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1500 questions
30
votes
4 answers
Why did the Soviet Union close its borders and restrict travel abroad?
It was virtually impossible for citizens of Soviet Union to move or travel abroad. Only some ethnic minorities (e.g. Jewish) with family members abroad could move out, yet with great difficulty.
Why did Soviet Union impose such strong restrictions…
qwaz
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Is there a reason for a Queen's husband not to be referred to as King?
While watching the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II events going on recently, I noticed that the Queen's husband is referred to as 'Prince'-- not 'King'. Upon researching further, I found that Queen Victoria and Mary III's husbands were both…
canadiancreed
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5 answers
Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany prior to, and during WWII. It seems that the actions of the two countries after the invasion of Poland would confirm suspicions that they were working…
ihtkwot
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1 answer
How did people react to Cavendish bananas when they first replaced the Gros Michel strain?
I was reading that the bananas we eat today (Cavendish) weren't particularly popular until the 50s, when the more popular Gros Michel variety was virtually wiped out by a nasty disease. Apparently Gros Michel was much sweeter and had a different…
Rose Ames
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votes
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Why is Dravidian history ignored?
Whenever I read an article on ancient Indian history, I see people only writing about the Indus valley civilization and the Aryans. But what about Dravidians? Didn't they exist even before the Aryans came to India? Also I see a lot of other…
Jayaram
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5 answers
At which point in time did the majority of German population become aware of the Holocaust?
I've read the wikipedia pages on Responsibility for the Holocaust and German Resistance to Nazism but the answer is not clear. It's established that large numbers of Germans were aware of the Holocaust from the beginning: those who were involved in…
Evgeni Sergeev
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5 answers
Why don't people without access to clean water drink beer anymore?
In the medieval ages, peasants used to drink beer instead of water because the plain water wasn't safe to drink. Why do people in countries where the water sources are polluted not do this today? Why did this practice emerge in some countries but…
Tom
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5 answers
Was the Italian campaign a strategic mistake?
Background
In September 1943, the Allied forces invaded Southern Italy in combined airborne/amphibious operations in Reggio di Calabria (Operation Baytown), Salerno (Operation Avalanche) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick). At first, these operations…
Olivier
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10 answers
Why didn't Alexander invade India?
Alexander conquered most parts of the Western World, but there is a great deal of controversy over his invasion of India. In BC 327 Alexander came to India, and tried to cross the Jhelum river for the invasion, but was then confronted by King…
AskingStory
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10 answers
How did the US/South Vietnam lose the Vietnam war?
South Vietnam was helped by US. Even when the US was gone, they had a 1 million army.
So why did they lose?
Even without US support, South Vietnam had about the same manpower, higher technology, and was more industrialized. Why did they lose?
user4951
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29
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3 answers
Why was the Roman Empire considered an empire rather than a kingdom (again)?
First there was the Roman Kingdom, then the Roman Republic and then the Roman Empire. But what was it that made it an empire the third time, rather than just going back to being a kingdom again?
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the last rex Romae…
Kristoffer Helander
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29
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2 answers
Did Age of Sail fighting vessels have any anti-spall technology?
In the paper The injuries of four centuries of naval warfare, the author describes how flying wood splinters caused by cannon balls striking a ship's hull were a major cause of injury to ship's crews.
Splinters Hutchinson, writing at the
end of the…
DrMcCleod
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29
votes
6 answers
Why are cereal grains so important to agriculture and civilization?
I was looking through a list of foodstuffs and noticed that nuts have far more energy content, fat content and protein content than cereals (relative to their mass). They don't seem to be especially perishable and humans have eaten them forever- but…
user36780
29
votes
4 answers
Why wasn't San Marino unified with Italy?
Why wasn't San Marino unified with the Kindom of Italy during the unification process? Were there plans or efforts at the time to unify the two states? Did either government at any time try to annex the other state?
soliloquyy
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1 answer
Who said: "Armies prepare to fight their last war, rather than their next war"?
There is a famous quote which I've seen phrased in several different ways.
"Armies prepare to fight their last war, rather than their next war"
"Generals prepare to fight their father's war"
"Soldiers...."
I've seen this quote in many books and…
user27618