query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why is the Glorious Revolution known as a revolution, and not a succesfull invasion by a foreign military force? | [
"William was not some random Dutch Duke; his Grandfather was Charles I, King of England. His father-in-law was James, the Duke of York and the sitting *King* when William invaded. > A foreign leader with a foreign force invading a sovereign nation and taking it's throne, is very much a succesfull invasion. He had ... | [
"In what sense? The actual transition between ruling dynasties was bloody and very messy: the War of Spanish Succession was fought between the major powers of Europe over whether a Bourbon - and, more importantly, Louis XIV's grandson - should be allowed to ascend to the Spanish throne. But are you talking about th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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Why is the glorious revolution of 1688 considered a revolution instead of an invasion? | [
"Though keeping the name for the sake of tradition, for the past 30 years most scholars on the subject have let go of the \"revolution-narrative\" in favor of a more nuanced picture which mentions the support for the revolution within Britain, but also mentions the invasion of Britain by a Dutch army. I suppose th... | [
"Mostly who wins. If a group of people rise up and overthrow their government, they will typically term their uprising a revolution (see: American Revolution, French Revolution, Russian Revolution). If they rise up and are unable to overcome the government, they are typically termed rebels. It's worth noting that p... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
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Histories of Paris commune - any recommendations? | [
"In terms of overview [Robert Tombs'](_URL_1_) book is good introduction, not to long either. The [Lissagaray](_URL_0_) book was written not long after the Commune and doesn't exactly hide his allegiances but nevertheless it is still worth reading. I'm not sure about the more consolidated analysis that you looking ... | [
"Are there any good introduction books to historiography in general? JFK in particular? Thank you"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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Wednesday What's New in History | June 22, 2016 | [
"Hello All, [Discovery of Roman coins in Devon] (_URL_1_). Of possible interest to some! > The discovery of a few muddy coins in a Devon paddock by a pair of amateur metal detector enthusiasts has led to the redrawing of the boundary of the Roman empire in south-west Britain. > Previously it had been thought tha... | [
"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:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Benefits of the Japanese Sakoku Policy | [
"The biggest benefit was not becoming a colony of a foreign power. That was one of the main reasons that the policy was out into place. The bakufu had heard stories about the Philippines and did not want to end up like that. So they banned Christianity, and shut off the boarders except for a small port that only al... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Is history purely economics? | [
"Definetively not that simple. Take the Crusades, for example. extremely expensive, often bankrupting nobles and kings during the attempt to get the ships, supplies and food needed to move an army to the Holy Land. Some of them had to sell or pledge everything they owned to get the money needed. Sometimes they even... | [
"Economics is driven by human behavior, either individuals or swarms. So no. Economics is definitely not a hard science."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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What kind of evidence exists to support the existence of pre-Clovis populations on the American continent? | [
"There's certainly a lot of evidence for pre-Clovis peoples, but the exact timing of the initial migration to the Americas and what was going on during these times is all highly debated. I'm no expert on that time period, though, and this question really isn't a historical question, so I'd suggest cross-posting thi... | [
"The Americas were settled by humans significantly later than Eurasia, let alone Africa which is the birthplace of humans."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text about History:"
} |
Why did Martin Luther nail his theses to a door? Was nailing things to doors a popular way of expressing disagreement back then? | [
"Martin Luther had a history of announcing theological debates this way even before the thesis. This was simply a way to announce publicly to the church and town about him wanting to challenge the traditional beliefs and practices within the church. There was nothing special about doing it this way. Source: \"Here ... | [
"in 374 AD Ambrose became Bishop of Milan and went from being a fairly moderate Catholic who was tolerant of Arian Christians to a staunch anti Arian who tried to stamp out Arianism. Pretty radical change, I don't remember reading a clear explanation as to why. Any one able to confirm or is it a mystery?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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Day of Reflection | December 9th–15th | [
"I've quickly become a fan of /u/Acritas and his excellent answers concerning the Red Army in World War II, especially this one on the image of [Soviet soldiers entering combat unarmed](_URL_0_) and this one talking about the type of [training Red Army soldiers would receive.](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"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:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What resources are there that talk about the everyday life of a Middle Age European peasant/serf? | [
"If you're interested in everyday life in later periods, I'd recommend **Crime, Gender and Social Order in Early Modern England** by Garthine Walker and **Family Business, litigation and the politicla economies of daily life in early modern France** by Julie Hardwick. Though quite a bit different than \"everyday l... | [
"Could you expand on this? What type of average family do you mean? Indian, middle class, agricultural elite?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
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} |
What is the name of the hat that 15th C Portuguese prince and explorer Henry the Navigator is portrayed as wearing in paintings of him? | [
"Looks like whats Known variously as a chaperon or a bourrelet."
