texts: What would a 9th-century German count do if he wanted to spend some time with his wife?

texts:
Are there any records of leisure activities by married noble couples in approximately 821?
What sort of things can they both do? Did women go on hunts with men? Could there have been a theater, or a particularly sparkling mass in the local church? What sorts of entertainment or general bonding activities was there for a low-to-mid-tier noble that men and women could do together?

It is the Year of our LORD 821. Count Aldwin (31) of Hattuaria and Countess Sigihild (26)'s relationship has gone sour after her miscarriage and his alleged affair with the kitchen maid (which is totally fake news), so Aldwin wants so take her out on an activity they can enjoy together, hoping to regain the spark they had in the earlier years of their marriage.


texts: Which came first: polytheism or monotheism?

texts:
It seems a common position that monotheism tends to evolve out of polytheism.  Wikipedia offers a few historical examples of this.

However, many polytheistic religions seem to have monotheistic overtones.

Some native American mythology speaks of an universal and omniscient Great Spirit.
Hinduism is said to be monotheistic, by some accounts, even though it appears to be polytheistic to the casual observer.

Further, some of the most famous polytheistic religions have a different definition of "god" than the monotheistic religions do.  Every monotheistic religion (that I am aware of, there may be exceptions) believe that their god is the creator of the world, and all that inhabit it.  From this view point, many gods in the famous polytheistic religions would be considered simply spirits (possibly angels, possibly demons, depending on the terminology of the specific monotheistic religion).

Consider the following famous polytheistic religions:

Ancient Egypt -- Amun-Ra is apparently a self-created creator god, who ruled over many (all?) of the other Egyption gods.
Ancient Greece -- All Greek gods can be traced back to the single primordial god, Chaos.

[Please note I do not pretend to have anywhere near a complete understanding of the mythologies of these groups. I've just done a very superficial survey of these belief systems.]

There seems to be enough evidence, at least from a superficial look at these few religions, that it would have been feasible for these various religions to have grown out of a monotheistic world view, rather than vice-versa.

Is there any evidence to suggest whether either polytheism or monotheism came first, as an established form of religion? Or do we even have any way of knowing?


texts: Importance of religion for a common man in medieval India

texts:
I have recently studied the rise of Islam and the origins of Bhakti movement in medieval India. All the sources that I have referred to talk of the spread of new religious ideas and people converting from one religion to another as something that happens on its own. However, in modern India, religion is a very sensitive subject for most people and converting from one religion to another or adopting a new religious philosophy is unthinkable and looked down upon by society. So my question is what did religion mean for an average Indian in the early medieval period. Why was it so easy to convert people?
My prominent sources are: A History of Sikhs by Khuswant Singh
NCERT textbook of history for class 8


texts: What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?

texts:
I remember reading that Catholic missionaries in old Oregon Country made more converts per capita than Protestant missionaries, besides being in general better-received by the Native Americans.

What advantages did the Catholic missionaries in the Northwest have over Protestant ones, that made them more accepted among Indians?


texts: Why did Bierut threaten to murder families of those who did not join him?

texts:
My knowledge is very small on this. Boleslaw Bierut was a Polish Communist leader who became the President of Poland after the Soviet takeover of the country, in the aftermath of WW2 as Wikipedia says.
From a family member, I came to hear that after the Second World War, men with families that refused to join the Polish United Workers' Party were murdered along with their families.

I could not find more on this subject, however my curiosity increased ever since.
What was the reason behind this?


texts: Is there a majority viewpoint for the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization?

texts:
This article on the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization posits four different points at which the civilization ended:

  Is it the definitive end of native Egyptian rule (at least until the 20th century)? In this case the answer would be the flight of King Nectanebo II in 342 BC. Is it Egypt's absorption into the Roman Empire in 30 BC? Or the last appearance of the ancient hieroglyphic script just before AD 400? Or the closure of the last pagan temples in the sixth century?

The article seems to argue that the final option, the closing of the last pagan temples is the most appropriate for the end of the civilization. I can find a lot of articles advocating that the end was when the civilization was absorbed into the Roman Empire, but I am wondering is this the majority view amongst academics, and does it make the most sense as the end of the civilization?

I realize this is somewhat opinion based (what history isn't?), but there should be someone who can articulate why one point is the accepted majority, if it exists at all.


texts:
If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?

The Ch’in Dynasty, which lasted for only 39 years, was China’s shortest-lived dynasty. (Compare that to the Shang’s 750 years, Chou’s 900 years, and Han’s 400+ years.) But China was named for this seemingly minor dynasty. Why?


texts: Did Henry VIII have his bedroom bricked up every night?

texts:
I was just watching some TV with my kids, and we were enjoying the (normally reliable) Horrible Histories TV show.

It claimed that Henry VIII had a long series of bedtime preparations to ensure his nightly slumber was safe. Fair enough. The final step, though, was to brick up his doorway each and every night, taking the wall down in the morning.

This seems pretty crazy. If Henry could get out in the morning, intruders would surely have been able to get in fairly easily. If the wall was mortared, it would take too long to dry. Not to mention the level of skill involved by artisans to do the brickwork.

So I searched on it and found nothing except a bunch of other amateur historians also ridiculing the idea.

I posted about this on social media and, to my surprise, the historical adviser to the series replied to say he'd heard the story from the owners of Allington Castle. That seems a bit of a flimsy basis to me. And even with the extra information I couldn't track down any evidence.

Is there any truth to this story? Is it as unlikely as it sounds?


texts: Duchy and Electorate of Saxony during the Schmalkaldic War

texts:
The Wikipedia page for the Schmalkaldic War list the Duchy of Saxony and the Electorate of Saxony as opposing sides of the war, each with their own monarch (Maurice is the Duke of Saxony, John Frederick I is the Elector). From reading the rest of the page, looks like John Frederick I is the main leader of Saxony. What was the Duchy of Saxony then? Was it a subordinate territory to the Electorate? Or was it a different land, ruled independently from the Electorate? Or was it just a title, like the "Prince of Wales" in the UK does not really rule Wales? How did it come to be separate from the Electorate?

Another curious thing is that in the succession box below their articles, Wikipedia claims that after the Elector's defeat, they exchanged their title (Maurice became Elector, JF became Duke). Why did they grant the Duke title to the defeated Elector?


texts: On 15 October 1810 the 92nd Regiment were billeted in ruined houses at Crozendera, Portugal. Can anyone pinpoint this location?

texts:
During the Peninsular War the 92nd Highland Regiment (the "Gordon Highlanders") was moving from Lisbon to join with Wellington's army behind the Torres Vedras lines. On their arrival, on 15 October 1810, they were billeted in ruined houses at Crozendera, Portugal.  (This according to the 1901 The Life of a Regiment: The History of the Gordon Highlanders, by,
Charles Greenhill Gardyne, and Cyril Falls, p.232.)
Some other similar 19th century works, such as those cited by the Wikipedia entry for the regiment, give the spelling as "Crozendeira".
Can anyone pinpoint this location?


texts: Can someone identify these German ww2 badges?

texts: I have a number of badges on a leather pouch. Can someone identify these?


texts: What weapon systems have come and gone very quickly?

texts:
Looking at Battle of Tsushima, 1905, something that struck me was

  And finally, by 27 May 1905, Admiral Tōgō and his men had two battleship fleet actions under their belts, which amounted to over four hours of combat experience in battleship-to-battleship combat at Port Arthur and the Yellow Sea.

which kinda implied that, in 1905, they were pretty much veterans in terms of having commanded new-style battleships (armored, steel, steam powered, using mostly large guns) in combat.

Battleships, through the Dreadnoughts, then became the backbone of Western navies.

Yet, by 1944/45, battleships were pretty much obsolete, besides being used for shore bombardment.  From Tsushima/Dreadnoughts, that was a major weapon system that went from dominance to obsolescence in less than 40 years.

What other weapon systems have come and gone very quickly?

has to be a major/dominant/war-winning weapon.  Zeppelins were never that important, for example, so the fact they only lasted for a few years doesn't count.
Technology turnover is much quicker nowadays, so a similar development in ancient times or the Middle Ages could count on a longer lifespan.
"Weapons systems" is loosely defined.  The Phalanx was fairly dominant for some time, but eventually opponents learned to flank it.  That would count, except that it lasted for a while.  And, no, pikemen in the Middle Ages wouldn't count as a continuation of the Phalanx - phalanxes were a specialized infantry-on-infantry formation, while pikemen were meant to stop cavalry.

Other candidates - except that their lifetimes, while limited to a small slice of the historical record, was not in fact all that short - might be crossbows or war chariots.  After a while, they pretty much disappeared from large scale use in any given theater.

it has to be recognizably distinct from its predessor

Japanese, Chinese or other non-Western weapons for which there was both large scale use and a clear historical record are fine.

Edit:  in response to lack of clarity in my question so far:

I really meant a weapon that disappeared on its own because it didn't work anymore, but it had, at some point.  Essentially a counter-weapon/tactic had been found to it and, except for militaries too incompetent to realize it, it won't be used anymore.  Polish cavalry charging the Nazis in 39 is already behind on that clock, except for the bravery factor which is sadly timeless.
It is particularly distinct from what related weapon/systems recently preceded/succeeded it.  Sure, V1s were very much a flash in the pan in 44/45, but cruise missiles are now very much staple technology - V1s are essentially unsuccessful recent predecessors to modern cruise missiles.


texts: What is this 18th or 19th century muzzle gun recently used in a robbery?

texts:
The spanish newspaper describes the weapon, incorrectly IMHO as a "trabuco" (blunderbuss). I ask for a more accurate description.
https://lacronicadesalamanca.com/196620-detenido-en-aldeatejada-tras-robar-en-varios-hoteles-de-avila-a-punta-de-trabuco/
I offer a translation to the news below, but I don't know if it's appropriate. Feel free to delete that text if you want.

