era, could a white person kill a black person in broad daylight with no consequences?
1,120	/u/Djiti-djiti replies to So I’m reading Count of Monte Cristo, in which Edmond Dantes is accused of being a Bonapartist. What was wrong with being a Bonapartist?
866	/u/CaptCynicalPants replies to How accurate is this statement? (Found under Prager U’s slavery video which I think is dumb)
838	/u/bug-hunter replies to I read a claim that the 40-hour work week had been conceived with the assumption that a spouse would be around to handle other tasks such as cleaning, cooking, caring for children and shopping, and therefore it has become outdated. What is the historicity of this claim?
796	/u/ParallelPain replies to In 1871, a local bought Himeji Castle for 23 yen ($2500 in today's dollars). Why was the biggest castle in japan so worthless?
746	/u/CaptCynicalPants replies to I read a claim that the 40-hour work week had been conceived with the assumption that a spouse would be around to handle other tasks such as cleaning, cooking, caring for children and shopping, and therefore it has become outdated. What is the historicity of this claim?
721	/u/TywinDeVillena replies to Has Spain ever recovered from the "brain drain" caused by the Spanish Inquisition?
632	/u/DanKensington replies to When did boiling water become the norm?
595	/u/dontdoxmebro replies to Why were bolt action rifles the main rifle of most military’s in WW1 when repeating rifles were already commonplace?
569	/u/KiwiHellenist replies to When and why did Christians start celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th? Many Christians claim this is a pagan practice based on the Feast of Saturnalia. How true is this?

 

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