query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
After a medieval battle, would weapons be picked up from the dead and recycled again? | [
"Almost all metal objects would be recycled one way or another. They were simply too valuable to let go to waste. If the army that won the battle wouldn't loot the field, someone else would. Because of this, lots of weapons and armor are found from excavations of old battlefields only in special cases, such as the ... | [
"Castles were not just the homes of the nobility. They encompassed entire cities and when an army marched toward a castle the peasants in the fields would usually retreat behind the walls. Generally sieges would end with the sieging army retreating for lack of food/water or disease or the besieged giving up for the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Suppose in 1974 you ask a normal Taiwanese person if they believe normal life is better or worse in mainland China? Suppose you ask a normal Hebei resident if they believe normal life in Taiwan is better or worse than in mainland China? Assuming they were honest what do think each would likely say? | [
"The response you get from the Hebei resident would greatly depend on how much they bought into the official rhetoric of the Cultural Revolution. An ardent believer in the Communist party would say that of course life is better in Mao's socialist utopia. An \"intellectual\" who had been sent \"down to the countrysi... | [
"China had a civil war that ended in approximately 1949. The communists won and the nationalists lost. The nationalists fled to Taiwan, a large island off the coast of mainland China. The situation has been tense and complicated since then. Taiwan's economy boomed to unbelievable extent, and the mainland Chinese wa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
[META] How do others store historiography? | [
"Basically I write articles, papers, essays and other texts on almost everything that catches my interest, no matter if I use it for something (publishing, courses etc.) or not, and have it saved on my computer for future reference. Whenever I see a question on here that relates to my area, I might not have every d... | [
"Hi, you may be interested in the last thread on this; it also includes a link to more in the FAQ * [How effective was literal salting of the earth?](_URL_0_)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Archiving:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Archiving:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why do we sleep together? | [
"I think this is more an /r/AskAnthropology question."
] | [
"What do you want to know about them exactly?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Has the current queen done anything to help previously colonised countries? | [
"The Queen does not have a political or executive role in government and certainly does not set official foreign policy. The ability to 'help' foreign nations does not fall under the purview of the monarchy's powers. Many former colonies are members of the British Commonwealth, of which she is the head; others (e.... | [
"A related question were there public figures at the time who were apologists that tried to justify for the actions of the Japanese military at Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
I've had a cold for a couple of weeks, and it sucks. If I were afflicted by a lingering illness with cold- or flu-like symptoms in a town in 1500s Germany, who would I talk to for medical advice, and what would they recommend me? | [
"How common was opium/opiates? We're they commonly used to treat pain for Joe peasent? or was it used mostly by the upper class?"
] | [
"I have a cough. It's kind of annoying, but hey, people get sick, right? a) I am not poor, so I go to the doctor. Huh, turns out I have < insert communicable disease here > , but good thing I went to the doctor! A couple shots, a round of pills, and there you go, it's fine. b) I am poor. It's just a cough, and I re... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Good material to read / watch about European folklore? | [
"[The Folklore Podcast](_URL_1_) by Mark Norman, a professional folklorist, does a good job on a range of topics. I highly recommend that you look over his impressive catalog of topics and listen to what works for you. Norman pitches the subject to a novice audience. [Blúiríní Béaloidis / Folklore Fragments](_URL_0... | [
"Just asked this in the other sticky, but maybe this is the better place for it: Does anyone have any good book recommendations about the Nigerian Civil War or about Biafra as a country?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Literature:"
} |
What was the first appearance of raisins? | [
"In \"Food Chronology\", J Trager mentions that the first recipes to be recorded date back to 1700 BC. They are written in cuneiform script, in Akkadian (the language of Babylonia at the time) and contain references to a variety of dried fruit, including figs, pomegranates and grapes. This doesn't surprise me: I'm... | [
"One of these is not like the others."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Giant public calendar in 'Rome'? | [
"Yes, these public calendars certainly were a thing. [Here's an example](_URL_0_) found in the old Roman town of Antium (modern-day Anzio). The idea of these lists was to show people which days were good for conducting legal business according to the auspices (signs from the gods) and which days were bad for legal ... | [
"Yes to both your questions. See: Spy satellites."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Before electricity, how did Minnesotans do laundry in January (washing *and* drying)? | [
"[You would hang them indoors](_URL_1_). Even rather grand homes would have to do this - and the grander they were, the more there would be. Where? Well, the dining room or the ballroom. perhaps. One or more chandelier hoists, probably two fireplaces, more than enough room to lay down an oilcloth. Homes built befo... | [
"It may be too hot to shower in, but it's the temperature needed for washing dishes/clothes/etc. There are plenty of uses for hot water besides washing your body, and some of those uses work better with very hot (hotter than you can stand) water."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did military leaders first describe the capabilities of the atomic bomb to US President Harry Truman? | [
"[This](_URL_0_) is the report that General Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, sent to the Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, after the first test of the atomic bomb. This was itself then conveyed to Truman. Truman also approved the [press release to be sent out](_URL_1_) prior to the bomb being dropped. Prior t... | [
"Because of the strategic and tactical advantages of killing Japanese civilians and combatants over risking American lives. Also to demonstrate to the world, specifically the USSR, the power of the new Atomic bombs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Is it a coincidence that most of the major powers of the world are in the northern hemisphere? | [
"Well, 67% of the land and 90% of the human population is in the northern hemisphere. A quick look at geography shows that a significant proportion of this southern land is desert. The hemispheres didn't really have a level playing field to start with."