] | [
"My impression is that the shift you are referring to took place over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. Even today, countries have military dictators who habitually dress in military uniform, although there are fewer of those around than there once were. Getting back on topic, I think looking at the port... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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} |
I want to read history from the beginning. Where do I start? | [
"[Here](_URL_0_) you go, mate :) I personally own this set and I can tell you that it's a wonderful introduction for the question you asked. It's not timelines, it's not dates, and the authour goes on to describe civilization from...well...prehistory :P"
] | [
"Someone told them what the answer is supposed to be."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Technology:"
} |
Did many European, Asian and African rulers have problems with weight? | [
"Oh, ever so many! The most famous example of Henry VIII. He was a very athletic youth, incredibly so. Many contemporary accounts praise him for looking what exactly what you'd want your king to actually look like. At the start of his reign, he was tall, slender, with full head of blond hair. He was frequently des... | [
"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 Reddit title:",
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World War 1 Question | [
"Hey, start with this older answer I did and see if you have any other questions :) * [Why was WW1 considered \"inevitable\"?](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How did Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson wind up in the National Cathedral, while most, if not all, Union generals fail(ed) to receive the same adulation? | [
"John Kelly wrote a column in the December 10th 2013 edition of the Washington Post that asked the same question. The url to that article is so long, I know it won't work if I tried to copy the more than 100 characters here to provide you with a direct link. The TL/DR of that article is this. The Daughters of the ... | [
"It's less to do with the substance of his Presidency, and more to do with him winning the Civil War for the United States as a General, and then being elected to the Presidency. When Grant first appeared on a $50 gold certificate in 1913, he'd been dead for nearly 30 years: long enough to forgive some of the bad t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
I've heard the ancient Chinese Navy was bigger and more powerful than anything for hundreds of years after it. Yet I can't find any books about it... | [
"Assuming you mean \"Ming Dynasty\"/late medieval and not actually \"ancient\" (as in the Xin dynasty or something), [Louise Levathes, *When China Ruled the Seas* ](_URL_1_) (1994). That's really going to be one of the better omnibuses. Since then historians have written more about the specific ship types and roles... | [
"A few centuries before Europeans found the Americas, China sent a much much much more massive trade mission which explored the Indian Ocean and much of Africa's east coast. They most likely would have sailed on to Europe and possibly even the Americas, except a change in leadership in China switched the priority t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
The Dickin Medal is "the highest award any animal can achieve while serving in military conflict" in the UK. Of the 69 animals awarded it, apparently 32 were WWII messenger pigeons. What did these pigeons do to justify their awards, and more importantly, was there a presentation ceremony? | [
"You'll have to forgive me, my reference book is packed away as I'm in the middle of moving, but I'll answer this to the best of my ability without it! Yes, 32 pigeons have received the award. As it is a British award, most of the recipients were British pigeons - although it has been awarded to at least two Austra... | [
"The Medal of Honor is as much a political thing as it is an award. The process for giving someone one is extremely intensive, and requires a lot of political maneuvering and connectivity. There are a lot of people who have died (and who have lived) who probably deserve the MoH, but will never get it because they d... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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Is there any basis or even credibility to the Shenzi Empire | [
"I have never heard of the Shenzi empire before, but it sounds a lot like the claims made about the Kitara Empire [in this thread](_URL_0_). Kitara empire is also associated with the Chwezi people. My answer here is the same as in the other thread. There were historical Kitara, Bunyoro and Chwezi kingdoms in the mi... | [
"Not an answer but an auxiliary question: has Diamond ever addressed any of the criticisms towards his work?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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} |
How did "Dewey Defeats Truman" happen? Chicago isn't on the east coast; did they just not wait for returns? At what point was it common for the public to expect to know election results on election night? | [
"A poll was conducted immediately prior to the election, using randomly selected telephone numbers. The results of the poll predicted Dewey would win. Unfortunately the telephone was, at that time, mostly available to upper income families, causing an unintended selection bias in the polling. The resulting selectio... | [
"Polling trends. They can call California for Hillary the second it closes. I could have told you one week ago (or 4 years ago), that the democrat would win. They don't call states before the polls close, but they know which way it will go before they get any results in some states. In other states, the polls are c... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The Iliad: there are some strange drink recipes in it. Do we know if people actually consumed that stuff? | [
"Most posters here rightly refer to Kykeon. Indeed barley was very widely used in classical Greek cooking and there are several variations with a reference in Cato's handbook on farming possibly coming very close to the original recipe ie. 3lb cheese, 1lb barley 1/2 lb honey, 1 egg. (The Classical Cookbook, Andrew... | [
"Yemeni goatherders noticed their goats eating coffee beans and acting up, so they tried them, too. Like a lot of veggies, man figured out roasting can help the flavor, or that it tastes good with a broth. When they felt its effects it was then used to stay awake for night prayers. Check out the great travel-ethnob... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Rules Roundtable #8: The /r/AskHistorians Homework Policy | [
"> I'm writing an essay on the development of the bolt-action rifle, and the effect it had on warfare in the latter-half of the 19th century. I've mainly been focusing on the Austro-Prussian War, and the clear dominance that the Dreyse showed over Lorenz Rifle, and the Franco-Prussian War, where the Chassepot in tu... | [
"You may be interested in u/sunagainstgold's Monday Methods thread [Why You Should Not Get a History PhD (And How to Apply for One Anyway)](_URL_0_)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
[Australian Political History] - What are the seminal works (or most useful for a general understanding), of Australian politics/political history in the late 20th century (say, post-1960s)? | [
"One of the more influential works on people's understanding of late 20th century Australian politics is Paul Kelly's political history of the 1980s *The End Of Certainty*, which argues that the 1980s ended what Kelly calls the 'Australian settlement'; the book in a lot of ways details the way that the centre-left ... | [
"For a general overview of modern Chinese history I personally liked The search for modern China by Spence, it covers Chinese history in a fairly well from 1800-1990."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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I'm a hip young person in early 30s Midwest America. What kind of music do I listen to prove my avant-garde bona fides? | [
"Are you an intellectual young person, or are you just trying to piss off your parents? EDIT: Also, race and income level will be relevant here"
] | [
"\"Hipster\" is one of the most overused and poorly defined terms on the internet today. I think the hatred towards them stems from a certain attitude of snobbery (the \"oh you like mainstream stuff?\" hipster archetype), which is of course an intolerable attitude for a person to have, but the hatred has spread to ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
I want to learn about the French Revolution, but I can only listen to audio sources. What do you recommend? | [
"Theres a good podcast called revolutions that did a great series on it"
] | [
"There is no way to become fluent in a language without speaking with people who are native to the tongue. That being said I would recommend a free website called Duolingo. You could also try watch videos online in French or reading articles. I am no way an expert but these are some great places to start."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What were the impacts of the TIE fighter's survivability in imperial space dominance? | [
"One of the TIE fighters strengths was in the location of it's blasters. Looking at an X Wing, the 4 blasters were on the ends of the wings. This meant that they were harder to calibrate since they had to angle the blasters in. Any rogue shots would lead to missed targets (Since the targeting compurs assume a cent... | [
"Marines are a part of the Navy, historically they support naval operations, i.e. capturing key parts of the coastline, exploring and specializing in amphibious assault. That is why in space epics and video games they are always space marines."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Have there been cases where another country used a military occupation of another country to stabilize the occupied country and it worked | [
"Your title and self-text do not ask the same thing. Stability and democracy are not equivalent."
