query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What was life like in the Swedish city of Malmo during World War 2? | [
"Malmö was hit by three bombs on October 3, 1940. At the time it was unknown which nation had launched the attack. The Magazine \"Sydsvenska Dagbladet\" made the conclusion that it was Allied, based on flyers containing \"Anti-german text in English\". Meanwhile, Försvarsstabens luftförsvarsavdeling (Air Defence de... | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Ray Harris, creator of the History of World War II podcast is doing an IAMA thread in /r/History. Please come on by and ask him questions! | [
"I don't understand why these posts get downvoted so much. OP got permission to post these announcements from the mods and he just wants to get the word out."
] | [
"Hey there! Just wanted to say--if you don't get any responses, this would be a good question to ask in our Friday Free-for-All thread on...Friday. You might also see if /r/IndianCountry has an FAQ or earlier posts that could be a useful guide. And good luck with your writing! :)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In WW1, why did the British have a class of Monitors called the Marshal Ney-class? | [
"Indeed. They also had monitors named after famous British commanders, like HMS Roberts and HMS Abercrombie, of the \"Abercrombie\" class, and the larger (in number) \"Lord Clive\" class. So I'm inclined to agree with your suggestion that they were named as compliments to Britain's ally at the time."
] | [
"According to *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946* the Soviet Navy had 3 aged battleships, 7 cruisers 59 destroyer-leaders and squadron-destroyers 218 submarines, 269 torpedo boats, 22 patrol vessels, 88 minesweepers, 77 submarine-hunters, And a few other miscellaneous boats. I'm not sure about the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
When and why did people start drinking water with gas? | [
"(for the Americans: by \"water with gas\" I believe OP means what we'd call \"fizzy water\" \"soda water\" or \"carbonated water.\" I know my family found this phrasing confusing on a trip to Europe.)"
] | [
"Why do some parts of the world call gasoline petrol?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What are some big events in history that were directly caused by someone being drunk? | [
"I'm sorry, but we don't allow these trivia type questions. \"Drunk people\" could possibly make for a good Tuesday Trivia feature, however, so perhaps get in touch with /u/caffarelli about that, as she runs it."
] | [
"They're not, they're just being more widely publicized now."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Say I was an African American Tourist visiting South Africa during Apartheid. Would I still be treated poorly like other blacks or would I pass just fine as a tourist? | [
"Followup would you be even granted a visa? If so could you visit sun city?"
] | [
"It's too broad. Under that you could say I'm a European-American, but to be honest I don't really see myself as European at all despite my ancestry. I just wish we didn't classify race at all and just went by nationality. If you are a US citizen, you are an American. If you are an Australian citizen, you are Austr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Posted this a few days ago and got no response. How long has the illegal drug trade been a thing? How long has it existed in its current form? | [
"It could be because your question is too vague. Are you talking about here in America? in the entire world? and what drugs? this could be anything from China banning opium because the British empire was using it to drain their economy and decimate their population, to America instituting smoked opium bans in the l... | [
"Because most people who do not live in a cave realized decades ago that this has been going on. Very few people and/ or countries are that naive, not to know that this is going on in every country in the world"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Did any ancient civilizations, such as classic Rome, have parallels or equivalents to modern gyms where one could go to weight lift...or participate in any activities that specifically increase muscle mass (not endurance)? | [
"Hey there! You might be interested in [this section of our FAQ](_URL_0_) that has a good number of questions on the topic :)"
] | [
"Power lifters focus on functional movements- the actual motions used to lift, push, and pull heavy items- to maximize the performance of the relevant muscles. Body builders focus on maximizing the size/appearance of many muscles that are superficially visible, but may not be relevant to the functional motion of li... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
"Europe was enjoying a period of peace and prosperity in 1914" a BBC period drama about the time directly before world war 1 flashed that on screen during it's opening credits, ...Is it true? | [
"As a generalization, it's pretty good. In 1914, there had been no GENERAL war of the Great Powers since 1815: almost a century. There had been no war of clear Great Powers IN EUROPE since 1871: almost 50 years. The wars that had taken place had been between marginal powers or outside of Europe: Spanish-American W... | [