The Salamanca Chronicle
Arrested in Aldeatejada after robbing several hotels in Ávila at
blunderbuss-point
He took about 500 euros and ran away in a cab.
The Civil Guard of Salamanca arrested this Wednesday morning at a > gas station in Aldeatejada an individual who fled after carrying > out two robberies hours earlier in hotel establishments in Avila > at blunderbuss-point.
The agents believe that he could also be the author of a third > > robbery
committed in another hotel in the capital of Avila on Wednesday night.
At the National Police Station in Ávila on Wednesday was received the
notice from several hotels alerting of having been victims of
robberies by a man who carried an old muzzle gun, which led to an
investigation that allowed the identification of the criminal.
Meanwhile, the alleged robber, who had fled by taxi, stopped at first
to refuel at a gas station in the province of Avila, where he required
the employee to exchange coins for bills, at which time the worker
realized that the man had a gun, something he reported to the Guardia Civil
After these communications, the police officers began working together
to determine that the individual who had exchanged money at the gas
station was the same one who had previously docked at the hotel
establishments.
After being intercepted at the second stop at a petrol station, this
time in Aldeatejada, the agents checked that the suspect was the same,
and when they searched him they found the pistol and nearly 500 euros
in banknotes and coins, which led to his arrest.
On the other hand, the Avila Police are investigating whether the
detainee is also the author of another robbery of a hotel in the city
that was committed on Wednesday afternoon. If this fact is confirmed,
there would be three hotels in the capital of Avila that suffered the
same type of crime.


texts: Did USS Buck (DD-761) send the message “Temper, Temper”?

texts:
In a March 26, 2019 Reddit post with 1.1k upvotes, there is a picture with a story as follows (emphasis added).

15 Mar 1952: The Wisconsin receives her first direct hit in her history when one of four shells from a North Korean 152mm gun battery struck the shield of a starboard 40mm mount.
Subsequently, the Wisconsin destroyed the battery with a full 16in salvo before continuing her mission.
After destroying the artillery battery with her big guns, the Wisconsin received a message from one of her escorts, USS Buck (DD-761). The message read simply "Temper, temper".

Did the event in bold, namely a message from the USS Buck (DD-761) reading "Temper, temper", ever get sent to the USS Wisconsin on or after 15 Mar 1952?
I have not seen any version of the story with the USS Buck's message until 5 days ago. Here is a picture of the USS Buck with the USS Wisconsin (and the USS Saint Paul (CA-73)) on 22 Feb 1952. The image can be accessed here.


texts: Percentage of the draft pool that were conscripted during WW2 and Vietnam

texts:
During the times of these conflicts I'm pretty sure the eligible ages to be drafted were from 18 - 25. During these times what percentage of US males between those ages were drafted. I'd like to be able to compare the number between WWII and Vietnam.

To put the question in perspective and dumb it down say (obviously false) during WWII the US at the time had 500,000 men between 18 - 25, 400,000 of which were drafted. So 80% of draft eligible males in the US at the time were drafted.


texts: When was the last time (if ever) an elector was faithless in US presidential elections?

texts:
With regards to the ongoing US presidential elections, I just read this on electoral-vote.com:

Could There Be Faithless Electors?
Presidential electors are supposed to vote for the person who got the
most votes in their state (or for three electors in Nebraska and two
in Maine, their district). But an electoral vote for someone else
counts, even though it may violate state law. If the electoral vote is
close, there will be intense lobbying of the electors to switch sides.
Electors have received death threats in the past. No doubt some have
been offered bribes as well.

This gives the impression that it would be very unusual, but still a real possibility.
My question is, when was the last time (if ever) an elector was "faithless" in US presidential elections, i.e., voted for someone else than the candidate who got the most votes in their state (or district)?


texts: Why did the Dutch West India Company allow Quakers in the New Netherlands?

texts:
In 1657 a group of English Quakers arrived in New Amsterdam (the Dutch colonial town that became modern New York City).  They were persecuted by the colonial government there for their religion.  Then in 1663 the colony's bosses - the directors of the Dutch West India Company - ordered the governor to allow Quakerism in the colony.

The Company considered the Quaker religion "abominable", yet reversed the governor's policy of persecution, a policy that was entirely in line with the practices of most other European colonies of the day.  Why did they order the change?


texts: Did the Weimar governments publish revelatory WWI documents?

texts:
Consider this statement from a speech by Yegor Gaidar:

  Historically, such myths have a dangerous precedent--namely, Germany
  between World War I and World War II. Then, the legend went that
  Germany was never defeated in the war, but "stabbed in the back" by
  the Jews and the Socialists. To some degree, the responsible party was
  the democratic German government, as it was unprepared to publish
  materials about what really happened before and after World War I.

Is his rendition of the facts correct? That is - is it true that the democratic Weimar Governments declined to publish WWI documents which revealed that Germany was actually defeated?
If yes, is there information why they took such an apparently illogical decision?


texts: In which East European country in the 1980s did people put their TVs in front of windows and turn them facing outside?

texts:
Years ago, I read an article about the period during which regime changes happened in Eastern European countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was mentioned in the article that, in one of those countries, citizens began to put their TVs in front of the windows to give the message that the propaganda and false news no longer worked. Which country was it?

I don't need a source, but it would be great if someone included one in their answer.


texts: Where can I find a reliable source for the U.S. national population estimated since 1790?

texts:
I am shocked that I cannot put my finger on this information and I must resort to asking here. I am looking for U.S. population estimates from 1790-present. Preferably there is an estimate for each year, but I am ok with just the census values every 10 years. I have tried navigating the U.S. Census Bureau's website for at least an hour with unsatisfactory results.

I have also found this website, but I am looking for something which looks more citable.


texts: Based on his service record, where was this soldier deployed in WW2?

texts:
I am trying to work out where my grandmother's cousin, Henry Adler, saw action during WW2. Henry was born June 14th 1917 in Glasgow. I have his Soldier's Service and Pay Book as well as his Soldier's Release Book. I also have some information written on the back of photographs. Any help or advice would be most appreciated.

What I know

According to his Service Book, Henry Adler was enlisted at Glasgow on 15th February 1940. His army number is 2824155. He joined the Royal Artillery in addition it says "A/S Group 26":

Later in the book it has a record of employment as an army tradesman:

Later in the book, in the medical classification section, probably sometime after 1943 although the dates are not clear, is a medical report completed by "Lieut Col RA, Commanding 208 Fd (SP) Regt RA".

Also, there are several A.F.W3084 forms which say Arm: R.A. (H.A.A.) and have the (H.A.A.) scored out and (FD) written after it. There are also several of the same forms which say Arm: H.A.A. His rank is always listed as GNR.

His Soldier's release book says R.A. (Field) and Sidcup Kent. There is a military dispersal unit stamp No.1 17 Feb 1946 Edinburgh. His Release Leave Certificate lists his rank as GNR and his unit, regt. or corps as '208 Fld. (SP) Regt R.A.' Place is listed as 21.ABPO and date 16 Jan 1946. The officer's signature is stamped 'Lieut, Colonel. R.A. Commanding 208 Field (S.P.) Regiment, R.A. There are other stamps including Carlisle and Edinburgh and later dates. It is also stamped WS14.

Photos which might help:

There are photos of him wearing various different uniforms and hats. This one (Henry on left) from April 27th 1940 in Edinburgh appears to be the earliest:

Another photo (16 Jan 1941) shows him in a different uniform (left):

During 1941 there are photos of him in this same uniform in Dundee.

On the back of this photo of him in uniform it is written "130 H.A.A. Reg R.A." dated 30 May 1942:

Another photo from 21 Sep 1942 shows him with a hat and uniform (back left):

On the back of this photo of a group it is written "134 "2" (m) A/A  Bty Greenock 1942-44 Lyle Hill" Henry is seated cross legged immediately right of the man with the dog.

This photo is taken in Deolali, India in yet another uniform:

This photo shows him in uniform and beret. It could be India given the look of the man with the sewing machine on his right behind him but the sign on his left says Gent's Tailor in English. It isn't dated.

Finally, this photo shows him in yet another uniform and hat dated July 1945.


texts: Is external expansion an element of fascist ideology

texts:
The topic of ideology is very fascinating to me. I'm currently writing a book about it. Although its related to a different context, information about all ideology would be helpful.

I'm getting confused by the answers to this question. which seem to deny that there is any connection between a fascistic ideology and the drive for external expansion by Japan.

Wikipedia provides this definition, for example:

  Robert Paxton says that fascism is "a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."[32]

Definitions of ideology are always slippery, so it may be that the external expansion of fascist nations had other historical reasons, but I am attributing it to ideology.

Is external expansion and aggressive militarism a consistent element of fascist ideology? Have any historians argued specifically that it is not essential?

Or perhaps, I would also be interested in the platforms of any somewhat large neo-Nazi or modern fascist parties. Do they have arguments why their ideology is peaceful?

Is there an example of a fascist or fascistic nation that has ever not sought external expansion? The definition of "fascistic" must be left open for this question, but please let me know why a nation might be fascist-like unless it is a member of the Axis.


texts: When is the first recorded use of a fireship?

texts: When were the first accounts of fire ships? They were used in The American Revolutionary War but is there any other sources saying that these were used beforehand?


texts: Are there churches that belong to the German Armed Forces?

texts:
Yesterday, while walking through Graz, in southern Austria, I noticed an old church. I noticed it because it had a big symbol painted over its entrance door. You might have seen this symbol in WWI and WWII media; I took a photo:

Why does this church have the logo of the German Military? Does it own churches in Austria and Germany?


texts: Why did typesetting allegedly "make it difficult for illegal copiers"?

texts:
From the Wikipedia article Typesetting

One significant effect of typesetting was that authorship of works could be spotted more easily, making it difficult for copiers who have not gained permission.

