query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What are some areas and topics that historians are still unsure about/actively researching? | [
"This is probably not going to help you but the answer is most things are still being actively researched. In some cases the facts have all been acquired and known for decades, but the interpretation of their significance is still contested."
] | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Literature:"
} |
What determines if a treaty would be fair? | [
"In all honesty it all comes based to the victor, I'm not going to help you write your essay but as you could tell the germans got the raw end of the deal and in turn. The treaty of Versailles became a cause of WWII"
] | [
"The 4 dissenting justices have the belief that the Constitution, from a legal perspective, just simply does not guarantee the right to a same sex marriage."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I am an educated man trying to take over a country estate left behind by a soldier who hasn't been seen for decades -- I decide to impersonate him. How would I go about this in your culture/era? What would prevent me from being successful? | [
"You should look into the case of Martin Guerre during the 16th Century. After abandoning his family nine years ago, a man showed up claiming to be him. The impostor shared a resemblance to the original Martin, and had taken the time to learn everything about him. The result was that he was able to fool Martin's fa... | [
"Do you mean start a new life, away from the people they used to know, or are you talking about actually changing your identity so even the government can't find you?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How many democratically elected governments has the US overthrown? | [
"I think this question breaks one of this subreddit's rules: No \"Soapboxing\" or Loaded Questions. The definition of a \"democratically elected government\" is very fuzzy, as well as that of \"the US has overthrown\"."
] | [
"In the 1950s, American CIA colluded with the British to overthrow a democratically elected Iranian President, and install someone friendlier to the West, as a buffer for USSR. In 1970s, Iran had a revolution and replaced the installed dictator with a theological anti-American government. The rest, as they say, is ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is there so little known about the Kugelpanther, the strange little spherical tank built by the Nazis in WW2? | [
"Not to come off as condescending but we don't know about it because there is so little documentation about it. Historians can learn a lot by looking at it and its context, but we can't know its purpose, designs, and intents, without some kind of documentation. In this case, the documentation may exist, but has yet... | [
"Giving foreign equipment reporting names that are easier to remember and pronounce didn't start with the Soviets. E.g. the U.S. military had given every japanese warplane its own nickname in WW2. \"Zero\" for the Mitsubishi A6M fighter, \"Kate\" for a type of bomber etc. It also happened with german equipment. To ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Wednesday What's New in History | June 08, 2016 | [
"Ha'aretz is reporting that [researchers from the German Archaeological Institute at Athens have discovered the first Oracle to Apollo in Athens](_URL_0_), where the seer practiced hydromancy, using a circular well that had been hidden under the omphalos stone. I'm not sure on the exact details, but the water supp... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
I have a few questions regarding Greek/Roman amphitheatres. | [
"A number of ancient Roman amphitheaters are still in use today. Ephesus, Halicarnassus (Bodrum) and Side amphitheaters located in Turkey, The Arles Amphitheater and Lyon amphitheater located in France are a few examples I can name which are regularly used for concerts. Even though these amphitheaters are ancient, ... | [
"It's a bit unclear whether you are talking about the traditional Greek Hoplite phalanx or the Macedonian-style pike phalanx later used by Alexander the Great. For the former I would highly recommend you take a look at [this post](_URL_0_) where u/iphikrates discusses what really defines a hoplite \"phalanx\". For ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about History:",
"pos": "Represent the document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Reinventing the Wheel, the Bow, Pottery, and ... ? | [
"Currency. Barter system was a completely inconvenient system for exchange and could not be developed into a proper economic system which was rectified by most, if not all societies. Currency had proper measure of value. You could estimate precise values of goods. You could store currency with no issues related to ... | [
"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 document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is the oldest known state to have existed? | [
"It's a problematic question. How would you define a \"state\"? Is it a political entity with only one government wielding the power/commanding the armed forces? Is it an entity tied to an area, to a people, to an ideal? Definitions of \"country\", \"nation\" and \"state\" abound, so if you want an answer to your q... | [
"They were made in chronological order from when the state became part of the US."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What would a "make-up kit" of a medieval royal lady consist of? | [
"I have heard about mandragora and belladona extracts being used to dilate pupils for matters of beauty, but that might have been for Roman ladies. I wonder what kind of products and materials would they use, if some of it was dangerous and what kind of tools they used to apply it (for example I do know that some f... | [
"Could you give an approximate year or period of the Empire when a citizen would be traveling?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is the D-Pad on the left? | [
"Also, on the NES controller, why is B to the left of A?"
] | [
"Costlier to put a 360 or PS3 emulator on the system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
What substance (if any) is there to claims of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by the Arab or Muslim sailors? | [
"There's always room for discussion but perhaps the section [Travel and contact across the Atlantic before Columbus](_URL_0_) from our FAQ will answer your inquiry."
] | [
"It's much more likely that someone fucked up the tests or contaminated the samples than that there was a transatlantic trade thousands of years ago which left no surviving plants, no historical record, no plants transported from Old World to New, and only one piece of evidence, and that in Egypt (why not in a Phoe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
When looking at history, is it wrong to say that one civilization/state/group is more technologically "advanced" than another? | [
"In general, talking about it in totalizing terms is usually misleading. As an example, take the Polynesians. On one hand, they produced neither ceramic or metal, and in that perspective they were comparable to Paleolithic populations. On the other hand, their shipbuilding and navigation were second to none and wer... | [
"I'm going to try to rephrase it a bit based on the rest of the quote. Hopefully I'm not straying too far from the author's intent. \"...a concomitant symptom of the secular productive forces of history\" would be something like \"a result that is naturally associated with the anti-spiritual and materialistic tren... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In 1001 Arabian Nights, Dunyazad lays under the bed of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad when they have sex, despite knowing Dunyazad is there. What is the cultural context of this? | [
"Follow up question: is this an acknowledgement that voyeurism may occur in private, but it is publicly condemned?"
