query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Many years ago I was told by a librarian that a free black person (pre Civil War) could have his papers torn up, be kidnapped, and be sold into slavery | [
"Hi, hopefully someone can drop by with a comprehensive answer, but to get you started, here are a couple of related posts: * [How often were freemen kidnapped in the north and sold into slavery?](_URL_1_) * [Question on the historical accuracy of the treatment of free blacks in the North in \"12 Years a Slave\"](_... | [
"Because they were still listed as slaves. Their names are still on their most recent master's books as being owned by them. In the north, yeah they were technically free, but in the south they weren't. The fugitive slave laws let slave owners go up and get slaves they legally owned still. In practice though, it wa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about History:",
"pos": "Represent the document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Pacific coast native Americans burning redwoods and Sequoya to create massive natural chapels. | [
"I'm sorry, but this is utter rubbish. The notion that anthropogenic soils (middens) were imported into forests to nourish and grow \"monster\" trees has no foundation in the anthropological literature. The article is chock full of misinformation such as that archaeologists know not what bedrock mortars were used f... | [
"Drinks cans and the like are easy and economically viable recylcling Paper recycling is not economically viable and may harm the environment more that commercial plantation logging. The way the environment movement used to talk about paper recylcling you would think we made paper out of walnut and mahogany from t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Ammunition costs for WW2 | [
"While you're waiting for a more complete answer, /u/Bigglesworth_ has a post from about a year ago addressing your specific question regarding the accuracy of anti-aircraft fire: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Target marketing, old people participate in both Gold/Silver and Fox News. The same reason you see 10,000 Hover round and reverse mortgage commercials during the price is right."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Swastika on Russian banknote. | [
"Hi OP, you are welcome to post a link to a scanned image here. We just don't allow image only posts. Thanks!"
] | [
"We created the first Taliban why not the next one."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What was the earliest recorded example of a nudist colony? | [
"Mod note: Please do not post unless you have a serious answer to the question. For sure don't post \"the Garden of Eden,\" the joke has already been made and deleted twice."
] | [
"Was there a similar attempt to recruit Japanese scientists?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What are some interesting secrets keep from the public during World War two? | [
"While not actively hidden, the 1944 Exercise Tiger comes to mind. An Allied convoy was practicing maneuvers for the invasion coming that spring. The escorts given to the convoy were old and on different radio frequencies. A German E boat found the convoy, attacked, and darted back into the night. Almost a thousand... | [
"They were. Syphilis was unknown to the rest if the world until it was brought back from the New World. Im sure there were more, but I cant think of any off the top of my head."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about History:"
} |
When did St. Patrick's day become so popular? | [
"Follow-up: where is this popular? I don't even know what this holiday is."
] | [
"Because the Lent restrictions on drinking alcohol were historically lifted on March 17 in Ireland. It's a Catholic holiday, they were a Catholic country. So it became the day during Lent that you could drink."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What exactly is a work of "popular history"? | [
"It's something aimed at popular (meaning general, or non-professional) audiences, rather than other historians. If a historian publishes an academic history (meant primarily for other professionals in the history profession), it's expected that he or she will spend some time reviewing where the work fits in with t... | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
I want to major in history and have a few questions about the requirements. | [
"Your requirements are going to depend on what university you attend. They're all a bit different. I had to take college algebra and statistics, but some universities only require one math class, and I'm sure there are some that require more. I know figuring out program requirements can be a pain in the ass, and it... | [
"Most schools are fine with double majors. My best guess, if its a Liberal Arts college, is that they believe a double major would hurt your ability to gain the rounded, varied breadth of learning they want students to get from their school."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Viking Life Expectancy? | [
"Average life span pre-modern times is heavily skewed by the high rate of infant mortality. Of course, it is hard to know exact statistics from that time, as it was not noted down in those times. We do, however, have Swedish church censuses from the latter half og the 18th century that noted down birth and death da... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
To the Historians, I am thinking about majoring in history... | [
"1. If you stick with traditional history, you will have a hard time getting any history related job without an MA. If you study public history, more opportunities open up, such as jobs with the National Park Service, various archives, and government agencies. To be honest, I do not see how a person with only a BA ... | [
"To their own community of academics. But how far back are we talking? Ancient greece? Renaissance? Isaac Newton era?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was a typical crucifixion like? | [
"Great question, why would Jesus drag a cross up the hill. I was taught, that others were on crosses next to him. I was taught that that is how they killed people at that time. So I imagine wood was scarce at that time and place, wouldn't they reuse the crosses? Surely they knew how to recycle. So what's the deal w... | [
"When was the last time you actually witnessed a human being decapitated? Where is your source for how a human body acts after a decapitation?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about biology:"
} |
What would you consider the best book on the British East India Company? | [
"Robins' [The Corporation that Changed the World](_URL_1_) is a short, popular history, but might provide a light overview of the major historical dates, figures etc before you decide to dive into more scholarly resources. Bowen's [The Business of Empire](_URL_0_) is great on the internal administrative/legal/finan... | [
"Just asked this in the other sticky, but maybe this is the better place for it: Does anyone have any good book recommendations about the Nigerian Civil War or about Biafra as a country?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text about Literature:"
} |
In Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, there was a character who says she's from Auckland, New Zealand. Given the timeframe of the movie being several years after the Civil War what potential motivations would someone from New Zealand have come all the way to the United States? | [
"A similar question was posed in relation to Australia (and answered, to some degree by yours truly) about a year ago: _URL_0_"
] | [
"There's no way to predict exactly what would have happened, but the outcome would have been pretty dire for a lot of people. There's a branch of fiction devoted to alternate history, and some really good books in it. For this particular 'what-if,' I would recommend the book \"The Man in the High Castle\" by Philip... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Was there any fanfare when Christopher Columbus left Spain or when he returned? Was his trip viewed by the general populace similarly to how we see Apollo 11? | [
"Hi, you might be interested in this old answer of mine: _URL_0_"
] | [
"All of history (as long as we dont destroy ourselves) will remember one thing about the 20th century. On July 20th 1969 three men ended a 4 day trip to our lunar partner. It marked the very first time in history a person walked on another planet. As long as we dont annihilate ourselves in nuclear Armageddon, this ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How much would it cost to have your photograph taken during the turn of the 20th century? For a good case study I present you a photo I have of Fr. Thomas Byles of Titanic fame. | [
"Not quite turn of the century, but during the 1880's, one of the premier photographers in the old west, C.S. Fly, would charge 35 cents for a portrait in his Tombstone, Arizona studio. _URL_0_"
] | [
"I'm afraid I don't know the painter, but that's George I of Great Britain."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How would I be able to impress girls in the medieval period? | [
"When ('medieval' spans a roughly 1000 year period from, arguably, 500-1500), where (differences in culture will mean different ways of impressing people), and of what social status (a cowherd will be impressed by certain things that a princess would find distasteful and vice versa)?"