] | [
"To add on to the first comment, you also can't just topple a government and leave, especially when that country is in control of an abundance of a certain resource that the US would like to procure. Stabilizing the region and rebuilding the infrastructure were top priorities in order to maintain the global oil eco... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What are r/AskHistorian's favorite journal articles? | [
"There was a similiar post over a month ago with some suggestions: [What is the best academic article you have ever read?](_URL_0_) But I don't want to discourage anyone from answering! We are a lot more users since the last post."
] | [
"/r/AskHistorians or /r/AskAnthropology may be better places for that question."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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I have my grandfather's original letters from WWII. What should I do with them? | [
"I'm glad your family has kept them! There are lots of place that would love to have copies of your letters/the letters themselves. You can send copies of your letters to the [Legacy Project](_URL_0_). * The Legacy Project * PO Box 53250 * Washington, D.C. 20009 * WarLetters2004@yahoo.com I'd also reach out to lo... | [
"Do you have any more info that could be helpful? Where did you find it? Is it a family heirloom, and if so, where-ish do you think your ancestors were 100ish years ago? Anything that could help steer people in the right direction would be great."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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How does the Pirenne Thesis hold up? | [
"This post is confusing. The title is 'Pirenne Thesis' which is a reference to his thoery of transition from Roman to Frankish worlds up to 8^th CE (which is roughly summarized as 'Without Islam there is no Frankish empire; without Mohammed, no Charlemagne'). But your comment is about his theory of the 'resurgence'... | [
"To be a little less specific, what did people think the future in general would be like before the Industrial Revolution?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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What was the purpose of Gobekli Tepe? | [
"Gobekli Tepe comes up fairly frequently here, and while I would second u/DericStrider in saying you may get higher quality responses elsewhere (perhaps including r/anthropology), a couple of earlier discussions here may also be of interest. You might try [What are your thoughts on Gobekli Tepe?](_URL_1_), with u/... | [
"If you are genuinely interested in the epipaleolithic/pre-pottery neolithic transition and the ancient near east, you might want to start with Ancient Turkey, by A. G. Sagona and Paul E. Zimansky, 2009. Of interest might also be J. Cauvin's 2001 The birth of the gods and the beginning of agriculture. More specific... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What would it have been like for a citizen of the Roman Empire to travel through Germania Magna? Would it be dangerous? Were there any kept roads? | [
"Could you give an approximate year or period of the Empire when a citizen would be traveling?"
] | [
"As a follow up question; were lands in Italy considered more valuable than say those in Africa and Gaul?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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Is it common to see tablets using gods from many faiths to curse people? like the example in the text | [
"It was certainly common for Romans to use led tablets to send curses to the gods, and was practiced across the entirety of Rome. I mention that part because it was also common for Romans to acclimate local gods into their own pantheon. For example, in Bath, England many such tablets where found invoking Sulis. \"I... | [
"Do you mean the common conflict in the middle east or are you speaking of a specific war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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} |
Post Viking Native American Die-off | [
"Hi there, this is not to discourage further answers, but the \"Viking disease\" question is fairly frequently asked here. While you wait for more answers, you may be interested in these threads [from our FAQ](_URL_1_): _URL_2_ _URL_3_ _URL_0_ _URL_5_ _URL_4_"
] | [
"Relevant entertaining and informative youtube video Electrocution in Water: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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} |
What do we know about Sun Tzu as a person? | [
"Could Sun Tzu be one name credited for the words and works of a few authors the way scholars believe the writings of Homer are quite probably those of more than one writer?"
] | [
"How well regarded are the writings of Joseph Campbell by historians?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Could the army of the Potomac(1865) have won a war against any of the major European power during the same time period | [
"You may find these previous threads useful. User /u/vonadler has touched on basically this subject several times, with a fair amount of back and forth in both threads. _URL_0_ _URL_1_ EDIT: Tried to fix user tagging."
] | [
"The British empire did not reach it's largest extent untill 100+ years after the loss of the 13 colonies. It was nowhere near \"collapse\" after the revolutionary war, in fact it played a starring role in defeating Napoleon not long after and it's 19th century heyday was yet to come. So not very much although you ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If I was magically transported to Rome or Carthage around the time of the Punic Wars, what are some ways I would I know I was in one city versus the other? | [
"Carthage is directly on the sea, for one thing, whereas Rome is several miles inland in a hilly, swampy area along the Tiber. A visitor to both cities would notice the differences almost immediately, geographically they're quite distinct. Or do you mean architectural differences and whatnot?"
