History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why is George Osborne selling British public assets, when they are basically money-making machines?
he is selling them at a fraction of their worth to his friends, who will then make sure he continues to earn a lot of money once his time in power comes to an end.
Why can’t TV stations or Radio Stations used the phrase, “Super Bowl” when talking about the Super Bowl?
Because Super Bowl is trademarked and the NFL is super conservative with how it let's people use that term. That's why you'll usually hear it simply called "The Big Game" or referenced as "Sunday's ga
Why don’t the migrants from places Syria, Iraq and other war torn countries go to stable Middle Eastern nations, specifically the Gulf countries instead of Europe?
Most refugees do go to other Middle Eastern countries. For example, out of the 4 million Syrian refugees, over 90% have gone to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan [source](_URL_0_). And Iraqi refugees have m
Why can you see fog around you in the distance when driving or walking through it, but you can’t see it when it’s right in front of your face?
There's not enough of it. When it's foggy and you look into the distance, you're seeing *lots* of fog (suspended water droplets). If you hold your hand in front of your face there's far, far fewer bet
Why did Asian languages develop to be more tonal rather than say be like Romance languages?
I read somewhere a long time ago that it had something to do with how humid the air was which allowed for tonal languages to be more possible
Why are video game companies often franchises ? Surely that would be the worst business model for a single company working on one thing.
I don't think you're thinking of "franchise" in the same way the video game industry uses "franchise." Could you clarify, please, so that I know how to respond?
Why is taking an aspirin before the surgery harmful?
It prevents your blood from clotting properly! Hence, if you want to walk out of the surgery without blood gushing from your wounds you shouldn't take an aspirin right before it :) EDIT: words
Why did the ancients decide Gold was so valuable?
They did a whole NPR article on it (_URL_0_) But basically it was rare but not too rare, didn't rust, was easy to make into coins and jewelry, non reactive, not radioactive, and was a solid.
Why did slavery in the 1800s only exist in the agricultural economies of the south and not the industrial economies of the north in the US?
Because oddly enough holding slaves was pretty expensive and in the north there were hordes of immigrants that would work themselves almost to death for almost no money at all. Also, tradition.
Why are there so many homicides in Chicago? Is there a gang war going on there?
There are lots of gang wars going on... combination of destruction of massive public housing development scattering residents across the city, and the arrest/conviction of many big gang leaders has le