] | [
"She wasn't lashed for having been raped. She was lashed for sexual immorality, which she claimed wasn't consensual (rape). Women aren't considered trustworthy to provide testimony in Saudi Arabia compared to men, so the man simply denied the charge and the woman was essentially admitting in court to a crime hersel... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are some friendships between notable people in history that are interesting/surprising? | [
"Manuel I Komnenos, a 12th century Byzantine Emperor, acted as the personal physician of King Conrad III of Germany during the Second Crusade. Manuel was a decent though not spectacular emperor - with both successes and failures in about equal numbers - but he seems to have been a very personable guy, and a very sk... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Literature:"
} |
Information about Medieval robberies and heists? | [
"The most famous medieval heist is [Richard of Pudlicott’s] (_URL_0_) burglary of Edward I’s royal treasury at Westminster in 1303. Here’s a link to a 100-year-old [lecture about it by T. F. Tout] (_URL_1_), who was a respected historian. He has a list of sources at the end that may lead to other heists."
] | [
"The French Revolution in regards to the mindset of modern culture. The Industrial Revolution when it comes to technological advancements."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Did Bismark really say "I am firmly convinced that Spain is the strongest country of the world. Century after century trying to destroy herself and still no success." ? | [
"Relevant follow-up question. Is it true that he said: \"Put all the Dutch people in Ireland Ireland would be the garden of Europe. Put all the Irish people in the Netherlands, and it would sink.\""
] | [
"Because they have their own language and culture and they are tired of being conquered in the late 1700s during the Napoleonic Wars. They want to be their own country again. It is one of the richest regions of Spain, and they are also not happy to see their taxes spent on the other parts of Spain."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Some person told me that the U.S. wasn't responsible for the victory of WWI and WWII and furthermore that the U.S. Provided weapons to both sides, was he talking out his rectum? | [
"[Did the US trade with Germany in WWI?](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Because we then helped rebuild their country and became a significant trading partner for the next half century (also, don't forget that technically they started that war with us) In general though, the speed with which the beligerants of WWII became allies is pretty historically impressive. The unification agains... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When, where and why did "throwing money into a well to make a wish" became a tradition? | [
"The tradition of throwing valuable objects into bodies of water, and in particular into natural springs and wells, is prehistoric. See [this site](_URL_0_) for example - but there are many others on the subject. Archaeologists regularly excavate abandoned wells, springs, and other bodies of water in Northern Europ... | [
"I'm not an expert, but this quote comes to mind: \"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.\" As we become adults, we become experts at (some aspects of) life. We know the only way for a human to fly is with the aid of machinery, we know there are no real Pokemon and... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Psychology:"
} |
Please give this foreginer living in China some 'outside' world opinion: is it true that China has the longest continuous civilization? but... and some questions on Mexico | [
"hi! you may be interested in these previous discussions * [How is continuity of a civilization/culture defined?](_URL_5_) * [When it's claimed that China is the oldest extant civilisation on Earth, what does this claim mean and how accurate is it?](_URL_0_) * [Why is Chinese civilization considered to be continuou... | [
"*Actual answer* I think they will still go relatively strong. As it is now it's astounding how a place the size of new Jersey could stand of to literally every surrounding country. Don't mean to belittle the US's support, but Israel must have something going for them. Edit- just to avoid confusion, the reason I wr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If sitting with legs crossed was different enough to become known as sitting Indian Style how did Europeans sit when they didn't have a chair? | [
"\"Tailor's fashion\" is the older term for the same sitting style. [Tailors sit cross-legged upon the board](_URL_0_) (table) rather than at it on a chair. It's a term still used in some European nations today and dates back very far. It's done this way to tighten up the back muscles so they don't wear out as quic... | [
"It's conditioning. You weren't raised sitting like this as we tend to sit crossed legged instead of flat footed squats"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are there any instances where the suppression of a population resulted in the societal bubble bursting resulting in significant progress being made quickly? | [
"You're going to need to be a lot more specific about what you are asking in order to get a decent answer here. What do you mean by \"suppression of a population\"? What do you mean by \"the societal bubble bursting\"? What do you mean by \"significant progress being made\"?"
] | [
"This happens when money has been incorrectly allocated to non-productive investments for a long time, and finally the consequences become apparent, and huge amounts of economic activity halt at the same time. In other words, it's the pendulum swinging the other way from an irrational economic boom. In theory it ca... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Where can I learn more about concepts of Druidism? | [
"/u/searocksandtrees compiled a list of druid questions a few year ago. Between the various threads you should get an idea of what we know. _URL_0_"
] | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about finance:"
} |
Wednesday What's New in History | April 06, 2016 | [
"Something kinda neat from Laos that [tells us more about the Plain of Jars](_URL_0_) Long story short: a team of Australian archaeologists have found burials in the ground near some of the stone pots. They are theorizing that bodies were placed in the stone vessels to decompose. When the soft tissues were all gone... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Using 1960s technology, how hard would it have been to find Gilligan's Island? | [
"As a side note, [technology may not have been the issue](_URL_8_): > Recurring elements center on one of five primary themes. > The second theme involves visitors (not others who were stranded/shipwrecked) to the \"uncharted\" island. One challenge to a viewer's suspension of disbelief is the frequency with whic... | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did people before the 19th century do bodyweight training? | [
"While more can be said on this topic, you may be interested in [this older thread](_URL_0_)."