] | [
"Do you have a period you specifically want to know about? This is ranges from slightly different to totally different if we're talking about Asia Minor and Syria circa 333 B.C., Italy in 216 B.C., Gaul 500 A.D., Palestine 1066 A.D., Brandenburg in 1630/31 A.D., Silesia in 1740 A.D. or Sedan in 1870. I'm sure we co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What's the source of the idea that in the New World, white people who joined Indian tribes preferred to stay, but not vica versa. | [
"Not to discourage further answers, but check out [this thread from seven months ago](_URL_0_) that was prompted by a New York Times article and a TIL post asking a similar question."
] | [
"Mostly because there weren't that many of them, something of the estimate of 250,000 natives in all of North America in 1650. But also they didn't want to start a war, if you bring in 1000 African slaves they have no allies on the continent, but if you enslave 1000 natives, they have allies. The Spanish and Portu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
The answer rate on the sub-Saharan theme (current and past) seems pretty low. Is this reflective of the state of scholarship on the topic? | [
"I wrote a post about a month ago [about demographics of the sub](_URL_0_), which I think is relevant to your question. In brief, no, there has been a great deal of academic scholarship on African topics, and there is literature out there that addresses the questions that have been asked (or explain why the questio... | [
"Heavily debated (sometimes by less than reputable people) but the general consensus is no, it has more to do with the fact that the majority of black people and Arabs live in poor regions of the world with sub-par education which leads to lower average intelligence from a global point of view."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How were numbers like 101 represented in European book-keeping before 0 was legalized in the 15th Century? | [
"[This thread](_URL_0_) from about nine months ago with good answers from u/schrodingers_lolcat and u/cleuseau discusses Florence's ban on Arabic numerals. Much as your author claims, Arabic numerals were banned for book keeping because of the ease of forgery. It was all Arabic numerals that were then allowed in th... | [
"There are different numeric systems. Most notably are the Arabic and the Roman numeric systems Arabic - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Roman I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X There are also [Cyrillic numerals](_URL_0_) and various numeric systems throughout Asia. The reason that the majority of the world uses Arabic numbers is... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Mathematics:"
} |
In shows like Game of Thrones, characters wear their armor almost everywhere. How accurate is this portrayal? | [
"I know this isn't a sourced answer to the question, but more of a correction to the question itself (so, I'm sorry if it doesn't follow the sub's rules - feel free to destroy it) - In Game of Thrones, people don't usually hang out in full armor. The guy you're likely referring to from last night is someone who's k... | [
"The sources on Spartacus aren't very detailed, so the show has to fill in a lot of holes for it to make sense and also for dramatic purposes. But it's not just what happened, a lot of the sets are based on guesswork. We're still not even positive on how Romans wore their togas. It's not really about accuracy, but ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about movie accuracy:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about movie accuracy:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about movie accuracy:"
} |
What is the oldest law that is still in force? | [
"My best guess is The Fairs Act of Ireland from 1204 CE. Page 12 of this pdf [warning] of the [Irish Statute Book](_URL_0_), under the Schedule titled \"Statutes Retained\" indicates that it's the oldest law still in effect in Ireland. I assumed maybe Iceland or Japan might have something older, but I don't know of... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Who cleaned up the beaches and such after D-day? | [
"Fortunately there is an answer to this exact question by /u/eternalkerri in the FAQ _URL_0_"
] | [
"They tried. Have you ever been to Normandy? The beaches look like Swiss cheese."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
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Was Disney ever despised by Americans during its rise? What won America over? | [
"Out of curiosity - what makes you think it was? Is there an incident/etc that you have in mind? Just to narrow things down a bit."
] | [
"If you're talking about America, that's simply not true. Go to any big Reddit thread and you'll see hundreds of comments talking about what a glorious socialist utopia Europe is. Many Americans also have varying degrees of obsession with British culture. Half the women in my family got up at 3 in the morning to wa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Entertainment:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Entertainment:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are we still in the Modern era or did the Modern era end in 1989? Are we now in a new age of history? | [
"While I have no doubt that future historians will settle on a hard divider of some kind between 1980-2000, I feel that we're too close to make a good call. Someone on January 1, 1500 couldn't possibly know that the Medieval World had just become Modern because those labels are things we apply in retrospect over lo... | [
"To be a little less specific, what did people think the future in general would be like before the Industrial Revolution?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In most WW2 movies i‘ve seen there are always guys with m1s and guys with thompsons, but they‘re the same unit. Could they choose between the two? | [
"I answered a similar question to this time time ago [here](_URL_0_), but I'll repost it below."
] | [
"It takes 15 minutes to learn a person who have never seen a gun before to use and maintain a AK47. For an M16 rifle you need the better part of a week. The AK47 is altso cheap and easy to make so in very little time and for very little money (relative) you could ship ten thousands of AK47 to a conflict area. Its ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Has a sitting world leader ever committed suicide in peace-time? What happened and what was the reaction? | [
"[Getúlio Vargas](_URL_0_), President of Brazil at the time, committed suicide. It wasn't exactly a Führerbunker situation, but things weren't (as should be relatively unsurprising in postwar Latin America) exactly politically settled at that moment--generals were stirring up and demanding resignations. As the Wiki... | [
"Do you have a reference to this happening? The US had been following the political situation/unrest in France for a long time before the French Revolution broke out. Perhaps there's some misinterpretation due to that."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Say if I were to go to a person living in the 15th century and say that slavery was wrong and slaves should be freed, how would they likely respond? | [
"This question would be more appropriate for /r/HistoricalWhatIf, as it requires speculation to answer. /r/AskHistorians focuses on historical questions which can be answered with sources and evidence."
