Google Questions

How Did Hitler Die?

by Mariana Villa

He killed himself.  Here's how it happened. 

Why Can Paul Ryan Run for Vice President and Congress at the Same Time?

by David Austin Walsh

Lyndon Johnson greeting students at the East Texas Teachers College, his alma mater, in 1959. Credit: Texas A&M University.Paul Ryan is actually a candidate in two elections this year -- at the national level as Mitt Romney's running mate, at the local level as the incumbent congressman for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district.But under Wisconsin law, a candidate can only appear on the ballot once. So what gives?Like many great electoral innovations, this one can be traced back to Lyndon Baines Johnson.

CNN's Conspiracy Bias in the Robert F. Kennedy Assassination

by Mel Ayton

Now major news organizations appear to be leading the conspiracy charge.

Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

by Daniel Mallia

A frequent charge raised against Mormonism is that Mormons practice polygamy, which many people oppose for various reasons ranging from religious or moral convictions to concerns about the treatment or degradation of women. There is no denying that polygamy was accepted and practiced by the mainstream Mormon church for part of the nineteenth century, though it was not practiced by the majority of Mormons. (The great-grandfather of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, Miles Park Romney, was a polygamist in Utah, and ultimately left to Mexico with his family to escape prosecution for the practice.) It is also true that the practice continues today among some fringe Mormon sects, but it's far outside the mainstream of the official church. The stereotype that all Mormons practice polygamy sticks because of history and popular abuse, but not only is polygamy not an accepted practice within the Church of Latter-day Saints, it was proscribed by the Church over a century ago.

Why Do Mormons Baptize Holocaust Victims?

by Daniel Mallia

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has already been the subject of intense media scrutiny over his Mormon faith (HNN has been no exception). Recently, another point of tension has surfaced: the Mormon church’s habit of posthumously baptizing victims of the Holocaust, including famous victims such as Anne Frank. (It should be noted that the body is not actually baptized: rather another Mormon stands in for the deceased.) The controversy arose following the discovery that the parents of the late Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal (whose mother died in the Holocaust) had been posthumously baptized Mormon without the consent of the family. Writer and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel then called upon Mitt Romney, himself a former member of the Mormon clergy, to insist on the end of the posthumous baptisms of such victims, which violates previous understandings between the Jewish community and the Mormon Church. This effort has thrown the entire Mormon practice of posthumous baptisms, and not just of Holocaust victims—Barack Obama’s mother Ann Dunham was posthumously baptized the day after the then senator secured the Democratic presidential nomination.

What’s in a Coat-of-Arms?

by Steven Ozment

THE SERPENTIn 1508, three years after his hiring as court painter to the electoral Saxon dynasty seated in Wittenberg, the thirty-six-year-old painter Lucas Cranach received a wondrous coat-of-arms from his lord, Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony. Honoring his good services, the eye-popping shield displayed a mesmerizing winged serpent endowed with awesome life-giving powers, much as its human bearer would become known for.

Did Mormons Ban Black People from their Church?

by Daniel Mallia

The faith of presidential candidates is the subject of much scrutiny, and this is particularly so for the Mormon Mitt Romney. He has been frequently confronted with issues regarding Mormon doctrine and his personal stance, and one prominent issue has been that of Mormonism’s views of black people. That the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has had a less than positive view towards black people in the past is common knowledge, but the popular view that black people were forbidden from joining the Mormon church until 1978 is not entirely correct. Persons of black African descent could join the church, but black men could not become priests nor could they participate in temple ceremonies.In June of 1978 the LDS church, under the guidance of President Spencer W. Kimball, officially lifted the ban that had prohibited blacks from being ordained into the priesthood for well over a hundred years. The official explanation for the sudden shift was that Kimball, who, like many Mormon leaders, had been troubled over the issue for quite some time, received a revelation that prompted him to end the ban. Aside from this rather vague explanation, there was no further discussion as to why the change was made, but the controversy lies with the fact there was no comment on, or refutation, of any belief that had justified the ban in the first place.

