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1500 questions
26
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2 answers
What is the oldest known work of fiction?
What is the oldest known work of fiction that we know was meant to be taken as fiction? I mean to exclude mythologies; the audience of these was meant to believe they were true. What is the oldest work of fiction where its truth was never…
Ryan_L
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Why did Jodrell Bank assist the Soviet Union to collect data from their spacecraft in the mid 1960's?
I've just listened to the short BBC News audio podcast clip How British academics spied on the superpowers:
Tim O’Brien from the Jodrell Bank radio telescope discusses 50 year old recordings which show how Britain monitored Soviet space missions -…
uhoh
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Are there records of US slaves who practiced Islam following their import from Africa?
Islam has historically been prevalent in many regions of Africa, such as in the Songhai Empire, which was based around Sharia law. It seems plausible to me that some Africans were practitioners of Islam and then were sold as slaves and later…
Thunderforge
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26
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5 answers
Who were the pre-Celtic inhabitants of Western Europe?
I've heard it said that the Basque are conjectured to be the last remnant of Pre-Celtic Western Europe. When would have these people existed? What evidence do we have for their culture and habitation sites? When did they cede to the Celts?
user88
26
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6 answers
Has there ever been an archbishop or bishop younger than the 16-year-old James of Nicosia?
In 1456, King John II of Cyprus appointed his illegitimate son James as Latin Archbishop of Nicosia. James was just 16 at the time.
James soon lost his position, being forced to flee the following year after murdering the Royal Chamberlain. Later,…
Lars Bosteen
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26
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3 answers
Why were there so few American deaths in the Bataan Death March?
There was estimated to be 500-650 American deaths during the Bataan death march while there was estimated to be 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths, according to Wikipedia. I can't wrap my head around why there is such a huge difference! Both Americans…
fewfew4
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26
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What date does a 1738 British author intend by "soon after the revolution"?
In the February 1738 The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume XIII at page 80:
It is stated:
A manuscript writen by a great Uncle of mine, who dy'd soon after the Revolution came lately into my hands.
What does "soon after the Revolution" mean?
The…
DavePhD
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26
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2 answers
On what basis do some historians accuse the British government of genocide during the great Irish famine?
Been reading a bit around the great famine of late. It's something that seems to have slipped from public consciousness in Britain, although the suffering it engendered seems horrific almost beyond belief. It certainly seems clear there is a great…
Bob Tway
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26
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Did classical Romans wear any sort of swimwear?
Say that a classical Roman decided they wanted to go for a swim in a lake or at a beach, and they expected other people to be able to see them. Would they have worn some sort of swimwear or gone nude? If they did wear swimwear, what would it have…
Thunderforge
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26
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8 answers
Has there ever been a true kidnapped princess from anywhere in the world?
I'm not a historian, although hopefully not totally ignorant of history, which perhaps will prove false here. I am a curious consumer of popular culture. Ever since I was young I have played video games, watched movies and seen cartoons where a…
A creative name
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When did countries begin making up a pretext before starting a war?
In the past few centuries an unwritten rule has been followed where countries make up some sort of plausible-sounding excuse before starting a war. As an example, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939 because he "wanted to protect the Sudeten…
JonathanReez
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4 answers
Why did the Romans change Europe's language, but the barbarians didn't?
When the Roman republic/empire took over the Mediterranean between 40 BC and 20 AD, Vulgar Latin replaced the local languages almost completely. Basque seems to be the only remaining pre-Roman language.
But when the Western Roman Empire fell in the…
Nikolai
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26
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8 answers
Were there ever wars/battles where infantry were given multiple rifles to speed up rate of fire?
Watching videos of colonial era conflict has given me a question. A lot of portrayed conflicts are basically the "line up en masse and charge" approach.
It makes me wonder, given the relatively slow reload times (~20 seconds plus) were there ever…
enderland
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26
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What was the Seven Years War called at first?
When the Seven Years War broke out, obviously they had no idea how long it would last. What did Europeans call this war at first?
I know that in the North American Theater, it was called the French and Indian War. But I'm looking for the name of the…
DrZ214
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26
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Third Reich? What were the other two?
Nazi Germany is widely called the Third Reich. But what were the First and Second Reich then?
System Down
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