] | [
"I'd like to flip this and ask a question, can anyone shed some light on wintertime survival in Early Medieval Britain and Ireland?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Did St. Thomas actually go to India? | [
"Quoting myself from a previous answer to a similar question: In *Origin of India's St. Thomas Christians: A Historiographical Critique*, Benedict Vadakkekara comes to the conclusion (as others have before) that, considering that there was frequent trade between the Middle East and India, the age and consistency of... | [
"Are you willing to travel to Washington DC?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
My grandma lost her family home to the russians during WWII. Is that just tough luck? | [
"Hi there! Just as general advice, with regards to your last question: > And is there anything she can do about it now? We are not a sub for legal advice and I would just generally caution accepting legal advise from anonymous strangers on the internet. Thank you!"
] | [
"Because the Turks deny anything happened. 2 million Armenians just got \"lost\" in the shuffle after ww1/collapse of the Ottoman Empire Most everyone else isn't buying that story"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Literature on 'Southern Honor'? | [
"The all-time classic on this is Bertram Wyatt-Brown's *Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South* (New York: Oxford U Press, 1982). Since then, a lot has been written on the subject, particularly relating to gendered notions of honor and race. One important recent work on how Southern males had the mea... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Did the first U.S. congress violate the Constitution? | [
"The Constitution lists powers granted to Congress, preceded by the words \"The Congress shall have power\" followed by various phrases including \"To provide and maintain a Navy\". This wording is very specific. If the Constitution had read that \"Congress shall provide and maintain a Navy\", that would be a requ... | [
"Who is going to pass the constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms? Congress?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Is there any legitimacy to any pre-Columbian American exchange theories? Other than the vikings of course. | [
"[I answered a similar question to this previously.](_URL_0_) In short--there were at least 3 major migrations of East-Asian nomads into North America via the Bering Strait, and contact between Polynesians and Native South Americans. There is no reputable evidence for any trans-Atlantic contact before the Vikings, ... | [
"I'm sure there are older occurrences, but i know in 1835 there was a hoax printed in news papers (The Great Moon Hoax) claiming that there were bat-men living on the moon along with other animals. Also take this with a grain of salt, but there are even stories about a pastor convincing his church to donate money t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | April 20, 2015–April 26, 2015 | [
"I answered this question about Australia in the First World War: [Was Australia ever under serious threat of invasion by the Central Powers?] (_URL_5_) With ANZAC Day yesterday, and in light of disparaging comments made against the men of Australia and New Zealand who fought in the world wars, it's important to no... | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about News:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post about News:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Is there an online photodump of pictures throughout history? | [
"There are two subreddits that might help you. /r/historyporn and /r/oldschoolcool The photos of /r/historyporn tend to be older, but the photos on /r/oldschoolcool tend to show more fashions."
] | [
"Do you have a link that contains examples of these images?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can a song be a secondary source? | [
"Wouldn't that be a primary source for the attitude of The Minutemen to the war? If I use Catullus or Horace or some other poetry, I treat it as primary. What would it be secondary to?"
] | [
"Aka how can I become a cult leader?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How did the Essay develop into such a central medium for academic discussion? | [
"This is a great question, and I hope someone can answer it. I pinged the two flaired users who specialize in the history of rhetoric, so hopefully one of them can help. In the meantime, I'm going to reconsider my complaints about undergraduate essays when I imagine what an undergraduate dialogue might look like."
... | [
"Can anyone suggest respected works that deal, on a theoretical level, with the concept of elites? Specifically from the standpoint of history."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Before and during the American revolution were there people in Britian who agreed with America? | [
"What does your question mean? Agree with what? Economics? Politics? Taxation? Western frontier expansion? The enforcement of mercentalism? There are dozens of things that Britains agreed and disagreed with. If you want an answer, you’ll need to be specific?"
