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29
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Did the Soviet Union or its satellite states have any broadcast propaganda media for an international audience?
Since 1949, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been a U.S. Government funded broadcasting service aimed at Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. During the Cold War, it mainly targeted the Soviet Union and its satellite states. …
gerrit
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Why did Byzantine champions (consistently) lose duels to Muslim armies' champions?
I studied Byzantine history lately. I am familiar with the tradition of champions from opposing armies to duel before battles in the east. What baffled me is that time and again, the Byzantine champions kept losing those duels to Muslim ones.
Why…
Adrian Sicaru
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29
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1 answer
During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, did society question whether or not recovered patients will remain immune?
One of the biggest controversies around the current COVID-19 pandemic involves the question of immunity. The official WHO position is as following:
"Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to
the SARS-CoV-2, the virus…
JonathanReez
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Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
Recently, somewhat controversially, Germany considers ordering 45 F-18 fighter jets for replacement of the old Tornado bombers, in order to still have jets capable of delivering US nuclear bombs.
How did Germany get into this position?
In particular…
SEJPM
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29
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1 answer
In this cartoon from Puck, what indicates the identities of France and Britain?
According to Wikipedia, the participants in the naval arms race depicted in this cartoon are (clockwise, starting from the man in the blue jacket) the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan. Three of them are easy to identify:
The…
Mark
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29
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2 answers
Was there an assassination attempt against Xerxes in the battle of Thermopylae?
I watched Frank Miller's 300 last night with my girlfriend, and after the movie ended she mentioned the assassination attempt against Xerxes would have been a great plot element for the movie and that it was a shame they didn't include it. I…
Roc Martí
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29
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Why did the Allies Invade French North Africa?
Question: Why did the allies invade Vichy French North Africa?
Operation Torch was the name of the Anglo American Invasion of French North Africa. Both of the American most senior commanders General George Marshal and Admiral…
user27618
29
votes
3 answers
Was any stimulant used in wars before WW2 that gave a significant advantage to soldiers?
During World War II German soldiers were given a drug called Pervitin, which was a form of methamphetamine and is considered having given them a significant advantage during the war.
Was any stimulant used in wars before WW2 that gave a significant…
Franck Dernoncourt
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Was there a Viking Exchange as well as a Columbian one?
In the Columbian Exchange, many tropical and temperate species crossed the Atlantic for the first time. Was there previously a Viking Exchange at higher latitudes?
According to Jesse Byock's Viking Age Iceland, Vikings brought along familiar…
Aaron Brick
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29
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5 answers
Are there historical instances of the capital of a colonising country being temporarily or permanently shifted to one of its colonies?
When the Portuguese Royal Court (over 15,000 souls) fled the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal in 1807, and installed itself in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rio became the capital of the pluricontinental Lusitanian monarchy until 1822.
This is one of the…
Centaurus
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29
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Why did the Soviet Union get 3 seats in the UN?
Even before the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Belarus (which were then officially part of the Soviet Union) had independent seats at the United Nations. Why didn't the US or the UK get the same privilege?
user39
29
votes
2 answers
Was Nixon's Vietnam claim right before the 1968 election true?
In Richard Nixon's final appeal to voters on NBC right before the 1968 Presidential Election, he made an explosive claim about the Vietnam war. Here is how the Eugene Register-Guard reported it:
[Nixon] said he had a “very disturbing report,”…
Keshav Srinivasan
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29
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2 answers
During the Great Depression, did the US Army do a study involving paying people to dig a hole and fill it back up?
This website indicates a study was done by the US army but it offers no citation or identifying information. I've scoured to try to find the answer myself but am running short on time. Is it true?
Jacob
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Do we have any surviving texts by Romano-Celtic authors?
Do we have any surviving texts or references to texts with Romano-Celtic authors and how common were 'non-Greco-Italian' (I'm not sure of the best term for that) authors? Specifically within the Roman period, roughly 43 AD to 410 AD in Britain and…
Charlie Tizzard Ó Kevlahan
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Were secret treaties ratified? How did they become official while remaining secret?
Up to early 20th century, secret treaties or secret protocols seemed to be common. For example:
The Russian-French alliance before WW I was partly based on a "a secret treaty in 1894"
The secret Treaty of London in which Britain, France and Russia…
user69715
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