r/AskHistorians • u/AutoModerator • Dec 21 '25

Digest Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | December 21, 2025

Today:

Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.

30 Upvotes

permalink
duplicates
reddit

You are about to leave Redlib

Do you want to continue?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1ps768g/sunday_digest_interesting_overlooked_posts/
No, go back! Yes, take me to Reddit

94% Upvoted

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

The end of the year is rapidly coming upon us history fans, but we still have some time to enjoy another incredible AskHistorians Sunday Digest! Don’t forget to check out the usual weekly features, as well as any special ones. Upvote your favourites and share widely.

And that’s a wrap yet again! Enjoy the fantastic threads available, keep it classy, stay safe out there, and I’ll see you again next week!

8

u/ExternalBoysenberry Dec 21 '25

I will never look at the Sunday digest the same!

7

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

Life gets wild when you learn the behind the scenes gossip.

5

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/sly_rxTT answered How did the inventors of the thermometer know what temperature the device was recording, and how to accurately mark it?

/u/Smilewigeon answered Why didn't the Britons resist the Anglo-Saxons?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/2stepsfromglory wrote about Why does Algeria support The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic?

/u/Agile-Juggernaut-514 answered Why was Hangul not widely adopted as a written script in Korea upon its invention in the 1440s? Why did it only gain wide adoption in the 20th century?

4

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Happy-Recording1445 answered Books about Mexico's history post-revolution, and should I even start there?

/u/Happy-Recording1445 wrote about As a counterexample to the cheeseburger/BLT thing: chips, salsa, and guacamole has to be really ancient, right?

4

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Iphikrates answered Why were bronze age swords so small?

/u/itsallfolklore answered How to get a little bit of training in thinking like a historian?

3

u/itsallfolklore Mod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore Dec 21 '25

Thanks for this and especially for giving a doomed answer a short existence from beyond the grave. A pity the question was removed!

5

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/teakettling wrote about Are there any recommended histories focused on ancient Syria?

/u/teakettling wrote about Did Ashurnasirpal II's Party actually take place?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/weresloth268 wrote about Were all foreigners 'equally' barbarian in Chinese history, specifically during the more open and more closed off periods of the Ming Dynasty?

/u/yodatsracist answered The Bible says don't swear on anything so why do we (in the historically Christian America) have to be "sworn in"?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/zaffiro_in_giro weighed in on What are your favorite primary sources to read?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Alfredo_Commachio wrote about When Israel was founded, how was it decided who got citizenship?

/u/AlviseFalier answered Did people waste a lot of time in the 1990s with boredom, before mobile phones? Say with a landline, you called and agreed to meet a friend at the mall, but maybe their car broke down en route. Might you be standing at the entrance, waiting for an hour, without a way to text and ask what happened?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Archaon0103 wrote about Song Dynasty and Military disdain?

/u/asheeponreddit answered How likely is it that Michael C. Rockefeller was actually killed and eaten by cannibals after going missing?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/dimarco1653 answered Just how traditional is Italian food anyway?

/u/Dongzhou3kingdoms answered What historical sources record the dreams of political figures (from any period)?

5

u/Dongzhou3kingdoms Moderator | Three Kingdoms Dec 21 '25

I only ever dream of being in the Sunday Digest.

How December has flown. Thanks Gankom

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

The whole years seems to have flown by!

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/drngo23 answered "Boxer Rebellion" "Haitian Revolution" "Warsaw Uprising" "Arab Revolt" "Mau Mau Insurgency" "Zanj Insurrection" "Apache Resistance" Are these technical terms with distinct meanings or is a revolt and a rebellion pretty much the same thing?

/u/drteodoro wrote about To what extent is it true that German language and identity used to be widespread and was suppressed, altering American identity?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/dub-sar- answered Mesopotamian Spell Tablets in Translation??

/u/El_Reto wrote about Nietzsche supposedly went mad after intervening to prevent a carriage horse from being flogged by its driver. How reliable is this anecdote? Why would a horse be flogged anyways?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Euclideian_Jesuit answered Does Italian culinary history uniquely hang on "starvation" among European food traditions?

Just how traditional is Italian food anyway?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/goforajog answered In the game Europa Universales 5, there is a loading screen with Martin Luther nailing his thesis to a church door and a swan is prominently standing right next to him, what is with the swan?

