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1500 questions
21
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1 answer
Did horse sacrifice persist in Christian Europe?
While researching the Indo-European horse sacrifice, I happened upon the following claim online:
Although the papal ban seems to have greatly reduced the consumption of horseflesh in most of Europe, the ritual sacrifice of horses continued for a…
Nick Nicholas
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1 answer
What names did the ancient Egyptians give to different stages of their history?
The Egyptians, at least the most enlightened, had a relatively accurate idea of a large part of their past. It is striking to see how Manetho knew pharaohs from 2,500 years before his time when other peoples of the Antiquity needed only three or…
Ginasius
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21
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What was the Hundred Years' War called at the time?
Similar to this question — What was the Seven Years War called at first? — but for yet a different war.
According to Wikipedia, the Hundred Years' War is divided by historians into three smaller "phases" (the Edwardian, Caroline, and Lancastrian…
Quuxplusone
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21
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3 answers
Were Arctic communities aware how different daylight cycles were elsewhere?
At extreme latitudes, what we would think of as the typical day/night cycle becomes very different.
The sun remains continuously visible for one day during the summer solstice at the polar circle, for several weeks only 100 km (62 mi) closer to the…
Azor Ahai -him-
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21
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3 answers
When did Josef Wissarionowitsch become "sexy" Stalin?
According to KnowYourMeme, among others, a relatively young Stalin is so good looking in a certain picture that he is often referred to as "sexy Stalin":
This is indeed a pretty picture of a young man with quite a smooth face (1902, 23 years…
LаngLаngС
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21
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2 answers
What's the festival shown in this illustration?
This poster shows a hopping European party of a few centuries back. Unfortunately there's no attribution or date on this old print. The text resembles German and refers to the second chapter of the gospel of John, which is when Jesus changed water…
Aaron Brick
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21
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2 answers
To what extent were Polynesians in contact with one-another before European contact?
Motivation
Pacific islanders (Polynesians, Melanesians, Micronesians) before contact with Europeans were able seafarers that had discovered and settled virtually all Pacific islands that could sustain permanent settlements, including rather isolated…
0range
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21
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3 answers
What was the value of the spice trade during the age of exploration?
One of the initial motivations for the Europeans in sending exploration voyages was to find cheap spices. To be worth such expensive and risky mission, spices must have been worth a lot and must have had very high demand in Europe. How much, in…
Louis Rhys
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21
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2 answers
Would colonial Maryland have been tolerant to all religions?
I have heard that Maryland was the birthplace of religious freedom in the US because it was founded by a charter about which Wikipedia says "On 20 June 1632, (King) Charles granted the original charter for Maryland, a proprietary colony of about…
AbuMariam
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21
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7 answers
Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
I was wondering why the conflicts, missile deployments etc. throughout the Cold War were basically all taking place in Europe, Africa and Asia, when in fact the US and Soviet Union were only separated by a few kilometers over the Pacific.
Wouldn't…
japhwil
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21
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3 answers
What era is this German 10 DM banknote from?
Exactly what it says on the tin. This is clearly a German 10 mark note of some kind, but I can't find pictures online of any notes like it.
The reverse is completely blank, with some bleed-through from the "DRINGEND" stamp. The white balance on my…
Sebastian Lenartowicz
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3 answers
Why was Harry Truman chosen to be Vice President in 1944?
In 1944, FDR was running for his fourth and final election. He was starting to age rapidly, he would be dead in just 82 days from being sworn in to his fourth term. Henry Wallace had been FDR's VP from 1941-1945. At the 1944 Democratic…
user27618
21
votes
3 answers
Did Egyptians circumnavigate Africa in three years during Nekau's reign?
I read in an old High School-level History book* that during the reign of Nekau (or Necho II), during the Saita Period, someone called "Hamon" circumnavigated Africa in three years. However the book did not give any source or more details about this…
Brian Hellekin
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3 answers
When did the current 7-day week cycle begin?
Today it's Sunday. 7 days ago it was Sunday. 7000 days ago it was Sunday. But what about 70,000 days ago, 700,000 days ago, and 7 million days ago? Our current 7-day week cycle has not continued unbroken forever. So my question is, when did our…
Keshav Srinivasan
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21
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3 answers
Were Shakespeare's plays written for "high culture" or "entertain the bawdy masses" during his time?
Currently, the plays of William Shakespeare are viewed as great English literature, and viewed as "high culture". However I heard someone say that Shakespeare was writing "bawdy, violence filled plays written to entertain a mostly drunken and…
Amandasaurus
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