] | [
"Related question: Is the mindset that we live in a \"better\" time a modern one? So would someone in the 1500s even view any sort of technological progress as being good? As in the mindset that the non-existent past was some golden age. Perhaps the question could also be answered the other way around, \"why would ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about history:"
} |
What would life be like for a mixed race, illegitimate child in 1960's America? | [
"They would be treated as African American under Jim Crow laws. See the [\"one-drop rule\"](_URL_0_), that basically stated that any amount sub-Saharan African ancestry made that person to be considered black, socially and legally. There was no 'halfway' on racial classifications at the time. That child would for a... | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When and how did seiza (sitting on one's heels) become widespread as the "proper," formal method to sit in Japan? | [
"An academic article which discusses exactly that, examining sources such as \"the diaries of aristocrats and priests, many statues and pictures such as clay figures called \"Haniwa\", and Buddhist images or portraits.\" HISTORICAL STUDY OF SITTING IN JAPAN: WITH \"SEIZA\" AS MAIN TOPIC Yusei Tazaki Mukogawa Women’... | [
"Before the invention and wide distribution of the chair, everyone relaxed like that. A life time of sitting in chairs will make your hamstrings, and the muscles and connective tissue in your thighs, calves, and lower back less supple, to the point of making squatting uncomfortable or even painful. In parts of the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Have any World leaders - presidents, prime ministers, chairmen, kings, queens, etc., just given up because they didn't like it? | [
"One that I can think of on hand was Pope Celestine V in 1294, one of only three Popes to resign, and the first to do so on his own initiative. He held the office for only five months before resigning, stating that he wanted to return to his old humble lifestyle as a monk. That didn't happen, as his successor, Boni... | [
"We didn't do much on it, and Trump isn't the biggest supporter of the U.N., so it was only a matter of time. The human rights council, last I heard, is actually headed by Saudi Arabia, a country that stones unfaithful women and throws gays off tips of towers, so I don't think they're the best example of human righ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Questions about the Celts and blue war paint. | [
"Victoria Finlay's fascinating *Natural History of the Palette* looks into this matter. Pliny wrote that Britons used \"glaustum\" to stain themselves blue (322), but no one knows if this means woad or something else. Woad seed pods dating back 2000 years ago have been unearthed in Britain. To fix the woad so it wo... | [
"Which tribes and where have you seen this?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
In Melville's "Billy Budd", Billy turns down a bribe of two guineas. How much was this sum worth in today's terms? | [
"A great resource for comparing historical prices in the UK, the US, and Australia is the academic site [\"Measuring Worth\"](_URL_0_), which offers several ways to calculate the comparative value of currency. There are also some interesting essays there, for instance, on the cost of 19th-century slaves. It's a han... | [
"One of the hardest things for modern people to process about British currency at the time is that it does not operate under a base-10/decimal format. One shilling was worth twelve pence, but it took twenty shillings to make a pound (rather than 24 or 36, if it were a base-12 system). A guinea was a gold coin worth... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Wikipedia says the Trent used to be uses for freight before the canals. Where the Trent runs through my home town it's only a few dozen meters wide, shallow enough to wade across, and very windy. How could you use a river like that for shipping? | [
"The short answer is by using boats with a shallow draft ( and therefore not able to carry large amounts of weight) and by accepting that for weeks, maybe months at a time transport would be halted by low water levels. Further downstream from Staffordshire the Trent has more flow and was able to support more and la... | [
"I'd have to dig for specific sources and today looks quite busy, so any digging will have to wait quite a while. That said, traveling from Somerset to London in 1830 would be either by road, as you suggest, or by ship. There was a considerable coastal trade; Captain James Cook, for example, spent some of his early... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
I am looking for a comprehensive source of African folklore/legends/myths what have you. Can anyone point me in the direction of one or several books? | [
"The African continent is huge and complex, so works of synthesis are necessarily superficial. There are several works by Harold Courlander and by Jan Knappert that might of use to them. Search for titles by these authors, and you may find something that is of interest to you."
] | [
"I've asked this before but I will again. Peter Hagendorf was a soldier in the Thirty Years' War who kept a famous diary of his service that seems very unique but I'm completely unable to find any English translation of it anywhere either online or in print. Do any Thirty Years' War experts know where I could find ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Literature:"
} |
How would a person from maryland in 1900 sound? | [
"I don't know but check out the library of congress audio recordings database [here](_URL_0_), maybe you are lucky"
] | [
"how can people in a very hot climate practice snow sports?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Did they honor the "Don't kill the messenger" back in the days? | [
"Sorry, we don't allow [throughout history questions](_URL_0_). These tend to produce threads which are collections of trivia, not the in-depth discussions about a particular topic we're looking for. If you have a specific question about a historical event or period or person, please feel free to re-compose your qu... | [
"And to hijack this in a related way, what were the alternatives to \"America.\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
In various WWII movies there are scenes where the entrance to British government buildings have been 'reinforced' with sandbags stacked in towers or thick sandbag walls under windows and doors. Was this actually a practice and did it actually do anything to protect the people inside the buildings? | [
"> Was this actually a practice? Indeed it was; as well as [government buildings] (_URL_2_), sandbags were used to protect [petrol pumps] (_URL_4_), [restaurants] (_URL_3_), [factories] (_URL_6_), [statues] (_URL_1_) (see also [the Victoria & Albert museum at war] (_URL_7_)), even [flamingo houses] (_URL_5_). They ... | [
"Trenches were typically dug around important points of interest that were to be defended. The soldiers dug them out most likely with the folding trench shovels that they carried on there back a long with all of their other gear. The defending army would be the one to dig trenches to form cover. Dug before the batt... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
[META] Answers are excessively long | [
"> Would asking for a TLDR on responses longer than 1000 words be antithetical to the subs agenda? Essentially yes. It's been mentioned [before](_URL_0_) that we have no interest in any kind of TL;DR requirement, with not the least of our concerns being that there is often no TL;DR that can do the question justice ... | [
"Mentioning previous discussions is intended to be a starting point, not to discourage further discussion. Follow-on questions, info, or disagreement is welcome. The FAQ has a section on this very subject at _URL_0_ Unfortunately, the # anchor doesn't work in the Reddit app -- it just goes to the top of the page. S... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Has there ever been a full year in the last 2000 or so years in which no wars were fought? | [
"Its not really an historical answer, but there would be several as a \"war\" requires a specific set of criteria to be considered one. Individual skirmishes and interventions do not really count as wars. So do you mean no conflict of any type?"
