History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why are ancient archaeological sites always buried underground?
Well... first of all. the ones that are not buried underground we almost certainly already know about, so there's a big factor, so the "new" ones that are found are going to be in a spot, such as unde
Why was prohibition less successful than the war on drugs?
The war on drugs was a failure in the exact same way that prohibition of alcohol was. We just keep doing it anyway.
Why do we make simple noises / repetitions automatically when talking to babies or small animals, such as cooing/saying hello?
Baby talk is easier for a baby to understand because it is slow, exaggerated, and uses high tones. Even before the infant can actually understand words, baby talk can teach things like turn-taking in
Why is it that Americans get so worked up by socialist reform, but they don’t care when their money is getting pissed away on things like war and bailouts?
It's an ideological concern. Many of the people who were against Obamacare were against the bailouts too. TARP Was very close to not passing because of those ideological concerns.
Why do we not just finish the war with North Korea?
You may have noticed a couple recent events that I'll refer to as the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Both of those countries were invaded and occupied fairly easily due to overwhelming military sup
Why is Activision acquiring King for ~6 billion dollars? What is the benefit for the company?
King is a foreign firm so Activision can use money that was mostly sitting in low return bonds (and didn't have many other legal uses without paying a large tax bill). King makes money, so Activision
Why does stroking animals relax/calm us down?
i covered this topic in a class in university way back in the caveman days they would sit around the fire with their half wild dogs stroking their fur elicited the guard guard guard instinct in the an
why do our footsteps sync up when walking in pairs or groups?
As someone who recently joined the military and marches every day, I will tell you it does not happen often naturally. "GET IN STEPPPP"
Why do bugs seem to fly in circles around one when out hiking, particularly around the head?
Generally, they are either attracted to the carbon dioxide you are exhaling or the body heat you are giving off. For flies, it's the CO2, mosquitoes seek body heat. And the head is usually the hottest
Why are students fresh out of highschool allowed to take out huge student loans without ever working or having credit?
While frankly kind of ridiculous, the current system helps to even out the playing field. Without access to some form of financial aid, intelligent but poor individuals would be unable to get a higher