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1500 questions
106
votes
3 answers
Why are Germans referred to so differently in different languages?
I was inspired by the other question "Why are the German and French languages so different?". But while, for me, the answer was obvious (the Romans did not conquer most parts of today's Germany and so on), another question came into my mind and its…
Orsinus
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103
votes
7 answers
Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
The featured image of the Wikipedia page for the Black Death is a gif showing the spread of the bubonic plague throughout Europe. There are a few places where the plague never spread to, including the area around Milan. But most notably, the entire…
TenthJustice
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103
votes
9 answers
Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
Even if we account for the argument that it is much more tedious to train a man to use a bow than a musket, why then did the arbalest not make a comeback? Its effective range - reportedly at 300m, is still much better than a smoothbore musket from…
Evil Washing Machine
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100
votes
10 answers
Has a sovereign Communist government ever run, and conceded loss, on a fair election?
Have there been cases where a sovereign Communist government ran in an open and fair multi-party election and conceded a loss?
The reason for the sovereign qualifier is simple. If, for example, the Indian state of Kerala has a Communist government,…
Italian Philosophers 4 Monica
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100
votes
13 answers
Why China was able to unify and not Europe?
If you look at a map of China through the ages, you will usually find (from about the Han up) a huge mass representing China. On the other hand, you look at a map of Europe, and you'll usually see a huge number of states. Why was China able to unify…
Russell
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97
votes
4 answers
Why were old fortifications shaped like stars and not like circles?
The fortifications of Copenhagen, Fredericia and Acre are star-shaped. (Defense of Copenhagen is shown in the picture below.) Why not have defenses or fortifications in the shape of a pure square or circle?
Ole Petersen
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97
votes
12 answers
Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
Japan and the Soviet Union shared a common border in Manchuria and the German invasion of the Soviet Union weakened the Soviets greatly. In view of the advantages to Japan in seeing the Soviet Union defeated (not to mention the resources available…
Jay Riggs
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96
votes
6 answers
What is the origin of 3 meals a day?
Wondering if there is an origin of the "3 meals a day" concept. For example, in English we have specific words for them:
Breakfast.
Lunch.
Dinner.
But we have a few more for other meals in the day (I can only think of one…
Lance
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95
votes
10 answers
Did medieval scholars believe the Earth was round?
There seems to be almost a consensus that the medieval belief on flat earth is a myth. Wikipedia even has a whole article dedicated to this subject, and the general argument is that the "flat earth myth" was constructed by 19th century scholars who…
A. McMount
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92
votes
3 answers
How would a 16-year-old girl from Cleopatra's era curse?
For one of my novels, I need to learn how Egyptian 16 year old teenagers spoke to each other on a daily basis. I did some research online but I have trouble to understand what languages peoples were speaking in Alexandria in Cleopatra's era, and…
iizno
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91
votes
7 answers
Why didn't Germany blockade the Strait of Gibraltar during WW2?
The Strait of Gibraltar, at its narrowest point, is about 14 km wide. Why didn't Germany blockade it during WW2?
It seems to me that only a handful of submarines and destroyers could do the job. Wasn't the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) capable of…
DrZ214
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91
votes
5 answers
Did the ancient Greeks ever climb Mt. Olympus?
We all know that the ancient Greeks believed that their gods lived on top of the mountain Olympus (and some of them in other places like the Underworld). But Olympus - they knew where it was (between Macedon and Thessaly) and also that mountain was…
Orsinus
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90
votes
10 answers
Why does the United States keep using "old" date representations and imperial system, while being in the minority?
Other than the US (and a few other countries), the vast majority of countries use
International System of Units (SI).
Celsius temperature scale.
DMY or YMD date format¹.
24-hour clock when written².
Monday as the first day of week³.
These…
Athari
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89
votes
2 answers
How did people distinguish slaves from free people in Ancient Rome?
I've tried to find some information about it, but failed. Let's say there is an educated slave living in a relatively rich household of Rome. What would prevent him from fleeing, going to some smaller town of some province to live there as a free…
Sappy
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88
votes
7 answers
Why is the consensus that WW2 started on September 1, 1939 and not July 7, 1937?
Looking at Wikipedia, dates given are 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945, which end in the defeat of Japan.
However why is the starting date when Germany invaded Poland and not when the Japanese invaded China in the Sino-Japanese war on July 7,…
Matas Vaitkevicius
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