] | [
"It's not a modern phenomenon at all, what makes you think it's only been happening for the last 20 years?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Gentrification:"
} |
The origins of Hentai? | [
"Not to discourage further answers, but you may also be interested in: - [How did the Japanese anime, manga, light novel, and visual novel industries become so interconnected?](_URL_1_) - [Tentacle porn goes back hundreds of years, but when did Japan start getting known for having it?](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Yes to both your questions. See: Spy satellites."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Did the Soviets allow doctor-patient confidentiality? Were your medical records private? Did any communist regimes have private medical records? What about confession to a priest, or talking to a lawyer - where these private? | [
"Concerning legal privilege: Attorney-client privilege existed, and it was the only legal privilege recognized under Soviet law. *See* RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 61, Art. 72. As noted by u/cavetroglodyt, doctor-patient confidentiality existed, and was recognized in law, but it did not rise to the level ... | [
"There are lots of reasons, including the ethics of prescribing drugs to your family members. But here's one good example. Let's say that in working a diagnosis, you have to ask several questions. One of them might be about sexual activity. Would a doctor be able to ask his wife if she's had any extramarital affair... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is lighter skin considered better looking in the Indian sub-continent? | [
"A follow-up question for any historians of South-Asia: Was this colorism ever noted in Vedic/classican Indian sources? How old is this bias?"
] | [
"Asian men are far less attractive to White women than Asian women are to White men."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
You're in a medieval European city and you need to find yourself a place to call home. Who do you talk to? A medieval realtor? | [
"Obligatory \"medieval Europe can mean a lot of different times and a lot of different places.\" You should probably make your question a little more specific."
] | [
"* Seals and insignia, sometimes on rings. These were used to stamp official documents. * Knowledge, like how most of European nobles knew Latin and could read. * Nobles went to events and got to know each other. If a noble got mugged in a strange land, they would be going to a local sympathetic noble or merchant. ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
I am at the aftermath of a battle between the Romans and Gaul in the fields of France , ~50BC. What do I see? | [
"I do wonder whether recovering wounded soldiers (who had been knocked unconscious) hours after the battle would continue to attack any other recovering enemies they found, or if the battle was considered concluded and everyone concentrated on rejoining their units."
] | [
"There was *Garam*, of course, which would have traveled with the Romans - by 'Eastern Europe' what are you thinking about? The Romans conquered Dacia in the very early 2nd C AD."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What do I do with father’s work? Historian Dad with dementia moved into nursing home. I don’t know what to do with his work documents | [
"I think I may know him, or else it's a heck of a coincidence. If the case, and given how well known his work is, it won't hurt to talk to Special Collections about his files or papers. If they aren't able to take them (and our budget situation is horrendous), they could tell you what programs have the resources to... | [
"My great grandfather was in World War I and would never talk about it. The family was always afraid to ask him questions. One day when my parents went to visit him toward the end of his life, he suddenly started talking about the war. My dad said he talked for hours and it was totally unprovoked and unexpected. My... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Archiving:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Archiving:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Was being an executioner in the middle ages considered creepy and socially unacceptable? A respectable blue-collar profession? Or even a prestigious, high-ranking one? | [
"This is one of those things that may well have varied quite a bit both over time (since \"middle ages\" is a pretty wide time frame) and region. I wrote a fairly detailed post about the executioners profession in Sweden a while back. You can find it [here](_URL_0_). Also a TL;DR would be: > Was being an execution... | [
"There was basically no social/economic mobility in feudal/medieval europe. A peasant was a peasant, a serf was a serf--you were born into your class. I suppose you could be granted land and a title as a reward for something like saving a noble's life, providing some invaluable service, or marrying up--although non... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why didn't the European neutrals ceremonially join the Allies after D-Day? | [
"Because they where officially recogniced as permanently neutral powers, which gave them certain rights and responsibilities under the Hague convention of 1907. If they went to war they would lose that status and they would properly have a hard time getting people to recognize their permanent neutrality again. Also... | [
"Alliances. A guy from Serbia shot the heir to the Austrian throne. Despite the man having to affiliation to the government whatsoever, Austria declared war on Serbia. Serbia's ally, Russia, declares war on Austria. Austria's ally, Germany, declares war on Russia. Russia's ally, France, declares war on Germany. Ge... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
When did the concept of colorism in societies start? | [
"Love this topic since it gives me the opportunity to share probably one of my favourite write ups on r/askhistorians _URL_1_ /u/victoryfanfare wrote about how modern ideas of biological race distinctions were created through the 18th-19th century and how it differed from the ideas that came before Edit: _URL_0_ ... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why did Shackleton allow tobacco products on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition? | [
"It's worth noting that until around the 1950s the dangerous effects of smoking tobacco were not widely known, or at least not considered proven. It was actually considered quite good for you in some circles and prescribed as a cure for throat and lung complaints. It wasn't until 1954 that the British Doctors Study... | [
"Lansing's \"Endurance\" is the classic starting point. If you read that, Lennard Bickel's \"Shackleton's Forgotten Men\" is a must-read too because it tells the rest of the story. Highly recommended. For a different approach to the Shackleton legend, try Caroline Alexander's \"The Endurance\". It has lots of wonde... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Was there ever a weapon designed to fight mystical creatures (dragons, trolls, etc.)? | [
"Would amulets intended to ward off evil spirits count?"