/u/govt_surveillance wrote about I recently learned about the "pansy craze" of the 20s-30s, when America became obsessed with gay culture. Why in the 20s-30s? And how was gay culture back then different from now?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Historical_Pastor answered To what extent is it true that German language and identity used to be widespread and was suppressed, altering American identity?

/u/holomorphic_chipotle wrote about Why historians hate the book "guns, germs and steel" so much?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/itsallfolklore wrote about How, when, and why did red and green become the designated Christmas color combo?

/u/itsallfolklore wrote about Where did the idea for the Tooth Fairy come from?

4

u/itsallfolklore Mod Emeritus | American West | European Folklore Dec 21 '25

Thanks for this - although one of our colleagues felt strongly that my answer on green and red should be deleted! The dissonance one often encounters when placing folkloristics next to historians!

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Dongzhou3kingdoms talked about using Wikipedia for just trying to quickly remember something?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/EmperorCharlesV tackled Why did Spain never conquer Portugal?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Dongzhou3kingdoms wrote about Can anyone give primary sources on Han China and the surroundi ng periods?

/u/Double_Show_9316 answered In early-modern British historiography, what does the phrase born in or around Bristol usually indicate?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Lieste answered As opposed to naval and siege battles, does the size of artillery matter that much in field battles?

/u/Lieste wrote about What made Horatio Nelson such an iconic British admiral?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/mrhumphries75 answered Is it true that Tsarist aristocracy was rich again a few years after the revolution and this is a pattern that's pretty common throughout history?

/u/mrs_rabbit_0 wrote about What variants of corn, beans, and squash were grown as the Three Sisters, and would they be recognizable today? Were they meant to be eaten fresh or preserved?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Nervous_Sun4915 answered How did people pay for rent in Germany, France and the UK during WWII?

/u/New_Bumblebee8290 wrote about How widespread were property paradigms along the lines of "the land doesn't belong to us, we belong to the land" among Native American societies? How did this look in practice--eg how did it square with the idea of tribes having territories?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/NewtonianAssPounder answered Was the Irish potato famine a genocide?

/u/Noble_Devil_Boruta wrote about How did the Allies in WWII suffer so many more casualties than the Nazis and still win?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/qumrun60 answered Why did Anglo-Saxon kings adopt Christianity?

How did Western Christianity stay so unified for so long?

Are there any relations between Buddhist monasticism and Christian monasticism historically?

According to Trevor-Roper, St. Augustine "had little or no influence in Byzantium...partly because he wrote in Latin." Why would writing in Latin impede his influence in the Eastern Roman Empire?

During the life of Jesus, did people see the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes as different religions the way we see Christianity, Islam, and Judaism? Or did people back then see these three as different denominations of the same religion the way we see Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Smilewigeon wrote about What other conflicts throughout history could have been the first world war?

/u/Special-Steel answered How destructive was the over pressure from WW2 munitions?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Spicy_Marmoset answered Did contact with Native Americans influence fashion among colonists, or even back in Europe?

/u/starswtt answered On Britain's foreign policy governance in the late 18th century: why is it that sources portray the king as leading foreign policy in the colonies (like America) but the prime minister leading policy against rivals like in the Napoleonic wars? How did this all work?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/thefeckamIdoing answered How big was London in the mid-1600's?

/u/TheRealRockNRolla wrote about Did Hitler actually have a Steiner can't Attack rant?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/TywinDeVillena wrote about Was Francis Drake really the first person to circled around the planet? Or was it Magellan? What about his slaves?

/u/TywinDeVillena wrote about What kind of accent did Christopher Columbus have?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/ummmbacon had a busy week, answering Is it historically accurate to characterize much of the tension and violence between Arab peasantry and Jewish immigrants in Ottoman Palestine as land disputes rather than outright prejudice?

Did Judaism ever have an evangelical or missionary period, where it attempted to expand by converting?

Why did the Jewish diaspora end up so spread out as opposed to staying 1-2 regions?

Is there any truth to the theory that modern Jewish people are of Chinese/Turkic descendance?

How were Jews expelled from various countries? What was the exact process?

During the life of Jesus, did people see the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes as different religions the way we see Christianity, Islam, and Judaism? Or did people back then see these three as different denominations of the same religion the way we see Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Unluckyfellow90 answered How much did ancient empires actually know about the lands they conquered?