"My all time favourite documentary is [The World at War](_URL_0_). Made by the BBC in the early 70's, they weave a narrative through the second world war, and then actually interview people who were there - on both sides! Interviewing Russians while in the middle of the cold war was so very cool of them! It's like ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why didn't the UK become federal? | [
"It's not actually unitary, it's devolutionary. Not sure how to cite my constitutional law professors here but a major point of the course was that any countries start federally and centralize, while others start unitarily and decentralize. When the decentralization is asymmetrical - that is, Scotland has more powe... | [
"Please help me understand why this vote is occurring in the first place? Why would the Scottish people want to separate from the UK?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What do we know about how people with severe myopia (near-sightedness) lived their lives and were treated by society before the invention of corrective lenses? | [
"[There was a similar question 3 years ago](_URL_0_) made by u/ARedHouseOverYonder"
] | [
"Most people wear glasses so they can read. In the past, reading was less important, so people were less impacted by poor vision. Also, there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that reading contributes to needing glasses."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Have any world governments or organizations (UN, specifically) had any formal plans/instructions in the event of aliens openly visiting earth? | [
"At the 1985 peace summit in Geneva, Ronald Reagan asked Mikhail Gorbachev for Soviet support, in case there was an imminent threat of an alien invasion from outer space. Gorbachev was taken aback by this suggestion and politely changed the subject. General Colin Powell, who at the time was the Deputy National ... | [
"FEMA stands for Federal Emergency Management Agency. They do things like help rescue people in a natural disaster and organize responses to major (perhaps national) hazards or threats to people's safety. Some conspiracy theorists believe that FEMA has been setting up what amounts to concentration camps across the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Most areas of mathematics (algebra, geometry, calculus, etc) have ancient origins or similarities to ancient concepts. What about statistics? | [
"Probability theory is generally seen to have its origins in the works of Pascal and Fermat in 17th century France. A famous early example is the question of how to divide the stakes from a game of chance interrupted in the middle. From [Wikipedia](_URL_1_): > The problem concerns a game of chance with two players ... | [
"As a mathematician I get this question a lot. One can say that there are two parts of mathematics. The first is applied mathematics, which is revolutionizing fields from biology to computer science to finance to social work. The second is pure mathematics, or the development of mathematical structure, theory, and ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Found this Flag while cleaning out my grandparents house. Can someone please verify or know what it says? What do I do with this? | [
"there was a thread a while back about someone trying to return a flag like this to the family of the soldier. it had a link to an organization that helps facilitate this. here is the thread: [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How were inmates at Debtor's Prisons expected to pay off the debt as well as being charged for their room and food whilst in prison? | [
"The goal of a debtor's prison isn't necessarily to get the debtor to pay off the debt himself, but rather to make him so miserable that his friends and family pay it for him (or at least send money to pay for food and other necessities while the debtor is imprisoned)."
] | [
"It's not like being sentenced to life in prison means you're legally dead. The prisoner could just give/transfer the funds to whomever he chose. Or, they'll keep it for themselves in order to pay lawyers for appeals and the hope of someday getting parole."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Is there any notable examples of pornography in Islamic art and literature? | [
"As a general rule, Islamic art tends to shy away from depicting any human form at all due to their intense aversion to anything that might even possibly become idolatry. This is why you often see their artwork consisting of geometric patterns or flora. So to find something that is even close to pornography is incr... | [
"I'm new to this, are we allowed to discuss the intent or narrative of the author and the context in which this was written even if it's within the last 20 years?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Literature:"
} |
New Dan Carlin podcast, question about Russian and French ties. | [
"This question is answered in Dan Carlin's podcast. He explains that France and Germany knew that war was inevitable and both wanted Russia to be their ally. Otto Von Bismarck was successful in allying the new German Empire with Russia, but when he was out of office, Kaiser Wilhelm did not work to keep this allianc... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
When did the use begin of such stylized symbols as the arrow (→) and heart (♡)? | [
"I don't know about the arrow, but I heard that the heart symbol as a symbol of love originates in [silphium](_URL_0_), whose seeds had the exact same shape."
