All Questions
14,246
questions
0
votes
0
answers
75
views
Where can I find a specific photo from the Vietnam war?
I’m looking for a specific type photo which I’ve seen before but now I can’t seem to locate it. The photo was of a group of American infantrymen marching across some mountainous jungle area in Vietnam,...
28
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Why did it take so long for Europeans to adopt the moldboard plow?
According to the book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas:
The design of the moldboard plow is so obvious that it seems
incredible that Europeans never thought of it. Until the Chinese
style plow ...
- 4,110
1
vote
1
answer
154
views
Identify the country, service and historical context of this bright red dress uniform, and ideally the nature of the medals. Relationship to Taiwan?
While touring around Google street view I discovered an unusual "AK47 Barber Bus" in Hsinchu Taiwan. https://goo.gl/maps/BBD2aouKVYHDMbBV9 I've included some screenshots of a uniform I found ...
- 1,767
0
votes
1
answer
213
views
Did Princess Diana ever talk about her alleged Armenian descent?
The Englishwoman Princess Diana (1961-97), born Diana Spencer, was the fourth-greats granddaughter - through a line of matrilineal descent in every step - of Eliza Kewark. Kewark lived in Bombay, ...
- 129
0
votes
0
answers
67
views
Why didn't the early chancellors of the German Empire belong to any political party?
I was checking the political party affiliations of the chancellors of the 2nd Reich, and it appears that until the later years of World War 1, all of them were politically independent. This is in ...
- 109
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
Was Bohemia part of the Frankish Empire in 814?
Was Bohemia really part of the Frankish Empire in 814?
According to Wikpedia:History of Europe it was.
In 805 and 806, he was sent into the Böhmerwald (modern Bohemia) to deal with the Slavs living ...
- 11
-4
votes
1
answer
117
views
What was Canada's policy on immigrants who served in the Wehrmacht, after WW2?
Kapitänleutnant Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen served in the Kriegsmarine, torpedoed many Allied ships, awarded his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, before being a PoW in Canada. Then he "...
- 245
6
votes
1
answer
136
views
What are this tunic and badge?
Can anyone identify this tunic and badge from the mid 1800’s. Similar to a Doggett Coat and Badge but isn’t. I assume it relates to London.
The tunic and badge is shown in the picture and what ...
- 61
1
vote
1
answer
335
views
Why were steering wheels so big, even in 20th century ships?
https://www.quora.com/What-does-a-ship-steering-wheel-look-like/answer/Josiah-Toepfer
Even SS Normandie (1935), RMS Queen Mary (1936), RMS Queen Elizabeth (1946) had bulky steering wheels that were ...
- 245
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How did German racial laws affect people who weren't Jewish but one of their parents wasn't German?
It's a bit strange question but I can't find anything in this topic. So currently I'm working on a book that is set in the 1940's in Germany, and one of the characters in it was born to a British ...
- 113
1
vote
1
answer
97
views
How has mother/ child mortality evolved from pre industrial era?
I came across a surprising claim: that child and mother mortality was lower in pre industrial societies than in industrial ones.
I guess it might have some merit, if we compare pre industrial ...
- 404
2
votes
0
answers
61
views
What is the origin of playing Holi with colors?
How has Holi evolved? And how was it played some time ago, as making color pigments must have been expensive? Was it reserved for the elites like the royal family?
Or is playing with colors a modern ...
- 21
1
vote
0
answers
74
views
How much exposure did the Islamic figure Mohammed have to the Abrahamic religions in Mecca at the time?
Modern Islam incorporates figures, ideas, and content from Judaism and Christianity.
If Islam appears to be heavily spawned from these Abrahamic religions, it raises the question of how these ...
- 107
31
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How did off-grid UK homes in the 1800s generate gas?
Some relatives of mine live in (part of) what used to be a remote country manor house in the north of England. Even now it's remote enough not to have mains water, sewage or gas.
However, there's ...
- 1,954
5
votes
1
answer
138
views
Is this a French uniform, and what is the time period?
Sorting through French family pictures, papers and glass slides.
Trying to put names to faces.
The picture below is the same gentleman (on the right) with his brother, who he had just bumped in to on ...
- 51
9
votes
1
answer
724
views
What is the true origin of Capri's "Scala Fenicia" ("Phoenician Steps")?
On the small Italian island of Capri (located about 25 miles south of Naples), there is a 2700-plus year old stone stairway which was literally carved into a small mountain. These "921 steps&...