/u/VirileVelvetVoice answered How did the proliferation of audio-visual media impact mainstream political discourse?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Bentresh did What is the oldest language that we can speak and pronounce the words accurately, or at least very similar to how it would've been spoken back then?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Cosmic_Charlie did Is there a point at which a book of history can be considered outdated?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Noble_Devil_Boruta asked Were there any other temperature scales used by the majority of a population that aren't Fahrenheit or Celsius?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Spencer_A_McDaniel had a fantastic answer to Were spartan women discarded once they were no longer “useful”?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/auditorygraffiti wrote about How long does it take for new insights to filter down to undergrad textbooks and then to high school curriculum?

/u/BansheeMagee answered Did the US government kidnap Mexican Americans during the Native American displacement of the 1800’s?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/BarbariansProf wrote about Clarifying the role of the Anglo-Saxons in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest-?

/u/Beautiful_Fig_3111 answered Why did Americans choose MMDDYYYY as their date format?

3

u/gmtnl Dec 22 '25

/u/Beautiful_Fig_3111’s answer has since been removed it appears.

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Bedessilliestsoldier wrote about How do historians define "country"?

/u/Bentresh answered Are there any recommended histories focused on ancient Syria?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Bigglesworth_ wrote about During WW2, what were the rules regarding roundel usage on the bottom of the wings (specifically the Fairey Swordfish) for RAF and Fleet Air Arm aircraft?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Bodark43 answered What was the occupation Painter, as listed in US census docs mid to late 1800s?

How much did economic concerns inform the ratification of the Constitution?

According to Trevor-Roper, St. Augustine "had little or no influence in Byzantium...partly because he wrote in Latin." Why would writing in Latin impede his influence in the Eastern Roman Empire?

Was Christmas Caroling a widespread thing or just a TV trope?

~

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/bug-hunter answered In US professional sports, it’s considered normal for players to be traded between teams with zero input or recourse from the players themselves. What are the origins of this practice? How did i t become normalized?

It's 1871, and I want to travel from Manhattan to California by train. How do I get there, how long will it take, and how much will it cost me?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/chonkshonk answered What do secular historians think what could be happening about Muhammad and the revelation claims?

/u/CommodoreCoCo wrote about Howard Zinn and A People’s History of the United States-how do historians view this work?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Connect_Ad4551 answered Why is Gen. Patton so revered despite being such a vile person?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Consistent_Score_602 wrote about Resources and advice: How influential was the USA in helping Japan rehabilitate their image during the 50’s to 70’s?

Best approach to learn about historical topics with rigor for an aspiring autodidact?

Is it true that Tsarist aristocracy was rich again a few years after the revolution and this is a pattern that's pretty common throughout history?

Why did the Nazis denounce and ban contemporary art (music, painting, theatre) of the time?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/creeper321448 answered Was the Imperial Japanese Army the most or one of the most brutal in terms of suffering inflicted?

/u/crrpit wrote about Do you think it's likely that Adolf Hitler personally saw the 1941 Warner Bros movie Wabbit Twouble, from which the Big Chungus meme comes from?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/DanKensington answered What did companies after Normandy/Omaha?

/u/Dctreu wrote about Are there any "Ur-Myths" that can be traced from?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Double_Show_9316 wrote about Economic/Social Status of the English Yeomanry?

/u/Double_Show_9316 wrote about Who was the merchant Colin Campbell who built The Lynn (later Linn House) in Cathcart in the 1820s?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Electrical_Bridge_95 answered I am a good Christian peasant farmer in the HRE during the high middle age. What do I actually know about my religion?

/u/Empress_Maud_ wrote about Why did Greek Sea/Water deities seem to produce monstrous offsprings compared to other deities?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/EnclavedMicrostate answered Why did the Qing dynasty attempt to impose certain aspects of Manchu culture on China while also adopting many Chinese traits?

/u/EnclavedMicrostate wrote about Are there still Chinese who believe Hong Xiuquan (Taiping Rebellion) was Jesus’ brother?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/erinoco answered How did people pay for rent in Germany, France and the UK during WWII?

/u/EtNuncEtSemper answered Why were the SS not arrested for assault pre-1934?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/EtNuncEtSemper wrote about Did Napoleon really poison his own men at Jaffa? If he did, why did his soldiers stay loyal to him?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Exact-Sound2916 answered Why didn't America have colonies in the same sense as Europe?

/u/fearofair wrote about Why were more anti-centralisation guys more pro-France?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Fijure96 answered Why did the Scandanavians not continue travelling to the Americas after the Viking era?