] | [
"It's probably derived from ceasura, a notation on music and poetry to pause. It's represented by double bars (||)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Did people in the stone age have good posture? | [
"You may want to ask over at /r/askanthropology since this is technically pre-history."
] | [
"Because our ancestors used to have claws there."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did Grigory Potemkin really present fake villages to feign progress and impress his temptress, empress Catherine II of Russia? | [
"[The straight dope](_URL_2_) says there's no evidence, but we know they definitely exist today. In the [Peoples' Republic of China](_URL_0_). Faking good work to the others isn't unique to any period of time. [Kijong-Dong in the DPRK was built for similar purposes](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"Allow me to introduce you to Zoë Porphyrogenita. Zoë was married to Byzantine emperor Romanos III in 1028. Zoë developed a crush on an advisor of her husband by the name of Michael. Romanos didn't pay much attention to her, and he gave her very little spending money. Zoë began an affair with Michael, and she even ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Suetonius reported that Augustus had a height of "five and three-quarters feet." Are these the same feet we use today? | [
"The Roman foot was slightly smaller than the modern foot, at 11.65 modern inches."
] | [
"I don't know anything about ship to ship comparisons, but I can help with the matter of cubits. A cubit is an archaic measurement roughly equal to the length of a man's forearm. There have been a number of \"standardized\" cubit rods to survive until modern times, many of them Egyptian. In 1865, A German archeolog... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why did aspic become so popular in the 1950's, only to be viewed as "disgusting" by so many people today? | [
"Hmm, did somebody say \"jello salad\"? Not discouraging anyone else from weighing in -- especially on the decline in popularity -- but you might be interested in a few earlier responses on this subject * /u/Cenodoxus in [There are a number of articles on the internet where people make disgusting recipes from the 1... | [
"Chewing tobacco and dipping tobacco were much more common place BC (before cigarettes). So much so that the Supreme Court even had (still has but are used as waste baskets) spitoons. Spitting fell out of favor in the late 1800's/early 1900's as spitting began to be associated with spreading disease."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
This is more of a meta question but where do most of you find your sources? | [
"If you have access to it, I use JSTOR very often when I look for publications. I also use google scholars, but I might be using it wrong because I have a hard time getting interesting papers out of it. What I also do is read bibliographies at the end of (good) general history books related to the subject that int... | [
"Before I write stuff for this, can you maybe give a bit of background on how much you know about atomic orbitals themselves?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Since 1945 how many governments has the USA attempted to overthrow? | [
"Hello everyone! This is just a reminder about our rules. This question came up recently, and although there is nothing wrong with asking about covert (and overt!) attempts by the United States to destabilize and overthrow foreign governments during the Cold War era, we had no choice but to eventually remove the p... | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Do we have any idea how many bullets/shells were fired during WWI for each nation? | [
"I'm afraid your number is off by a few orders of magnitude but it does refer to shells. According to this article, for instance, the British army alone had fired over 170 *million* artillery shells by the end of the war. _URL_0_"
] | [
"I feel like this is a question that should be answered by a panel like this. a popular question on this subreddit is why, on the on-set of WWII, America was the only country with a semi-automatic rifle while everyone else were using bolt-action rifles. Is this an accurate depiction of the arsenals of the different... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What were the differences between Christopher Columbus' expedition and Leif Erikson's expedition that allowed Columbus to set up trade routes and colonies, but not Erikson? | [
"The Vikings did set up a few short term colonies for resource exploitation however. It is thought that the reason they did not set up large permanent colonies was due to hostile relations with the natives, whom the vikings were far too few in number to subdue like the Spanish did later."
] | [
"Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer (working for Spain) that \"discovered\" the Americas (or more accurately, the Bahamas) while trying to reach India. Subsequent discoveries and settlements were often named for him."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Venezuela's course of modern history from post-WW2 to coup d'état attempts in 1992 | [
"There's a good documentary called Tiempos de Dictadura that's about life under the Marcos Perez Jimenes regime."