] | [
"The left side of the assemble was for people who support the liberal or democracy *not modern day democracy but for that time period it was radical*. The right side of the assemble was for those who supported the monarchy. This was during the french revolution."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What made Soviet "Shock Armies," so...um...Shocking? | [
"In \"When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler,\" (a solid overview source) Glantz & House mention that Shock Armies typically used to force a breakthrough of the enemy front; after forcing the breakthrough, mechanized forces would exploit the breakthrough and try to effect a wide encirclement of the en... | [
"They have two purposes. ONE, it's to RETAIN all those rights which they fought so hard for. Minimum Wage is under attack. Collective Bargaining rights are under attack. Hell, some politicians are even trying to be rid of things like Child Labor Laws. Unions act as a counterweight. And two, this same argument happe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
historians, what documents are you waiting for to be officially released and what might they possibly answer? | [
"The JFK assassination documents are scheduled go be released in 2017. Not to throw conspiracy theroy's into the thread but it will be very interesting to see what was released. But a vast majority of people dont believe the official story. It was the cold war of course and alot of sneaky stuff did happen so it wil... | [
"Could you point us to the source from which you drew your question? When you say feudal Russia what years are you thinking of? I have not heard this before personally and would be curious to see what it has to say."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why are the other WWII Allies not in the U.N Security Council | [
"Canada is in the U.N. Security Council (non-permanently, but permanent members include: France, China, Russia, United States and United Kingdom which have 5 of the 6 largest militaries). Australia, and New Zealand are likely not in the U.N. Security Council because they don't bear a large, formidable armed forces.... | [
"If you can still talk to that teacher, maybe you could clarify if FDR meant the Permanent Members or the rotating body. Nearly everybody gets a turn on the rotating body of the UNSC."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come US Congress seems so solemn compared to the lively, almost disorderly British Parliament, despite their shared legal heritage? | [
"It depends on the type of parliamentary system used. For instance in Scandanavian countries theres a lot more work done between the parliament and the executive/government. Politics in these countries appears more tedious and drab because each side gets some imput. In the UK opposite parties have very little direc... | [
"As a UK citizen, I am unaware and uninterested in the religion of our politicians. Strange, since the US makes a great fuss about separation of Church and State, that people seem so concerned."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is the Land Bridge theory faulty? If so how did people migrate to North America? | [
"Hi there, while there's always more to be said on this topic, perhaps [this post from our FAQs](_URL_0_) can be helpful to you."
] | [
"Finding food. Early humans were hunter-gatherers, they didn't figure out yet how to grow their own food. When the population became large enough there wasn't enough food to go around, so they started migrating to find new places to live in. Edit: By the way, you have it the other way around. Humans originated in A... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Did a prince of Wales "discover" America in 1170? | [
"Hi there! You might be interested in a few of our past questions; * [What peoples besides the Native Americans reached the Americas before Columbus?](_URL_2_) But especially the following threads, all with brilliant answers from an Eastern Woodlands expert: * [Is there any solid evidence to support the stories aro... | [
"Were the Europeans aware that Japan existed before Portuguese sailors came across it in 1543?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Logistically, how was the British Empire keep control of all of its colonies? | [
"They installed local governors or military commanders who had ultimate authority in their area of control. Communication with the homeland was conducted by letters that would be dispatched either aboard the nearest going that direction and than passed along like a relay baton or they would be sent via dedicated co... | [
"I would say that alliances made it pan-european; the fact that all of these european countries also had empires stretching around the world made it global. Also, there was plenty of actual fighting around the world, especially naval conflicts."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why was Charles Lindbergh's flight so celebrated? | [
"Charismatic, good looking, and the media needed American heroes to sell to an American audience."
] | [
"That was a poorly worded question. I mean to ask, what was public opinion of Napoleon himself like?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Has one person, or small group of people, working in the shadows, set out to and succeeded in starting a major international war? Often in movies and TV we see some rogue spymaster or shadowy cartel of arms manufacturers doing so. Is there any truth to this? | [
"I hope asking for clarification is okay as a top-level response. Do you mean a person or small group of people who didn't control a state and weren't acting on behalf of one?"
] | [
"The Bavarian Illuminati were a small group back in the 1770s who worked for equality, a lack of superstition, women's rights, etc. They were banned by the Bavarian government. However, they went on to inspire a conspiracy theory that they continued and only grew, to the point that they were cast as a group of rich... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I want to understand everything about France in the long 19th century. Where do I start? | [
"Well, for overall understanding I would recommend Wiki article: _URL_0_ I know everyone tells us not to do research using Wikipedia, but still, for a general understanding this might help a lot. One thing I like about Wikipedia is that a good article usually has sources listed. In this case there are apparently 2... | [
"When the US has only existed for a fraction of the length of time that the kingdoms in the British Isles have, I think you can understand just how immense the history of Blighty truly is. I say first you must commit to a time period before proceeding. Do you want Brythonic, Roman, Romano-British, Saxon, Norman, Vi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about history:"
} |
Is anyone familiar with the historian Susan Wise Bauer? Her books about ancient medieval times seem right up my alley. They are published by W.W. Norton which seems like a good sign. But her biography has some things that give me pause. Though perhaps that is simply my own prejudice. | [
"I've read her histories of the Medieval and Ancient world and i honestly found them to be quite enjoyable and well researched. Unfortunately I can't speak with the level of authority you're looking for (i'm finishing my undergrad this year) but my personal opinion of her history of the world so far is that it does... | [
"Your choice. When the book was first released, Ford's Theatre refused to stock the text in its bookstore due to historical inaccuracies. Supposedly these have since been fixed. Still, IMHO, it appears a little too sensationalist for my liking."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why do we not commonly hear about entire villiages going blind from observing an eclipse? | [
"Staring at the sun for a short period of time does not necessarily cause permanent blindness. [This] (_URL_0_) webpage hosted by UC Santa Barbara gets into what we know about the effects. > Obviously, no one has done a study to measure the exact time before damage or blindness occurs, but doctors collect informa... | [
"I think the same case can be made for humans. At least insects aren't in the midst if intentionally killing the planet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | December 14, 2015–December 20, 2015 | [
"Weekly Rundown: * /u/Lich-Su on [\"Did the cold war \"Domino Theory\" have any merit?\"](_URL_0_) * /u/anthropology_nerd on [\"A lot of my history teachers have said that the early American colonists would never have survived without the help from Native Americans. Is this true?\"](_URL_1_) * /u/polybios on [\"Wha... | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about News:",