] | [
"(Disclaimer: I neither agree nor disagree with any political stance presented here. I'm just explaining what some people believe). Someone brought religion into it. The most basic explanation is that a large number of people believe that an abortion kills a baby that would otherwise have been born and been a perso... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
The armed forces in the US seem a lot more apolitical compared to many others. Was this always the case? What are the reasons for this? | [
"Question for clarification: What does \"apolitical\" and \"compared to others\" mean? Generals have been presidents purely because of their military service. The armed forces have taken very strong voices on American political issues, especially recently. The military has been a frequent reflection on racial and ... | [
"It is mostly Propaganda that started in WWII that did not really end as we immediately went into the Cold War. The gains we get are having lots of volunteers for, and being tolerant of a large expensive military. Also so some extent it is natural to be prideful of the place that you are from, and this extends up t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
My great grandfather had this ring. Who's face is this? | [
"Is it possible to get a better picture with a little more light?"
] | [
"He liked his left profile betrer, so he had artists draw that side more often than the right. That's the way I heard it anyway."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Which (if any) violent revolutions throughout history have succeeded in the face of determined opposition from the military? | [
"I'm gonna ignore your direct question and point out that some successful revolutions have been so because they were able to convince a large portion of the military to support them. For example, the Bolsheviks in 1917 had large support in the rank-and-file of the Russian army and navy because of their support for... | [
"Would you be willing no elaborate on what you mean by \"standard European model\"? In the past century or so, there have been quite a few significant changes in how states and governments around the world, organized and equipped themselves for the business of organized violence."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Is it true that in Medieval Ages air was so clean/had more oxygen than today that if a knight would time travel to the present time he would die out of suffocation? | [
"You might want to crosspost this to /r/AskScience."
] | [
"Heat transfers faster through liquids then through gasses. You can be in a sauna without any harm to your body, but if you get covered with boiling water for a few minuites you at best will be covered in scar tissue and in pain for the rest of your life."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Have (democratic) political campaigns throughout history always been so deceptive? | [
"During Lincoln's reelection campaign, two copperheads, northern Democrats, George Wakeman and David Goodman Croly attempted to derail Lincoln's reelection. They posed as abolitionists and published *Miscegenation: The Theory of the Blending of the Races, Applied to the American White Man and Negro* in late 1863 or... | [
"- Surrounding yourself with corrupt people who financially gain from your policies, and who in return provide you with \"donations\" - Ensuring the wealthiest citizens benefit from your policies and are exempt from prosecution for the laws they break - Changing laws to marginalize opposition - Silencing journalist... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What made the United States such a powerful country? | [
"The territory of the continental USA is in a good place geographically; it's not a big desert or a large frozen wasteland. It is rich with natural resources and fertile land. It is surrounded by vast oceans and has been, throughout its history, relatively safe from a foreign attacks. On the political side, governm... | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Any stories of albino salves escaping because people thought they were white? | [
"I think its probably pretty unlikely that an albino person of African origin would have made it to the slavers. [If we look at how albinos are currently treated ](_URL_0_) in africa it gives us some idea that had an albino person been born 300/400 years ago i seriously doubt they would have made it to adulthood."... | [
"They don't. In fact, catching chicken is very difficult. May be you are only interacting with those are regularly fed by humans."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Is it possible that the purported mass suicide atop Masada was just a product of Josephus' writing? Could something else have gone down up there? | [
"According to Kenneth Atkinson, there is no \"archaeological evidence that Masada's defenders committed mass suicide.\" Zuleika Rodgers, ed. (2007). Making History: Josephus And Historical Method. BRILL. p. 397. [Serious doubt](_URL_0_) has been cast on some of the conclusions of the original excavations."
] | [
"The entirety of Nathan's book essentially tackles this question so it's not something that can be answered simply. Did he want to restore power to the emperor? Certainly. Did he think he was going to be effective in doing so by holding people hostage? Almost certainly not. Nathan essentially argues that his variou... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Who or what is cotton eye Joe? | [
"Perhaps all we know about Cotton-eyed Joe is what we *don't* know about him: we neither know where he came from, nor where he went. We do know, though, that had it not been for him, we would have been married a long time ago. In all seriousness, he is just a character from a song who stole the heart of the narrato... | [
"Who wants to know? What are you a cop?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What was the typical legal process for a crime with no witnesses, in your period of expertise? | [
"Well, take your pick. In Chile you disappeared/thrown into the Pacific, in Argentina you were tortured in prison cells and in Nicaragua you had your fingernails ripped off. Guatemala and El Salvador sometimes went without the court or...well anything. You kind of just had to keep your head low."
] | [
"Follow up question, was life insurance a common policy to have in an American home at this point in time?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Was there ever a Pirate ship bigger than the Queen Anne's Revenge at one point? Or attempts to steal a ship bigger than it? | [
"Ok, I'm going to try and answer on this based on what I read previously. As far as I know, in the golden age of piracy at least, the Queen Anne's Revenge was a big exception. Most pirates would indeed use smaller sloops due to the location. From what I read, in the Caribbean the sloops had big advantages as a lot ... | [
"In 1718 the Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, was fed up with Pirates. They were living in nearby North Carolina and the Governor of North Carolina did nothing about them. Alexander arrested the former quartermaster of the Queen Anne's Revenge to learn the location of Edward Teach AKA Blackbeard. He organ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did Fred Flintstone really meet George Jetson? | [
"It's speculated that they in fact did meet. However it is rather hard to decipher given that the data recordings of George Jetson were mysteriously lost and whatever fragments recorded by Fred Flintstone was either weathered away or seemingly re-written by an odd figure with the name of Barney Rubble. Of course th... | [
"Because he became President and his name wasn't George W. Bush."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Where can i look up British India Army records? | [
"You could try The Churchill Archive Centre at Cambridge. Top tier universities usually have extensive records and archives that they sometimes let members of the public use. If not, you may want to try the Imperial War Museums in London, or the British Empire Museum."