] | [
"Completely different countries in language and culture. Considering the massacre of around 17,000 resident Haitians by the Dominican Republic's dictator Trujillo in 1937, and the lunacy of the Papa Doc Duvalier regime of the 1950's-70's, it is surprising they have not been at war, let alone discussing unification.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How common was purposeful exercise for women last couple hundred years? | [
"I know this doesn't answer your question, but Spartan women would go jogging for exercise to stay thin. It was expected of them to keep fit and they would encourage this by having the women dance naked in front of the men in public. They didn't want to be ridiculed for being heavy, so it was motivation for them to... | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Gentrification:"
} |
Can anyone recommend a good, English translation of Herodutus's The History? | [
"[This](_URL_0_) edition has been the preference in my Classics department. I haven't used any other translation enough to tell you how the actual text compares (and from what I've seen it's just as good or better); what really makes it stand out is its annotations. You could teach an entire history course just fro... | [
"On this topic, how accurate is the description of life at the front, in \"All Quiet on the Western Front\"?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why were Luftwaffe pilots in WWII required(?) to retrieve the clock from their aircraft if they crash landed? | [
"Is there any context you can provide? The clock piece for the ME109 was not just made for aircraft, so taking it provided Steinhoff with a time piece which may have been useful after being shot down and also a memento of his aircraft. Much more so than say an altimeter."
] | [
"it was not extremely common but not usual for some planes to have a [gun camera](_URL_0_). The camera is triggered to start recording when the pilot pulls the trigger and fires planes guns and stays recording for a short period of time. This footage is used to review the missions and to help train new pilots and o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Approximately how long would Homer’s Odyssey and/or Iliad have taken to perform from start to finish? | [
"As a play/performed story, or how much time passes in the story?"
] | [
"English Lit Majors. The older authors tend to get built up so much by academics as to be unassailable to them, in a sort of endless cycle. I'm not saying that some of the classics aren't great, but their status as classics also artificially inflates their value. Especially when educators insist on having students... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
In ancient Rome, how were mathematical symbols written? | [
"Hi, Roman mathematics and engineering are a fairly popular subjects in this sub, so while you're waiting for direct responses, you may find these earlier threads interesting: * [What mathematical symbols (ie + and -) were used in the Roman Republic and Empire? Did they change?](_URL_1_) featuring /u/kohatsootsich ... | [
"The symbols are for Mars and Venus respectively. Mars was the Roman god of war. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, sex, and beauty. The symbols also appear in alchemy as iron and copper. Due to the origin of the symbols, I'm going to assume their first use was in ancient Rome."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
I've heard the Space Race was more about demonstrating ICBM technology than actual exploration and scientific advancement. How true is this? | [
"Frankly you've got it backward - ICBM's (technically the rocket stages of them) were use in both the Mercury (Redstone and Atlas) and Gemini (Titan II) programs. These were based on ICBM's that were already operational. Their ability as ICBM's had already been demonstrated by their test firings. The Saturn series ... | [
"Conceptually we might go to the moon to mine helium-3 for use in nuclear fusion reactors if we develop technology which can use it. Otherwise there doesn't seem to be much reason to go there, at least right now. The US space program was a way of competing against the USSR without actually going to war, but showing... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
This week's theme: Material Culture | [
"Material culture is the study of stuff (material) in history. Stuff - the objects, artifacts, tools and artistic creations of people. It is the study of how stuff is used and what it means to people in history, and the impact of stuff on history. It is the study of how stuff embodies the culture that created it - ... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
A book I am reading claims Romans had the same word, *honestas*, for both moral excellence and reputation, and did not distinguish between the two. Is that correct? | [
"I'd have put the matter slightly differently. The word can have either meaning, but context is going to color it in any given sentence. Or the ambiguity can be deliberate, a matter of the author's personal style. That turns up in Latin more than one might think for being such a lapidary language. Philosophy is not... | [
"At the very least 380 BC since that this is one of the major topics discussed in the first parts of Plato's Republic. It is hard think of a Western period where it was not accepted. What else would be the point of rulership? Even when people believed in divine rights, they believed God told kings to rule the peopl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
In a centrally planned economy such as the Soviet Union, who does the planning? | [
"What the others said, also: - Soviet planners often took the prices from the Wall Street Journal - Behind formal plannig, there was basically an informal market of favors"
] | [
"Capitalism: a countries trade and industry are privately controlled Socialism: a countries trade and industry are controlled by the community as a whole Communism: a countries trade and industry are publicly owned and there is no class system leading to equal profit for all"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can you help me identify this very old coin? | [
"I think you will get more help from /r/ancientcoins, or /r/coins"
] | [
"I dont exactly know what your talking about do you have a photo of a reference of this ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
In the Television series "Forged in Fire", people that have been blacksmiths for years seem to have trouble making their weapons without glaring defects in them. Was this the case during different ages in history as well? Could the average weapon in any given time period also have glaring defects? | [
"Did you know Reddit has a sub for blacksmiths? If you don't get a satisfactory answer here, you might want to ask your questions at r/blacksmithing. The folks there may not be able to give historical sources, but they may be able to explain more about how the process works."