"pos": "Represent the document about News:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How aware was the Chinese government of the discovery and colonization of the New World? When did the court become fully aware and what was its reaction? | [
"I can't speak on when the Ming court got the news, but I can speak on their reactions. The idea that China had everything that it needed was very popular at the time. It was rich due to the silk and porcelain industries, and the tribute system usually got it the items that it did not have. The idea that exploratio... | [
"China had a huge navy and explored greatly in the 1400s into the Indian Ocean and possibly across the Pacific Ocean: _URL_0_ However due to the isolationism policies of the next emperor, China stopped their exploration and generally kept to themselves for the next few hundred years which allowed the Europeans to s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why was Timur the Lame significant during the mid-13th to 14th Century? | [
"> based off of the information in the book \"Before European Hegemony,\" What other resources have you consulted? You've run against the main reason it's not a great idea to use only one source when researching a question: you depend *entirely* on what that one author thinks is important about the subject, and how... | [
"It's named after the Tartars, an ethnicity that was conquered and integrated into Russia during the 15th and 16th century."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Have there ever been any attempts to repeal any amendments in the United States Bill of Rights? | [
"As far as I can find, no attempt to repeal any of the first 10 amendments has ever been submitted to Congress (I'm using that as the benchmark for a 'serious attempt'). As an aside however, the Third Amendment (Protection from Quartering) is relevant in a modern context in that many judges interpret it as implying... | [
"The first amendment guarantees freedom of the press. It's been part of the US for as long as the US has existed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How historically acurate is the Assassin's Creed video game series? | [
"Hey man, you're fine, despite the downvotes :) In fact, [this is actually on the list of our most popular questions!](_URL_0_) Hope you can find the answer you're looking for over there - cheerio! :)"
] | [
"Generally high fantasy involves worlds where magic and fantastical creatures are common. Example: LOTR Low fantasy is when there are subtle fantastical elements in a more realistic world. Example: Game of Thrones (at least so far in the first half of book 1)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Value of older texts versus newer texts for learning? | [
"It's completely true that we know a ton more because of the research of the last 100 years, as said by the others here, but that won't necessarily cause a problem if you are dealing with a source that just presents straight facts with little to no interpretation. But if you are reading a history that has a thesis ... | [
"Check with your class resources. This is probably talking about something more specific that has been previously discussed in your classroom."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Did the Queen around 100-110 years ago ever spend significant time in Northwestern Ontario? | [
"Queen Victoria herself never left Britain, so unless it was brought to her in London, it's very unlikely she ever touched it. However, her son King Edward VII, toured Ontario as part of his North American tour in 1860. Edward VII's son, George V, also toured Canada around 1901 as the Prince of Wales. George V's so... | [
"A related question were there public figures at the time who were apologists that tried to justify for the actions of the Japanese military at Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Was it ever a real practice to indiscriminately dump ones bed chamber out the window onto the street below? | [
"Yes. There is a great BBC documentary called \"Filthy Cities: London\" that talks about it. They dumped all sorts of things in the streets: chamber pots, offal, etc and they didn't clean up after their animals either. It was horrible. The documentary recreates all of that in great detail and what was done to fix t... | [
"Protect them from what? Where I live we have successfully eliminated the ground trolls that hide in holes and stab the underside of our cars with spears when we drive over them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are there any historical examples of human societies which regarded animals as equals to humans? | [
"Jain monks afford all living beings the right to life through non-violence. They go as far as wearing face masks so to not breath in micro-organisms and carry brooms to sweep the ground beneath their feet so to not step on bugs/insects or other small living beings. Interestingly enough, they consider bad thoughts,... | [
"I'd like to hijack this and ask a follow up question: What sort of laws did the Romans have regarding treatment of slaves as opposed to the USA?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What caused the shift in how museum exhibits are made? | [
"hi! just a recommendation that it would be worth x-posting this question to /r/MuseumPros"
] | [
"If libraries were a new idea without historical precedent they probably would be illegal."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
In the Maji Maji Rebellion, the belief was that magic water (maji maji) would turn the Germans' bullets into water. How did this belief become popular? | [
"A lot of millennarian/renewal movements use amulets or other protective devices (spiritual or material): the shirt of the Ghost Dance, the dance of the Boxers, and the magic water (maji). The idea that an object can transmit spiritual power that will level an uneven material playing field extends far beyond coloni... | [
"Silver has various medicinal properties that were observed by ancient peoples. Ancient people were often very mystical in their beliefs and assigned silver and god to be favored by the gods. This made the silver and gold a symbol of goodness and ward against evil. Hence when killing monsters, silver a symbol of go... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Was Popeye's spinach obsession meant as a public service announcement? Is there a reason he got swole from spinach and not beets or something? | [
"Follow up question on this. In this article (_URL_11_) it is heavily suggested that Spinach was a Metaphor for Marijuana as there are some references to spinach as marijuana in the same period Popeye was created. In the same article, they also state that in the 30's it was thought that Marijuana gave you super str... | [
"I think it's because we're supposed to eat a variety of foods, and this is the body's way of telling us to knock it off with that shit and eat like a goddamn adult. I should add that my body is quite vulgar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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} |
I'm an African-American man living in the Jim Crow South, and I'm looking to purchase a firearm for self defense. What sorts of restrictions or prohibitions on me doing this are there due to my race? | [
"Additional but related question : I have heard gun control laws were originally designed because white politicians got scared of black people arming themselves to teeth for protection during 1960s and later. Is it true? How much did disarming black people factor in gun law restrictions"
] | [
"> How am I, as a new adult who just left home, expected to know (beyond killing, stealing, and harming people and their properties) what is legal and what is not? You really can't know every law, and the phenomenon is known as \"overcriminalization\". The number of laws is literally unknowable now; even the legisl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Law and government:"
} |
Found some documents of my Grandfather's, need information. | [
"Your grandfather was a member of a \"blue lodge\",that document is missing, in N.Y. This lodge consists of the first 3 degrees. He then became a member of the Scottish Rite which consists of 29 degrees, making him a 32nd degree mason, there is an honorary degree that can be bestowed on you, making you a 33rd degre... | [
"The official line is that anyone more intelligent will become bored with the job and leave. Source: Dad's best friend is Detective III in LAPD and I also read a report on it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about history:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about history:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Were there bodybuilders in ancient civilizations? If so, how did they go about their exercise routine? | [
"More can be said, but I feel confident that /u/iphikrates answer to [\"Did Socrates even lift?\"](_URL_0_) will interest you."