] | [
"What was the form for? And what area do you live in?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How widespread is the use of e-readers by historians? Is there a loss or a gain to using an e-reader over physical copies of books? | [
"This falls rather loosely under \"historiography\" so it's an okay question. You might get a better response if you post it in the Saturday reading thread which is currently stickied to the top of the sub. :)"
] | [
"Your book may not necessarily be obsolete, or an unreliable source. This is the checklist I use for evaluating books. Publisher: is it published by an academically reputable publishing house? Author credentials: is the author qualified within the field they’re writing about? Citations: has this book been cited i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Looking for primary sources about Napoleonic Tactics | [
"That's highly unspecific. Maybe you could rephrase the original question? It honestly sounds like you're fishing for sources for an essay, and, while I understand that that's a decent goal, [we are not here to do your homework for you.](_URL_2_) If you'd like an analysis of something, asking a specific question is... | [
"Does anyone know of any good texts on Sassanid Persian culture?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Literature:"
} |
Are there any photographs of newspaper articles concerning vampire, witch or werewolf scares from their respective time periods? | [
"I found an article (in Dutch, unfortunately) from De Telegraaf in 1898 where a Greek peasant, who supposedly died from typhus, rose from his open coffin during his funeral service, causing the mourners to run from the church, screaming \"a vampire, a vampire!\". The poor man was able to walk home and it took sever... | [
"Follow up question: if there wasn't a moral panic related to pool or billiards, were there other similar panics in the early 20th c. US that the authors of the musical may have been inspired by?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Is this cartoon actually from the Victorian era? | [
"You are correct that that is not an advertisement for birth control. It is not even from the nineteenth century! It is a humorous postcard of the early twentieth century - it's post-1907, when postcards began to be designed with extra space on the back for writing your message, instead of a white strip at the bott... | [
"Out of curiosity, was this post prompted by the \"Amazing Story\" video on the front page?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
This may be the wrong place, but what is the difference between England, the UK, and Great Britain? | [
"England is a country. Great Britain is the island in which England sits (along with Scotland and Wales). The U.K., or United Kingdom, is the assembled countries of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Island. The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign state."
] | [
"England is at the bottom, below Scotland and to the Right of Wales. It is one country. Great Britain and Britain are the same thing and mean the collection of England, Scotland and Wales. The UK is Britain plus Northern Ireland. The full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or for the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Geography:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Geography:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Geography:"
} |
Is this Redditor's "Best-Of" comment about the history of Detroit accurate? | [
"I can't offer any quality criticisms on the actual content that would be in line with the 20 year rule we have here, but my main issue with this description of Detroit's history is that it fails to contextualize Detroit with any comparisons to the US economy as a whole or other American cities that also suffered f... | [
"Out of curiosity, was this post prompted by the \"Amazing Story\" video on the front page?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
8 out of 10 sailors in 1849 missing right index finger, why? | [
"According to [his companion's account](_URL_0_), they had cut them off to avoid military conscription."
] | [
"In many countries they are, generally after they reach 75 years of age."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Monday Mysteries | Lost Lands and Peoples | [
"What happened to Teotihuacan? I visited a while back and the pyramids and adjacent buildings are very impressive, but it seems that the story of its people is not entirely clear. Did they run out of resources for their crops? Did they decide to migrate for another reason?"
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
I little help with Medieval History. | [
"[Here's](_URL_4_) a collection of primary sources, [Another](_URL_4_) which touches on the crusades as a whole, rather than simply the first. Thomas Madden's [book](_URL_4_) is a good secondary introduction and [Jonathan Riley-Smith's history](_URL_4_) is a more comprehensive text, a bit more advanced, that would ... | [
"Yes to both your questions. See: Spy satellites."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
The King of Portugal survived the Lisbon Earthquake which razed his capital to the ground, but was so traumatized that he avoided living in stone buildings for the rest of his life. What was the extent of his psychological trauma, and did it contribute to the downfall of his multicontinental Empire? | [
"I was reading about a massive fire that burned afterwards. But if the city was built of stone, what exactly was burning?"
] | [
"They were aware that something was happening, but they had much bigger concerns at the time. They were fighting wars on several borders, and constant bombings made them more worried about their own skins than whatever might have happened to their Jewish neighbors. Source: Grandmother who lived in Dresden during t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Britain, right after the Romans left. | [
"If you're able to get your hands on it T.M. Charles-Edwards magisterial tome will answer as many of your questions as can possibly be done. *Wales and the Britons: 350-1064*, Cardiff, 2013. Unfortunately our sources are rather paltry but his work, if rather oriented on Wales, represents the pinnacle of modern scho... | [
"They didn't. They gained it under the Third Reich."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about history:"
} |
UK student here studying American history looking for some reading material. | [
"Don't forget about all the Chinese who built railroads."
] | [
"What are some of the primary sources that you have found? This sounds interesting. Would you recommend any books for a fun read?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
I heard Brazil described as "What the US would be like had the Confederacy won the Civil War." Is there any truth to that? | [
"Counterfactual questions may not be suitable for this sub. I suggest /r/historicalwhatif instead."