] | [
"Other jobs. A skilled blacksmith is probably a very valuable worker in many other professions. Since blacksmiths would have a very advanced knowledge of metals and toolmaking, factories would probably be very interested in hiring them. Another point is that jobs don't die immediately. When industrial machines are ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Laszlo Montgomery, creator of The China History Podcast. Please come by r/History and Ask him Anything! | [
"In case you are wondering. This is already approved to be posted by the mods. We post our AMA's there all there time."
] | [
"Stuff You Missed In History Class Also, /r/AskHistorians has their own podcast. Check it out."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Taiping Rebellion Books? | [
"*Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom* by Stephen R. Platt and *What Remains* by Tobie Meyer-Fong are two of the more prominent current works; the latter contains lots of quotes from primary sources. Also check out the primary sources in *Sources of the Chinese Tradition*, and though it's a little bit older than the fir... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Thursday Reading & Research | June 14, 2018 | [
"Current research is in the way humour is used in early modern writing, especially as the flair suggests, black humour. I've been finding Erin Sullivan's 'Beyond Melancholy: Sadness and Selfhood in Renaissance England' a really interesting read to provide background on the other side of humour - sadness - but there... | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was the daily salt intake of the average Middle age person? | [
"Not a history answer. Did the source say 40 to 70 gr? That could be grains, not grams, and is the equivalent of 2.5 to 4.5 g, which makes a lot more sense."
] | [
"Follow up question, was life insurance a common policy to have in an American home at this point in time?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
There's a huge variety of edible tubers in the Andes. Why are the potatoes we know the only ones that really spread out from there? | [
"Not all tubers are easily mass produced. The Andes have a diverse speciation due to complex evolutionary relationships based on steeped clines caused by altitudinal changes. Cassava is another important tuber, that is just not as known in America and Europe but certainly important throughout much of Latin America.... | [
"By growing crops that were native to the area. They didn't eat stuff that would grow well in the fields of Nebraska. For example, the corn that ancient Central American people grew would generally not be recognized as corn by people in industrialized countries today except in a vague sense."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Online Historical Resources and the Modern Historical Method: A Brief Questionnaire to assist me with a .edu page for history majors. | [
"Are you a librarian or other such library type? Because it sounds like you're making a [LibGuide](_URL_0_), which I've made a few of in my days in the trenches. \"History majors\" might not be the best way to target this, because a shiny faced freshman has very different information needs than a senior, and is go... | [
"Having just written a primary source analysis as part of my coursework for a history unit at university, this helped me critically analyse a primary source. (link to 'How to read a primary source' on the side bar) _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
After WWII, the Marshall plan provided US assistance to Europe. Did the UK contribute or was there a separate plan in place? | [
"The UK was actually by far the largest *recipient* of Marshall Plan expenditures, receiving a total of about $3.2 billion in loans and grants. The second largest recipient was France with $2.7 billion, followed by Italy ($1.5 bil.) and Germany ($1.4 bil). [source](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Partly because Japan was already going in that direction before the war. In the mid 19th Century, US gunboats showed Japan how backward they were, which lead to a massive modernization and westernization movement. One of the things other world powers had that Japan did not were colonies, so Japan made some out of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Did young people in Feudal Europe feel like they had choices and did they stress about them? | [
"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?"