] | [
"What are dragons? Not all of them are flying reptiles that can breathe fire. It's not unlike taking a tree and a bush and calling them plants. Dragons probably stemmed from each societies interpretation of living reptiles they observe in their surroundings."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can someone explain this joke to me? | [
"It's supposed to make your opponent look bad. You know... You were second - so good for you, only one person has beaten you... and the opponent was so bad that he had only one person was worse than them - so BOOO, bad runner! The fact that there were only two contestants is left out intentionally."
] | [
"Can someone explain the question to me like I'm five?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What was the Countess of Blessington's "famous and scandalous ménage" all about? | [
"The lady in question is Marguerite Gardiner, nee Farmer, nee Powers, Countess of Blessington. Wiki says she married the 1st Earl of Blessington, Charles John Gardiner, in 1818, about four months after her previous husband's death.[Reading between the lines in her biographies](_URL_0_) suggests Marguerite began her... | [
"I'm not a historian, but several enterprising young ladies did very well for themselves in the 19th century: La Paiva (courtesan): A girl born in the Jewish Ghetto of Moscow, she became fabulously rich in Paris by several strategic marriages and ended her life as Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck in a castle in Si... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How accurate is LA Noire's depiction of 1940's LA? | [
"I am not a historian in this particular area, but I know that the game was very closely based on the books of James Ellroy... and Ellroy famously knew all of the old detectives and cops of that era. Hearing Ellroy and reading his books (such as LA Confidential) you get the feeling that LA Noire toned down the crim... | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
In the movie Wild Bill (1995), Bill (Jeff Bridges) sees a doctor who says Bill has glaucoma, the result of too much proximity to "infected females". Bill says his "trouble" cleared up after a local doctor stuck a hot wire up his privates. Was this actually a method to treat STDs in mid 1800s? | [
"Before anyone else makes a funny comment, we're sure OP meant gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted infection, and not glaucoma, increased pressure in the eye that can lead to blindness. [The rules](_URL_0_) of /r/AskHistorians still apply."
] | [
"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... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
When did the idea of homework as we know it today start? | [
"Seems /u/ObsoletePixel has beaten you to the punch with [this thread, which was inspired by your original comment.](_URL_0_) (I'm not complaining that this is a repost mind you, just figure I'd point it out so that we can keep the discussion all in one place instead of scattered across multiple threads since the o... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Was there any opposition to placing the images of American presidents on currency -- perhaps out of fears that it too-closely echoed the practices of royalty? | [
"To go off of this, was there specifically any opposition to Andrew Jackson's placement on the twenty dollar bill in the 1920s due to his veto of the National Bank?"
] | [
"Currency used to be an indicator of a region's sovereignty, and asking the people of that region to use the currency used by another region was akin to telling them they'd been conquered. Only important people had their faces on coins, to remind you who was in charge. Using someone else's coins with someone else's... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
My mother gave me this brass cap made from a WWI artillery shell manufactured in 1915 (as far as I can tell). Does anyone have any info/history on this type of item? | [
"It's a pretty typical example of [trench art.](_URL_0_) There's one very much like it [in the Imperial War Museum](_URL_1_), made from the same kind of 18-pdr shell casing and with the same Royal Engineers emblem, attributed to a Sapper Ernest William Fielding."
] | [
"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 Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What did JFK mean by "and do the other things" in his "Moon" speech? | [
"Have you read or seen the speech? \"But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not be... | [
"Pretty much entirely because he was the President's brother. While he was assigned to various committee's to do with foreign relations (usually secret \"Groups,\") Attorney Generals aren't involved in non-domestic policy. JFK wanted a confidant, and sort of an errand boy he could trust. \"Kennedy's Wars\" by Lawr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Where does the modern university "quad" come from? What were the historical precedents for this campus design scheme? | [
"The quad is short for quadrangle. There have been quads for nearly as long as there have been universities [Mob Quad](_URL_0_) in Oxford is one of the oldest examples. Quads trace their roots to monastery cloisters. The cloister garth (garden in the middle of the cloister) was an important place for monks to gathe... | [
"Lyceum was the name of a particular school and library in ancient Greece. A number of schools have been named after it in modern times, and the word for middle or high school in some languages is derived from Lyceum. However, the word simply doesn't have an agreed-upon definition."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
The year is 1867 (one year before the Meiji Restoration). Is Japan's GDP per capita higher than China's? | [
"I would say it'd be very clearly Japan, but almost entirely because of the Taiping Rebellion. From 1850-1864, one of the largest civil wars ever was fought in China between the \"Heavenly Kingdom\" and the Qing Dynasty. The war was notable for being one of the first instances of \"total war,\" with civilians essen... | [
"Because most of its citizens are still poor, subsistence farmers or low skilled factory workers, etc. The economy is massive but their population is ALSO massive. Their per capita GDP is about 1/7 that of the U.S."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Are counterfactual histories useful to historiography? | [
"Extended counterfactual history accounts are generally more entertaining than helpful, but James Axtell 'Colonial America without the Indians' Journal of American History 73:4 (1987) is a brilliant exercise in demonstrating the vital importance that Native Americans played in facilitating white settlers in coloniz... | [
"I have a few questions for 20th century political historians: How do historians usually work with 20th century political commentators? Are they good primary sources to understand the political opinions of the general public or do they just show the commentators' opinions? Are there any works that discuss how histo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it that some think of the British Empire as "accidental"? | [
"As a Brit, I've certainly not come across the idea that it was accidental. Quite the opposite. Where is that interpretation taught?"