] | [
"If you're talking about America, that's simply not true. Go to any big Reddit thread and you'll see hundreds of comments talking about what a glorious socialist utopia Europe is. Many Americans also have varying degrees of obsession with British culture. Half the women in my family got up at 3 in the morning to wa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Question Regarding the First, the Second, ... , of Rulers in the Monarchies of the British Isles | [
"It's really very simple. James was king of both countries at once, but the kingdoms were still separate from each other. He was the 6th James to rule Scotland, but the first James to rule England. The regnal number is based off the title, not the dynasty or lineage."
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about History:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about History:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Where did kissing under the mistletoe come from? Why do we do it on Christmas? | [
"Mistletoe was a sacred plant in ancient Europe. It was a symbol of fertility, was considered an antidote to poison, and it was used in Druid ceremonies. Washington Irving described the tradition of kissing under the plant, in a short story on Christmas in 1820. > \"The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses an... | [
"The History Channel has a great show they play like 100 times in December that shows the origins of all the current Christmas traditions (Santa Claus, Christmas Tree, Gift Giving, etc.) It's amazing how relatively new most of them are. You should really check it out..."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How did the Kuomintang lose to PRC? | [
"Aside from /u/ParallelPain I have to disagree with all the other answers in this thread. For the most part they seem to be treading the narrative of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is to say that Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists were ineffective, corrupt, and did not fight well against the Japanese while M... | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Be aware of current tutoring scam in history community | [
"How would these people scam her? Would she tutor his son for an hour or two and he would then refuse to pay or something?"
] | [
"In which region? Or are you looking for global statistics on literacy?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Could the Japanese Zero only turn left? | [
"The torque effect from the propeller of warplanes caused a turning effect to the left - this is one reason that aircraft carriers for example always have their tower on the right. It's less likely to be hit if a pilot lost control on takeoff. Some warbirds with particularly powerful engines or large blades, like t... | [
"Do you know how a fan works? If so just turn it around"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about aviation:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about aviation:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How do you find primary sources? And are things taken as "common knowledge" disputed? | [
"What you might want to read about is called Historiography. This is the history of the history I guess you could say. Schools of thought or \"updates\" to the type of question you asked. I am not a working historian so with that said, The Illiad was written by Homer, was recorded after already being a part of oral... | [
"A \"random\" website is just as bad a source as Wikipedia, but for different reasons. Wikis are bad resources because, in and of themselves, they're not a source, they're a collection of sources that have been assembled by someone else. Aside from having someone else do the work for you, there's nothing to say tha... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When did doctors start doing 24-hs shifts? | [
"Since they're new and all, you might try also posting this at /r/historyofmedicine :)"
] | [
"Would you want all the food and sugar to sit and decay your teeth for those 12+ hours? Also, who sleeps 12+ hours a night?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Is Saint Patrick's Day a Christianized version of some Celtic spring equinox festival, or is the timing just a coincidence? | [
"That idea doesn't make much sense to me. I don't know of any Celtic festivals that take place routinely on the 17th of March. We don't know that St Patrick's Day was celebrated in any capacity until the 9th century, by when the island was entirely Christian and had been so for some time. If it was previously a Cel... | [
"Fertility. Bunnies and eggs are both fertility symbols, associated with spring. The Christian holiday is planted on top of a pagan holiday."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
When did people learn what shadows were and how did they do it? What did people think they were prior to this? | [
"I don't understand the question. Are you asking when humans figured out what light was and how it interacts with objects? If you're asking \"when did humans learn a shadow meant something was blocking a light source\" the answer is surely prehistoric--probably prehuman. Non human animals know that a shadow passin... | [
"So you've got a a group of people. They are chained to rocks so they cannot move. However, every day a series of shadows appears on the wall depicting a variety of forms. These forms appear to be random and the people try to predict the next one to appear, claiming they must be some sort of supernatural thing. How... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is there any use to counterfactual history? | [
"You might be interested in the responses to a \"Monday Methods\" thread on this that was done a couple months ago. _URL_0_ I found all three responses to be quite insightful, particularly that basically all historical analysis rests on an implied counterfactual for any claims of importance or causation."
] | [
"Your question doesn't quite make sense. Are you referring to something specific? What makes you think that a computer is built for a specific programming language?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How accurate is the 1962 film 'Lawerence of Arabia'? | [
"Hiya, these kind of media reviews are kind of tricky and hard to do, especially with something as long as Lawrence of Arabia. Could you maybe specify some particular details/scenes you are interested in being reviewed?"