This makes no sense to me. If anything, typesetting (as opposed to manually writing with one's hand) causes uniformity -- not uniqueness. Why would using this method make it any easier to "spot the authorship of works"?
What am I missing?


texts: Why is Toledo not the capital of Spain anymore?

texts: A few hundred years ago Toledo was the capital of Spain. Back then, Madrid was a small town with a relatively small number of citizens. What is the reason that Toledo is not the capital anymore?


texts: What kind of musical instruments were used in ancient barbarian tribes?

texts:
I am a member of a reenactment group in Romania, and we mostly do Roman, Dacian tribes and other barbarian tribes (allies of Dacians).

Some other members including myself want to form a band, and be as historically accurate as possible.

So what kind of musical instruments were used back then?

I think we have the drums covered, and kind of know how they should be (with some animal skin, for example pork).
But with other instruments, I'm completely lost on how it should look like, or if some sort of proto-guitar even existed.

But, given the influence the Romans had in those parts of the world, can we assume that they could have used Roman instruments?


texts: Before 1961, what did they think would happen to people in weightlessness?

texts:
Reading up on the beginnings of human spaceflight, I came across this line on Wikipedia:

  [Vostok 1] was flown in an automatic mode as a precaution; medical science at that time did not know what would happen to a human in the weightlessness of space.

What did people think would happen to human beings in weightlessness?  Ideally, I'm looking for medical opinions from before 1961, but any reference would be better than what I have right now.


texts: Did Reagan really conspire to drop oil prices?

texts:
Wikipedia says that Ronald Reagan persuaded Saudi Arabia to rise oil production so to drop the prices and make pressure on the Soviet economy. I encountered such claim in many other sources as well.

But if we look at the oil production plot

we can see that in 1982-1988 there was actually a drop in oil production by Saudi Arabia while the USSR had the peak of oil production at the same time. Saudi Arabia increased production only after the production by the USSR dropped in the end of 1980s.

So was not it actually the USSR who dropped the prices, and not Saudi Arabia?


texts: What really happened to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?

texts:
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel is a well-documented semi-historical legend in Jewish history, and appears in sources from a number of ancient cultures. The factual history however, seems to be shrouded in much confusion.

The best known fact is perhaps that the (Neo-)Assyrian empire deported much of the population of Ancient Israel (the northern part of modern Israel, rather than the southern part of Ancient Judah) eastwards when they conquered the kingdom. This is much myth surrounding this deportation and the eventual destination of these people, with many modern ethnic groups claiming descent (often with minimal to no evidence) from the Ten Lost Tribes. Rabbinic folklore is also a source here, but I do not think most historians would accept it.

My question is, does there exist any hard historical evidence as to the fate of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? Does modern scholarly research put a figure on how many Israelites were deported from their homeland, if indeed it was significant? The later diaspora of Jews, during Roman and later Arab occupation, is generally much better documented, and led to Jews migrating away as far as India, China, and eventually the Americas. This ancient deportation by the Neo-Assyrians, however, is what I am really wondering about.


texts: Did most pants in the late 1800s have plackets at the ankle?

texts:
Recently, while at the New York Public Library, I spotted this painting:

In it, Charles Astor Bristed is, in his youth, sporting pantaloons that appear to have a placket from ankle to knee.

Did all pants of this time period have this placket? If so, what purpose did it serve, or was it merely fashionable?

(Images are sourced from this flickr account, for reference.)


texts: How didn't the North Koreans catch the pun "We paean the DPRK. We paean their great leader Kim Il Sung"?

texts:
USS Pueblo (AGER-2) - Wikipedia

Commander Lloyd M. Bucher was psychologically tortured, including being put through a mock firing squad in an effort to make him confess. Eventually the North Koreans threatened to execute his men in front of him, and Bucher relented and agreed to "confess to his and the crew's transgression." Bucher wrote the confession since a "confession" by definition needed to be written by the confessor himself. They verified the meaning of what he wrote, but failed to catch the pun when he said "We paean the DPRK [North Korea]. We paean their great leader Kim Il Sung".[26] (Bucher pronounced "paean" as "pee on.")[27]

Although CDR Bucher made this pun back in 1968, didn't North Koreans know or have Anglophones who've caught this pun? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "paean" is a noun and verb. But as a verb, it's "poetic. Now rare."  Also, it doesn't make sense in the context of Bucher's sentence.

Why didn't they catch this pun after CDR Bucher pronounced "paean" as "pee on"?


texts: What was the point of hanging in “hanging, drawing, and quartering”?

texts:
As I understand it, “hanging, drawing, and quartering” was specifically designed in order to be torturous and frightening. Certainly drawing (whether referring to dragging by a horse, or disembowelment) and quartering fulfilled this purpose. I wonder, however, why hanging was a constant in this array of procedures.

I would think that the risk of premature death (as was the case during the execution of Guido Fawkes), and the potential loss of consciousness and perception which would diminish the suffering experienced in the remaining part of the procedure, would make this inappropriate for the intended purpose. I would also assume that strangulation in and of itself, while certainly excessively distressing by present standards, did not compare in either experienced or displayed suffering with drawing and quartering.

My best guess thus far is that there was a “ritual” aspect associated with hanging, so that authories were motivated to keep it as a constant feature throughout execution methods (here, however, I would remark that I have not heard of hanging being used in conjunction with burning), or maybe that it allowed broader viewing during public executions (this would explain why it was not used in conjunction with burning, since that would have been broadly visible on its own). Still, I was unable to find any sort of authoritative or historical commentary on this.


texts: Have there been any efforts by the countries of Europe to restore their monarchies?

texts: Have there been any effort, polls, referendum in Europe (especially Eastern ex-communist countries) to restore deposed monarchies, like in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc.? Most Monarchies were deposed of because of communist regimes, Nazi occupation or military dictatorships rather than the will of the people (correct me if I am wrong).


texts: Where can I find historical data of changes in the population of Buddhist followers since Ancient India?

texts: I need some sources regarding the changes in the size of Buddhist populations since the death of Gautama Buddha, e.g. the number of Buddhists in what is modern day India from 410 BC until now, or just global historical data of Buddhist populations around the world since the religion started spreading. Exact sources would be great. This is part of a research paper I am doing, and partly out of pure curiousity as well. Thanks.


texts: Why are the majority of Dresden inhabitants atheists or agnostics?

texts:
German Wikipedia says that

  Four fifths of the inhabitants of Dresden
  do not belong to any religious community.
  Approx. 20 % of the population is predominantly Christian.

Original German text:

  Etwa vier Fünftel der Einwohner gehören keiner religiösen
  Gemeinschaft an. Etwa 20 % der Stadtbevölkerung setzt sich
  mehrheitlich aus Angehörigen christlicher Konfessionen zusammen.

I expected the majority of Dresden inhabitants to be either Catholics or Protestants. According to this article, most of them (80 %) are not officially religious.

What events led to this? Why are 80 % of Dresden inhabitants atheists, agnostics, or "spiritual, but not religious"?

My first guess was the persecution of Christians by the Communists. If this hypothesis is true, we should see a comparable picture in other countries of the former Eastern bloc. I assume that Christianity was persecuted most harshly in Russia. In Soviet Russia

there were mass killings of Christian priests (contrary to Eastern Germany) and
the Russians were exposed to atheist propaganda longer than Eastern Germans (1991 - 1917 = 74 years in Russia vs. 44 years in Eastern Germany).

If this logic is correct, there must be a lower percentage of Christians in Russia than in Dresden.

However, Wikipedia says that 41 % of Russians are Russian Orthodox, i. e. belong to a religious community that was persecuted the strongest during socialism. This means there are more than twice as many Christians in Russia (41 % Russian Orthodox, 47.1 %, if you count all Christian confessions) than in Dresden (20 %).

Therefore my original hypothesis is wrong (does not explain the low number of religious people in Dresden).

Update 1:

There are several other cities in Eastern Germany with similar parameters:

Leipzig: 80 % of the population do not belong to any religious tradition (German: Heute gehören 80 % der Bevölkerung keiner Religion an.).
Chemnitz: In 2007, 80 % of the population did not belong to any religion (Etwa 80 Prozent der Bevölkerung gehörten 2007 keiner Religion an.).
Rostock: In 2016, 10 % of the population were Protestants and 3.2 % Catholic. The vast majority of Rostock inhabitants is irreligious (Im Jahr 2016 waren 10 % der Rostocker Bevölkerung evangelisch und 3,2 % katholisch.[86] Die große Mehrheit der Rostocker ist hingegen konfessionslos.).
Erfurt: In a representative household poll by the Erfurt's statistical authority in 2011, 11 % of people said they were religious, and 81 % non-religous. In the cohort of people between 18 and 24 years old these numbers were 9 % and 88 %. In the cohort of people over 65 years, these were 14 % and 70 %. According to official data (Melderegister) of 2010, 13.7 % of population were Protestant, 6.5 % Roman-Catholic, 0.2 % Jewish, and 0.8 % belonged to a different religious tradition. (In der repräsentativen Haushaltebefragung der Erfurter Statistikstelle für 2011 bezeichneten sich 11 % der Befragten als religiös und 81 % als nicht religiös. Bei den 18- bis 24-Jährigen waren es 9 % und 88 % und bei den über 65-Jährigen 14 % und 70 %. [...] Nach Melderegister waren zum 31. Dezember 2010 etwa 13,7 % der Bevölkerung evangelisch, rund 6,5 % römisch-katholisch, nur 0,2 % jüdisch und 0,8 % gehörten einer anderen registrierten Religionsgemeinschaft [...] an.).


texts: How did samurai keep their blade effective when away from any sharpening tools?

texts:
I was wondering, regardless of the type of blade, how did samurais keep their blade effective when they are away from any sharpening tools / professionals.

Coming from daily using a Japanese chef knife, there is a significant difference between honing and sharpening. Honing is done very frequently, minutes intervals on intense usage, while sharpening under the same usage could be done in months intervals. Honing is also very cost efficient, with little skill and time the results are significant.