] | [
"In real estate the top three things are: location, location, location. If Tibet were a different religion, or officially Athesist, it would still represent the Chinese southern flank and between them and the Middle East. Sure, a vocal religious government doesn't help the situation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Not sure if this is the correct place, but I have a mythology related question. | [
"If you have no luck here, you might also try /r/tipofmytongue ."
] | [
"Not sure if this kind of comment is allowed, but in the i terest of starting discussion, whats the context of this? Perfume, wine, etc?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is The Gulag Archipelago a scholarly book which fits standards of historical inquiry? | [
"Solzhenitsyn's *Gulag Archipelago* is actually hard to fit into a genre, as it merges bits of other genres...something like a memoir, a history, a journalistic piece, and philosophy wrapped into one. It's something of an historic document, but it's not \"history\" per se, let alone an academic history. If you're ... | [
"A good history book is: * Well researched and well written * Clearly places itself in respect to existing literature on the topic. * Uses primary sources to create an engaging narrative. * Is well grounded in historical theory(ies). * Has a strong introduction and conclusion which make the scholar's point and argu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Do we know the history of public nudity such as mooning, flashing, streaking, etc? When it was first used? Was there a punishment if caught? Was it meant to be serious/funny/etc? Is there anywhere it wouldn't have been considered a indecent act? | [
"This is sort of an odd question, since presumably people walked around naked for tens of thousands of years before clothing became *de rigueur*. However, we know that as far back as classical antiquity, certain exhibitionist behaviors were socially frowned upon, although not necessarily punished. The philosopher [... | [
"There is no sexual component in peeing, no. But there is a sexual component in purposely showing your genitals to other members of the public. The thing is, it can be very hard to gauge the motive someone had when they were peeing in public. Were they genuinely desperate and couldn't wait, or are they peeing ther... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Strategy of the French Forces in the First World War | [
"> Is this statement accurate? From my reading on the French Army this seems to be the case overall; piecemeal attacks or *grignotage* ('nibbling') as they were dubbed in the French Army were unpopular among the *Poilus*, so it seems the French placed much less emphasis on constant trench-raiding, unlike the BEF. T... | [
"Osprey Publishing, which tends to be more 'accessible' and image-focused tends to have volumes upon volumes dedicated to Uniformology. They have multiple volumes for the various Armed Forces of World War II. A few of their titles that may interest you: \"The Romanian Army in World War II\" by Mark Axworthy \"The R... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
In the last ~200 years, when was the time where the wealth was most evenly distributed | [
"I am not sure if it is permitted under the rules, but there was an interesting article in last week issue of The Economist investigating this question [here](_URL_4_). (The article actually is a summary the thesis of a book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty, an economist at the Paris School ... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Did the Native Americans lie about El Dorado to keep the conquistadors moving along? | [
"Yes and no. Spaniards did actively want to find sources of gold and silver (remember that precious metals were currency in this period). They also wanted to find people to conquer and then impose tribute and labor requirements. We know that as they learned native languages they asked about resources and other nat... | [
"Leif Erikson didn't discover the USA. He landed in Newfoundland, then got ran off by the Natives. Columbus on the other hand. He landed, he conquered, and he nearly destroyed an entire race of people, decimated their culture and took most of the gold back to Europe."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What was the -gate before Watergate? | [
"The terms 'scandal' 'affair' 'incident' and 'crisis' were widely used, but there wasn't a journalistic convention until Watergate."
] | [
"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 passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Did the Vikings accept fidelity? | [
"[I've actually answered a question about this exact comic](_URL_0_) The linked response is a little short, but I'd be happy to answer any fallow up questions you might have?"
] | [
"Are you asking why Christians don't hate Hindus?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why did Thailand align itself with Japan in WW2 and not remain neutral? | [
"Neutrality was not an option because Thailand was in Japan's way. It would have been difficult to invade Malaya and almost impossible to invade Burma without going through Thailand. The Japanese invaded by sea and by land after Pearl Harbor and the Thais resisted for a few hours. Then they concluded a ceasefire an... | [
"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:"
} |
how are calvino, crasso and varo responsible for the start of thevfall of the roman empire? | [
"What book are you reading? I've never heard of a \"Calvino\", and I am assuming \"Crasso\" and \"Varo\" refer to Crassus and Varus. Crassus was an important figure of the Late Republic, while Varus was the Roman commander responsible (in part) for the defeat at Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D. Neither feature in any sch... | [
"not arguing about the dutch but why do you think the portuguese didn't left an impact comparable to the spanish?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the most likely answer of what the Voynich Manuscript really is? | [
"It may very well be fake, but let us also consider the possibility that the author was straight-up mentally ill."