] | [
"I might can answer this question but I'm not sure what era you are talking about. Do you mean ancient strong men like Milo of Croton from Greek history? If so it is hard to say because their lives are intermixed with mythology, and that is outside my area of knowledge. If you mean strong men from the Strongman era... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Were the remains of Virgina Dare found last month? | [
"No. Look at the other stories on that site- Chupacabra attack? They've been doing archaeology down there for years (though I don't know of any Hopkins sponsored work) but no Virginia Dare. Edited to add- From yesterday: _URL_1_ And earlier: _URL_0_"
] | [
"There have been many theories. The principle theory was that they went South to Hatteras Island (then called Croatoan) because that word was found carved on a tree in the abandoned colony. Recently, a new theory had been developed, based on new evidence. This is not yet conclusive. In 2012, the British Museum used... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | June 22, 2015–June 28, 2015 | [
"Ok, here's Zhukov's weekly rundown. Doing this in threes this time around to ping people properly: /u/turtleeatingalderman answered [Did the framers of the U.S. Constitution discuss whether it should be possible for states to secede?](_URL_3_) /u/reedstilt on [Did the \"Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Ca... | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about News:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about News:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What are some good books covering ~400 AD to ~1000 AD in Europe? | [
"Chris Wickham's *The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000* (2009) does exactly that. Wickham is an excellent medievalist and his breadth of knowledge really shines in this book, as he discussed basically all the factions covered in the game. It was also written for the general public, so it's ... | [
"In which country/region? The answers to your question will be *very* different for life in Rome in 100AD and in Australia in 100AD (both areas of interest for me)."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Did Woodrow Wilson really want to go to war, or was his hand forced? | [
"Wilson is commonly misconstrued when taught about in history courses. Under his administration he carried out policies such as racial segregation, and there were a lot of military invasions. Example: The United States was involved in Latin America more times under Wilson's administration than at any other point in... | [
"They didn't really make much of an effort to hide it, Hitler simply kept pushing the boundaries of the Versailles Agreement in order to test the resolve of the Allies to reinforce it. The truth was they were so afraid of another Great War that they let him get away with a lot before they finally said enough was en... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why did Wilson get us involved in the Great War? | [
"Just a META comment, this is an international board."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Professors and Teachers of AskHistorians: How do you approach teaching material you find tedious or boring? | [
"When I go to the classroom, I just go with something so off-the-wall that even if I hate the material I wont fall asleep lecturing. Teaching in that 20-ish range, I would just go into games. Large sprawling games and different activities that can take the load off instead of just standing up all day. Things I hat... | [
"This book is published by Yale University Press. It's a textbook, not a popular history. According to Amazon: \"**About the Author** Thomas R. Martin is professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. His publications include Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China, Ancient... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In Celtic mythology, Cú Chulainn is endowed with a unique weapon, the Gáe Bolg, which is described as a "foot thrown spear with multiple heads". Is the Gáe Bolg modeled after some actual weapon or is it a symbolic litterary device. If the latter, what was its symbolism. | [
"This should be cross-posted to /r/ireland as well. May get some info there. Slainte."
] | [
"Azdac7 above covers some of the general anachronisms that crop up due to the poems being a combination of oral tradition and composition when they were written down in the 8th or 9th century BC. I will focus on the descriptions of armour being penetrated with ease, though. The thing to remember is that the charact... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why in the US are alcohol, tobacco, and firearms lumped together under the same regulatory agency? | [
"As a follow-up question, what was the reasoning given to found the DEA and not just roll them together."