] | [
"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:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Does anyone have a recommendation on literature about the 1930's gangsters? | [
"Are you referring specifically to the 1930's or to the Prohibition era which started in 1920 and ran to 1933. People tend to think '30s because Al Capone was arguably at his peak from 1929-1931 (he controlled 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago alone). It sounds far fetched but you could do a lot worse than watching Bo... | [
"Are you considering the 18th century to be in conjunction with the great divergence?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Rice, Cargo Planes and WWII? | [
"These guys were known as [hump pilots](_URL_0_) (because they flew over the \"hump\"). In case they crash landed, their flight jackets had a message written in Chinese characters that said in essence \"this is a good guy so don't kill him.\" They brought a great deal of critical supplies to the resistance against ... | [
"Sleep - Shake Unconscious - Splash Coma - Wait and Hope Vegetative State - Wait and Bury"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What was life like on Roman latifundias? | [
"The first thing you need to remember is that \"latifundia\" is not an ancient term, it is a modern one coined to describe an agricultural system that people in the nineteenth century thought looked like New World slave plantations. Secondly, where we actually have evidence, particularly North Africa, Asia Minor an... | [
"The exotic animals in the Rome were mostly bought from traders. Mostly traders from North Africa and the Middle East (for lions and tigers) and also from India and Persia (for elephents). The Alexandrian Tariff, a document issued between AD 176-180 lists commodoties subject to taxes in Alexandria on the way to Rom... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about English iconography and heraldry:"
} |
Why weren't Hussite tactics more widely copied? | [
"There is several major disadvantage of wagon forts: - It is slow to deploy. If your enemy has good cavalry, your army can be routed before the fortification is formed. - It clustered your infantry. If your enemy has capable field artillery, they can bombard your infantry with cannon with devastating casualties, ro... | [
"In terms of tactics? Most likely the Phalanxes of Alexander the Great's armies, or even the hoplites of the Spartans. The Spartans are probably more of an influence because they were trained for war from birth, and surpassed most groups in their close-order combat style. Of course they could be beaten but I think ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How was it determined that it was 24 hours to one rotation of the planet for a day? | [
"24 hours is actually not the time it takes the earth to do one rotation. The Earth rotates once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds (and a little bit of change). There is a difference between how long it takes the Earth to rotate and how long what most people consider a day to be, which is 24 hours. 24 hours ... | [
"They would continue in a \"straight\" line from their current trajectory. Away from the former position of the planet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What do historians think of the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman? | [
"As you can imagine, the causes of WWI and the events leading to it are a pretty hot topic. It, and the aftermath, created a lot of the modern world, and so a lot of the problems of the modern world, and so a lot of people have had something to say about it. The number of books written on WWI is huge. Tuchman's boo... | [
"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 Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
In American Nations, Colin Woodward argues that there are eleven regional nations in the United States, that have clashed and allied over the course of American history. How accepted or disputed is his thesis among Americanists? | [
"I'm obviously not an expert, but I find it unfathomable that there are many experts who accept the idea that Philadelpha and Northwestern Texas are part of the same \"regional nation\". There is absolutley nothing geographically, culturally, economically, or politically connecting them."
] | [
"Starting with the House of Burgesses in Jamestown, the British royal government allowed its colonies an unprecedented level of self-government on a local level. The British also handled French Canada in much the same way after they gained the territory from France in 1763, and Parliament formally passed the Quebec... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Bobadilla and Columbus | [
"There are numerous reports about Columbus' cruelty, even excluding Bobadilla. The Dominicans were investigating him around the same time and his own journals talk of some of the brutality. Bobadilla focused on Spanish subjects because those were the people that mattered to him, he wasn't a saint either. There are ... | [
"Kolechians shitheads. And no rumors. Glory to Arstotzka."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When did professional athletes emerge? And what sport first adopted the idea of pros? | [
"Hello, after reading the thread, I notice a pattern where all answers mention Europe. Does that mean that professional athleticism was a phenomenon only in Europe or did it develop outside of Europe too? (pre-European contract, of course)"
] | [
"Most of the best male American athletes choose to play sports other than Soccer. Women's soccer is a top dog sport by comparison and attracts some of the best athletes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
In the Korean war Luxembourg sent 44 people over, do we know what they did and who they were? | [
"First things first, they sent 944 people, not 44. Of the 944, 44 were combatants, which is what is expected of a country the size of a city with less than 300,000 people (in 1950). Although I can't find anything on the other 900, I can tell you what happened to the 44. Since 44 is hardly a fighting force, they we... | [
"It could be that he was attached to an RAF squadron. Do you know what unit he belonged to?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Was it common in small villages in ancient times to offer free shelter to wanderers and travellers? | [
"In an effort to narrow down OP's question, can we say around 500 BC? I'd be more interested in a compare/contrast type response looking at multiple time periods but I know that may be a bit much to ask. Edit: Let's also specify Greece to make it a more specific question."
] | [
"I have a question too, how common was/is it to hang portraits of monarchs in households, and why? Most people don't hang portraits of presidents in their homes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Has it ever happened in history that a region wanted to break away from a country, and this country was generally OK with it, with the two states immediately establishing friendly diplomatic relations? | [
"What immediately comes to mind is the [Velvet Divorce](_URL_0_), the dissolution of Czechoslovakia several years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The federation of the two states had largely been propped up by the Communists, and with them removed the two nations found that they had little in common. Czech parti... | [
"Few states would gladly agree to give up parts of their sovereign territory to a new state, especially to one it probably won't have friendly relations with. Most independent movements are opposed by the government from which independence is being sought! There is the additional problem, mostly relevant to other g... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Where did the myth of the Fountain of Youth come from, and why exactly did the Spanish have such a firm belief that it existed? | [
"One of my early mentors and a good friend is Dr J. Michael Francis, currently a chaired professor of Florida Studies at the University of South Florida. He gives lectures on this sort of thing all the time. He is undoubtedly the top La Florida historian today. Here is one of his talks that he gives on the subject:... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Not a question but a suggestion for the Mods and the Community. | [
"You could just x-post the question here yourself and add a link to here from the original post... but I get that you're suggesting combining that with a sort of \"/r/askhistorians exposed\" feature. I actually think that could be kind of fun & interesting. Oh, and I could even teach some Reddit-search-fu! It could... | [
"You may want to consider posting this in Askscience as well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Appreciation:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Appreciation:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did Great Britain recover from the financial loss of the American colonies in 1783? | [
"As a follow up I want to ask; Was there a very big financial loss to begin with? I always thought colonies were expensive, and trade would have continued during/after the war. If anything I would have thought losing the colony saved some money as troops were redeployed and colony maintenance decreased."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can anyone identify or have any information about this ring? | [
"Sure resembles the shoulder sleeve insignia of the [80th Training Command](_URL_0_). edit: I'd bet it was the 80th Infantry Division when your grandfather first had it."
] | [
"Any chance you can post the photos here or tell us the name of your village? Those things may help someone answer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
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