Do Mormons Wear Special Underwear?

by Daniel Mallia

Mormonism has often been viewed by non-Mormon Americans and members of other Christian faiths with a sense of curiosity and distrust, as a faith filled with bizarre traditions and rituals. That Mormons wear “special underwear” seems to conform perfectly with the stereotype, and some have ridiculed the tradition as a part of a broader attack on Mormonism. Indeed, Mormons do wear “special underwear,” but what is meant by underwear must be clarified. It does not, in this case, refer to the kind of underwear the word traditionally refers to (i.e. boxers, briefs, etc.) given “special” significance, but it is a one or two piece article worn directly over the skin. In this function, it does replace conventional underwear for most Mormons who wear it, a condition which has led to its popular classification as underwear, but the correct term for it is a “garment.” To be more specific, what this question refers to is properly known as a “temple garment,” and it holds religious significance for Mormonism.

Is It Presidents Day or President's Day or Presidents' Day?

According to some of the calendars and appointmen books floating around this office, Monday, Februar 19th, is Presidents’ Day. Others say it’s President’ Day. Still others opt for Presidents Day. Which is it?

Did the Mormons Really Fight a War Against the Federal Government?

by Daniel Mallia

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has revived interest in little-known aspects (to non-Mormons, anyway) of Mormon history. The “Utah War" of 1857-1858 certainly qualifies as one. The "war," which was relatively bloodless (aside from the tangentially related Mountain Meadows massacre) and devoid of battles between the two sides, was highly unnecessary and was ultimately an incredible display of miscommunication and misunderstanding.The Mormons, after a trouble-ridden past of persecution in Missouri and Illinois, had moved west and begun to settle in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, in the summer of 1847. Mormon religious beliefs and practices, amongst them polygamy (which was not practiced by all Mormons), had earned the Mormons the disgust and distrust of many Americans, setting the stage for continuing conflict. At the time Utah was an American territory, and though President Millard Fillmore made a concession in granting Brigham Young (a Mormon) governorship of the territory, a number of other federal officials were appointed to the territorial administration. This situation proved problematic as the officials frowned upon Mormon practices as alien, and in turn the Mormons did not enjoy the administration of these outsiders. The circumstances lead many officials to abandon their posts and leave Utah after clashing with Young over questions of administration.

How Did Marilyn Monroe Die?

by Daniel Mallia

Was Monroe the victim of suicide, or a conspiracy?

Did Johannes Kepler Murder Tycho Brahe?

by Daniel Mallia

Was the pioneering Danish astronomer poisoned by his assistant?

Did We Really Land on the Moon?

by Daniel Mallia

One of the greatest American conspiracy theories suggests that Neil Armstrong's famous line "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was, in fact, made from the comfort of a film studio.The conspiracy centers around the July 20, 1969, moon landing—the landing of the first men on the moon at the height of the space race.  To this day, many believe that the footage transmitted from that first landing was a forgery, nothing more than a Hollywood production made for prestige and propaganda purposes.  And at that, the attempt was flawed in many ways, which allegedly reveals its forged nature.  Yet as exciting as the idea of the United States pulling off the greatest publicity coup in the modern era may be, the theory is wrong—America really did land men on the moon.

Who Invented the Martini?

by Daniel Mallia

There are many stories surrounding the invention of the martini, but it seems that the origins of James Bond's favorite beverage may never be definitively established.The history of the martini can easily be traced back to the late nineteenth century, when it was first consumed and listed in bartending manuals.  The famous example of this was the drink's appearance in the 1887 manual of bartender Jerry Thomas, of the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.  This has led to the belief that the drink originated at the hotel bar, possibly as early as the 1860s, where it would have been consumed by travelers heading to the nearby city of Martinez.