] | [
"Those people struggled just as much as we do in modernity. Why do you think they struggled less?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
In the early 20th century, was Bismark considered a villain of history? | [
"The publication of Bismarck's memoirs *Gedanken und Erinnerungen* (published in English as *Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman* in 1898) where he cynically admitted to manipulating the Ems Telegram in order to provoke a war with France led to him being denounced as a militarist by those who regarded Germany as an... | [
"A related question were there public figures at the time who were apologists that tried to justify for the actions of the Japanese military at Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How are land mines placed without triggering them to go off? | [
"Well there are a number of different forms of mines but I presume you're referring to pressure sensitive or release pressure anti-personnel mines. While the exact nature of it will vary from model to model generally a landmine will have some form of safety pin and/or a cap that is placed over the pressure sensor. ... | [
"They're a cheap, easy way of keeping people (enemy soldiers) out of areas where you don't want them to go. There's been a string of wars in Northern Africa (including World War II) where landmines have been used to block off enemy advances. The problem is that people aren't always very good about keeping track of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why have military and political history declined? | [
"Is it that military and political history have declined, or that all the other sorts of history are finally taken seriously?"
] | [
"Has it? Or is it just that reports of it have been more prevalent. Has the spread of Islamic extremism contributed? Israels foreign policy?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did feudal peasants in Europe during the Middle Ages actually have significantly more vacation time than Americans do today? | [
"More can be written about this, but you might like ['How accurate is this piece? \"Before Capitalism, Medieval Peasants Got More Vacation Time Than You. Here’s Why.\"'](_URL_0_) by /u/Miles_Sine_Castrum , and the many many replies are meaty. (If you have more free time, I can point out that /u/Searocksandtrees com... | [
"Because of technological and other advancements in development. Economic growth means improvement in our standard of living. 25 years ago, few middle-class families had cell phones or internet. 50 years ago, many didn't have air conditioning or a clothes dryer. 80 years ago, you might not have had a washing machin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What history do I need to teach my son that he won't learn in school? | [
"Rather than worrying about building a list of topics, you should work on creating a framework to process what he learns in school and ask questions that lead to important knowledge. _URL_0_ This is the framework we have started using in Ontario, and I find it extremely valuable. I teach grade 7 history, and find t... | [
"While we're sometimes willing to help with homework, this is beyond the pale. How on earth could we say what historical figures *you* relate to?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Were Chinese people ever so poor/repressed they were forced to eat dirt? | [
"Frank Dikötter mentions in *Mao's Great Famine: The History of China’s Most Devastating Catastrophe* that peasants ate white mud called Guanyin soil in Sichuan province, during the 1958-1962 famine. They would mix it with whatever organic material they could to make cakes, but yes, it was dehydrating and would oft... | [
"I was hosted by a Chinese family & they offered me a lot of great dining opportunities. One of them was dog. The dog in question was raised to be eaten just like a pig or a chicken. We discussed the ethics of dog & he put an interesting light on it. \"When we wanted to stop the production of opium England sent the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Book recommendation needed: The British Empire since the 19th century? | [
"\"The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire\" by P J Marshall will meet your requirements quite nicely."