] | [
"Can you better explain what you are asking about? My google searching doesn't exactly explain what \"The Three Liars Paradox\" is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
What's up with The Voynich Manuscript? | [
"There's always room for more discussion but you may be interested in this post: [Here](_URL_0_) I do want to warn you though that the [source](_URL_1_) for that person's answer is from a podcast written by an author and writer who does not appear to be a historian but it an interesting theory and he cites several... | [
"Because you just happened to be listening to music when your \"The Complete Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine\" arrived at the door."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
I have a few questions about WWII out of curiosity | [
"Apparantly WWII is defined here as the war against Nazi Germany. 1. Define \"stongest\", arms manufacturing increased every year, even as they were losing ground. Their highest potential? Probably before the first Battle for Moscow winter of 1941-42. Some would say the day prior to Operation Barbarossa and the i... | [
"This sub would be the best place to ask about historical currency!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Not to sound rude, but how come NONE of the questions on here have any comments? | [
"There is one other category of question that is likely to go unanswered (maybe a sub category of \"bad\"). Suspect questions - I see these a couple times a week. These are the questions that seem to have some sort of skewed slant, or are blatantly trying to invite discord or target areas of history that are well k... | [
"It seems to be the norm on cyber space. Not sure as to why you're surprised at such topics."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why was the chancellor allowed to drink alcohol when presenting the budget to parliament in the UK? | [
"Usually smoking and drinking in the House of Commons chamber is against Parliamentary rules but due to tradition the Chancellor when giving the budget is allowed to choose his drink. In this case George Osborne chose alcohol when previously he had stuck to water. Dates for when the practice became tradition are s... | [
"MP allows friend who has no reason to be involved in his job along to government meetings and into offices where data/information could be compromised. In a nutshell."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How important was Thomas Wolsey in the court of Henry VIII | [
"Wolsey was an incredibly important power in Henry's court. As Lord Chancellor, he was the King's primary adviser, and since he was chancellor during Henry's younger years, he was potentially more involved in decisions of the state than the average Lord Chancellor would have been. His relationship with Henry allowe... | [
"Where would I go for material on the medieval monarchy in France? Ideally from the emergence of the Capetians to sometime in the Early Modern Era."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Literature:"
} |
Was the Halberd a well liked and well used weapon. | [
"The halberd is a 14th century weapon designed to be used in formation to defeat heavily armoured infantry and deter cavalry; it's arguably a more complex weapon to use than the spear, which is probably why the commenters suggested that the spear was the most practical weapon. That said, though, halberds had their ... | [
"The English bill is a pole arm which first came into use in the 17th century. Similar in form to a halberd, It was first a modified farming tool known as a billhook before being adapted and manufactured specifically as a military weapon. I would assume this entry refers to a billhook with a shorter handle which co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Prescriptive versus descriptive history. | [
"I think you'd be interested in the books [*Historians In Public*](_URL_0_), which examines the various ways academic historians have ducked into and out of the Ivory Tower over the past century or so. Basically, Arthur Schlessinger was the last historian to have any major policy pull (what you call \"perscriptive ... | [
"Bodily Kinaesthetic intelligence combined with Spatial intelligence. Sorry for the bland answer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What is the New World drink made from "some root" referred to by Montaigne in his essay On Cannibals?" | [
"Perhaps the root is manioc. The clue of the hundred leagues between them and the sea led me to believe it was somewhere like Panama or Costa Rica - somewhere where the mountains would hem people to the coast. Dr. Payson Sheets' work in Cerén, El Salvador, has shown that manioc actually is a much larger staple crop... | [
"The Romans had a few different contraceptions. Soranus believed that \"to smear the entrance to the uterus with olive oil or honey or sap from a cedar or balsam tree, alone or mixed with white lead\" would work. Pliny the Elder in his Natural History states, \"There is a third type of spider, called a hairy spider... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Does anyone know where I can track down some good resources to learn about the Anishinaabe aboriginal groups in Canada and the United States? | [
"You should check out [*Masters of Empire: Great Lakes Indians and the Making of America*](_URL_0_) by McDonnell. The book will serve as a great introduction to the Anishinaabeg, their influence on the history of North America, and current persistence. The bibliography alone is worth investigating and you can pilla... | [
"Just asked this in the other sticky, but maybe this is the better place for it: Does anyone have any good book recommendations about the Nigerian Civil War or about Biafra as a country?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Literature:"
} |
Watched Smokey and the Bandit. Was there actually a time in American history where blocker cars, caravans in defiance of the law, and groups of truckers could openly defy the law? | [
"In \"The Northern Forest\" (Dobbs and Ober, 1995), the authors describe a mass protest by residents of the Adirondack State Park in New York where they drove up the highway blocking all lanes, but going at the exact speed limit. This naturally caused quite a backup. Is this the sort of thing you are talking about?... | [
"It reduced the protesters to a bunch of chill kids just looking to have fun and get involved, rather than showing them as politically engaged and at times violent people trying to force change. It reduced the police from a paramilitary organization enforcing government rules which disproportionately affect certain... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Since South Carolina never ratified the 21st Amendment, are they technically still under prohibition? | [
"No. Once 3/4 of states ratify a constitutional amendment, it is the law of the land throughout the United States. Consult [Article V of the Constitution](_URL_0_) for more information."
] | [
"They can. Specifically, by amendment. Example: The 18th amendment outlawed alcohol. The 21st amendment reversed the 18th."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why is Thomas E. Dewey so lost to history and just a name on a newspaper? | [
"Stephen Douglas retains probably equivalent notoriety. Consider that his public memory is limited to debates against one of the wittiest US presidents, so holding his own was a big deal. Al Gore is still a relevant public figure, and his time as an \"also-ran\" was taken all the way to the Supreme COurt. Richard... | [
"Also to add: how did Jimmy Hoffa and *his* disappearance become a wide pop culture phenomenom? Many people have disappeared but Jimmy Hoffa's has been the reference to go to. Why?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Help getting 6th grader excited about Ancient Egypt | [
"[DK Books Egypt] (_URL_1_) [DK Books The Pyramid] (_URL_0_) These are really great illustrated books. I used to love these when I was that age."
