History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why do we focus more on the Vietnam war and less on the Korean war?
I think it has a lot to do with the advent of video in the media. Vietnam was our first "televised war." That really brought it home in a way that was never possible before. This (and lots of other fa
Why do you think you look one way when looking in a mirror (good) and then worse when looking at pictires/front facing camera (bad)?
The others have mentioned the reverted image, and to an extent that is correct. However, when you begin to look at cameras, the focal length of the camera can affect what you look like, by exaggeratin
Why did the U.N. (U.S.) not declare war on China during the Korean war?
They didn't even declare war on North Korea during the Korean War. "Officially", North Korea did not exist and the South Korean government was considered to be the only legitimate government of Korea.
why the SNP got > 90% of votes while 55% of Scots voted no in the referendum for independence?
Because a yes/no question is much harder to win than an election with three major parties in play. The people voting "yes" on the referendum were virtually always going to vote SNP, but the people vot
Why do airplane lavatories have ash-trays and a no smoking sign within 6 inches of each other?
Because of [this] (_URL_0_) and [this] (_URL_1_) Or, in essence. An fire broke out in a lavatory on board of a plane. As a result of the smoke, the plane had to divert and make an emergency landing, b
Why is the American drinking age higher than other contries’?
That's due to [a 1984 law](_URL_0_) that tied federal highway funding to a drinking age of at least 21. States which set a lower minimum drinking age would lose 10% of federal highway funding. Persona
Why do I have difficulty walking on to a broken escalator? My mind just won’t treat it like stairs.
It's called the [Broken escalator phenomenon](_URL_0_). I think a big part of the problem is the change in step size. Ordinary-stair makers are wise (and required) to be careful to maintain a uniform
Why did they use zeppelins in World War 1?
Because they had them and they were desperate to find *anything* that would help break the deadlock of the western front. Keep in mind that all this stuff, zeppelins, aircraft, machine guns, modern ar
Why is deep frying so much faster than baking?
Heat transfers faster through liquids then through gasses. You can be in a sauna without any harm to your body, but if you get covered with boiling water for a few minuites you at best will be covered
Why the north was fighting against slavery in the civil war, yet the 13th amendment was barely passed by this same government?
The north didn't go to war to end slavery. They went to war in order to preserve the union—to bring the southern states back under the USA. The south, however, did secede because of slavery.