So I'm guessing, since honing is kind of simple (technique-wise) and very effective, while sharpening is quite an art, did samurais hone their blades frequently? If so how did they are away?


texts: Which US naval ship from 1905 is depicted on this photo?

texts: I found this photo in a relatives old photo collection. Most of the photos were taken around 1905 so I assume the ship photo was taken around that time. A lot of the photos were taken in upstate NY around the Hudson River Valley.


texts: Were Roman males ever named after their mothers?

texts: We know that Roman men often named sons after them, and daughters were usually given the feminine form of their father's name. But are there any records or evidence that a Roman man was ever given the masculine version of his mother's name?


texts: How did German unification affect existing sentences for criminal convicts?

texts:
The German reunification of 1990 was legally the annexation of West Berlin (a separately administered occupied territory) and East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) by West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany, or FRG).  What effect did this have on the status of people who were serving criminal sentences under East German law?  In particular:

If, at the time of reunification, someone was serving time for a crime that was on the books in GDR law but not FRG law, did they get (a) immediate release, (b) release upon application by the convict, or (c) no change in their status?

If, at the time of reunification, someone was serving time for a crime that was on the books in both GDR law and in FRG law, but the two sets of laws prescribed different sentences, were these sentences (a) automatically shortened or lengthened, (b) shortened or lengthened on application by the convict/prosecution, or (c) left unchanged?

More generally, were those who had been convicted of a crime under GDR law, where said crime was also on the books in the FRG, entitled to a retrial under FRG jurisprudence, or were all past convictions of this sort left to stand?


texts: How did WWII change the GDPs of the great empires of the world?

texts: According to wikipedia some of the greatest European empires seemed to peak in GDP in 1938. I assume that it was WWII that caused declines in the GDPs of these empires. If this indeed the case, then how exactly did WWII affect these countries imperialism to cause this GDP drop? And if this is not the case, then what DID affect these countries imperialism to cause this GDP drop?


texts: Is there a relationship between the Pelasgians and Sea Peoples?

texts:
Wikipedia describes the Pelasgians as follows:

  all the indigenous inhabitants of the Aegean Sea region and their cultures before the advent of the Greek language.

And that these people where seen by ancient writers as

  ...populations that either were the ancestors of the Greeks or preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world".

The "Sea Peoples" are described as follows

  The Sea Peoples were conjectured groups of seafaring raiders, usually thought to originate from either western Anatolia or southern Europe, specifically a region of the Aegean Sea.

Furthermore, I read an interesting analysis about the Philistines which suggest that that the Philistines, Sea Peoples and Pelasgians are all linked somehow.

I don't know much about the bronze age Mediterranean so forgive me if I ask a silly question but I'm curious to know if these tribes of people are related.


texts: Did Cahokia have any communication with Mexica or Mayan civilization?

texts:
It's roughly 2,000 kilometers from St. Louis to modern Mexico city, as the crow flies; a little farther to the Yucatan.  The Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico provide reasonably direct water links.  Is there any evidence that trade, diplomacy, or other communication occurred between Cahokia and either Aztec Empire or any of the Mayan kingdoms?

Certainly some ideas defused, most obviously the key crops of corn, beans, and squash.  To my untrained eye, Mississippian artwork resembles Mesoamerican, but that's not diagnostic.


texts: Did early American settlers have to buy their land from the government?

texts:
During the early English settlement period in North America, did settlers buy their land from the government, or did they simply find some land and build a home there?

To be more specific, I'm looking at

the period from, say, Roanoke to the French and Indian War
organized colonial areas like the Massachusetts Bay Colony or Virginia


texts: Did Jeanne d'Arc really tell a woman that she couldn't serve on the battlefield?

texts:
When I was browsing TV Tropes today, I came across this interesting tidbit of information on Jeanne d'Arc's Useful Notes page:

"Also, Joan has been attributed with feminist and/or populist views, despite telling one woman what was, in her era, to Stay in the Kitchen."

Did Jeanne really say such a thing and is there any written evidence that  supports this?


texts: How did pilots know when to release bombs on airplanes during World War2?

texts:
Given that during this time computing technology wasn't advanced enough to calculate when to drop bombs accurately on a target, I recall hearing something about bomber pilots using a modified watch to deploy bombs.

I was wondering is this true and if so what are these watches?


texts: How likely would it have been for a rural Bohemian to encounter someone with darker skin?

texts:
Recently a new video game was released called Kingdom Come: Deliverance, claiming to be a somewhat authentic representation of life in medieval Bohemia. However at the same time the game has courted some controversy because it's notable lack of minority ethnic characters. Apart from a tribe of Cumans the game features no characters of ethnicities with darker skin colours such as Moors. The developers do claim that they worked with historians and that they could find no conclusive evidence to support the presence of people with darker skin in the area at the time. The game is set around the year 1403 and is set in a more rural area of Bohemia such as the city Skalitz.

My question now would be: how likely would it have been for someone living in that time to come in contact with a person of a minority ethnic background as described above if we can assume that the person stayed mostly in their locale and did not, for example, visit big cities or trade hubs?

A question dealing with a similar topic about minorities in Bohemia has been asked before but not been answered: What was the prevalence of ethnic minorities in 15th century Bohemia?


texts: Was the British Empire bigger than the combined empires of the Iberian Union in terms of claimed land area?

texts:
The Iberian Empire (1580-1640 AD), under Phillip II, a Habsburg, was a period when there was only one crown in the Iberian Peninsula.  The 16th Century had been an Age of Discovery and Exploration for Portugal and Spain.  By the end of the 16th century, shortly after the Iberian Union (Spain and Portugal, 1580-1640), the Iberian Empire  comprised the whole Iberian Peninsula, most of Southern Italy including Sicily and Sardinia, Corsica, what is now Belgian territory, the 17 provinces of the Netherlands, small parts of France, Germany and Austria, all of South and Central America, Half of North America, Cape Verde, The Canaries, Madeira, The Azores, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and several Caribbean islands, the Portuguese African colonies of Angola and Mozambique, the Spanish African colonies, the Philippines, Goa, and parts of what are now India and Indonesia.

The first information I expect is an answer to "when were the British and the Iberian Empires at their peaks in terms of land area?" If the former was before 1755, one cannot include what was French Territory in North America. The latter can only have reached its peak some time between 1580 and 1640 which is the period when the Iberian Empire existed.  By "largest" I mean in terms of land area, not political or military presence which was certainly more important under the British, during Victorian Age.  Could the old maxim "The sun never sets on the British Empire" be applied to the Iberian Empire as well? Although short lived, was it at one time the largest empire ever?

Illustration from Wikipedia (only the Illustration)


texts: Did British measures cause starvation in Norway during WWI?

texts:
The description of the movie "Hamsun" at IMDB states:

  Knut Hamsun is Norway's most famous and admired author. Ever since he
  was young he has hated the English for the starvation they caused
  Norway during WWI.

Based on an internet search, I have been unable to confirm that there was starvation in Norway during WWI. I can find nothing on measures taking by the British against Norway (such as a naval blockade) that might have been the cause of a famine.

The information I have found is that during WWI the British pressured neutral Norway to put some part of its merchant fleet at their disposal, and that a British naval blockade during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s caused famine in Norway.

The fact that Hamsun (1859-1952) was in his mid-fifties at the outbreak of WWI (no longer a "young man"), and born some forty years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars further would further seem to shed serious doubt on the accuracy of the quoted statement.


texts:
What is the most important historical theme of Bronze age society?

For them of course it would have been just surviving, but as historians, when we look back at it now. What's (most likely) the single biggest thing that characterizes the bronze age?

I'm designing a video game with a Bronze Age motif, and admittedly, that is my primary interest for asking this question. Still the history itself also interests me, and so I have turned to this site for information.


texts:
What is a difference between the revolution in Egypt that sprung recently and the Russian Revolution of 1917

i need to find a difference between the revolution that happened recently in Egypt, forcing mubarak out of power and the russian revolution of 1917.

The difference must be related to the causes and circumstances around the revolutions.


texts: Why did people in some countries start to drive on the right?

texts:
Most people are right-handed and it seems natural that people used the left hand side of the road when riding horses or simply walking. In case of conflict a weapon could be easily put between you and the opponent.

However, I've read the change to drive on the right is due to Napoleon. How accurate is this story? What's the real origin of the move?


texts: Why command hierarchy, if the chain of command is standing next to each other?

texts:
Screenshot's from 1:08:19. I transcribe:

2: Order the 58th to withdraw.
1 to 3: Fraser, order the 58th to withdraw.
3: Yes sir.

I don't understand this command hierachy:

Similarly, an officer is usually expected to give orders only to his or her direct subordinate, even if it is just to pass an order down to another service member lower in the chain of command than said subordinate.

Especially in this scene, isn't command hierachy too unproductive and redundant? I can understand if the Col and Maj weren't standing together side-by-side, but here they are.
I'm uncertain of 1's identity. I'm guessing from IMDB  "Col. Stewart" played by Peter Tobin.


texts: Bretton Woods System : The Meaning as International Monetary System

texts:
I have a short and brief question about Bretton Woods System :

In which way so called Bretton Woods system defined with which properties?
What is the raison d'être of the Bretton Woods System?