] | [
"Why would you assume that America is like the rest of the world?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do we eat several courses when we dine, rather than the all-out scrounging commonly depicted as medieval? | [
"Eating all at once (service à la Française) was the norm in France in the early-mid 19th century. Chef Marie-Antoine Carême, thought of as the first celebrity chef, brought the \"eating in an order chosen by the chef\" (service à la Russe) style of service to the French royalty, where trends go to spread to the re... | [
"Time needed for preparation. Eggs take a little bit of time to cook, so they're a breakfast food. Something like lasagna takes longer to cook, so it's a dinner food. There's another factor, too. Back in the early second millennium, breakfast was seen as a necessary evil, and the sign of either a glutton or a worki... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Was lead ever really used for writing? If so, when did it fall out of use? | [
"As far as I know, pencils never contained lead. In the sixteenth century, when pencils were invented, graphite was called 'black lead' or 'plumbago' because it resembles lead sulphide. In 1778 Carl Wilhelm Scheele proved that graphite and lead sulphide were totally different chemicals and in 1789 Abraham Gottlob W... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Did Churchill actually stamp weapon protecting condoms 'Made in England - Medium'? | [
"I'm going to reluctantly call \"urban myth\" on this one too, because I've heard a similar but different version, in which the USSR requested 11\" condoms to be included in the materiel sent to aid the Russians, and Churchill responded \"Send them, but pack them in crates marked 'medium'\". I'd love it to be true,... | [
"General: Why are you requesting 100,000 pairs of green tights!? Acquisitions Officer: It's for Operation Peter Pan sir, and it's top secret. General: I like the cut of your jib sergeant... Approved!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Did the Dothraki fear the sea before the discovery of the numerous kaiju that inhabit the narrow sea? | [
"Godzilla's rampages of Dany's fleet destroyed the Dothraki's prophecies; of the Stallion who mounts the world. So that began their distrust of the sea, and the repeated kaiju landings at Slaver's Bay and other sea based cities such as Meereen both ravaged the economy and led to the widespread thalassophobia in the... | [
"According to Maester Yandel, the sorcerers who maintained the Fourteen Flames were assassinated during several of the Valyrian dragonlords' scrambles for power. With no one left to control the Fourteen Flames, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions eventually destroyed the Valyrian Freehold and transformed the peninsu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did common people react to the discovery of America? | [
"Not OP, but I have a related follow-up question to this. How many years did it take for the discovery of America become a \"common knowledge\", say in Europe? By that I mean, if you asked a random stranger on the streets of a large European city, there is a fair chance that they would know that a \"new world\" exi... | [
"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 argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Monday Methods|Historical Reenactment as a Tool for Education and Inquiry | [
"I'm not sure if additional questions are allowed on these threads, but I'll have a gander at it. To reenactors: was being part of a reenactment more or less realistic than you initially thought it would be? Did this change the educational value of the reenactment - for better or for worse?"
] | [
"Huh, literally *just* was involved in a discussion about this topic with a history professor. Here's a list of some of the books he recommended: Ahmad, Anis. Global Ethics, Environmentally Applied: An Islamic View. 2009. Dien, Izzi. The Environmental Dimensions of Islam. The Lutterworth Press, 2000. Murad, Munjed ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mr. Arthur holds up his hand to a Native American in the distance as a peace sign. The implication being the native would respond by holding up his own hand; signaling no intention of hostility. Was this an actual method of communication used in the Wild West? | [
"Follow up question: was tying up the front legs of your horses an additional peace sign/willingness to negotiate, or a requirement for the hand greeting to mean peace? Was its symbolic meaning more along \"I won't move further\" or \" I won't attack\"? Or was it simply done to prevent the horses to run away in the... | [
"The handshake started as a way to prove you were not a threat. By offering your empty right hand, you showed that you weren't holding a weapon and that you had no intentions of harming the other person. Think of it in tribal days when finding a stranger who didn't speak your language on your land often meant they ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Stalin having a hand his jacket like Napoleon? | [
"The symbol of a hand within the jacket is known as \"Hand-In-Waistcoat\", and is a symbol used in official portraits and photos to symbolize calm yet firm leadership. The pose has traces in the Classical era, where Aeschines suggested that for a speaker to speak with their arm outside of their toga could be seen a... | [
"Yes they take place at Christmas hence the line about another Christmas and another ventilation duct- or something similar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Juan Pujol García, AKA Garbo was a British double agent without the British knowing he was. How is he perceived in historiography? | [
"What do you mean \"without the British knowing he was\"?"
] | [
"Essentially, at the begnning of the war, the British interned all German nationals. At one stroke this pretty much crippled the German espionage network in the UK. Additionally, since the Nazi administration was built in a hap-hazard way, not much thought had been given to espionage and the commander of the Nazi ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Which inauguration was attended by the most former Presidents? | [
"/u/joustswindmills took a crack at the second question recently * [At what point in US history were the most former presidents alive? ](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"What is the veracity of the claim that TR was included so there would be two Republicans on Mt. Rushmore?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When did people start paying for the privilege of wearing a corporate logo on their clothing? | [
"greetings all. Just a moderator reminder to potential respondents of what subreddit we're in here: it's /r/AskHistorians, so do review and comply with [the subreddit rules](_URL_11_). In a nutshell: > Answers in this subreddit are expected to be of a level that historians would provide: **comprehensive and inform... | [
"Some people might collect it, but the main reason they do it is the same reason they put cartoon characters on cereal boxes. It draws attention to the product on the shelf."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Where would I be able to submit early to mid-1900s documents from Puerto Rico for archiving? | [
"The library of congress might be willing to take them, they collect documents from all over. Or perhaps an American history museum. _URL_0_ _URL_1_"
] | [
"This as incredibly helpful. I'm doing my master's thesis on the historical memory of free black societies in the north. Could you suggest anything worth reading on that subject?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Archiving:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Archiving:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How did fountains function before the invention of electricity? | [
"One example would be with hydraulics. For example, if you have a U shaped pipe, with one end that is shorter than the other. If water is piped in from the higher end, it will naturally shoot out the short end. This is because water wants to equalize in height. Another example would be if greater force is applied t... | [
"What we consider a modern bicycle requires precision machine parts, durable rubber and (generally) flat roadways. None of that existed before the 19th century."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Who is Harry Truman referring to as "King of the Lollypops"? | [
"OP, could you provide any more contextual evidence from McCullough's book? I've never read it but perhaps if you explain why McCullough uses this quote, what is he using it to refer to or prove, then someone might be able to provide a stronger answer."