] | [
"Alcoholic beverages were regulated long before food was regulated and they are therefore regulated by a different agency. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) regulates alcohol, the Food and Drug administration regulates food. Because they are different agencies they set different rules and regulations... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are there any examples in history of a "good" empire with "good" rulers going bad? | [
"A good example, IMO, is the Belgian Congo Free State - it was given to Leopold II of Belgium as a private colony after he convinced the global community he's going to use it to do humanitarian, scientific and philanthropic work to stop the slave trade, research the various flora and fauna of the Kongo and improve ... | [
"A country is being imperialistic when it's asserting power over other countries through militaristic or political (usually militaristic) means. \"Imperialism\" comes from the world \"Imperial,\" which is a word used to describe any collection of states/territories ran by an emperor or other sovereign figure, also ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When the U.N. Security Council was formed, were there any consideration as to what would happen if a permanent member is the aggressor in a conflict? | [
"The language in the United Nations Charter provides such that a party to a dispute (that is, one of the nations in a conflict) may participate in discussion on their dispute but may not vote on the matter. So if the Security Council were to vote on condemning Russia for their actions with respect to Ukraine at pre... | [
"Because the UN does not have the power to do this. Such an order would have to come from the UN Security Council, where most of these countries have veto power."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
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} |
Cradle of Humankind. Article with some wild claims of 200k old structures, anyone know anything about this site in South Africa? | [
"I am in no way a specialist, but their \"dating method\" doesn't hold much water. They presuppose that the 3 stones were built in alignment with Orion's belt at a time when it was \"flat on the horizon\", but there is nothing to indicate this. As it stands, the 3 stones are more or less aligned with Orion's belt t... | [
"It's much much much older than a few decades. The best guess is 1475, although it could be older. There's a lot of competing theories as to its origin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
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} |
Did sharks permanently change their location as a result of Atlantic slave trade routes? | [
"In Marcus Rediker's article about sharks and the slave trade, while some sharks may have followed the slave ships across the Atlantic, he does not indicate that it caused the grounds of where particular types of sharks lived to permanently change. The sharks would be attracted to the ships for sure, but there are ... | [
"Different ocean current, different winds, different coasts. All have influence on the size and shape of waves"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the cause and the reason for rise of the Anti American sentiment around the world? | [
"I'd say Irishfafnir is correct, the upsurge in anti-Americanism historically seems to go hand in hand with increasing power of the U.S. There was a lot of anti-British and anti-French sentiment before that, comes with being the most powerful and culturally most dominant group. Of course, it isn't helped with the f... | [
"What do you want to hear more about? The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The Israel vs. Palestine situation? The Arab Spring? The recent attacks on US embassies?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Are these real Roman techniques? | [
"It has grounding in the Roman Republic's manipular, or Polybian, legion. You can see the police forming blocks, which would be similar to Ancient Roman maniples I suppose, and you can see the maniples maneuver between each other much like the maniples of a legion in the *triplex acies* would. The spreading out of ... | [
"Are you sure they were defeated at all?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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} |
How accurate was the movie 300 in terms of armor and fighting style? | [
"Not to disuade further discussion, but /u/Iphikrates answered a similar question here: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Are the methods used by Christopher Mathew in A Storm of Spears considered valid to historians? For the unfamiliar, there's a debate about how Greek hoplites used their spears, so the author and his team strapped on armor and spent a long time practicing military drills and formations with the spears both ways. I'... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about movie accuracy:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about movie accuracy:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why is sexually explicit imagery such a common motif in the pottery of the Moche culture of pre-Incan Peru? | [
"I've posted a bit on erotic Moche pottery before [here](_URL_0_) and [here](_URL_1_). Those two should answer some of your question- let me know if you have any more specific inquiries they don't cover!"
] | [
"\"ancient times\" is very broad. Are there any specific cultures you're interested in (e.g., Republican Rome, Old Kingdom Egypt, etc.)?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
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} |
"Motherf**ker" is, when you think about it, a rather bizarre insult. When and where did it begin to be used in English, and why did it become so popular? | [
"The first documented case the OED tracked was in a letter from 1918 in the Journal of American History (the journal article published in 1995). \"You low-down Mother Fuckers can put a gun in our hands but who is able to take it out?\" By 1956, a linguist in American Speech said \"The linguistic vacuum is being fil... | [
"We do, yet it is rare and are not always considered as true swear words. For example the word \"faggot\", never used to mean anything yet has reached the point of being a swear word. A swear word is, in essence just a word that has been given the power to offend people. I phrased it really badly, yet I think the p... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Do you think the vast Sahara desert cut Africa off from the rest of the world, thus preventing the exchange of ideas? | [
"Jared Diamond certainly subscribes to that point of view, but it ignores the fact that there was a limited amount of north south Trans Sahara trade, going back to Cartheginan and Roman times. The western part of the Saheil was notoriously short of salt, and the local rulers were willing to trade gold for salt. Thi... | [
"Well, you can contrast Northern Africa from Southern Africa. For most of history, Northern Africa wasn't any less developed than the most developed parts of Europe or the Near East (although it fell behind in the early industrial period). In fact, Carthage and Egypt were among the wealthiest, most advanced civiliz... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | August 17, 2015–August 23, 2015 | [
"I really enjoyed /u/Imperial_Affectation's answer on [why Turkey sent so many soldiers to the Korean war](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about News:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about News:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why no American grenadiers? | [
"They actually did have grenadier regiments (I'm on mobile so I can't look up their names) that fought in the Revolution and in 1792 congress even passed an act that actually made all Infantry Battalions have at least one regiment of Grenadiers or Light Infantry. The reason none of these regiments became famous as ... | [
"Was there a similar attempt to recruit Japanese scientists?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Who is oldest warship still sailing? The H.M.S. Victory, or the U.S.S Constitution? I googled it, and couldn’t find any conclusive results, and I’ve heard both. (Also, I read somewhere that the H.M.S. Victory sank in a storm in 1744? Which dosen’t make any sense) | [
"HMS Victory is currently in drydock in Portsmouth and isn't in any state to sail. It is the oldest commissioned warship in the Royal Navy and in the world, since it was built in the 1760s. The USS Constitution, built in 1797, is the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy and the oldest seaworthy warship in t... | [
"Ironically, the king of England wrote in his diary \"Nothing of great importance happened on this day.\" It wasn't his way of being funny or bitter about America being independent, because news of total independence wouldn't reach his ears for another 3 months, as that's how long it took to cross the Atlantic via ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
You guys/gals are my only source of factual historical information on the net. I was wondering what websites or books can you recommend to help people like me know the underside of history. | [
"Like what? I think you do need to be more precise in what you're looking for, unless you'd like us to recommend books all about Victorian undergarments. What you or \"lay people\" don't know about is really subjective."