This Question is under the notion of complicacy of Wikipedia page regarding the subject. I require to get the more reduced form of information that is dedicated to the essentials of it.


texts: What do subjects in Hellenistic and Renaissance art suggest about the average human physique throughout history?

texts:
I recently visited the vatican museums and saw Laocoön and His Sons (27 BC to 68 AD), and also have looked up David by Michelangelo and works by Leonardo Da Vinci.
In most male subjects during these periods, they are fit and muscular. However, today's athletes are fitter and healthier than ever before. Drawing on an example of the origin of the Marathon (500 BC), I believe the messenger was said to have died in the process.
Did these artists depict only the strongest physiques? What biases of art and artists' preferences  exist in representations of humans from the Hellenistic through Renaissance periods?


texts: What was the Orthodox Church's role in Russian expansion?

texts:
Yuri Semyonov's The Conquest of Siberia says the main motivation for the Russian empire's eastwards expansion was the acquisition of furs (in the form of yasak, the fur tax assessed on native male subjects). Geopolitics was a relatively minor concern; no other power was rapidly expanding towards Russian territory, and the imperial military was in any case often occupied with wars in Europe.

Of course, the empire also had a state religion: the Orthodox church, which midway through the era of expansion, suffered a schism. Did it provide doctrinal justification for the conquest? Could it afford to missionize the new territory? Did the creation of Siberian dioceses such as the bishopric of Irkutsk change church politics?


texts:
Maimonides refers to washing with sand.

  He may wash his clothes in water, but not with soap or using sand.

Does anyone know how this was done?


texts: Did American POW’s get manipulated into cooperation in Chinese camps during the Korean War?

texts:
In Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence: the psychology of persuasion”, he recounts how during the Korean War, Chinese captors were able to get American POW’s to inform on each other. There are, however, no footnotes showing source materials.

They started out by getting the Americans to make easy, small easy negative comments about the US like, “America is not perfect.”  Then, over time, ask them to say increasingly negative things. Eventually, relying on the alleged human need to be consistent, the Chinese could get the Americans to inform on each other.

I’m not doubting the conclusions, I just want to know if these stories true.    Is there any evidence of this episode?


texts: What factors permitted Buddhism to be successful in Japan but Christianity less so?

texts: From reading The Samurai and the Sacred, it looks like Buddhism achieved acceptance into Japanese culture due to its willingness to assimilate with the (already present) Shinto religion. Conversely, those who originally brought Christianity to Japan did so in a way that prevented it from being assimilated (due to its exclusionary nature). Is this the primary factor that prevented Christianity from initially being successful in Japan or is there a better reason?


texts: How "old" is mechanized infantry in terms of usage in warfare and what should be called as such?

texts:
This topic often fascinated me as a kid. I often questioned myself if there was an equivalent of the use of machinery to protect ground soldiers during a siege or an attack at some city or whatever war was involved.

Reading the Wikipedia article for Mechanized infantry, it mentions that Mech inf (for short) are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles and it shows a picture of a M113.

But continuing reading I found that there were other vehicles used for such purposes, such as tanks and hybrid vehicles with ordinary vehicle wheels and caterpillar tracks.

I often thought that the term would be applied only to vehicles similar to the M113 but it looks like this isn't the case. Thus my question arises - if in history of warfare, this concept can be extended to other similar mechanical apparatus used by different civilizations.

Searching my memory, I recall the phalanx formation, or the mythical Trojan Horse. Is this an attempt at  mechanized infantry? How about battering rams used in the middle ages? I know in East Asia, Koreans had the Turtle ship and this doesn't count if we consider that what I'm asking moves on land and not by sea. I also forgot to mention Da Vinci's supposed tank (not sure if he did build one) and I also remember James Burke's Connections program mentioning something about Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Leipzig during the Thirty Years War: he used men armed with pikes and muskets. But again, I don't think this constitutes a mechanized infantry, maybe just a combined arms operation?

Anyways, when does this concept really began? Is there any evidence of similar things used in the ancient world, middle ages and beyond?. Moreover, during the recent Libyan war in 2011 I noticed rebels used ordinary vehicles attached to guns which the media called "technical" (for those improvised vehicles). Can these be called Mechanized infantry?. What do books say about the definition of Mech infantry used by most NATO countries today?

I hope someone can help me to get a clearer idea of all this.


texts: What was the Chinese Communist Party's organizational hierarchy in the two weeks between 15JUL1927 and 01Aug1927?

texts:
According to Zhang Guotao, Nanchang Upgrising (01Aug1927) was Li Lisan's initiative inaugurated and proposed by Zhou Enlai to Zhang GuoTao. The decision to go ahead was made between Zhou Enlai and Zhang Guotao in the name of the Standing committee of CPC (中常委). Zhang admitted that this was the first important decision made in the absence of Moscow's endorsement.

Two months later when Zhou and Zhang were still in the jungle, both men were demoted by CPC Central Committee headed by Qu Qiubai in Shanghai.

I wander what the CPC's organizational hierarchy was like during this period. Who was supposed to take orders from who?

Source: Zhang, Guotao. The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party. Book 12, Chapter 6 "The Split." Eastern Publishing. 2004

Any insights from an anthropologist's point of view is appreciated.


texts: Did Romans piss into aqueducts as a joke?

texts:
Are there any historical references to this being done? Either for fun, as revenge of some kind or for any other reason?

If this was common practice; did anyone try to prevent it from happening or was it accepted as another facet of daily life?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Why M.K. Gandhi preferred Nehru for Prime Minister candidate and not Sardar Patel?

texts: I've heard different stories on why Sardar Patel was not selected for PM post. Some says it was Gandhi who opted Nehru over Patel, whereas some suggests it was Sardar Patel who stepped back from PM post.


texts: In an old parish record a John Colzear in 1598 is listed as a "piper". What kind of job is that?


texts: Why did Gibbon call the Aegean Sea 'Holy'?

texts:
While listening to Gibbon's 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' I came across the following in Chapter 53:

  The spacious provinces of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, were obedient to their sceptre; the possession of Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete, was accompanied by the fifty islands of the Aegean or Holy Sea; and the remnant of their empire transcends the measure of the largest of the European kingdoms.

I am unfamiliar with the reference to the Aegean Sea as the Holy Sea, and I tried investigating. I thought there could be a reference to the Greek or Latin etymology of the word, but an investigation of the word root notes that we don't know the derivation. Furthermore, Wikipedia notes that the sea used to be called the Archipelago by most of the people around it.

Hence, where does Gibbon's reference to the "Holy Sea" come from?


texts: During WWII, Gandhi said that Indians should adopt a compromising attitude towards the British due to the stresses of war. Did this prolong the (near) inactivity of the Indian National Movement? Or did the economic and military losses suffered by Britain cause it to grant India Dominion Status a little earlier than it would have, without the war?


texts: Why was the Soviet Union unable to stop the violence in Nagorno-Karabakh?

texts: In 1988, a war began between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority Armenian area within Azerbaijan's borders. The Soviet Union sent in troops to keep the peace, but it didn't work. Why not?


texts: What is the meaning of the hand gesture performed by King James II in the portrait by Peter Lely?

texts:
This portrait by Peter Lely is one of the most well-known images of James II of England (aka James VII of Scotland). It is used to illustrate his Wikipedia article.

Is there some meaning behind the hand gesture the King is using in this portrait, completed before he became king? It's reminiscent of a slightly different, but presumably unrelated, modern gesture:

(While the question about pointing in general, mentioned in the comments, is interesting and relevant, it doesn’t have anything to say about this particular gesture.)


texts: Did every medieval village in Europe have a manor, castle, or other type of lord's residence?

texts:
I know that some villages were the sole and only property of certain minor lords or knights. Such villages surely had a manor (or even a castle) where the lord lives.

On the other hand, many lords had multiple villages under their fiefs. Such lords would have their castle in the most important village (probably would be a town).

So what about their other villages?
Did the lord give each of them to one of their knights and so those knight would build their manors in them?

Or did they simply leave them under their direct control and thus they would have no manor in them?
If this is the case then, how did lords collected taxes, protected, guard and rule these remote villages?


texts: Were death camps originally intended as death camps and if not, what changed?

texts:
This Holocaust info page makes two statements that seem contradictory.

The following paragraph states that death camps were designed specifically for mass murder. (I assume this means the chemical rooms used in the holocaust)

  What is a death camp? A death (or mass murder) camp is a concentration camp with special apparatus specifically designed for
  systematic murder.

But I recently read an (non canonical) account that states the gas chambers were not intended originally for mass murder, but rather for sanitation of clothing.

Surprisingly, the following statement from the same source supports this claim:

  Did the Nazis plan to murder the Jews from the beginning of their
  regime? This question is one of the most difficult to answer. While
  Hitler made several references to killing Jews, both in his early
  writings (Mein Kampf) and in various speeches during the 1930s, it is
  fairly certain that the Nazis had no operative plan for the systematic
  annihilation of the Jews before 1941.

And furthermore, the above statement claims there was likely no plan for mass murder until 1941, while the following paragraph claims the first death camps were created back in 1933, nearly a decade earlier.

  When was the first concentration camp established? The first concentration camp, Dachau, opened on March 22, 1933.

So I have two questions derived from this:

Were death camps originally intended as death camps, equipped with gas chambers for the purpose of mass murder?

and if not:

What changed? What event lead unethical imprisonment of racially, sexually, and socially disliked peoples to transform into mass murder, before the invasion of the Soviet Union?

I've considered the possibility of Hitler being out of resources due to the war, and killing the Jews purely out of (horrible, terrible, insane) strategic measure with the impending fighting with the Soviet Union. Perhaps he was just out of resources, and did something gruesome and horrible to win the war. I'm no historian, that's why I'm asking this here.

But if this is the case, it's a very different (albeit equally horrible) story from what I was taught in school as a kid. I supposed I'm simply interested in the historical accuracy of my education.


texts: How detailed were American Civil War medical records of the types of diseases that various soldiers had?

texts:
The Northern armies evidently kept at least somewhat detailed statistics on how many of their soldiers were sick. Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative recalls one incident where the Army of the Potomic's Medical Director gave an interview to a Northern newspaper in which he stated the number of soldiers on their sick list, and what percent of the total force that represented. Robert E. Lee happened to read that particular newspaper and used it to (fairly accurately) estimate the strength of his opponent.