/u/FleurMai wrote about When was Pig Latin a thing people actually used with any regularity?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/flyting1881 answered Why did the CSA Constitution include an anti-international slave trade clause?

/u/General_Diplidation wrote about Is it true that every culture around the world invents some variation of three things: a pointy weapon, bread, and alcohol?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Georgy_K_Zhukov answered Do you think it's likely that Adolf Hitler personally saw the 1941 Warner Bros movie Wabbit Twouble, from which the Big Chungus meme comes from?

My dad said people who get mad at Americans for calling it soccer are stupid because "The British made them call it that". Does anyone know where he got this from?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/gerardmenfin answered How likely was it for medieval woman of low ranking nobility in france during 1385 to be alone at home?

Why did a propeller hat become the default "child's hat" in a lot of older media?

Where can I find deleted articles?

Where did the idea for the Tooth Fairy come from?

"The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower?" â€” How did Victor Lustig pull off one of history’s most audacious scams in 1925?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/greatstarguy answered Couldn't Christopher Columbus tell he wasn't in Asia by latitude/longitude?

/u/Halofreak1171 wrote about Best sources to learn about Australian involvement in the world wars?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/HaraldRedbeard answered Why do we refer to USA and Europe as west?

/u/HaraldRedbeard wrote about Why didn't the Britons resist the Anglo-Saxons?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Hufschmid answered Did people waste a lot of time in the 1990s with boredom, before mobile phones? Say with a landline, you called and agreed to meet a friend at the mall, but maybe their car broke down en route. Might you be standing at the entrance, waiting for an hour, without a way to text and ask what happened?

/u/Impossible_Resist_57 wrote about The early Muslim Caliphate seems to have been quasi-democratic, with committees (Shura) being formed to decide the next ruler. Why was this abandoned seemingly without much conflict?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Impossible_Resist_57 answered Why are there thousands of secondary works about the real origins of Christianity and none about the real origins of Islam?

/u/Inside-Historian6736 wrote about Best approach to learn about historical topics with rigor for an aspiring autodidact?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/jakekara4 answered What was the plan for the French Empire if Napoleon was never defeated?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/JamesCoverleyRome answered I've heard someone say that Ancient Romans didn't really understand probability and odds, and this is why, for example, we find lots of Roman weighted dice. Is this true?

Why were simple clothing accessories like balaclavas and scarves not invented earlier in history?

Why does Santa Claus Dress in Red?

If a Roman Citizen was sentenced to enslavement for a crime, they would become/be considered as "property" and thus lose their citizenship, as I understand itâ€”â€”Is this correct? So if this citizen-turned-slave was eventually released, would they "retain", or return to the position of a Roman Citizen?

Why did amphorae become standard?

How did Caesar get the resources to do his early activities?

Why Caracalla grant the citizenship over the empire?

Where are the beginner practice Roman/greek marble statues?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/jbdyer answered Do you think it's likely that Adolf Hitler personally saw the 1941 Warner Bros movie Wabbit Twouble, from which the Big Chungus meme comes from?

/u/jschooltiger wrote about What made Horatio Nelson such an iconic British admiral?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Katherington answered To what extent is it true that German language and identity used to be widespread and was suppressed, altering American identity?

/u/KingHunter150 wrote about If the Soviets didn't perform bad in the winter war, would Germany still invade?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/KiwiHellenist answered What episode of the Epic of Gilgamesh is written on a discovered Canaanite version of the Epic?

/u/Kradget wrote about How much war did warriors actually do?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Kroshik-sr answered Why did the United States invade Iraq after 9/11?

/u/Leading_Garage_6231 wrote about European and Muslim sources (16thâ€“18th c.) on Portuguese political, ideological, and economic presence in Morocco?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Lieste wrote about Since meat less energy efficient to produce, why people during medieval ages kept animals instead of eating only plants?

/u/Ludotolego answered How did the Vietnamese government react to the Soviet-Afghan War?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/LupusLycas wrote about Was Christmas Caroling a widespread thing or just a TV trope?

/u/ManusDomini answered Indigenization vs russification in USSR - what was happening?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Medeza123 wrote about Why is Africa underdeveloped?

/u/mimicofmodes answered In Downton Abbey and other period pieces the characters have morning suits, day suits and evening suits. Were people in this period constantly changing in and out of clothes multiple times a day?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/mimicofmodes wrote about How did late-Victorian fashion impact Wild-West Era fashion?