] | [
"Hey, are you getting us to do your homework for you?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What would I find at the bottom of the channel at Normandy Beach? | [
"Any scrap metal or off shore beach obstacles that were visible at low tide were removed in July and August to fit rhino tusks to Sherman tanks. These tusks allowed Sherman tanks to cut right through the Hedgerows that were hindering the progress of the Allied armies in the early stages of the Normandy Campaign. A ... | [
"How about through that opening on the side of your head?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
This is mostly for an art historian, does anyone know what the very tiny figure is next to Venus in Botticelli's Birth of Venus? | [
"I'm not convinced that that's a human figure. Zooming at that level is introducing a lot of abstraction. It could just be a structure of the flower that happens to look vaguely human at that magnification. Vasari, in his Lives, says that this painting was done for the Medici, so it is possible that this is some s... | [
"Hi! I'm only an art history student but when I read your question, the first thing I thought of was this _URL_0_ drawing by daumier, called \"this year, venuses again...always venuses!\" From 1864. It's criticizing a popular trend in art salons at the time, where many of the submissions to the shows were paintings... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Anyone heard of Admiral Karpfanger and my great-grandpops Reinhold Walker - missing since 1938? | [
"I did some google-fu and found the [ship referenced on this wiki-list](_URL_2_). It pointed to two further sources. [_URL_0_](_URL_0_) which contains some information prior to German service, and the [Miramar Ship Index](_URL_1_) which has further information but requires a subscription. That list and [Wreck Site]... | [
"I'm not sure if IMDB is a reputable source, but according to it, [Henri Delannoy](_URL_0_), who played the Captain of the rocket, lived until 1976."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
So, China almost industrialized in the 14th Century according to Mokyr. Is this accepted by the history profession? | [
"According to some, China could have industrialised even earlier (13th century), during the Song dynasty. The Mongolian invasion prevented this."
] | [
"Because the Industrial Revolution happened in Europe. To continue with the Civ analogy, Europe went into the Industrial era while China languished in the Renaissance era for a long time. Why the Industrial Revolution didn't happen in China or some place other than Europe is a longstanding question with many theori... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why did Captain Cook name New South Wales as such? What geographical similarities, if any, did he take note of? | [
"It would appear to be named after Wales, not South Wales - in Cook's original journals - found here: _URL_0_ - he calls it simply New Wales: > I now once More hoisted English Colours, and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third took possession of the whole Eastern coast from the above latitude down to thi... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What sort of metaphors for creative inspiration do cultures without lightbulbs have? | [
"Plato's Ion is essentially all about creative inspiration. There are quite a few comparisons used, but his central argument is a metaphor. He says that like a magnet attracts iron rings and then imbues them with the power to attract other rings, so too a muse inspires the poet, who then inspires the rhapsode, who ... | [
"Probably because we aren't as used to recognizing the physical cues for age that they exhibit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Prior to Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" campaign, what did drug enforcement look like and how high of a priority was it for law enforcement at large? | [
"While we wait for a direct answer, you might be interested in these two knockout posts by /u/The_Alaskan: * [Marijuana was prohibited in 1937, yet Nixon is said to have started \"the War on Drugs\". What did Nixon do that wasn't already being done since 1937?](_URL_0_) - which argues for viewing the 1970s/80s \"wa... | [
"Prohibition failed due to cultural backlash. The ban eliminated an American staple. Alcohol was part of American daily life, where as marijuana and refined hard drugs such as opium were not. Simply put, families did not pass a roach when they came together for dinner, they enjoyed a pitcher of beer or a carafe of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Where's Glenn Miller? | [
"Unfortunately I can't give you the cite I want to, Dennis Spragg's *Glenn Miller Declassified*, because it hasn't been published yet. It should provide the definitive answer when it is finally published this fall. [Spragg](_URL_0_) however has made some selections publicly available. He has also given several talk... | [
"Kaiju Gojira Have you no cinema history? /s"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
1000 naked Rough Riders at the invasion of Cuba? When else have so many naked men been on the front line? | [
"Where on earth did you hear such a thing?"
] | [
"What? Europeans were slamming ass all over the world! North America/US was no exception"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Margaret of Anjou: Why? | [
"Is there a non-Wikipedia source for Anjou and Maine being handed over to France for the marriage?"
] | [
"Looks like Charles I of Great Britain to me."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Mountain Lions, Bears, and other scary fucking animals in Early American History. | [
"Animals haven't changed, they weren't more vicious back then or anything of that sort. There was also a much lower population density of humans back then, so the ratio of human-wild animal encounters resulting in an attack is likely stable, even if the absolute numbers may be higher now because there are more peop... | [
"What? Do you know how many Elephants and Rhinos we have left? Not many Wouldn't they just get poached in Oklahoma? Also, Oklahoma is nothing like their natural habitat, that would be awful for them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Reused American battlefields | [
"Yorktown was besieged by the French and Continental Army/Militias during the American revolution, and besieged by George McClellan's Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula campaign of 1862."
] | [
"It already meant a large quantity of material, when it was then used in the 1700s to describe a great quantity of sound. _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did the MI6 support far-right extremists during the Years of Lead in Italy? | [
"Hi there. I participated in [this discussion](_URL_0_) about Italian Politics in the 1970s which might answer some of your questions. There is also [this discussion](_URL_1_) about the alleged, and debunked, accusations of foreign participation in the \"Years of Lead,\" although they mostly focus on American inte... | [
"What do you want to hear more about? The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The Israel vs. Palestine situation? The Arab Spring? The recent attacks on US embassies?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is this insignia/pin? | [
"That's the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) of the 30th Infantry Division, active from 1917–18, 1940–45, and 1947–74 in the National Guards of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The \"OH\" shape of the insignia stands for the nickname of Andrew Jackson, \"Old Hickory\"; the \"XXX\" for 30. The i... | [
"What do you mean by the 'earliest breeds'?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why was the Forbidden City not targeted during the Cultural Revolution? | [
"It was protected by the premier Zhou Enlai, who sent troops to protect it. He was a critic of the cultural revolution, but managed to survive due to his political nous."
