History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why are we still making pennies when it costs 2 cents to make one?
A penny does cost more than one cent to make but it is used more than once, so it that way it has a much greater value to the economy than its one cent face value. For the same reason the US tries to
Why words stop looking like words after you type them repeatedly.
_URL_0_ From what I can tell, your brain recognizes the same word over and over again and gets bored.
Why does lemon juice “cook” fish when making ceviche?
It doesn't actually cook the fish. The acid just denatures the proteins in fish meat in a similar process to cooking. It won't, for instance, kill pathogens in the fish.
Why was the 1st Iraq war so successful?
Assuming you mean "relative to the second one": The first war had very limited objectives. All the US did was push the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. The US, possessing by far the most powerful military fo
Why is Obama backing the TPP with republicans?
Basically, Obama's administration negotiated it so he thinks it's a good deal, or at least the best one they're gonna get. Republicans largely agree. Democrats are in favor of some limits, particularl
Why did the Japanese “let the emperor still be emperor” ?
I think it's kind of like how the Queen is still the Queen, but Parliament actually runs the country.
Why are the Gulf countries, including fabulously wealthy Qatar and UAE, not taking in many refugees from their fellow Arab countries?
It's not like they're turning refugees away at the border. Actually getting from the populated areas of Coastal Syria to Qatar or Saudi involves crossing ISIS territory and a giant desert, whereas the
Why are ancient buildings still standing to this day but modern building fall apart after a couple decades?
You are missing the millions of buildings which have fallen down since ancient times; you're only seeing the few that have lasted. Given another several millenia, I'm sure a handful of today's buildin
Why does walking backwards come so easy to us, when we almost never do it?
You might do it more often than you think, like when you open a door that opens towards you and lots of other situations you dont think about.
Why do we drop so much ordinance on targets? I know this sounds inhuman, but the ROI seems absurd after looking through combat footage. Shouldn’t targets be eliminated in a more cost effective manner?
Its cheaper to shoot twice and make sure they're gone than to shoot once and find out a week later that you have to send somebody else to go shoot them again. Bombs and missiles are expensive, but the