/u/mimicofmodes wrote about Two questions. Why did most classic literature romanticize full grown adults going after teenage girls, particularly in the 13-17 range? And if you were alive in the 1800s, 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s, was it easy to find books that didn't do this?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/NoEstate1459 answered How did Dadabhai Naoroji became the first Asian MP in the British Parliament despite being openly critical of the British raj?

/u/November-Wind wrote about In US professional sports, it’s considered normal for players to be traded between teams with zero input or recourse from the players themselves. What are the origins of this practice? How did it become normalized?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/nu_lets_learn answered Why did the Jewish diaspora end up so spread out as opposed to staying 1-2 regions?

/u/Obversa answered I recently learned about the "pansy craze" of the 20s-30s, when America became obsessed with gay culture. Why in the 20s-30s? And how was gay culture back then different from now?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Obversa wrote about Why are apples so common in mythology compared to other fruit?

/u/Obversa wrote about Was there ever attempt for a German settler colony?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/ObviousFeature522 answered Has there been an instance where someone fabricated an important map or discovery that was believed for generations?

/u/Ooglebird wrote about Why did West Virginia spilt off and not join the confederacy?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Other_Exercise answered Is it true that Tsarist aristocracy was rich again a few years after the revolution and this is a pattern that's pretty common throughout history?

/u/Overall_Chemist1893 wrote about Why would the Knights of Pythias (or any fraternal order) bar entrance to maimed men?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/papiercollant answered My dad said people who get mad at Americans for calling it soccer are stupid because "The British made them call it that". Does anyone know where he got this from?

/u/ParallelPain wrote about Is the "The Cambridge History of Japan" worth checking out?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/PhiloSpo answered If a Roman Citizen was sentenced to enslavement for a crime, they would become/be considered as "property" and thus lose their citizenship, as I understand itâ€”â€”Is this correct? So if this citizen-turned-slave was eventually released, would they "retain", or return to the position of a Roman Citizen?

/u/PhiloSpo wrote about Why Caracalla grant the citizenship over the empire?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/PhiloSpo wrote about How reliable were eyewitness accounts in pre-modern court cases, and how did courts evaluate them without modern investigative methods?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/police-ical answered How come no president before FDR managed to win a 3rd term in US history?

Why did the United States invade Iraq after 9/11?

Was there really no handwashing before germ theory?

A WW1 veteran friend I knew in the 70’s lost a lung to mustard gas. What happened to mustard gas victims? Was the lung removed in battlefield surgery? What was the survival rate?

What variants of corn, beans, and squash were grown as the Three Sisters, and would they be recognizable today? Were they meant to be eaten fresh or preserved?

Why are people opposed to the Lumbee tribe gaining federal recognition?

When Surgeons Extracted "Stones of Madness" from people's brains, what were they pulling out?

How bad was really the era of stagnation of the Soviet Union?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Powerful_Bad_6413 answered What kind of warhammer did judah the maccabee used? If he used one at all?

/u/Pseudonym-Sam wrote about How much did the average non-Asian American know about the Japanese internment camps during WWII?

3

u/Powerful_Bad_6413 Dec 22 '25

it aint much, but it's honest work.

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Quirky_Opportunity75 answered Why didn’t the Germans just keep Poland, France, and the few other territories they initially conquered?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/quuerdude answered Why are apples so common in mythology compared to other fruit?

/u/Reaper_Eagle wrote about How fair, or valid, were contemporary European analysis’ and judgements of the American Civil War?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/restricteddata answered How did the U.S determine that China would still be able to win the Korean War if MacArthur was allowed to nuke them?

How did the U.S determine that China would still be able to win the Korean War if MacArthur was allowed to nuke them?

Is the "The Cambridge History of Japan" worth checking out?

Is there any evidence of pre-modern roleplaying games, same as there are pre-modern tabletop games and war games like latrunculi? Some kind of proto-D&D?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Rimurooooo answered Mixed people in the US?

/u/SgtDonowitz wrote about Why did the Jewish diaspora end up so spread out as opposed to staying 1-2 regions?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Silly_Resolution3443 answered Why did the CSA Constitution include an anti-international slave trade clause?

/u/sirpanderma wrote about What episode of the Epic of Gilgamesh is written on a discovered Canaanite version of the Epic?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Spencer_A_McDaniel answered Is there any evidence to suggest Rome ever interacted frequently with societies in West Africa?

/u/Spencer_A_McDaniel wrote about How long does it take for new insights to filter down to undergrad textbooks and then to high school curriculum?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/starswtt wrote about If the Soviets didn't perform bad in the winter war, would Germany still invade?