] | [
"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 post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Was there ever any sort of East-West divide in America? | [
"Certainly. [The Whiskey Rebellion](_URL_0_) was an armed uprising by Western farmers living on the frontier against what they perceived to be an unrepresentative government dominated by East Coast financiers. The War of 1812 also saw, in part, an East/West split. The Eastern states, particularly New England, whic... | [
"Just asked this in the other sticky, but maybe this is the better place for it: Does anyone have any good book recommendations about the Nigerian Civil War or about Biafra as a country?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Literature:"
} |
Where/when does the bucktoothed Chinese stereotype originate? | [
"I dont know the exact origin for certain but i can say that it began to be widely circulated around the 1900s as sort of a a fear tactic by the media of the time to capitalise on the fear of the Chinese immigrants by the working/middle class since they were taking jobs for cheaper wages than their European counter... | [
"How do you know that you don't sneeze in your sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What (if any) links have been disovered/researched between Native (North?) American peoples and Asian peoples (including Indian Subcontinental)? | [
"The long version can be found here, _URL_1_ The short version is yes, they do have a relation. The following image explains it pretty well and sucinctly _URL_0_"
] | [
"Syrians are literally [Caucasian](_URL_0_). Regarding skin tone, etc., consider the country's Northern geography compared to other Arab/Middle-Eastern countries."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Did the Russian Cold War Generals believe they could win in Europe after 1980? | [
"I'm not aware of any study that predicted an easy NATO victory in a European war against the Warsaw Pact. The US published numerous studies claiming that NATO could be defeated in such a war, most notably 'Soviet Military Power' which you can Google. Of course, such studies (when made public) always concluded th... | [
"The Chinese were equipped with Soviet made MiG-15 fighters. They outclassed everything that the UN could put into the air and it stayed that way largely until the introduction of the North American Sabre. While the Sabre closed the performance gap, it was by no means a superior aircraft. Source: Xiaoming Zhang, \"... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Are There Any Records Of A Society Accepting Themselves As Inferior Under Social Darwinism? | [
"Societies are complex and I don't know of one where such thinking was universally accepted within a whole community. However, during slavery, a genre of folktales actually appeared in Africa and in the Americas to explain the African enslavement and cultural subordination, what William Piersen (in Black Legacy) ca... | [
"Being Black Does Actually Have (Relatively Minor) Health Consequences, It's Just That They're Obviated By Modern Life. There's An Energy Cost To Have Extra Melanin, Even A Small One, So If You Don't Need It It Won't Be Selected For. Melanin Reduces Vitamin-D Uptake From The Sun If Sunlight Is Lower Than You're Ada... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
After watching Master and Commander, it's interesting to see many young boys serving on a ship in the 1800s. Was this really the case? | [
"Yes, absolutely. [I have written about this before](_URL_0_) — feel free to ask follow up questions here."
] | [
"Crap, if you'd asked this question a week ago I'd be able to answer better. I had just finished a book on sailors in the late 17th - early 18th C. I'm going from memory here and this era isn't my forte but... From what I remember sailors essentially were a separate society due to their long isolation from civiliza... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What exactly was going on in the American Colonies from 1781 to 1783? | [
"See [here](_URL_0_) for an answer I made earlier. It doesn't answer all of your points but it may be of use. EDIT: In an attempt to address a couple of other points that I am able to; there were no major military engagements in North America. But there were conflicts outwith between Britain, France, Spain and the ... | [
"Yes. Slavery in Rome was not tied to race/skin color like it was in the United States during the 1700-1800s"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Do any of you write for elementary through high-school textbooks? Are you ever "lobbied" or pressured? | [
"I wrote a number of articles for an atlas aimed at visually impaired kids (you guessed right - very heavy on background explanation). I got absolutely zero pushback on anything controversial."
] | [
"I would ask your teachers or advisers what \"political hours\" are. I've never heard of them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Which books would you recommend about the Thirty Years' War? | [
"You probably can't go far wrong with Peter Wilson's *Europe's Tragedy*. It's a solid one-volume introduction to the conflict, providing an overview of the course of the war, its many actors and various factors. The problem of course is in the word 'comprehensive'. Wilson's is not a small book but it still can only... | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Professional Historians! How did you get your start? | [
"Many local history museums and historical societies have at least some employment opportunities. I have known people with only a BA who managed to work themselves into something. It isn't usually a career, but it is experience and some sort of minimal paycheck. You'll need an advanced degree for a career, but I wo... | [
"Ask yourself a question. \"How did you get here?\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How did George Mallory’s body become decapitated, as well as why did he have ‘holes’ in his body that looked like the inside of him was hollow? | [
"My understanding from watching the little bit of available footage shot by the men who discovered his body is that Mallory's head was buried under the loose shale. You see the same thing with one of his hands/arms in the footage. The researchers have to scrape loose rock away before they can investigate. In the pi... | [
"Many of those bones/skeletons have been buried for thousands of years. That is a lot of time for scavengers and changing conditions to disturb the body. Alternatively maybe the animal in question was killed and butchered, in which case not all the body parts were necessarily buried in the same time at the same pla... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is Guy Fawkes the only commonly known member of the Gunpowder Plot? | [
"I'm certainly on expert on this topic at all but I do remember watching snippets of Channel 5's *The Last Days of Guy Fawkes* when it aired (you can watch it [here](_URL_0_)) from what I remember of it, it walks the audience through Fawkes's first meeting with Catesby & the other plotters in the Duck & Drake Pub o... | [
"One man's freedom fighter, is another man's terrorist."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the currently accepted cause for the Doom of Valyria? | [
"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... | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In Enemy at the Gates, the soviet soldiers are given rifles every 2 people. Is this historically accurate or was this made up? | [
"Not to discourage further discussion, but you might be interested in [this previous answer to a similar question](_URL_0_) by u/Georgy_K_Zhukov."