Did Van Gogh Really Cut Off His Own Ear?

by Daniel Mallia

More QuestionsThe infamous story of Vincent van Gogh having cut off his ear is only partially (pardon the pun) true.The tale begins in 1886, when, after years of moving around, van Gogh joined his younger brother, Theo, in Paris. There he met and befriended many notable artists, including the post-impressionist Paul Gauguin. In February of 1888, he decided to  move again, this time to Arles, in southern France, where he painted his 'Sunflower' series and where he had hoped to begin a community of artists.Gauguin followed van Gogh to Arles, at his request, in October 1888. But after attempting to work together, van Gogh had a mental breakdown which led to an incident where he threatened Gauguin with a razor blade. Later on that night, while brooding over the attack, van Gogh took the razor blade to his own ear, cutting off part of, but not the entirety of, his left ear.The story is one of the most notorious in art history and indeed, there are many allegations as to how much he actually cut off, but it appears that he spared part of his ear.

What Ended the Great Depression?

by Alyssa Hertig

Contrary to the popular view, the New Deal did not, at least depending on who you ask.  Some conservative economists believe the New Deal possibly extended its length.  What everybody agrees ended the Great Depression was World War II marked the end of the Great Depression.   Liberal economists point to the vast increase in government spending during the war as a reason for the end of the Depression.  (Of course, organized labor had its own plans for the recovery, and some economists still dispute the centrality of the war in ending the Depression.)One may ask how on earth a war could bring economic prosperity to a nation.  War is a machination for destruction, not production.  Common results of war include the bombing of buildings and infrastructure, the loss of human lives and an emphasis on the production of war materiel rather than products that actually enhance a person’s status and happiness—like refrigerators, clothes, food, radios and medical advancements.America was not bombed to pieces.  Besides the atrocities of Pearl Harbor, American land was untouched by the destruction that Europe, Northern Africa and Japan faced.

What Started the Great Depression?

by Alyssa Hertig

It is widely believed that wide number of varying, pernicious aspects of American society synthesized to culminate in the Great Depression.  The stock market crash of 1929 is an obvious “cause” of the Great Depression.But what exactly spawned the crash and led to the speculation crisis?  Was this simply a symptom of a much broader problem?Other features of the Great Depression had more obvious antecedents; for example, the Dust Bowl that led to the drought and depletion of the Midwest was caused by the arid weather and dust storms—a natural disaster exacerbated by deforestation and bad farming methods.  This was one of the underlying causes of the foreclosure of homes in rural America and the migration of farmers to California and other areas.  It exacerbated the Great Depression tremendously.Generally regarded as the major cause of the Depression was overproduction.  When prices declined dramatically as a result, farmers went bankrupt, they lost their homes through foreclosures, and banks collapsed.  

What’s the History Behind Wall Street?

by Alyssa Hertig

In the seventeenth century the Dutch built a wall in New Amsterdam in order to protect its borders from incursions from natives and the occasional pirates.  This same location soon became known as Wall Street; merchants began to reside there, and since the renamed New York was the first U.S. capital, the city and street garnered quite a prominent financial concentration which eventually spread to its legacy.  Because of the assembly of merchants and stockholders on the street, it became more prominently financially linked over the years, until it came to signify the prosperity of America in relation to the rest of the world.But this bastion of capitalism was built on slave labor:

Was Hitler Jewish?

by Daniel Mallia

"Was Hitler Jewish?" is a frequently asked question but it is one that requires clarification to answer correctly.  In essence, it encompasses two related sub-questions:  "did Hitler have Jewish origins/family members?" and "was Hitler himself Jewish?" To begin with the second question—technically, in order to be Jewish, one must be born of a Jewish mother, or convert to Judaism (of course, the Nazis had their own ideas on what made someone a Jew).  Hitler was born to a Catholic mother, and obviously never converted to Judaism.  During his lifetime he was more or less a lapsed Catholic, at times dabbling in various German pagan-mystic beliefs.  Hitler became a vehement racist and anti-Semite, and promoting a vision of the "Jewish threat," he ultimately sought the extermination of the Jewish population of Europe.

When Was The Internet Invented?

by Daniel Mallia

Al Gore didn't invent it (and didn't claim to).