AskHistorians Weekly Round-Up and Newsletter | 2026-06-12

[TITLE] AskHistorians Weekly Round-Up and Newsletter | 2026-06-12

#A Recap of AskHistorians 2026-05-05 to 2026-06-11

Popular This Week: You might have clicked too early, so here are the responses to some of the most upvoted questions from the past week:

"Why did no one "discover" the source of the Nile until the 1860s?", go on an adventure with u/Khenghis_Ghan
"George Washington’s speeches were at a 16th grade comprehension level. Lincoln was at a 14th grade. JFK spoke in 13th grade level prose. Then when Clinton was president, his speeches had dropped to 8th grade level. Why did presidential speech become simpler despite mass increase in public education?", from u/eh_steve_420
"Did Shakespeare sit down and go, "Ok I'm going to write this play in iambic pentameter" or was it simply a natural development? Were linguistic concepts like syllables common knowledge?", from u/macnalley
"I have been transported back in time 2000ish years to the Roman Empire. What is the best way for me to preserve a message back to my own time?", response by u/AmeliaofAnsalon
"Did AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s disproportionately kill socially and sexually central figures in gay arts communities, as Fran Lebowitz claims, particularly in New York’s theatre, dance, and performance scenes?", response by u/Cedric_Hampton

Things You Probably Missed: Great stuff flies under the radar every week! Here is a selection of responses the Mod Team enjoyed, but didn't get the attention they deserved:

Still Looking for an Answer: Sometimes great questions don't get answered. Yet. Maybe you have the chops to give these the answer they deserve though?

"What sorts of tasks did people compel demons to carry out on their behalf?"
"Goldfinger was filmed before China had nuclear weapons, yet they are a plot point. How well known the Chinese nuclear program was at the time?"
"Who were the regular residents of "pirate towns" in the golden age of piracy?"
And if you have only a few minutes to kill, be sure to check this week's "Short Answers to Simple Questions" thread, as you might see something you can help with!

Flair Profile of the Week: Looking for some old classics to read? This week the [randomly selected flair profile is that of u/Trinity-](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/profiles/trinity-/), flaired for 'Medieval Gender and Sexuality'!

Features You Might Have Missed:

2026-06-12: NEW PODCAST EPISODE: "AskHistorians Podcast 251: American Medieval with Prof. Matthew Gabriele"
2026-06-10: "Rod Phillips answering questions about the history of cats"
2026-06-09: "I am Dr. Ketil Slagstad, here to talk about my book "Standardizing Sex" and the history of trans medicine. AMA!"
2026-06-08: "Ask Me Anything about Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s"
2026-06-05: "Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion"

Features Coming Up:

June 12, 2026: AMA incoming today with u/TankArchives, author of Panzer 46: Eastern Front
June 15, 2026: AMA with Dr. Rachel Newman, author of The Future in Their Hands: Making Mexico's Foreign-Educated Elite
June 16, 2026: AMA with Brendan Greeley, author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World's Most Powerful Money
June 17, 2026: AMA: Virginia and Revolutionary Rights at 250 with Colonial Williamsburg and Montpelier
June 18, 2026: AMA with Will Quam, author of Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago

Canine Corner

Dreaming of socks to eat

Plenty more you might have missed though, so as always, don't forget to check out the most recent Sunday Digest or else to follow us on Bluesky! For a complete archive of past newsletters, check out r/BestOfAskHistorians.

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Posted Jun 12, 2026, 12:51 PM UTC

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