With that said, would Northern doctors have kept detailed records on the specific diagnosis, or merely record the fact that they were sick? Would they have kept records of which treatments they used on which individuals?

All I've been able to find so far is the "raw" figures on how many people were sick; I haven't been able to find a detailed breakdown of exactly which diseases they were.


texts:
In Thomas Paine's The American Crisis, while ridiculing Sir William Howe and his recently obtained knighthood, said:

  As a proper preliminary towards the arrangement of your funeral honors, we readily admit your new rank of knighthood. The title is perfectly in character, and is your own, more by merit than creation. There are knights of various orders from the knight of the windmill to the knight of the post. The former is your patron for exploits, and the latter will assist you in settling your accounts.

A knight of the post is a professional false witness, but I can't find what a knight of the windmill is.


texts: When and how did steel supplant iron for artillery?

texts:
When did steel supplant iron for use in making artillery pieces?  And was it a peacetime innovation, or was it the result of wartime pressure to accept change?

In reading Reign of Iron, it becomes clear that iron was the technology used for artillery during the American Civil War, which is reasonable, as the Bessemer Process only dates back to the 1850s.  It also becomes clear that military progress was often hamstrung by military professionals.  The North only scrambled to build the Monitor in answer to the threat provided by the Merrimack/Virginia, and the South applied the ironclad technology in the first place in answer to the asymmetric naval threat they found themselves under.

Steel obviously supplanted iron for use in artillery by, say, World War II.  But where between 1860 and 1940 did the shift occur, and was it the result of rational preference during peacetime, or was there a clash of technologies in some conflict that made the rest of the world's military pay attention?

(I did read Wikipedia's History of Cannon and several other likely articles without seeing an obvious answer)


texts: How accurate or supported is Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel"?

texts:
Jared Diamond wrote a fascinating book that purports to explain, in a very broad way, the development of civilization.  It has several explanations for the development of Eurasian civilization rather than American civilization.

Domesticated Animals:
In Eurasia, there were several large domesticated animals, including the cow and horse.  This had advantage for animal-powered farming and transportation, as well as infecting the Eurasians with numerous diseases the Americans had no resistance to.  Diamond places great importance on diseases in human development, and likens the results of making contact with a more diseased civilization to being digested.

Direction of Expansion
It's easier for a civilization to expand in a roughly east-west direction than a north-south direction, since climate is more similar east-to-west (an example would be the lack of horses in South Africa until imported by sea, since they couldn't go by land through the tse-tse fly zone).  Eurasia extends more east-west, and America more north-south, as does Africa.

Food Production
Wheat is a better grain than corn, in terms of nutrition supplied per unit effort.

There are other factors, but it's at least a well-written book, and superficially plausible.

How accurate, well-supported, and well-regarded is this book?


texts: Are views in Thailand on Axis powers influenced by colonization?

texts:
John Oliver talked on how Nazi depictions are used commercially in Thailand.

However, Thailand regained land from the British and the French during WW2, which maybe could be partially attributed to axis powers (though they were invaded by Japan before that).

Is there a history of such views in Thailand that stem from the war, or is this a recent thing and for some other reason?

One could also comment if this is part of a bigger general trend of views that colonized areas had on Axis and Allied powers, but that may be too broad a topic.

Edit: A lack of education may be an explanation to others on why people may not be aware that such imagery is viewed negatively by others. But this doesn't explain why they would use the imagery in the first place. The images must have been seen to copy. So the next question would be how much context was given with such imagery, or maybe foreign media in general. Is there a general spread of foreign media that isn't translated well for all or given much context? Or maybe context is given, and this would go into bigger questions about how much context is needed for people of different lands to relate, assuming no region has evolved a significant lack of empathy. And then into questions on cultures use of imagery taboos or not. Maybe questions for another SE site.


texts: What computer was used in 1958 for handwriting recognition by Dimond?

texts:
I've just seen that the article

  Dimond, T. L. "Devices for Reading Handwritten Characters". Papers and Discussions. Presented at the December 9-13, 1957, Eastern Joint Computer Conference: Computers with Deadlines to Meet, ACM, 1958, 232-237

DOI: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1457720.1457765

describes the first device that could capture handwriting while it was written.

What computer did Dimond use at that time?

What I found out

AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central:

completed in 1955
60,000 vacuum tubes
weighed 250 tons
0.2 ha
cost $10 billion (in 1954; $87.82 billion in today's dollars)

IBM 650 and eventually IBM 700/7000 series was available at that time
IBM 704 was used by Bell labs in 1962

12,000 floating-point additions per second
The 737 Magnetic Core Storage Unit had 4,096 36-bit words, the equivalent of 18,432 bytes and served as RAM.

So I guess the IBM 704 could be a good guess. Does anybody know more?


texts: Why did the US not move to crush the Haitian Revolt after the 1804 massacre?

texts:
Understandably, the European nations were embroiled in the Napoleonic wars. But the American Revolutionary War had been over for almost 20 years by then. A large part of their population too, were slave-owning plantation owners who were deeply racist and would've looked at the Haiti slave revolt with great suspicion.

Given the deeply racist nature of the world at that time, such that interracial marriage was almost always labelled as coerced regardless of the circumstances, why did the white leaders of the USA not intervene in Haiti on racial grounds?


texts: Was the concept of religious freedom in the early United States applied to native American faiths?

texts:
When the nascent United States was drafting and adopting its supreme laws, several references to religion were made. For example, in the Bill of Rights:

  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

   - First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

There are also documents such as treaties testifying to the secular nature of the United States:

  [T]he Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion

   - Treat of Tripoli

And many of the states de-established their churches (inherited form England?) in the colonial era or in early decades. But all these seem to have taken place within a context of Abrahamic religions. For instance, the Treaty of Tripoli above was clearly directed at the Muslim Eyalet of Tripolitania. This made me wonder whether contemporary Americans understood their concept of free of religion as being applicable to non-Abrahamic faiths too. For example, that of the Native Americans.

So my question is, did native religions come up at all when the United States was adopting religious freedom into its fundamental laws? Did America's Founding Fathers or their contemporaries consider Native Americans and their beliefs?

For instance, was native religions mentioned during:

Government documents or statements
By delegates during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, or during ratification;
Federalist or Anti-Federalist campaigning materials, e.g. the Federalist Papers

Note that I'm looking for the legal concept of freedom of religions being actually applied for Native American beliefs; not whether the concept should have applied.


texts: How advanced were the people of Indus valley civilization in engineering?

texts: How advanced were the people of Indus valley civilization in engineering aspects compared with other civilizations during or before their time?


texts: The speed of sea travel in the beginning of 19th century

texts:
Can we somehow estimate the average speed of a ground+sea travel between Frankfurt and London in the beginning of 19th century?

I was more than surprised (if not shocked) to find in the beginning of Naill Ferguson's The House of Rothschild a cited part of one of letters sent by head of a family to one of his sons, where he says that the other brother from Frankfurt would like to join the first brother in London and that such trip would take three weeks.

This happens in post-industrial revolution times (beginning of 19th centry) so, even though I'm not a specialist in history of engineering, I was more than sure that with a steam power to both railroads and ships, such trip couldn't take more than a week, maybe five days at most -- 2-3 days for crossing Germany and 1-2 days for crossing the sea.

What am I missing? How could < 800 km track, that takes up to 9 hours by car today, take fifty times more (21 days) just two hundred years ago?


texts: Is it true that George Washington was Offered Kingship?

texts: I recently heard a rumor that George Washington was offered to become king of America, but refused instead wanting a Presidency; is this rumor true or is it just just that, a rumor?


texts: When were 1942 lend-lease trucks sold to the public?

texts:
I am restoring a Chevy truck from 1942. The truck was part of the lend lease program and I wondering if someone knows approximate years the trucks were sold to private people. The truck was sold to a family just south of Toowoomba, Queensland, and I have been in touch with them but they could not give me dates/years they brought it. So I hope someone can help.

The truck is a 1942 1 1/2 ton with stake sides and still has the black out lights up front and the GI switch inside.


texts: What were the dimensions of the Lahitolle 95 mm cannon?

texts: What were the dimensions of this gun? Specifically, I need to know the height, the width, and the length of the entire piece, not just the barrel.


texts:
This photo was found with (but not in) an envelope containing seven photos of European royals, all but two of which have been positively identified (one of them here by Evargalo).

Below is a photo of the back. The card measures approximately 4 inches (10.16cm) by 2.5 inches (6.35cm) while the photo is about 3 inches by 2 inches.

The photographic studio indicated on the back belonged to Emile Desmaisons (1812-80) and the photo probably dates from 1866 as

  Il a effectué des reproduction photographiques de lithographies. -
  Ateliers à Paris : 5 rue des Grands Augustins (de 1861 à 1862) et 22
  rue de l'Arbre Sec (1866)

Translation: He made photographic reproductions of lithographs. - Workshops in Paris: 5 rue des Grands Augustins (from 1861 to 1862) and 22 rue de l'Arbre Sec (1866)

Also, '1866' can be seen on the right side of the photo (near the man's left arm).

To my (very untutored) eye, the hat looks Turkish. I'm hoping the decorations / medals will enable someone to identify this man, or at least provide some clues as to who he might be.

As with the other two photos I've posted questions about here and here, this photo belonged to my Great Grandmother (b. 1851). It was originally described to me as a photo of a Maharajah.


texts: I'm studying Greek History and reading about the end of the Bronze Age. And after reading about the Dorians several times now, I'm confused about where the Dorians actually came from, the closest I can find is Wikipedia saying they were from Northern Greece. But if they were from there why would they come southward to the Greek Peninsula? Also, if they came from Northern Greece, were they of the same lineage as the Minoans and Mycenaeans? Or were they a completely separate ethnic group?


texts: When did the spherical shape of the Earth become common knowledge?

texts:
It's well-known that intellectuals in the West have accepted a spherical Earth since antiquity, but I'm not sure how long it took for this to become common knowledge, worldwide. So a more concrete answer is possible, I'll say it's "common knowledge" if >50% of adult humans know it.

