- Were they just jerking it like crazy on pirate ships or what?
All ships really. But they didn’t have room or anything to do it privately. Or did they?
2,541 points74 comments6 d ago
- What is Inside the Room that contains Prophets Muhammad's Tomb that No one in over 500 years has been allowed to go inside?
The last person who went in was Islamic Historian and Scholar Imam Ali Samhudi in the year 1476 CE. He went in to restore the prophet's tomb after it was damaged by an accidental fire. Since then...
1,604 points103 comments7 d ago
- Why are all the cards in my wallet the same size? It might be the only standard that seems to exist the world over.
When you travel, you realize the things you took for granted at home are different the world over: the format for wall plugs, the side of the road to drive on, increments of coinage (even when...
1,269 points47 comments4 d ago
- How did ancient humans “stumble” on bread?
It’s often struck me that bread is an incredibly complex food to cook. Are there any clues as to the origins of how humans realised that taking wheat, grinding it to flour, mixing with water,...
927 points133 comments3 d ago
- At what point on D-Day (or the days immediately after) did Allied commanders feel confident they had successfully gained a foothold on the beaches?
I recently watched the new movie Pressure which depicts all the Allied leaders standing around a radio room on D-Day waiting to hear if they captured the beaches. While obviously Hollywood is...
920 points142 comments6 d ago
- As an exercise in methodology, if the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were real historical accounts, how would historians go about separating truth from fiction?
In Tolkien's universe, his published novels are translated accounts from the Red Book of Westmarch written by Bilbo, Frodo and Samwise. If a historian in the real world found the Red Book, what...
693 points18 comments5 d ago
- why as old as Hinduism is(5000 years or so) it remains heavily concentrated in India?
Hinduism is said one of if not the oldest currently running religion in the world and for the most part it and its people remain heavily concentrated inside of India opposed to like having larger...
575 points212 comments6 d ago
- How were domesticated cats handled before spay & neutering or litter boxes? Were they just spraying and pooping everywhere on ships, taverns, and monasteries? Were they constantly in heat and having kittens?
541 points22 comments5 d ago
- Gorbatchev seems to be hated in Russia and taken responsible for the fall of USSR (“the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” as Putin called it). From the Western point of view, it seems that the USSR was doomed to collapse and he tried to reform it. Is it a difference of perspective ?
518 points85 comments2 d ago
- In the 1800’s England, was it common for high social class people to stay over their party host’s houses for long periods of time?
Okay for context, I’m currently reading “Jane Eyre” and there’s this chapter when Jane asked Mrs. Fairfax how long does Mr. Rochester’s social gathering is gonna last. And Mrs. Fairfax answered...
493 points18 comments2 d ago