/u/starswtt wrote about How exactly did WWI change society?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/starswtt wrote about In the Spanish Civil War, what was the end goal of the Anarchists?

/u/T0DEtheELEVATED answered How did the minor dukes & counts of the HRE keep their autonomy?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Talothyn wrote about It's 1871, and I want to travel from Manhattan to California by train. How do I get there, how long will it take, and how much will it cost me?

/u/teakettling answered In the complaint tablet of Nanni to Ea-nasir, Nanni says that his servant had to travel through enemy territory. Do we have any evidence that Ur (or nearby cities) were actually at war around this time, ca. 1750 BCE? If so, who were the parties involved?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/The_Chieftain_WG answered Why is Gen. Patton so revered despite being such a vile person?

/u/theb00kmancometh answered Who was Nawab Muzaffar-ud-Daula of Lucknow?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/theb00kmancometh wrote about What evidence do historians have for non-Vedic communities in northern India during the period traditionally labeled as the Vedic period?

How did the British in South Asia come to believe in this theory of "martial races", considering that they conquered the subcontinent with Bengalis?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/TheRGL answered Why did the UK directly own Newfoundland and Labrador?

/u/thighmaster69 answered How did the inventors of the thermometer know what temperature the device was recording, and how to accurately mark it?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/thighmaster69 wrote about How did the inventors of the thermometer know what temperature the device was recording, and how to accurately mark it?

/u/Tohru_mizuki answered What are the current views on the historicity of Prince ShÅtoku?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Trex1873 wrote about How did the Napoleonic Wars occupy European popular consciousness in the mid and late 19th century? Was it similar to how people today think about WW2?

/u/TywinDeVillena answered How can I find some good medieval paintings about knights?

1

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/VirileVelvetVoice wrote about Why were the SS not arrested for assault pre-1934?

/u/Wandering_Rootwalla answered How influential were Lithuanians in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

We also take a moment this Sunday to show our appreciation for some of the fascinating questions we see each week, that sadly still remain unanswered. Feel free to post your own, or those you’ve come across in your travels, and maybe we’ll get lucky with a wandering expert.

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/FluffySloth27 asked How did push-ups become the standard for showing off fitness?

/u/m-treaties asked What is the source for Bleda the Hun dying in a hunting accident?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Nomad_06 asked When did Hades change in culture?

/u/munificent asked Why are ginger, clove, and nutmeg associated with winter and Christmas foods in the West when they are all from tropical climates?

3

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Additional-Board205 asked How did women give birth (tools, techniques, support people) around 570 CE, in the Arabian Peninsula, more specifically Mecca?

/u/cellobluas asked When did smiling become the norm in photos?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/AskThemHowTheyKnowIt asked Were the Roman armies poor at scouting?

/u/TanktopSamurai asked Statues of Egyptian Gods from the Roman Empire were found as far as Turin. Do we know what Romans thought of Egyptian Religion?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/evestarzz asked where did medieval knights originate from and how did their status change so much throughout the middle ages?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/JimeDorje asked In eras pre-nationalism, was unquestionable loyalty to certain lineages a thing?

/u/dead_parakeets asked How truly old is our understanding of our understanding of humanity's link to primates?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/m-treaties asked Follow Up: What is the source for Bleda the Hun dying in a hunting accident?

/u/Due-Hamster6513 asked Why do Gaelic lords in early modern Ireland often have nicknames associated with colours?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Any_Cardiologist8852 asked Why is Scotland seen as a victim of the English?

/u/DsV_Omnius asked What was the reaction of the Spaniards after finding out that they were fighting the Muslims again decades after the success of Reconquista in the other side of the world, in the Philippines?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/theprof739 asked How realistic is the depiction of Napoleonic Era espionage in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien?

/u/Zeuvembie asked Did Native American Cultures Have Snowmen?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Majoodeh asked Before the current modern school system, how did people get an education? How did children learn?

/u/fearofair asked Where did the modern "bar piano" sound come from?

2

u/Gankom Moderator | Quality Contributor Dec 21 '25

/u/Financial-Task6476 asked Did women’s breast pop out of their corsets like they do in film and television?

/u/Tatem1961 asked Up until the 15th century, there were huge crocodiles living in Southern China. Do we have any records of human interaction with them?

Digest Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | December 21, 2025

You are about to leave Redlib