Earlier, I asked this question regarding what pre-Columbian Americans thought about the shape of the Earth. There is no evidence that any society arrived at the idea of a spherical Earth, though of course, it's hard to prove a negative. I also read this thread, which explains that most Chinese scholars favored the flat Earth model before the 17th century.

My hypothesis: the true shape of the Earth was not well-known before the 19th century. I have two points:

Public education. While it had been the consensus in academic circles for centuries beforehand, the lack of public education meant that this knowledge did not reach most of the public. In the 1800s, a large number of countries began mandating formal education, starting in Europe and soon spreading to the Americas and the Asia-Pacific.
Population. The European public was early in learning about the shape of the Earth, but before the industrial and agricultural revolutions of the 1800s, Europe had only a small slice of the global population. In 1500, Europe's population was 18% of the world total. By 1913, it was a more significant 28%. Many high-population regions, such as China and SE Asia, were among the last places to accept the spherical Earth model. West Asia, where the idea was popular since antiquity, has a relatively small population.

I'm not completely convinced yet, and I've also heard that nearly all people have known the shape of the Earth since prehistory. The argument is that it's too obvious not to see; for example, you can watch mountains and other tall features disappear below the horizon as you move away from them. A reason to be skeptical about this: it's hard to then explain why so many early religions (e.g. ancient Sumerian religion) describe a flat Earth.


texts: When did most European countries limit citizens’ rights to possess weaponry?

texts:
In medieval times, the nobility had the right to freely posses arms, and actually it almost had to, since fighting was part of its duties.

When firearms where introduced, AFAIK they were not immediately banned; instead, purchasing and possessing them was just as allowed as purchasing or possessing swords.

Fast forward to nowadays, and in Europe generally possessing firearms (sometimes also even crossbows) requires permits, which are more or less tedious to obtain.

When did most European countries enforce this law?


texts: How was privacy considered prior to the 20th century?

texts:
People seem to have become increasingly more concerned in the 20th century about privacy and their personal information. It's also been the time when people in many countries have had the opportunity for personal space and private rooms.

Before people had their own designated private space, did people still have the desire for privacy? I've heard that people were at ease having sex in front of others. Was there a different idea about what it meant? How did people feel about sharing personal thoughts and feelings and having those shared amongst the community?

I'm looking for answers about the social history, though if laws back it up I'm interested in that too. I'd also be interested to hear about relevant books and papers.


texts: The Needham Question: What stunted China's technological and proto-scientific advancement?

texts:
According to Joseph Needham

  Why did modern science, the mathematization of hypotheses about Nature, with all its implications for advanced technology, take its meteoric rise only in the West at the time of Galileo [but] had not developed in Chinese civilisation (or Indian or Islamic)?  [Needham 1969, 2004, following wikipedia]

China had a primary site of development of technology and proto-sciences, but these developments were much less pronounced than the European fluorescence of technologies and proto-sciences in the Enlightenment period.  Why?

Joseph Needham (1969). The Grand Titration: Science and Society in East and West
Joseph Needham (2004). Science and Civilisation in China. 7 part 2.
Needham and others 1954- Science and Civilisation in China [series]

(this incorporates material following Wikipedia)


texts: What are the tabs/spaces for in the Beowulf text

texts:
Here and other places they have strange spacing as seen in the picture:

Wondering what it means and what the purpose of it / if it's necessary or has some significance.


texts:
The term Dravida has been found in many contexts across language, people, architecture, politics, culture etc. While I find various material in various contexts, I am not able to find out the answer as when the word itself was first used and in what context.

Kindly help with scholarly citations.

When was the term "Dravida" first used and what is the context with which it was presented?

[edit]
my current effort on the topic is to locate/collate translations by different scholarly authors of the book "Tantravarttika".

Any answers/pointers answering/help answering the question [or]
Soundarya Lahari sloka [or]
other texts including the term, Preferably on varietal subjects is welcome.


texts: How did East Asia circa 1500 produce cosmetics?

texts:
For a work of fiction, I need to know how one would produce cosmetics from the available products at those times (circa 1500).

I imagine I would need
- beeswax, which was probably widely available
- oil - but which one? Linseed? Hemp seed? Perilla?
- butter - for concealers, butter-like products. Cocoa, Shea butter I think we're not really available. Would avocado work?
- pigments. I know white lead was common, probably some earth pigments as well.

Does anyone have any information about the ingredients available and used in those times?


texts: Why did George H. W. Bush select Dan Quayle as his running mate in 1988?

texts:
I've just been revisiting some quotes from Dan Qualyle. For example:

  I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
  democracy – but that could change.

and

  We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.

I mean, they sound pretty devastating (and hilarious, depending on how you look at it). Maybe he just suffered from some linguistic disability (his boss e.g. certainly knew how to write nice letters), and was no real dummy otherwise (a JFK was also not in perfect health). But still, why did George H. W. Bush put him on the ticket in the first place?

It seems as if he had not been an opponent in the primaries (with another wing of the party firmly behind him) and I don't remember Indiana being a battleground state at the time. So why the decision?


texts: Can anyone tell me anything about this sword? It hangs in my husband's great grandmother's house for as long as he can remember.


texts: How did Nazi Germany produce such an impressive portfolio of officers for WW2?

texts:
von Runstedt
Model
Dietl
Guderian
von Manstein
Rommel
Kesselring (who was an able commander both on land and in the air)
Richtofen
Donitz
Raeder

All of these German names have been featured heavily both in popular media and in the various military academies of their respective branches. Manstein, "the master of maneuver warfare", Rommel the "Desert Fox", Donitz the "father of submarine warfare", Dietl "the master of the mountains".

Yet, the Allied powers could not even hope to match such a list. Many of the 'top' Allied generals are mired in controversy, such as Patton and his wasteful Alsace campaign and Montgomery during Market Garden; the only Allied general who arguably escaped much debate is Zhukov. As a naive example - searching 'Zhukov' on google books yields 370,000 results, searching 'Rommel' yields 1,550,000.

How did this happen? Was there a superiority in German officer training, or was this a product of modern Romanticism for a defeated power?


texts:
Some of the second generation British tanks in World War One carried "unditching beams" atop the hull. I know the beams were used to extricate the tanks from holes, but I have never found any explanation of how this worked.
How would an unditching beam be used to get a tank out of a hole?


texts: Is it correct to refer the Victorian Era outside of the UK?

texts:
Here in the UK, we refer to the "Victorians", or the era in which the "Victorians" reigned.  I recently read an article on the BBC about a story set in the United States during the Victorian Era.  Whilst this made sense from the perspective of the BBC (being a British company), it did make me wonder if the era made any sense outside the borders of the UK... Do other countries even recognise it as an era?  Are there equivalents?  When is it okay and not okay to refer to something in that era that is not contextually relevant?

Have tagged as [Victorian]... ;)


texts: Why did Peter the Great name Saint Petersburg, Russia with a foreign styled name?

texts:
When Peter the Great of Russia established Saint Petersburg he originally called it Sankt-Pieter-Burch (Сан(к)т-Питер-Бурхъ) in Dutch manner. Later, under apparent German influence it was changed to Sankt-Peterburg (Санкт-Петербу́ргъ).

Is it known why Peter the Great chose to name the would be new Russian capital city using a name styled from a foreign language and why he didn't choose a Russian equivalent, something like Svatoy Petrograd (Святой Петрград)?


texts: Did Charles IV of Spain legally change Spanish succession law in 1789?

texts:
In 1713, Salic law was introduced to Spain. In 1830, Ferdinand VII who did not have any sons declared that his daughter Isabella was the next in line, instead of his brother Carlos. Carlos and his supporters called the Carlists denied it’s validity because it was a change in fundamental law without the support of the Cortes.

However the fact that Charles IV made a decree in 1789 that abolished Salic law which was adopted by the Cortes. However the Carlists denied the validity of that decree since it was never formally published. This succession dispute caused the Carlist Wars after Ferdinand VII’s death.

So under Spanish law, was the succession change in 1789 legally adopted into law?


texts: How many Russian people did Tsar Ivan IV ("the Terrible") kill?

texts:
Ivan's rule was full of contradiction, success and failure.
Was his rule bloody? How many Russian people were killed by him?


texts: Did military operation names ever have any meaning?

texts:
For example, the American operation name for the assault on Okinawa was known as Operation Iceberg. However, Okinawa is a relatively hot area of Japan, and as far as I know, there were no icebergs or snow anywhere close to there, not even in that season.

So based off of that example, do military operation names ever have any correlation to the op itself? Does the name itself convey any meaning? Or do they just pick a random word to describe it?


texts: Great Sphinx photo from WW2 shows a big platform under the chin

texts: This photo is in a TV documentary about World War 2 in Africa.  I see a large square platform build of bricks that goes right up to the chin.  What is this and why was it removed?  And why is nothing ever written about this in histories of the Sphinx I find online?  I seriously doubt it somebody would fake a photograph like this for a WW2 documentary.


texts: What was the reaction to English monarchs using the title "King of France"?

texts:
After the Hundred Years War (or "wars") the English had been wiped off France, but English monarchs kept using their official title "King of France". As I understand, this was to legalize their claims to the French throne and show they are still valid.
This Wikipedia page shows the English/Scottish rulers that used the title "King of France".
The mentioned article says also:

During the peace negotiations at the Conference of Lille, lasting from July to November 1797, the French delegates demanded that the King of Great Britain abandon the title of King of France as a condition of peace.

Officially, this happened in 1800:

In 1800, the Act of Union joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. George III chose this opportunity to drop his claim to the now defunct French throne, whereupon the fleurs de lis, part of the coat of arms of all claimant Kings of France since the time of Edward III, were also removed from the British royal arms. Britain recognised the French Republic by the Treaty of Amiens of 1802.