] | [
"It depends on your level of training. For a novice it can be very hard and depend almost completely on luck depending on what kind of gun you are using. To a trained army / police officer, it can still be challenging, but you shouldn't have a hard time hitting a stationary target. Moving targets can be very hard ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
[Meta] Is it possible to archive the FAQ answers so that they can't be deleted? | [
"Deleting your account doesn't delete any posts ([it says so if you try to do it](_URL_0_)), so those comments must have been deleted individually. Reddit lets you do that regardless of how old the comment is (I just tested it out on one of my comments in an archived thread) and there's nothing we can do to get aro... | [
"I'm marking this post as official , It's one of few recent posts about this topic that isn't loaded and it clearly asks about the recent events. As an official thread we'll be pointing all new questions about this specific topic here, and it'll show up on the top of the subreddit. Mods will be heavily moderating t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How likely was the survival of men who were first to climb the siege tower? | [
"Of course the answer to this depends on the circumstances. I'm intimately familiar with the sieges of Alexander the Great and while the survival rate of the first men up the ladders is not recorded, what is recorded is that Alexander was sometimes one of the first men up the ladders and over the walls. He was ofte... | [
"Did sailors generally know the name of the ships they're fighting?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Were medieval armor displays only for show, or were they battle-ready suits? Did any individual armor displays have any sort of history behind them? | [
"Can you clarify what you mean by an 'armor display'?"
] | [
"How many women do you think were going to war and wearing armour? War was almost entirely a masculine endeavor and, while there are a few examples of female warriors and commanders, the further we get into the High and Late Middle Ages, the fewer women we see in combat (outside of rebellions and the defense of the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was computer science curriculum like in the 1970's? | [
"/u/Tass237 has it right about EE majors being the ones who took Computer Science. I had friends in the early to mid 70s who were taking programming and helped me with a project. In 1974 I did a computer analysis of Upper Paleolithic rock art. I had to borrow my advisor's computer account number; only faculty had t... | [
"Because American schools are designed to suit the work schedules of kids who worked in steel mills back in the late 1800s and early 1900s."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Education:"
} |
America seems to be fixated on the advances of a rising China. Did the British Empire feel the same imperial angst towards the United States at the turn of the Century? | [
"On a side note, there was the \"Invasion Genre\" literature of the 19th century, which pitted a helpless Britain against an uber-powerful France or Germany. This indicates that the British were much more concerned with continental Europe than the Americas. One example from another website: The Battle of Dorking ... | [
"Hiroshima was part of World War 2. After the war ended, Japan surrendered unconditionally, and the US basically came in and completely remade the Japanese state. This laid a new foundation for Japan's extraordinary growth through most of the rest of the 20th Century, and basically reset ties between the two countr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
At what point did the British accept that the United States was an independent, sovereign nation? [Context and additional questions inside] | [
"It was one of the conditions of the [Treaty of Paris](_URL_0_) in 1783, the treaty which ended the Revolutionary War."
] | [
"You will probably get a lot of differing answers, but at the end of the day it all depends on how you define \"Empire\" and if you include informal Imperialism in this definition. If you are looking for formal Imperialism, it gets a bit easier: The USA was an Empire after the Spanish-American War of 1898, when it ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Was there private property in Marxist Russia or China? | [
"Perhaps you could clarify a bit? There was always private property in the sense of clothing, money, personal effects, etc -- even on the communal farms(kolkozes) during the Stalinist era. In both Russia and China, there were limits on private property that varied over time, but neither succeeded in eradicating it ... | [
"I sincerely doubt there's much difference in personal liberties between America and Western Europe."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What was the difference of Levee en Masse from traditional conscription? | [
"> However, the reason why states turned away from conscription to professional army was to be more efficient on the battlefield. Can you source this claim? It's my understanding that mass conscription is mostly a phenomenon of the 19th-20th centuries. I know that the late Romans occasionally resorted to conscripti... | [
"Just a follow-up question to the original question - what about the reverse. What was Napoleon's view of the United States?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
[Meta] Follow-up questions on unanswered posts | [
"I completely disagree. As /u/shadowbreakr stated follow up questions can be used to a poorly worded question or an overly broad question. It can also help bring in answers that only partially answer the original question that would not have otherwise been posted in the thread. Since you asked for examples here is ... | [
"This is not to discourage new answers, but you may want to check out our [FAQ](_URL_2_) on the topic of this book."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Did people in different periods refer to that period of time in the same way as we do now? | [
"As with any question, the answer will be different depending on the period and respective title. But it's definitely not unheard of for us to still use the same title for a period as those in the period itself. As one example, we call the 20s the Jazz Age, a phrase used as early as 1922 in the title of F. Scott Fi... | [
"Common methods of reference would be how many years into the reign of the current ruler, or years past some significant event known to their intended audience."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What was the 1700's concept of the future? | [
"Despite the title, this earlier answer of mine talks about 18th century views of the future in the last half/third/ish! * [Before around 1700, where there any books or plays with a definite setting in the future? How did they present future society, and what where their predictions?](_URL_1_) You can read all of L... | [
"The main reason is because of the religious background of the United States."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What is the script in this Qing dynasty imperial edict? | [
"It's [Manchu alphabet](_URL_0_). Since the Qing were a Manchurian dynasty, it makes sense for them to use Manchu alphabet for imperial edicts."
