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1500 questions
43
votes
12 answers
Were Medieval Britons aware of the existence of the Roman Empire?
I would like to know if the medieval people in Britain, by around 800 AD, knew that there was an empire that ruled Britain several hundreds of years before.
Otherwise, were there any myths, legends, etc related to Hadrian's Wall, Roman ruins,…
Ricky Youssef
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43
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3 answers
Is there any proof that Robin Hood existed?
Is there any written proof/documentation that Robin Hood ever existed? Did he ever get arrested and got his name written in the prison books or something like that?
Daniel
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42
votes
4 answers
Were kamikaze pilots an effective strategy for Japan?
history.howstuffworks.com claims kamikaze pilots were not overly effective. Wikipedia states that there was no noticeable increase in number of ships lost even as kamikaze pilots became more common, and in total it seems they only sunk somewhere…
dsollen
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42
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6 answers
Are there any accounts of everyday life during the Black Death?
How did everyday life looked like for people living during the Plague?
I'm mostly interested in trying to understand things from the point of view of a regular person living in Europe. For example, I would like to know: How would they perceive what…
Eduardo M.
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2 answers
Who first called natural satellites "moons"?
Question: when did someone first call the astronomical objects that orbit planets "moons"? More precisely, I'm probably looking for the first use of lunae in this context. I assume that "moons" would have been a translation of the Latin word which…
Juhasz
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42
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2 answers
Why was capturing the south of Okinawa necessary?
The Battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest and most difficult of WW2. But, if I understand correctly, most of the casualties were incurred during the fighting for the southern part of the island. Considering that the sole use of Okinawa for the…
Johnny
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42
votes
2 answers
Have American urban rioters ever looted residences?
The current (summer 2020) occurrences of looting and rioting are targeting stores and businesses, so I am wondering if houses and apartments might potentially become targets at some point. In previous American riots (eg 1968, 1992), did looters ever…
Betterthan Kwora
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42
votes
3 answers
Earliest evidence of objects intended for future archaeologists?
In modern times, it is not unusual for people to wonder what, if anything, will archeologists of the future (human or otherwise) will learn about our civilization from various artifacts we leave behind.
Some even take steps to preserve modern…
Justas
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42
votes
8 answers
Why were helmets and other body armour not commonplace in the 1800s?
Before the widespread use of firearms, various kinds of plate armour were in widespread use. As muskets (and later, rifles) became widespread, full plate became less effective and fell out of use.
However, mortars and (later) cannon did exist,…
Graham
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42
votes
3 answers
When was drinking water recognized as crucial in marathon running?
The winner, John Hayes, of the first modern marathon in 1908 said that he thought drinking water during a marathon was a grave mistake, saying: "I merely bathed my face with florida water, and gargled my throat with brandy". Quote can be found here…
HaskellElephant
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42
votes
6 answers
What is the pre-schism Christian church called today?
I've come upon numerous instances where a pre-11th century person or artifact is associated with either the Orthodox or Catholic church. The most recent example is in Francis Fukuyama's "The Origins of Political Order", where Gregory I is titled…
user3209815
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42
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2 answers
What is the first horse name recorded in history?
What is the first horse whose name has been recorded in history?
I wrote down a long list of famous people and their mounts, and I realized that Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, was the first case I had.
Some resources online say that…
Brasidas
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42
votes
7 answers
Was it militarily possible to "island hop" the Philippines if not for MacArthur?
The battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines led to the destruction of half of what remained of the Japanese navy. It also "sucked in" all the troops that Japanese could spare from elsewhere, leading to their deploying about half a million men in the…
Tom Au
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42
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5 answers
Why were women targeted as witches?
I think that a few men, but many more women were convicted of using magic in Europe mostly during the years in between 1400 and 1800 and I think it became much more prevalent after the Protestant Reformation.
Was the majority of people killed…
SophArch
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42
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7 answers
Why didn't Britain's nuclear weapons deter Argentina from invading the Falklands?
The United Kingdom has nuclear weapons. All the [major] political parties support this policy. A common justification heard is that they are a deterrent against foreign aggression. For example:
UK nuclear deterrence policy consists of 5 main…
Colonel Panic
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