History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why isn’t Craig Ferguson taking over the Late Show instead of Colbert?
Who knows. It was really up to Letterman to decide; his company produces the show. Presumably Letterman thought Colbert could drive more ratings at 11pm than Ferguson could.
Why can we make fun of Muslims under freedom of expression but speaking anything against Jews will bring up Anti-Semitism?
i don't know where you live, but in most countries you can easily make jokes about Jews without bringing up antisemitism. from the other hand in many countries you can't make jokes about Holocaust.
Why did the Romans put olive oil on their bodies after bathing?
Normally it was done before bathing, not after. They would rub on oil then remove dirt with a small hook. They would then rinse the oil off, then they would soak in the baths.
why when walking into the wind is it warmer with your back turned walking backwards than walking forward ?
Direct wind contact results in the coldest feeling because of evaporating moisture and because the air around you that is being continuously warmed by your body is quickly taken away and replaced by c
Why does my voice sound differently when I’m speaking a second language?
Every language has its characteristic tone contours (high and low pitches) and sound palette. If you're serious about speaking a second language well, then you'll imitate those aspects of the language
Why do anti-smoking companies spend so much money on commercials?
The master settlement agreement between the states and tobacco companies provided funding that was required to be spent on anti-smoking ads. This money funds these ads. It also set aside an immensely
Why is “empire” spelled with an “E” when the latin root is “imperator”
There is no international authority on how words are said or spelled. Dictionary spellings and definitions are merely accepted conventions that evolved organically over time and often there is no hard
Why are The Trouble of Northern Ireland not classed as a civil war?
It is considered as a civil war by modern standards despite the British government trying to class it in the 80s as terrorist activities.
Why is gold valuable? Also, why was gold important to ancient civilizations?
It's shiny, doesn't oxidize, yellow is rather unique as metallic color. It's also relatively soft and malleable with a low melting point (for a metal) that makes it a pretty nice material to work with
Why cant password security just be improved by making all queries wait a period of time, thus preventing brute forcing?
Many websites do have a lockout policy after a number of incorrect attempts. The problem is if a hacker somehow gets ahold of the raw database, where they'll be able to crack passwords offline at thei