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1500 questions
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Has anyone ever named a war after their own country or faction?
An interesting conversation has come up on the Science Fiction and Fantasy SE site. I will try to summarize it as briefly as possible.
Someone asked a question about the second Star Wars prequel. For those who aren't familiar with the movies, the…
Wad Cheber
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Has Britain's 1940 invasion of Iceland been downplayed by historians?
On the face of it Operation Fork (Britain's invasion of Iceland in 1940) wasn't so terribly different from Germany's territorial landgrabs in 1939 and 1940.
Britain and her allies will have portrayed it as an essential and benign act, temporary in…
Tea Drinker
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49
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Why did Civil War officers tell their men to "aim low"?
I'm listening to Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears and the officers on both sides seem to always exhort their men to "aim low". For instance, General John Gibbon told his 2nd Division infantry:
Do not hurry, men, and fire too fast—let them come up…
Jon Ericson
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Why did Europe not see Roman-era numbers of men participating in battles until the 17th century?
Typical decisive battles in Roman times involve 4+ legions - around 20,000 men + auxiliaries giving a total of about 30,000 men, on the Roman side only. Battles in even the late middle ages and early modern age typically involve 30,000 men in total.…
Evil Washing Machine
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Why did Greeks and Romans dilute their wine?
I’ve gathered that ancient Greeks and Romans watered their wine heavily, up to 90% water. Roman-era Talmudic sources speak of wine not being fit to drink until it had been watered (although mixtures weaker than 1:6 wine-water ratios were not deemed…
J. C. Salomon
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3 answers
Why were the Allies so much better cryptanalysts?
When I read about World War II, more specifically about the use of cryptography in that war, I get the impression that the Allies were much more successful in breaking the enemy codes than the Axis Powers. Two such successes are particulary…
José Carlos Santos
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3 answers
Was Napoleon as short as "common knowledge" states?
I once saw a mention (on cracked.com) that Napoleon, whom pretty much everyone believes was of very short stature, was actually close to average height for his time/demographics, and that the short height that is commonly ascribed to him was due to…
DVK
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When did "&" stop being taught alongside the alphabet?
I've recently discovered that "&" was taught alongside the alphabet letters. While not being considered a letter per se, many students must have seen '&' as effectively the 27th letter of the alphabet (at least the vast majority of websites I came…
SC for reinstatement of Monica
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Has there ever been a cold war other than between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.?
At any time in world history, has there ever been two nations involved in a "cold war" similar to the one between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., and notably including proxy wars?
My thanks to Lars Bosteen, who pointed out that Wikipedia defines a "cold war"…
JBH
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5 answers
Which European Languages are not Indo-European?
I saw this question asked on Twitter today. At first blush it seemed like an easy reference question, but I can't find any place that actually has this spelled out in one place. I ended up having to do a lot of research, and still lots of folks came…
T.E.D.
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5 answers
What did babies eat before the advent of modern blenders?
Modern baby foods are commonly made using various strengths of blender, but what was used before then? I assume something like a potato masher, but that would only work for a few foods. So what was predominately used for baby food in the past?
Tanzanite Dragoness
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Did cows in Medieval times have calves in spring or all year round?
I'm a Dairy Educator and want to learn about milking and cows in Medieval Times. I suspect that cows had calves only in spring, like most livestock.
Am I correct?
Would Medieval people drink the milk or just make cheese and / or butter?
Who would…
Sherry
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Is the photograph "England’s Revenge in India" real, staged, or fake?
Might have an interesting puzzle for you here…
This picture, titled "England's Revenge in India", appeared in a Nazi propaganda book against Britain published in 1941:
The propaganda book claims that this is a photograph from 1857, published in the…
Jansky
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What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
I know that wheat, barley, rye, onions, lettuce-like plants and turnips were common but how common were other things like meat or cheese? I've heard the "plowman's lunch" was a concoction of the dairy council so that's out as an approximation. I'd…
user88
48
votes
11 answers
Why didn't the USA move to the left after WWII?
After the second world war, and after the full impact of what the Nazis had done became clear, it seems like international politics moved to the left: in the east and far-east, support for communist movements rapidly rose; in the west, Socialist,…
Hanii Puppy
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