- 265
1
vote
0
answers
150
views
What was the standard prototype method prior to 3d printing? [closed]
Ever since the commercialization of rapid prototyping in 1983 by Chuck Hull, 3D printing has become increasingly popular in product development.
The invention of additive prototyping is in engineering ...
- 11
22
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Is there any primary source for Mussolini being called "Juliet"?
So, I have heard a rather amusing, but seemingly apocryphal story (as an answer on game show), that Italians called Benito Mussolini "Juliet", due to his liking of speeches given on ...
- 17.5k
2
votes
1
answer
93
views
Did Christopher Columbus ever have any direct contact with the Genoese colonial Aegean region?
During Christopher Columbus' lifetime, a sizable portion of the Aegean sea region was occupied by Northern Italian quasi-colonial powers....specifically, the city-states of Venice and Genoa...this ...
- 265
32
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Did the Finns have aluminum screw caps in 1939?
I was looking at images from the 1939 Winter War
https://www.rferl.org/a/finlands-winter-war-with-the-soviet-union/30280490.html
and found this interesting one.
source
The Molotov cocktail has an ...
- 613
3
votes
1
answer
135
views
Why was George Washington called Chief Magistrate?
In a letter to George Washington in 1790 from Moses Seixas, George Washington was referred to as "Chief Magistrate." I don't see any explanation for saying this is his title. Is there a ...
- 131
0
votes
0
answers
46
views
Where and when did Lenin say or write, "The school must become a weapon of the dictatorship of the proletariat"?
George Counts (1949):
The Soviet view of this question was formulated by Lenin in these words: "In the field of public education the Communist Party sets itself the goal of concluding the task ...
- 615
0
votes
0
answers
57
views
Which Soviet resolution rejected "laughter for laughter's sake"?
George Counts (1949):
During the past two and one-half years the Central Committee has issued a series of "ideological resolutions" ... These resolutions not only reject "art for art's ...
- 615
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
By what legal mechanism was Catherine Howard deprived of her title of Queen of England?
To the best of my knowledge, under English (and later British) law, a peerage can only be revoked via a conviction for treason by a bill of attainder. Peerages have sometimes been surrendered ...
- 2,029
6
votes
1
answer
208
views
Was there really a whale skeleton in Jaffa?
Was there really a whale skeleton in Jaffa or at least a common myth about it?
I cannot find any historical reference to it but still believe, from the way he wrote Moby Dick, that Melville did not ...
- 163
12
votes
2
answers
346
views
What is meant by this medieval reference to combat 'under-ground'?
I was reading The History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of London, by William Herbert (1836), and came across an interesting turn of phrase. In a section discussing early guilds predating the ...
- 36.3k
6
votes
1
answer
218
views
How did Raphael paint halos?
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Raphael's cartoon "Christ's Charge to Peter":
In it, Christ and the apostles are depicted with halos that appear to be perfect ellipses.
I only know ...
- 163
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What was the first health insurance company in America?
I wrote this question after searching “health insurance” on the Library of Congress’s, online Chronicling America collection, and finding an early health insurance company. When I Googled to ask what ...
- 1,838
-1
votes
1
answer
81
views
Who were the nine founding railroad members of the Chicago union stock yard? [closed]
All nine of the founding railroad companies of the Chicago stock yard. All presidents of the founding members during this time (1864)
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
122
views
What percentage of households in Sweden in the 1990s only had over-the-air TV?
I was born in the mid-1980s, so I grew up in Sweden in the 1990s. Our family was not rich, but we somehow did live in a house, as opposed to an apartment/flat.
We only had an antenna on the roof, with ...
- 21
3
votes
0
answers
182
views
Was there a time when Montenegro executed all of its millionaires?
I bought the complete works of G. K. Chesterton for $1 for my Kindle and read them. Somewhere in all those volumes (as I remember) he asserts that Montenegro executed all of its millionaires (and ...
- 131
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Who presided over the election and swearing in of the first Speaker of the House?
The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is elected by the incoming members of the House at the start of each new Congress. House rules stipulate that this election is presided by the Clerk ...
- 693
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is this pin?
This was my grandmother’s pin. She was born in 1905 and educated in Alabama. Graduated from Judson college with a degree in violin.
Small black diamond shaped lapel pin with two gold stars.
- 61
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
When did "JFK" become a recognizable initialism for John F. Kennedy?
