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18
votes
3 answers
Why did Soviet soldiers who plundered occupied territories during WW2 prefer watches to other valuables?
EDIT: text in bold was added later to not suggest that this practice was common.
I'd known from stories told by my Grandmother and other people of Her age, that after entering pre-war Polish territories, some Soviet soldiers plundered everything,…
Voitcus
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18
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1 answer
How educated were the clergy during the Medieval period?
I understand that Latin was common language of clergy in Medieval times. I presume that bishops could read and write. There were also some monks responsible of copying books.
What about "normal" priests, those that wikipedia refers to as the "lower…
Voitcus
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18
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1 answer
How did the existence of the Alps impact the development of Switzerland?
Can anyone tell me what was the role of Alps and Alpine region in Swiss development of Switzerland?
Gautam Shrivastava
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18
votes
5 answers
Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
Were Argentina's and the UK's Antarctic territorial claims significant in the Falklands War?
Liam
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18
votes
4 answers
What would be accurate illustrations of vikings and viking culture?
Vikings didn't have horned helmets as is often depicted. Where can I find accurate representations how vikings and viking society looked?
Kit Sunde
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18
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3 answers
What role did Lucky Luciano play in facilitating the invasion of Sicily?
On the night of July 9, 1943, 160,000 Allied troops landed on the extreme southwestern shore of Sicily. After securing a beachhead, Gen. George Patton's U.S. Seventh Army launched an offensive into the island's western hills, Italy's Mafia land,…
user2237
18
votes
2 answers
Why were women excluded from the succession line in the Meiji constitution?
Article 2 of the Meiji consitution (full text here) says:
The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by Imperial male
descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House Law.
A history book I was perusing indicated that this was a…
Felix Goldberg
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18
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1 answer
Why did Stephen Ambrose believe that the election of Aaron Burr would have led to the end of the USA?
I'm reading Stephen E. Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage", and in pg. 50, he writes (emphasis mine):
On December 5, 1800, Lewis was promoted to captain. That month the states selected their delegates to the Electoral College. In February 1801, those…
Daniel
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18
votes
6 answers
Why were balls used on the Medici coat of arms?
I've heard they represent the weighted balls used to measure goods, alluding to Florence's history as a commercial city and the Medici family's history as merchants and bankers. I've also heard that they were supposed to represent the resilience of…
Rasputin
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18
votes
2 answers
What was the actual value of tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party?
I'd like to know 2 or 3 of the following 3 metrics:
Actual value in the currency of the time (yes I realize that there were local currencies and in general FX concept was... hard to do).
NPV (inflation adjusted) value, however such values are…
DVK
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18
votes
2 answers
How did Mongol nomads acquire metal weapons?
Metal-working requires a furnace, heavy tools and of-course metal ore and yet nomadic Mongols were able to obtain metal weapons, so either they worked metal or traded it. But if they worked metal how were they able to move the tools around? And…
JustSomeDude
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18
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3 answers
What percentage of Jews were in "finance" (money-lenders) throughout Middle Ages?
The stereotypical image of a Jew in Middle Ages (and the portrayal of them) was of course "the money-lender". From Ivanhoe's Isaac of York, to Shakespeare's Shylock, to "Проклятый жид, почтенный Соломон" from Pushkin's The Miserly Knight, we see the…
DVK
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18
votes
5 answers
Why M.K. Gandhi preferred Nehru for Prime Minister candidate and not Sardar Patel?
I've heard different stories on why Sardar Patel was not selected for PM post. Some says it was Gandhi who opted Nehru over Patel, whereas some suggests it was Sardar Patel who stepped back from PM post.
AksharRoop
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18
votes
1 answer
What was the situation of homosexuals in the early Soviet Union?
Between 1917 and 1930, homosexuality was decriminalised in the Soviet Union. From the Wikipedia article on LGBT history in Russia:
The Russian Communist Inessa Armand publicly endorsed both feminism and free love, but never directly dealt with LGBT…
gerrit
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18
votes
9 answers
Why have officers in the U.S. Army tended to "top out" at the level of Major?
In the U.S. Army,
something like 75%-80% of newly-commissioned Second Lieutenants are promoted to First Lieutenant (around age 25)
perhaps 75%-80% of First Lieutenants are promoted to Captain (ages 28-29)
75%-80% of Captains are promoted to Major…
Tom Au
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