History
Exploring "Why" questions about History
491 articles
Why is taking a hot shower refreshing, but why is standing outside on a humid day miserable?
Because you are wet and naked. Part of the unpleasantness of humidity is the way your sweat makes your clothes stick to you.
Why was the Korean War not considered a United Nations Victory?
For one, it never ended. They are in a cease fire - not peace, and not unification. It ended at loggerheads and the creation of an insane DMZ and two different countries - one socialist/communist and
Why do movies portraying ancient civilizations (i.e the movie 300) have actors speak with English accents?
The producers give them a different accent so the audience recognizes that the characters are from a different culture. Since the movies are often targeted at American audiences, an English accent wor
Why do we have to fry onions first when cooking? What makes them stay crunchy if you add them later?
The main reason is that the starches in plant food, namely pectin, take a while to break down in normal cooking temperatures. When you fry an onion with high heat or just cook it long enough, the pect
Why do we often get so entertained just by sitting looking at a bonfire?
Fire is a powerful tool, and is/was one of mans most prized inventions. The dancing of the flames on the wood can be quite serene. The crackling creates a background filter to help you focus.
Why do we, as English-speaking countries, call some countries by their national names and some countries by names we’ve made up for them?
[This was asked here a month ago](_URL_0_) and this is my answer: Imagine if we found out there were people living on Mars. We would call them Martians, because we already have a name for Mars. If we
Why do we call some religions “mythologies” (ancient Greek, Norse, Egyptian, etc.) and others religions? Is this fair?
**Mythology:** A set of stories that provide origins or explanations for creation, nature, history, or customs **Religion:** An organized set of beliefs, practices, and world views that relate humanit
Why does eating after taking a pill help the pill take effect?
Sometimes it's actually because the designers want the pill to take effect *slower* than it would on an empty stomach. Drug and alcohol users know from experience that taking things on an empty stomac
why does taking a hot shower make any burns you have look 1000x worse?
When your skin is hot, the underlying blood vessels expand to allow more heat to be shed as it is carried by the blood. This also makes the skin appear more red than usual. Burned skin results in a th
Why people commonly misplace syllables/vowels in a sentence when speaking quickly.
It takes time for your mouth and tongue to move into the positions needed to form the various sounds present in speech. If you're speaking too quickly, you might not be able to actually create the sou