I assume that by the time he ran for President in 1960, every newspaper reader would have recognized the initialism "JFK" as a reference to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. But what about in 1957, ...
- 1,907
2
votes
0
answers
90
views
What is the purpose of the middle arrow which appears like half moon? [closed]
I recently came across a pic of the bow and arrows of the famous Indian king Maharana Pratap.
I am curious to know what purpose does the half-moon-shaped arrow have, was it used to kill enemies? and ...
- 121
5
votes
1
answer
278
views
Why did Pakistan choose Islamabad as its capital?
Initially, Pakistan's temporary capital was Karachi -
which made sense as
it was the largest city.
I tried to understand why they moved it to Islamabad of all places.
Here is what I know from my own ...
- 155
0
votes
2
answers
182
views
What are those Russian/Turkic/Mongolian semi-conical felt caps brimmed with fur called?
What are those Russian/Turkic/Mongolian semi-conical felt caps brimmed with fur called? When and from which culture did it originate from, and when and how did it get adopted by the Slavs? Did the ...
1
vote
2
answers
224
views
When did opposing armies in close proximity engage each other during the American Civil war?
How did opposing armies in the US Civil War react to being in relatively close proximity? The following map from Shaara's Killer Angels shows several units between 500 and 1000 yards apart, or closer....
- 475
2
votes
0
answers
74
views
What did the equitable of the citizens exactly dislike about Ananus, in Josephus' reference to James?
Josephus' reference to James the brother of Jesus
And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into
Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high
priesthood, and ...
- 99
4
votes
1
answer
382
views
When was the term 'finishing school' first used?
I'm researching an article on women's education. The earliest reference I can find to an school describing itself as a 'finishing school' is Miss Porter's School, 1843, in Connecticut.
Is there an ...
24
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What was the shortest time between a historical event occuring and a museum opening dedicated to said event?
As an example, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum opened 5 years after 9/11. The National World War I Museum opened 8 years after the end of World War I. Was there ever a museum that opened after an even ...
- 4,110
2
votes
0
answers
86
views
Was the Tetrarchy known under a different name by contemporaries?
It made me curious that the Tetrarchy should be known by a Greek name, so I've spent some time searching for a Latin alternative, but I didn't find any mention of it, including in the Latin-language ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
153
views
Did the council of Tours abolish January 1st as the beginning of the year?
It is well known that in medieval Europe, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, or December 25, were celebrated as new year, it wasn't until the reforms in 1752 that January 1st as New Year's day ...
- 472
3
votes
1
answer
195
views
Why did Napoleon IV die fighting in the British Army? [closed]
In 1879 in a war against the Zulu, Napoleon IV, son of Napoleon III participating in the British army met his maker. The question is why wasn't he part of the French army?
After the 1870 war his ...
- 131
16
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Did Martin Luther ever say "The prosperity of a country depends ... "?
Did Martin Luther ever say these quotes? If he did, then since he didn't speak English, what were his original words. Is this translation correct (close enough)?
The prosperity of a country depends, ...
- 765
-3
votes
1
answer
129
views
Was there a Moresnet Conference of 1867? [closed]
I have been experimenting with ChatGPT today, asking questions about the Neutral-Moresnet territory. ChatGPT gave me quite a bit of misinformation about the subject. It stated for example that The ...
- 105
5
votes
2
answers
301
views
Did the Ottomans conquer Poland-Lithuania?
Türk Tarihi | History of Turks claims that the Ottomans took Poland-Lithuania as a vassal in the late 1570s. Where did they get this from? I searched everywhere but I couldn't find anything.
- 231
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
What is the historical origin of the story of the Temptation of Christ? [closed]
In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, there is a story in which Jesus meets the Christian Devil (Satan), and Satan tempts Jesus to give up his mission through promises of power.
I want more ...
- 9
0
votes
1
answer
90
views
What did publicani markings on slaves sold out of the empire look like? [duplicate]
In this video, YouTube: Did Ancient Romans Use Tattoos? @ 4:35, the presenter mentions some "taxes paid" tattoo or branding for slaves sold outside of the empire. Do we have any evidence of ...
- 91
3
votes
2
answers
274
views
What was the Gothic language name for Ravenna?
I'm trying to surmise what was/might have been the Gothic name for Ravenna, which served as the Ostrogothic capital for some time. Gothic does have the sounds to emulate the Latin pronunciation (...
Greg N.