] | [
"Follow up question: Is there a name or category name for non censored japanese porn?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How long have humans been seafaring? | [
"/r/askscience would be a good place to crosspost this. Humans traveled to Australia around 50,000 years ago. That's incontrovertible evidence that humans had seafaring boats by at least that time. In 2010, human artifacts were discovered on Crete and dated to around 130,000 BC, which really pushes back the launch... | [
"I think you have a misconception of how niches work. But humans have been apex predators as long as we've been humans."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
This small bronze was sent to me from England, provenance and authenticity unknown. Can you help me translate the Latin inscription? | [
"This is IG IX 1^2 , 4, 1750, dated to the late 4th/early third century BC. It was found in the 1874/1875 excavations at Dodona. How did you come by this? It *should* be in the National Museum in Athens (E.M. 803), so I guess this is a replica. Translated: > Hail, God! O Zeus, who takes care for Dodona, this gift... | [
"I enjoy this kind of detective work a great deal, however, if you could provide a little more information it would make things a great deal easier. Perhaps you could provide a clearer picture of the text around the rim and some additional information on which region we're talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What year was it when people started using the current dating system? | [
"In short, many different dating systems were used before the Anno Domini system was adopted. Common systems included a king's regnal years, the consuls of Rome (until the office fell into disuse), or the \"Year of the Martyrs\" dating from the ascension of Diocletian, a significant persecutor of Christians. This c... | [
"If I recall correctly, they did decide to convert to the metric system a good number of years ago. so the obvious answer would be any other way then that."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
American Historians-- What are some good reads regarding Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton's conflicting ideas of who should govern? | [
"[William Chrystal](_URL_0_) has made it his late-in-life calling to advance the case of Alexander Hamilton. He maintains that we know so little of Hamilton's legacy as a founding father because he died early and Jefferson and his followers had control of shaping the perception of that early period (and Hamilton, w... | [
"First, it's important to realize these ideas of religious freedom, personal liberty etc.. came from various English, Scottish and French philosophers. This era was known as the Enlightenment in European society. The majority, if not all, of the Founding Fathers in America knew of the ideologies and wished to incor... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Can anyone tell me anything about the history of traveling theaters like the one in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'? | [
"Actors are known as thespians for we are those who follow Thespis. And Thespis travelled with a cart. Very little is known of Thespis of Icara. Most of what we *do* know comes to us from Aristotle. According to \"Poetics\", Thespis lived some time in the 6th Century BCE and was the first person to represent a char... | [
"...Tell us more about the New England vampire scare. Where and when?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How did the border work in the Roman Empire? Were there customs and immigration like today? How did it differ from the waring regions to the trading regions? | [
"The Roman Empire lasted 1400-odd years, bordered hundreds of states (and as many non-state entities), and it often re-evaluated how it interacted with neighboring states on a regular basis. Sometimes the Romans built walls (like in Britain), sometimes they built a chain of forts behind a river (like in Germania), ... | [
"Britain was occupied by Rome from 43 AD to 410 AD, which is shorter than most other areas. During that time, the island was never fully occupied, and they always lived besides the Anglo-Saxons in Scotland. The geographic isolation also plays an important role. On the main land, Spain, France and Italy may have be... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
In "The Baroque Cycle," Neal Stephenson strongly implies, if not flat out says, that Nicolas Fatio and Isaac Newton had a sexual relationship as well as professional one. Is there any historical evidence to back this up? | [
"I work a lot on Newton, although it must be confessed that I work in Intellectual History, so I don't really think much about people's lives, instead I think about their ideas. That being said, I've never heard anybody seriously suggest that Newton and Fatio's relationship was sexual. It is often remarked that New... | [
"Follow-up question: If it is purely a modern idea, where did this idea come from, and how much validity is there to it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Where did the idea of the U.S. in WW2 having immensely inferior technology and skill come from and why is it so prevalent today? | [
"I've literally never heard that view expressed. Can you give us an example of that view being supported?"
] | [
"Honestly it comes down to historical ignorance. Many people in America only know very recent history. In World War 2 France was overwhelmed by the German onslaught and surrendered very quickly. Allied troops then had to invade Europe and liberate France so it be became sort of a joke that the French were weak mili... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What exactly happens when a religion collapses? | [
"The short answer is \"religious syncretism.\" They don't outright disappear as much as they evolve into something else and blend with other ideas and cultures. Even doomsday cults that were proven wrong just changed their beliefs to better suit the reality that the world has not ended."
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Are there shipwrecks full of loot in the Mediterranean Sea? | [
"People do [try and salvage ](_URL_10_) shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. There is an abnormally high number of potentially valuable sunken ships in that area, given its long history of being sailed. In the context of the Greek shores, described above, government regulations have banned salvaging activity. This crea... | [
"Probably not worth all of the booby traps, but there are Mayan (and other) ruins in the jungles of Central and South America that haven't been excavated. Surely there are others around the world that have been forgotten and lost."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
In the book of Genesis, there are repeated instances of a character and his wife going to a strange place and claiming "she is my sister" so that he would not be killed for her sake. What is the significance of this? Was this a common concern for travelers around this time? | [
"[This](_URL_3_) is a bible study page. I'm also looking at my copy and it seems like the general consensus is that if the wives were pretty, the men would be killed in order to then 'have' the wives."