] | [
"I visited Ronald Reagan's Oval Office. He had a plaque on his desk that said \"The Buccaroo Stops Here.\" (serious)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about History:"
} |
Historians of Reddit, I've been a big fan of Michael Crichton and his works, and his novel Timeline is one of my favorites. How accurate is his representation of 14th c. France and Europe? | [
"Never realized this was a book! Looks like I know what I will be doing this week!"
] | [
"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 document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Wednesday What's New in History | July 26, 2017 | [
"(SPOILERZ) Google Alerts has been bombarding me with [some](_URL_1_) [special](_URL_3_) [interest](_URL_0_) [reading](_URL_2_) relating to some popular TV show. Surprisingly the coverage is not as bad as I thought it would be!"
] | [
"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:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How would a Janissary have been treated during the late 14th century? (By superiors and the general population.) How formal was the Devsirme system by this stage? | [
"I had a great Ottoman history professor who claimed that Janissaries were treated very well. According to this prof Christian parents would try to get their children taken into the Janissary program so that their kids would have more opportunity in life. They were respected at court, on the battlefield, and in the... | [
"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 Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Oldest Classified Files? | [
"This has been asked a few times; here is [one of the more recent answers](_URL_0_) (which I answered). The basic answer is, in the US, legal classification of documents mostly dates from the early 20th century and the stuff which is longest-lived is of a technical nature, e.g., signals intelligence/cryptography/ga... | [
"Sleep - Shake Unconscious - Splash Coma - Wait and Hope Vegetative State - Wait and Bury"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How would you change fifth grade history lessons regarding the European colonization of the Americas? | [
"If I had a magic wand, I'd just blend it in with World History. While students are learning about Rome, they could also read about Teotihuacan. While talking about the rise of Islam they could also discuss the fall of the Classic Maya. For that matter, they should do the same thing with Asia and Africa too. My big... | [
"A follow-up and related question: how about young people in other parts of the world in this time period? I.e. South Asia, China, West Africa, South America?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Wednesday What's New in History | September 14, 2016 | [
"Archaeologists at Catalhoyuk have found [a remarkably intact female figurine](_URL_0_). She's about 7,000 years old, weighs about 1 kg, and you can just about make out her facial expression...."
] | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Are there reliable witness accounts of gladiators (bestirarii?) defeating/killing big predators such as lions, tigers , bears etc. in a 1v1 scenario in which the gladiator was armed? | [
"That is a tall order: a reliable, first-hand account of a one-on-one fight where the armed gladiator wins! I'm not sure if this checks off all of the requirements, but the best I could think of was Martial's On the Spectacles. This is about the opening games of the Flavian Ampitheatre, better known as the Colosseu... | [
"The way gladiators are portrayed in media doesn't particularly hold up to history. Gladiators ate a vegetarian diet, rich in carbohydrates. Gladiators also weren't the buff, oiled up dudes you see on TV. They commonly packed on quite a few extra pounds. Part of that is because they didn't train for looks (The buil... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Book recommendations on post-WWII reconstruction in Europe (West and East)? | [
"Possibly \"After the Reich: The Brutal History of the Allied Occupation\" or \"Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II\" \"Postwar\" is an excellent book."
] | [
"1st World - NATO-aligned states. 2nd World - Warsaw Pact aligned states. 3rd World - Unaligned states. Since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact there really isn't a 2nd World any more."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is this contraption? (Possibly World War One hospital related) | [
"I'm afraid I haven't got an answer for you (yet -- I'm digging around), but you might also have luck in /r/WhatIsThisThing. They have a tremendous track record of success, there, and may be able to help."
] | [
"I think it might be a Chinese version of Scientology."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Can someone evaluate the veracity of this Pre-Colombian map of North America? | [
"Since this the second question we've got about this today, I'll leave it up this time (I had removed the previous post because I know the creator of the map doesn't like it being shared without his consent - though I didn't realize at the time how out of hand this had gotten). This map does not represent pre-Colum... | [
"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... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Were there British aristocrats who refused to install electricity in their houses in the 20th century? | [
"I can't answer that, but there were some who went in the opposite direction. As soon as he became the new Earl of Warwick in 1893, the former Lord Brooke (Francis Greville) had the old water-powered grain mill in Warwick Castle turned into an electrical generating plant, and not long thereafter threw a sensational... | [
"No. Opium smoking started sometime in the 16th century in China, and wasn't popular enough for there to be 'opium dens' until the 18th century or so. Most accounts of opium dens in Europe are 19th or early 20th century."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Wednesday What's New in History | February 17, 2016 | [
"[A new genetic study](_URL_0_) indicates more frequent admixture between modern *Homo sapiens* and Neanderthals than previously thought. The study found several interbreeding events with other hominins occurred during the history of our species; the first ~100,000 years ago and the latest ~50,000 years ago. Also, ... | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Did the pilgrims not realize that they could sail a bit further south and get better weather? | [
"The pilgrims' original destination was not New England but the Hudson River (around where New York is today). After being battered at sea by storms, thrown off route several hundred miles, and with low supplies, they made landfall. They could not sail farther south because they lacked supplies and the moral. They ... | [
"Figuring out your latitude, just by looking at the sun, moon and the stars is actually fairly simple and every idiot with a compass can figure out the direction you are going. The longitude is a lot harder, but they tried to keep track how far they went on the way and thus had an idea how far they needed to travel... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
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} |
Has "retro" always been a thing? | [
"Just a few examples: Renaissance artists (particularly the Italian ones) really like to make ancient Roman style sculptures and paint Roman mythology. For example Caravaggio's painting *Bacchus* or Michelangelo's David. In the late 1700's and early 1800's with all the revolutions going on people started to copy ... | [