The article says also, that English claims were in fact only prestigious:

The seven monarchs of this period [1603-1707] continued to use the style King/Queen of France, though their claim was merely nominal. None of them was willing to engage in military campaigns for France against the actual Kings of France Henry IV, Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France. Indeed, Charles I married a sister of Louis XIII, and his son Charles II spent much of his exile during the Interregnum in France (at which time, even if not formally abandoning his claim for its throne, he certainly did not emphasise it). (...)
[The Kingdom of Great Britain] had four Monarchs until 1801. They also styled themselves Queen/King of France; however, none of them actually questioned the rights of Louis XIV and his successors Louis XV, Louis XVI, Louis XVII and Louis XVIII

Even if using the title "King of France" was only a part of some tradition, this should have been some problem for the French as after the Revolution they demanded to cancel using it.
Of course it is clear that France and England (or Great Britain or United Kingdom) not always had good relations, but I understand that France somehow accepted this. Did she beg/ask/demand the English to cease it?
I understand that when two kings met on some occasion (or an ambassador was introduced to a king) there was confusing presentation of two "kings of France".
How did other countries take/recognise this title (the largest/most important, like Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Austria, Poland/Lithuania, the Pope, Ottoman Empire maybe)?
Was it just taken "it's just a children's play, let the English perform it, if it's fun for them"?
Has anyone tried to clear this situation?


texts: Did the Persian Empire really finance both sides of the Peloponnesian war?

texts:
I thought that the Persian empire was an enemy of these states and I've read somewhere that the Spartans indeed won the Peloponnesian war with the help of the Persian empire but in an answer here it's implied that the Persians financed both sides of the war because they feared an alliance.

  You have to remember that the force behind the wars was Persia. Persia
  feared a united Greece, and was wealthy enough to finance wars between
  the rival city-states. No matter how badly or frequently Sparta or
  Athens was defeated - there was always enough Persian gold on offer to
  convince them to go back to war.

I can't find anything about that though, is that true? Or am I just misinterpreting what he said?


texts: Why was US President Truman "on the high seas" when the Hiroshima atomic bomb was dropped?

texts:
From the New York Times, August 7 1945. First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan; Missile Is Equal to 20,000 Tons of TNT; Truman Warns Foe of a 'Rain of Ruin'

  The first news came from President Truman's office. Newsmen were
  summoned and the historic statement from the Chief Executive, who still
  is on the high seas, was given to them.

Why was he on the high seas at this moment? Was he on an important trip or a mission?


texts: In a challenge to duel, what happened if a thrown gauntlet (and later, glove) was refused?

texts:
What would become of a gauntlet or glove after a denied duel? I'm not finding any hints on Google.

Would the challenger abandon it after throwing it to their challengee's feet, as a matter of honor?
Or would they retrieve it from the ground, as a matter of practicality?

As a side note, I assume the denier/refuser would be shamed, beaten, or killed (one or any of those fates)?


texts: How much did it cost to buy a ticket on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul in 1914?

texts:
I'm trying to find out how much it cost to travel on the Orient Express in its heyday. Was it a luxury for the rich, or something middle-class people could reasonably afford?

To be concrete: how much did it cost to buy a ticket on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, in 1914, before it shut down for World War I?

I've run a bunch of searches that found ticket prices (very high, $1000-2000) for the Orient Express in recent years; for the old days, found route maps and timetables, but nothing on ticket prices. I did find a table of average train ticket prices for America at that time that came out to two cents per passenger mile, which should be interesting for comparison at least.


texts: What battle of WW2 is depicted in this Battlefield V level?

texts:
What battle of World War II is depicted in this Battlefield V level?

Credit goes to the game makers of course, as it is their property.

Slight update: I cannot quite remember the map name, but I think that it involves British forces.

Here are a few pictures:

I would suspect that it takes place in France based on the settings, and that it revolves around the bridge, but I am not quite sure at all.

A couple of more are below. Perhaps the soldier uniforms might help?


texts: At which times did a mainly Jewish sovereign state control Jerusalem?

texts: At which times in history have there been a sovereign mainly Jewish state controlling Jerusalem? The only time in history after the Babylonian exile that I can recall is during the Hasmonean dynasty. But have they been sovereign during other times as well?


texts: Is the expression "Seal of" on the Seal of the POTUS redundant?

texts:
Is the expression "Seal of" on the Seal of the President of the United States redundant, or does it bear some historical heritage of some sort?

To me, it's like writing "Flag of the United States" on the flag of the United States. Or do I miss the point?


texts: How many firearms were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA?

texts:
How many firearms in total were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA (cumulatively, not simultaneously)?

The timeframe is what I would consider "Old West" timeframe, but starting with Colt's introduction of his firearm.

If there's no good statistics for total ownership, I am OK with an approximation by adding up all recorded sales to civilians + all recorded sales of military firearms (esp. after Civil War) to other parties.

Ideally, I would like a breakout between handguns and long guns, but that's not required.


texts: Is there a Mongolian ritual of throwing water in front of someone departing on a journey?

texts: Is there a Mongolian (or Tengrist) ritual of throwing water in front of someone before they set off on a journey? Or is that just a Turkish thing?


texts:
In Australia we have a public holiday on 26th of December and call it Boxing day. Why is it called Boxing Day?
Boxing day is a tradition held each year the day after Christmas in the Commonwealth.


texts: What did a tournament sword made of whale bone (baleen) look like?

texts:
I accidentally found this information from the Wikipedia page Boiled leather:

  The word cuirass for a breastplate indicates that these were originally made of leather.[11] In the Late Middle Ages, the heyday of plate armour, cuir bouilli continued to be used even by the rich for horse armour and often for tournament armour,[12] as well as by ordinary infantry soldiers. Tournaments were increasingly regulated in order to reduce the risk to life, and in 1278 Edward I of England organized one in Windsor Great Park at which cuir bouilli armour was worn, and the king provided swords made of whale bone and parchment.[13]

So, during 1278 King Edward I of England provide swords made of whale bone and parchment for tournament weapons, which makes me curious: what did the sword look like (I mean physical image either painting or real artifact or replica)?

So far I found some discussion about the property of the whale bone (baleen) sword but from the explanation it is hard for me to see or imagine what it looked like so I'd appreciate it if someone could provide an image or shape of the whale bone (baleen) sword and how it was made. http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=10426

Aparently the whalebone sword or baleen is covered with parchment; it is not a separate sword, based on this link provide by @JustCal so I have deleted the question regarding parchment sword.


texts: "The signal on the Zibby is dead" - what is the meaning of "Zibby"?

texts:
I am line editing a book about World War II and the Battle of the Coral Sea. The action is taking place in the front and rear cockpits of a Devastator torpedo-bomber aircraft. The pilot and gunner dropped a torpedo and have lost contact with the rest of the squadron.

There are two lines:

"The signal on the Zibby is dead."
"The radio's dead, too."

So ... the Zibby is not the radio. Is it the torpedo's signal? Or is it some other communication device?

The author doesn't know, having created the manuscript from a now-deceased relative's journals.

My online searches for Navy aircraft torpedo pilot (etc.) slang has been unsuccessful.

== Additional information ==

The are trying to return to the aircraft carrier. No Zibby and no radio, so they are using the plotting board with its mechanical nautical(?) compass as a last resort.


texts: What kinds of goods were commonly smuggled in the Roman Empire up to the end of the 3rd century AD?

texts:
In  April 2012, LIVESCIENCE reported on the discovery of a 3rd century AD ship which sank near Trapani, Sicily. According to the report,

  Her cargo, officially consisting of assorted jars once filled with
  walnuts, figs, olives, wine, oil and fish sauce, also contained many
  unusual tubular tiles. The unique tiles were apparently valuable
  enough for sailors to smuggle them from North Africa to Rome, where
  they sold for higher prices.

These tiles were used by Roman builders and were much cheaper in North Africa than in Rome. However, googling has not turned up any further examples of smuggling in the Roman Empire in the time period I'm interested in. Nor does the Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World appear to cover this.

As duties and the value of goods varied at different times, so (I would guess) did the amount of smuggling and the kinds of goods smuggled. presumably, items with low duties would not have been worth smuggling. Is there any evidence that (for example) salt and silk were smuggled? This source (from 1875) states,

  the practice of smuggling appears to have been as common among the
  Romans as in modern times.

but gives no details.

What evidence is there for the smuggling of goods? Do we know what kinds of goods were most commonly smuggled?

As I’m not sure how broad this question is, answers could be restricted to the smuggling of goods into the Italian peninsula and Sicily, and / or to a shorter time period (in which case, preferably during the time of the Julio-Claudian dynasty).


texts: Were Cypriots able to pay their bills during the "bail in" of March 2013?

texts:
During the Cypriot financial crisis, it seems that a "bank holiday" was announced on March 16 and lasted until March 26, during which time ATM  withdrawals were impossible or at least tightly restricted.

I'd like to understand, however, if other types of transactions also were blocked during that time, such as bank-to-bank transactions, and bank-to-utility transactions.

For example, consider a hypothetical Cypriot who had a Bank of Cyprus account and the following payments due on March 20, 2013:

A payment on a loan issued by another Cypriot bank
A payment on a loan issued by an EU bank
A payment on a credit card
A payment to the local utility (electricity, etc.; not sure if these are nationalized in Cyprus or not)

Could these bills have been paid from the Bank of Cyprus account directly?  Or would they have all gone unpaid without some other type of intervention (such as individuals physically going to the utility company and paying with cash, or the government mandating that due dates be extended)?

If any of the above could have been paid from the bank on March 20, could unscheduled payments have also been made, to reduce one's account balance and thus one's exposure to the subsequent monetary loss?

I've done some googling, but details elude me. I haven't had much success cutting through the "it'll happen in your country next!" type articles to actually find out what happened.