] | [
"So please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I've read on other threads here that getting the opinions of the general public was difficult because very few of the read and even fewer wrote things that survived to today. So I guess my follow up question is this: how can we even begin to understand how the commonfol... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Are the paintings in the Viking Cave in Thailand really depicting "European-style vessels" as several internet sources claim? | [
"Judging from the pictures, the left-most images show ships with junk rigging - Vikings probably used square sails and definitely not junk rigging. Note that central (fourth-from-the-left) ship appears to have oars. I'm not aware of any ocean-going, long-distance European ships having banks of oars in that fashion.... | [
"Part of the \"horned, cloven foot devil\" imagery is an attempt to discredit some older pagan mythological figures."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
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} |
Historical context of the film Lincoln (2012) | [
"Don't consider this a full and proper answer, but it seems relevant to point out that the movie in question was largely based on a book about Lincoln's cabinet and political work during the Civil War, also touching on his election and position within the Republican Party. Check out Doris Kearns Goodwin's *Team of ... | [
"* *The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara* * *The Great War* (BBC series from 1964) and their more recent *The First World War* is good too"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Quite a pointless question here, but it was on my mind: Why do Americans have mailboxes out the outskirts of their property rather than just a 'slot' in the door like we have in the UK? | [
"To save time in rural and suburban areas, so the postal workers can deliver mail without getting out of their cars or driving up the driveway. My mother-in-law had to give the post office a letter from her doctor saying she couldn't walk out to the street to get her mail before they would deliver it to her door. T... | [
"This is just opinion, from a (rather new) volunteer firefighter. Hydrants were once called \"plugs\", because the firemain was originally a system of underground pipes made of wooden logs. Firefighters dug down and drilled into them to get water. I, for one, am glad that we've moved beyond having to dig for hydran... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Evil men who reveled in evil? | [
"The only example that comes to mind could be Gilles de Rais. He self identified as evil, a Satanist in the medieval France, and possibly a serial killer of children. This 15th century French knight accompanied Joan of Arc and was allegedly shaken when she was accused of witchcraft and executed. This could make a d... | [
"Many do and are perfectly aware of it. Some even recognize their own reflection. Then you have the derpy ones."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When did people in Iceland realize that the Americas were where Leif Ericsson landed? | [
"Follow up question: how common was it for Greenlanders and Icelanders to travel there for timber/other things?"
] | [
"America was discovered that way some 10-20 thousand years before Europeans found it. That is how the natives got there."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | November 16, 2015–November 22, 2015 | [
"I wasn't expecting such an awesome answer from this question, but /u/OakheartIX gave a wonderful and textured explanation of the importance of, of all the things in all the world, BALLET COSTUMES as a [social tool and political weapon](_URL_0_) at the court of Louis XIV, Sun King of France. Well, the importance of... | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about News:",
"pos": "Represent the document about News:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Has anybody ever been caught trying to release biological weapons? | [
"In modern times - although the use of plague as a weapon has very ancient roots, and there is the notorious example of the [smallpox blankets](_URL_1_) - the most notorious example is Japan during World War II. Japan had the world's most aggressive biological warfare program; it dropped plague fleas on Chinese cit... | [
"In case they ever need to use them... in addition, to learn how to defend against possible viruses and bio-weapons that may be used against them. Both offense and defense."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Technology:"
} |
In the famous painting "Iron and Coal" by William Bell Scott it shows a rather young girl sitting near the busy workers. Was it unusual in 19th century Britain to have children around workers in an industrial workplace? | [
"Professor Jane Humphries wrote a book about child labour in 19th century Britain, one which I unfortunately no longer have in my possession, called *Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution*. If I recall it correctly, there were up to a million children (under the age of eleven) in work, ful... | [
"They had paintings of things to indicate their name or what they sold. Or a symbol, like the red and white striped poles that indicated a barber. You'll see today lots of pubs keep up this tradition. Like a classic old pub, The Eagle and Child, that dates from the 17th century in Oxford. It has a painting of an ea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | September 17, 2018–September 23, 2018 | [
"This answer of mine might be interesting to some: [Where do Shiva and Vishnu fit into the Indo-European pantheon?](_URL_0_) by /u/lcnielsen"
] | [
"1. The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 3. The Civil War by Shelby Foote 4. Reconstruction by Eric Foner 5. The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman 6. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch 7. Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War by John Ellis 8. The... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about News:",
"pos": "Represent the document about News:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did the 20s roar between the coasts? | [
"What do you mean by rural? This is a super interesting topic, but I would assume that places like Chicago and maybe even St. Paul had its fair share of Roaring 20's activities going on with all the organized crime. Maybe somebody can shed more light on the topic!"