"What's so bad about having something made in Israel?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
A few question to a Historian, if you will. | [
"I have a Master's in History and a love of WW2 that has taken me from the beaches of Normandy to the caves of Okinawa. I currently live in Berlin a few feet from the Berlin Wall. My Master's has had absolutely nothing to do with any of that. It has only been possible by re-training myself in the computer field. H... | [
"Somebody please answer . now I really want to know."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
If I google any given surname there are websites claiming to show their coat of arms, is there any truth to these and if not who made them up? | [
"Hi, it would probably be worth x-posting to /r/heraldry (or maybe even /r/genealogy?), but while you're here, you might be interested in a couple of recent threads on coats of arms * [Did noble families in the middle ages have a family sigil and/or motto like in Game of Thrones?](_URL_1_) * [Irish family crests/co... | [
"Could you post the original image of the coat of arms, please (not your recreated photoshop rendering)? I'm not sure what kind of bird that is or what the charge in the middle is. In general, there are no set meanings in heraldry. Some have tried and made lists of charges and tinctures with accompanying symbolism ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Spain and Portugal are playing today. This made me wonder the rather clichéd question: What prevented Spain from conquering Portugal? Why didn't/couldn't they? | [
"Well, there was a period of 60 years (1580-1640) were Spain did control Portugal. The Spanish invasion of 1580 was brought about by extraordinary circumstances- the near complete extermination of the Joanine dynasty in Morocco, a strong Spanish military presence, a fear that other dynastic heads would step in the ... | [
"The Portuguese colonies did form their own united states. It's called Brazil. Brazil and Uruguay became different countries because Brazil was a Portuguese colony and Uruguay was part of a Spanish colony, and while Portugal and Spain talked about uniting at one point, the idea was dropped and their colonies obviou... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
On what date was the last newspaper extra published in the U.S.? | [
"They're still being published. I have an extra from 2003 and the invasion of Iraq, for example."
] | [
"They were made in chronological order from when the state became part of the US."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Industrial Development and Efficiency in the USSR | [
"Much of soviet growth was illusory and shallow. My favorite example [is shoes](_URL_0_). the USSR produced more shoes per capita than any society in history, but there were still massive lines to buy imported shoes whenever they were available. Why? because the domestic shoes were so lousy and uncomfortable that n... | [
"#General Background/Primers: * *Ever Closer Union? An Introduction to the European Community* by Desmond Dinan * *Debates on European Integration – A Reader* edited by Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni * *The European Union* edited by Brent F. Nelsen and Alexander Stubb #Formation: * *Origins and Evolution of the Europea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Were major events (World wars, depressions, etc.) in history really inevitable? | [
"This is more of a philosophical question than one of history. From a historian's point of view, things that happen are a product of the unique historical circumstances at the time of the event. To say that something was inevitable releases those who did or didn't do whatever is in question from all guilt for those... | [
"Would you mind clarifying the question a little? Are you asking if the American participation in the Vietnam War is responsible for the recession of communism *now*?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What are some interesting or highly innovative weapons from World War II that most people don't know about? | [
"One of the more unusual (and unusually ineffective) weapons devised by the British during WWII was the [Unrotated Projectile](_URL_0_). Essentially it involved rockets with wires and parachutes attached that could be launched from ships to create an 'aerial minefield'. In theory, the rockets would be fired and the... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Games like Crusader Kings 2 point out the ease of converting pagans (or at least the Norse) to Christianity. Was this ease in converting heathens an observed phenomenon? Are there any explanations as to why this was so? | [
"Here are some earlier answers related to several examples. **The conversion of Ireland** (earlier than Crusader Kings) _URL_12_ by u/depanneur , u/alriclofgar and others, and _URL_11_ again by u/depanneur, u/Lonnbeimnech and others From this month: _URL_4_ in which u/alriclofgar and u/1MMRAM discuss the ea... | [
"There were some pocket holdouts of polytheism in Greece into the ninth Century, but any that survived after that would be very scattered. During the days of the Roman empire in the second Century, Christianity took hold in a major way and eventually, it was written into the law that polytheistic worship was illega... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does it seem that revolutions break out in waves (eg. 2011, 1989, 1968, 1848)? | [
"It has been shown to be directly related to spikes in food prices. People can tolerate a lot of bullshit, but when they are starving they might as well revolt: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Do you mean: \"Did the fear of communism enable the working class to obtain improved social conditions in 1950s until the 1980s in Western Europe?\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How did Braavos become such an influential city-state in Westeros and Essos? | [
"When Braavos was founded by a group of escaped slaves, they found a location far enough out of the way to live peacefully undiscovered. They were fortunate in that the island was extremely rich in sea life, including the sea snails which were very similar to the ones that made Tyrosh famous, producing a beautiful ... | [
"According to Maester Yandel, the sorcerers who maintained the Fourteen Flames were assassinated during several of the Valyrian dragonlords' scrambles for power. With no one left to control the Fourteen Flames, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions eventually destroyed the Valyrian Freehold and transformed the peninsu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What scams were common in the medieval ages (by merchants and commoners alike) other than selling fake religious relics and 'coin clipping' | [
"One common concern in the ancient world and later were merchants who used false weights or rigged scales. When you bought a pound of x, he'd use lighter weights so that you'd get less than a pound, and the opposite if you were selling to him. This actually shows up in the Jewish Scriptures fairly often as a compla... | [
"According to the Christian bible, usury (the act of making loans for personal profit) is a sin. Being a banker was seen as being dirty. Jews had no such qualms and became successful money lenders, working in the finance and jewelry industries. Silver and gold and stein (rock/jewel) became part of their name, as ma... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
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