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1500 questions
22
votes
8 answers
Why do some sections of Great Wall of China seem to be bidirectional?
Official historiography says that Great Wall of China is built "across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe." —…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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22
votes
3 answers
What did English people really say when knighting someone?
A while ago I curiously looked up this question and found out that people did not say "I dub thee..." or "Arise..." to him who was being made a knight, but instead used a Latin phrase which I forget. It translated to something like "knight advance…
wariya
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22
votes
2 answers
Where did Japan get their oil during WWII?
To my understanding the United States was the largest exporter of oil to the Japanese prior to Pearl Harbor. The Japanese islands aren't known for their oil fields. It's also believed that the attacks of pearl harbor are the result of the US…
trippt02
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22
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1 answer
Was there any theological opposition to the lightning rod?
Apparently, there was some opposition to the lightning rod at the time of its invention because lightning was seen as "the wrath of God" and should not be controlled.
I'd like to find some citations that corroborate (or refute) that. Are there any…
josinalvo
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22
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6 answers
Why did Sun Tzu believe you shouldn't wait beside a river when eager to fight?
In Sun Tzu's Art of War, Chapter 9 (The Army on the March), Verse 5, Tzu says
If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross.
My thinking is that you should meet the invader near a river and…
Albert Johnson
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22
votes
2 answers
What were the 52 kinds of victims persecuted by the Nazis?
Out of the surviving 6,808 arrest files
of Duesseldorf, a small city of half a million population, 1,440 were
those of Communists alone. They were, however, only one among
the 52 types of victims persecuted by the Nazis across the…
undo
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22
votes
3 answers
What did Richelieu mean by his "six lines" quote?
Cardinal Richelieu is frequently quoted as saying,
If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.
What I've never seen cited, though, was the context of this quote. I…
Mason Wheeler
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22
votes
2 answers
When did the use of fabricated speeches in historical works go out of fashion?
In his History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides includes a number of made up speeches based upon "what was called for in each situation". While this is frowned upon in modern histories, it seems to have been perfectly acceptable practice then…
lins314159
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22
votes
7 answers
Is there any documentation that indicates the Aztecs were as violent as they are made out?
The iconography of the Aztecs lead us to believe that they were an especially blood-thirsty culture. But consider the scenario where there was some major catastrophe in the USA, reducing the population to barbarism. A future archaelogical team…
Mozibur Ullah
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22
votes
5 answers
Why was decimal time unsuccessful?
Under the metric system (and later SI), units of weight can be related to each other based on multiples of ten (e.g. 1 metric tonne = 1,000 kg = 1,000 × 1,000 g). Likewise with length (e.g. 1 kilometre = 1,000m = 1,000 × 100cm).
The French…
user3521
22
votes
2 answers
What is the name of the theory that says an early discovery can stop technological development?
Some time ago I read a claim that an early discovery can lead to a great scientific stagnation. The example given was the Chinese porcelain, that resolved all the known problems, and stopped the research, but not the problems that a more advanced…
Cochise
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22
votes
3 answers
When people use spears to fight cavalry do infantry stab the horse or the rider?
I am just curious. In most games spear infantry is a "counter" against cavalry. How does that really work anyway?
Any clips on actual cavalry fighting infantry that's historically accurate would be awesome. 3D simulation is great.
user4951
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22
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5 answers
What was the first known war in history?
Not the first instance of warfare, which surely predates recorded history, but of an organized war between civilizations. For the purposes of this question I'll define a war as:
Defined scope: the war had a beginning, and end, and specific…
Travis Christian
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22
votes
2 answers
How were Muslim Turks treated in Byzantine Empire?
While reading about the Palaiologan Renaissance on Wikipedia, I was intrigued to find that a mosque was rebuilt in Constantinople, which was destroyed during the fourth crusade(read about it here). I was not previously aware that Byzantines built…
SMeznaric
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22
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9 answers
Given Hitler's Austrian ancestry, why did he develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?
Hitler's parents were Austrians, and Hitler had spent his childhood in Austria. However, Hitler expressed loyalty only to Germany but not Austria.
This seems strange to me. Why did Hitler develop German nationalism rather than Austrian nationalism?…
user11725
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