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
A question about dating/historical timelines | [
"BC and AD are indeed inverted. I agree that it's confusing as all get out, and even though I work with it every day, I still have to sit and think about it. Not a stupid question at all. \"Early\" and \"Late\" are used in relation to *today*. So \"early\" would be further in the past than \"Late\" from this moment... | [
"Might want to resubmit the question with a different title to indicate the topic (ancient Britons/Anglo Saxons) in the header."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Historians, how do you think the 20th Century will be remembered? | [
"All of history (as long as we dont destroy ourselves) will remember one thing about the 20th century. On July 20th 1969 three men ended a 4 day trip to our lunar partner. It marked the very first time in history a person walked on another planet. As long as we dont annihilate ourselves in nuclear Armageddon, this ... | [
"What are the must read books about the American revolution published within the last five years? What are the current arguments being discussed by historians who study the era?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Literature:"
} |
[META] On Deleted Posts... | [
"If you wanna sample some of the \"mysterious\" deleted posts, try reading the sub through _URL_0_. You will notice quite a few unhelpful and sub-sub-standard comments pop up if you refresh often enough. And I suggest helping out the mods and reporting them."
] | [
"Explained in the original thread. Explanation: _URL_0_ Thread: _URL_1_ Thanks mocmocmoc81"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did the 40's era, light up billboard with scrolling text ("WAR DECLARED ON JAPAN" etc) work? | [
"You’re probably thinking of the Motograph News Bulletin, a.k.a. “The Zipper”, at One Times Square. [It used metal plates running along a belt and contacting metal brushes.](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"It's not a world war... UNTIL AMERICA IS INVOLVED IN A EUROPEAN CONFLICT!!!!! (Blares National anthem as eagles and fireworks are in the sky)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did people living during the Cold War believe it would ever end? | [
"From the perspective of the United States State Department, yes the Cold War would eventually end, but no it was not going to end in the twentieth century. When the State Department drafted vision statements for various Eastern European nations, for example, they always assumed that at least some of these nations ... | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Were there ever revolutions without political killings? Unlike Cuba, Soviet Russia and I'm sure others? | [
"Most of the Soviet Union's puppet states fell with little or no bloodshed. And the coup that put the end to the Soviet Union itself was also a fairly tame affair. Romania and Yugoslavia excepted, and some fighting in the Baltic states and Caucasus. Napoleon III was elected president of France in 1848 - he mounted... | [
"In practice most real world implementations have been authoritarian dictatorships that have massacred millions of their citizens: see Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Ceausescu, and preached destruction of western democracy. If there had been a country where communism was implemented and worked out it might not be hated so m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
My school is having its annual book sale, what are some good history books I can keep an eye out for? Which should I avoid? | [
"If you haven't seen it yet you should absolutely take a look at r/ askhistorians [reading lists.](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Is it against the rules to ask for book recommendations on this topic? if not I would like to do so."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was Brazil's role in the Gulf War? Did they truly support Iraq, and if so in what fashion? | [
"In the war against Iran they used weapons bought from the Brazil, I think they used two types of tanks, the EE-9 Cascavel and the EE-11 Urutu, in 2003 EE-9 Cascavel was still in use, in 2008 the americans recovered 35 EE-9 Cascavel and returned then to the new Iraq army."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What measurement of time did they use before the existence of B.C. and A.D? | [
"This question gets asked here *a lot*. Without meaning to stifle further discussion, here are some answers from the FAQ: * [Greece](_URL_2_) * [Greece and Rome](_URL_0_) * [Numerous other systems](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"A.D. Is not after death. There would be time missing in between where Christ was alive. It mean anno Domino (in the year of the Lord). Edit: Towards the end of high school teachers began using B.C.E. which stands for Before Common Era. C.E. can be used in place of A.D. for Common Era."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Luxury cannibalism in Song dynasty China? | [
"Jacques Gernet says, citing in turn *Chi li pien, Shuo fu* XXVII f. 14a-b: \"One author writes - deploring the thing it is true - that people from North China, where habits of cannibalism had spread after the wars and famine of the twelfth century, had opened restaurants in Hangchow where human flesh was served...... | [
"How they make a living? Working in restaurants"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In your era of expertise, what are the prospects for a deserting soldier? How difficult would it be to start over? | [
"Did you have a specific time period in mind?"
] | [
"With a whole lot of skilled people, a lot of time, and a lot of money. When you have those resources you can accomplish most projects. Is there something specific you are asking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What were the differences between NSDAP members and voters in the elections that put the NSDAP in power, and why did these differences exist? | [
"A note to those who want to answer; it is sometimes (for reasons that escape me) debated that the NSDAP was not democratically elected: Hindenburg put the power in their hands with his final actions. Yet at this time they had between 33 to 38 percent of the popular vote; not enough to form government. tl;dr the vo... | [
"In some form, yes. The extreme reparations taken from Germany after WW1 left the country unstable and the people desperate, something was going to go down. What interests me is that the Socialists and the Communists were at odds with each other, but together would have outnumbered the fledgling Nazis. Had they re... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What are the "races four" mentioned in the 1919 version of God Save the Queen? | [
"In temporal order: Britons/Celts, Angles, Saxons, Normans. You know, the ones that a white, imperial power would actually want to put in their national song! We wouldn't really consider these \"races\" today, but rather \"ethnic groups.\""
] | [
"One of these is not like the others."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the first recorded example of a "troll"? (ie someone who caused mayhem for the sake of causing mayhem) | [
"I am not sure if this is the oldest case but Herostratus certainly fits the description of an ancient troll. In Ephesus (modern day western Turkey near the coast) there was a notable temple of Artemis, it was described as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world; and roughly 300 years before the birth of Chri... | [
"I'm just gonna answer assuming you're not trolling as well: Trolling is behaving in a way to get people worked up. It can be done in many ways. Making typos to get people all uppity about correcting you. Pranking people. Any behavior (generally on the internet) intended to get people upset/worked up is considered... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
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