] | [
"According to Judaism and Christianity, God told Abraham to circumcise himself and his entire household to differentiate them from the surrounding peoples. Everyone else was giving you historical reasons, I thought I'd give you the religious one."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Need help identifying German WWII bring backs | [
"Ok. First picture : 1. The one on your fingertips : [Heeresflakabzeiche](_URL_0_) : Awarded for soldiers being part of a Flak (Anti-Aircraft-Cannon) unit that shot down 5 or more allied planes. 2. The one below it saying \"D.D.A.C.\" : The DDAC was a German automobile club during the time (it's successor is the AD... | [
"It is a little difficult to tell from the one with a partially submerged anchor on it because the picture is a close up, but I believe this is a Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces field cap. These were elite units, the equivalent of our marines, and some were also converted to paratroopers. If the khaki color i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, a character mislabels a union army because of dust on their uniform making him believe they are confederates. Did this ever happen in real life? | [
"Misidentification wasn't uncommon, especially during the early days of the war when many units had different-colored uniforms. Notably, during the First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861), one of the turning points came when the 33rd Virginia (Confederate) regiment was mistaken for a Union unit. They were able to get ... | [
"Because there were a *lot* of casualties in the Civil War. It remains the bloodiest war in American history, as many Americans were killed in the Civil War as in every other American war put together. When more people are being shot, you should expect more \"miracle\" stories. It's just statistics."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What was Scar's real name before he got his scar? | [
"According to the book \"A Tale of Two Brothers,\" Scar's original name is Taka."
] | [
"The mandala effect is a phenomena that occurs when something incorrect becomes accepted as fact by the public, even though what's accepted isn't true. Examples being \"The Berenstien Bears\" is actually \"The Berenstain Bears\", The monopoly guy having a monocle (he doesn't), and the fact that Darth Vaders famous ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What is the earliest recorded example of "modern" shred guitar? | [
"The earliest I could find was [this](_URL_0_) video of The Who from 1965, where Townshend starts shredding around the 6:30 mark. There were elements of shredding in electric blues dating back to the 40's, or even acoustic blues back to the 20's, but this is the earliest video I know about putting everything togeth... | [
"What color is the skin of most of the people who make and utilize those drawings? Theres your answer"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Which historians, authors or texts should I consult if I am interested in the details of the 1871 Paris Commune? | [
"I think Robert Tombs is the modern authority on the subject. His book, *The Paris Commune, 1871* is very well regarded, and very slim and easy to get through."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Did the military dictatorship in Spain improve or hinder Spanish club football? | [
"Not an answer to your question, but one thing Franco **did** do was to force several clubs to change their names. Many Spanish clubs had English elements in their full names; Franco made them alter them, usually to their Spanish equivalents. Some examples: * Athletic Bilbao became Atlético Bilbao * Foot-Ball Club ... | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What are some great resources for learning about WW2? | [
"Hi there! Is there something particular you'd like to learn about or just in general? The first advice I'd give you is this: Skip the documentaries, skip the movies and skip the podcasts. *Books* is where the real knowledge can be found and we've got [an excellent book list](_URL_0_) which should cover some areas ... | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
[ref. request] The history of Europe for people who don't know nothing about nowhere | [
"Read the Davies. It's a lot of fun...I've read it three times"
] | [
"Because it's our own history. I would assume people in other random countries don't care much about the history of American slavery."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Are there significant skeletal differences between people of the Adena culture and the Hopewell culture | [
"Hi, there's an AMA going on right now on the Hopewell culture(_URL_0_)-you may have better luck asking in the AMA thread."
] | [
"It would be extremely difficult. Styles vary so much that virtually any style may be found in a different location at a different time. For example the large finely flaked bifaces of the Solutrean period (20-15 kya) in what is now western Europe could very easily be lost among Cascade Period (6-9 kya) bifaces in t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Is eating green on St. Patrick's Day a 'dark' history, or related to the older 'green' traditions? | [
"Having read the article, I see the author's intent a little differently. It seems that the intent is to point out the irony that green-colored food (and drink!) represents a celebration among the American Irish, while during the famine times, there were instances of people having died with green mouths, since they... | [
"Because the Lent restrictions on drinking alcohol were historically lifted on March 17 in Ireland. It's a Catholic holiday, they were a Catholic country. So it became the day during Lent that you could drink."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I just became a political science/history double major. What are the biggest problems/concerns you've had with political scientists attempting to tackle historical issues? | [
"IME, the biggest difference between the two disciplines is that most Pol. Sci. folks seek models for historical behavior. There are myriad theories (none of which I'm versed in) that guide the political scientist's research. Data are then accumulated and a model is either proposed or fitted to by the researcher. M... | [
"Women's studies is a \"interdisciplinary\" study, meaning it doesn't fall nicely into one category. Yes, women's studies involves a lot of sociology, but they also use methodology from psychology, anthropology, history, psychology and philosophy. And a lot of feminists still like to specialize so will be in one of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How was Jimi Hendrix received in the American South? How was his death perceived? | [
"I can't tell you much about after he found fame, but before he was famous he was prominent in Tennesse. Hendrix was a fan of the R and B scene around Clarksville. It's there he saw a local musician playing guitar with his teeth and picked up that trick. He eventually moved to Jefferson Street in Nashville which wa... | [
"Not only did they incorporate styles of R & B and rock 'n' roll which were popular with the majority of the youth. Further, their manager was one of the first to really create commercialized them as a brand. In a sense, they hit the perfect style at the perfect time with the proper management."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
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