] | [
"1. The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 3. The Civil War by Shelby Foote 4. Reconstruction by Eric Foner 5. The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman 6. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch 7. Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War by John Ellis 8. The... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Trotskyist author Ted Grant claimed that British Army with support by MI5 planned a coup in 1970 if Labor Party (dominated by left-wing internal groups ) came to power. Is this true? | [
"There was some discussion in the previous thread, [Was there a genuine attempt by the British military to depose Harold Wilson's government in the mid-70's?](_URL_0_) The most pertinent comments were by /u/michaelnoir, /u/ooburai, and /u/AimHere. The sources claiming \"secret state destabilisation of a succession ... | [
"There were several internationals, many unrelated to each other. The First International was dissolved after the split between Anarchists and Marxists. The Second International dissolved after World War One, and the Third was dissolved by Stalin as to not anger the United States and Britain during WWII. The ones y... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Was the Business Plot of 1933 (to overthrow FDR), with JP Morgan, Prescott Bush and others, an actual plot? Did it have any chance of succeeding? | [
"Actual historians don't weigh in on the Business Plot too often because A) we only have one source regarding the alleged plot (Butler himself), making it difficult to say for sure whether what Butler was saying was entirely truthful and B) the entire thing is just so far fetched to begin with. Are we expected to b... | [
"Simple. Communism = Evil in the US back in those days (and even today, yay ignorance!). J. Edgar Hoover, the Head of the FBI suspected MLK Jr. of Communist connections. He also thought the entire Civil Rights movement was being orchestrated by MLK Jr. in collusion with his Communist buddies to undermine their poli... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Is there a corollary between the Lazarus reflex and the way Egyptian Mummies were posed when buried? | [
"I'm not an expert on mummification, so I can't comment on the significance of the positioning of the body, nor am I a medical expert with any extensive knowledge of the Lazarus Reflex. What I can tell you is that the mummification process was a deeply religious process that consisted of 70 days of rituals and fun... | [
"They knew how to preserve meat and stop rotting in desert conditions. The practices were slightly modified, ceremonialized, and applied to humans. It's long been known that removing the blood and organs from an animal prevents the meat from spoiling for far longer. It's long been known that packing with salt can d... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Do we have any journals from Europeans were marooned at sea during the age of exploration? | [
"Indeed we do, albeit the ones we do have come along towards the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. In fact, the fictional story of Robinson Crusoe is thought to be based off of the real story if Scottish buccaneer and self-inflicted castaway [Alexander Selkirk](_URL_0_). He was rescued, much like his fictional count... | [
"A related question were there public figures at the time who were apologists that tried to justify for the actions of the Japanese military at Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
I am a German soldier stationed at Omaha Beach on the night of June 5th, 1944. What is my experience on the morning of D-Day? | [
"Since nobody else has mentioned it, I frequently hear about conscripted forces being used to man the defenses at Normandy. Is this true? What is the ratio of conscripted to german troops?"
] | [
"\"The Battle of Normandy\" or \"Normandy Campaign\" is the most encompassing term, referring to the entire campaign to liberate France from the Germans and establish a foothold for the allies in Western Europe, from June to September 1944. \"The Normandy Invasion\" was the first few weeks of the Battle of Normandy... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
left handed in a hoplite phalanx? | [
"The main comment on [this thread] (_URL_0_) from a couple of weeks ago may help with your question."
] | [
"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 Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
A heavily signed trivet from WWII Germany's 193 News Division (Nachrichten-Abteilung 193), 93rd Infantry Division, with a 1940 date. Are there listings of who was in this division in 1940 to connect the autographs with real people's stories and is there anything more of interest? - Images in comment | [
"The Deutsche Dienststelle (Wehrmachtsauskunftstelle) in Berlin keeps all the records and military CVs that haven't been destroyed. You could inquire them on their website. However, what I could gather from the signatures most of them are Unteroffiziere OR5 so you won't find Dienstalterslisten of them."
] | [
"Knowing that he is (possibly Bavarian) from Munich, he maybe been in the 1st Bavarian Corps likely the 1st Royal Bavarian Division which was located in Munich. I cannot really figure out which unit this was, but I can get some clue from the first picture, which is an inspection of an infantry division by Kaiser Wi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about history:"
} |
How did other nations, particularly the Soviet Union, react to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s in the United States? | [
"A historian named Mary Dudziak wrote a good book on this subject: [Cold War Civil Rights](_URL_1_). In it, she shows how the Soviets exploited the African American freedom struggle as a key propaganda moment: i.e. \"look how the 'land of the free' denies freedom to their lower class.\" This was particularly impor... | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Maritime History Question. | [
"I found [this article](_URL_0_) very helpful when I was researching ships. It's an academic article, but pretty accessible if you're into boats. He discusses a few types, the galley, which was originally a cargo craft that ended up better suited for warfare and the cog, which was used for both warfare and cargo. A... | [
"The Art of War in the Western World - Archer Jones"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Education:"
} |
Why do great empires forged by single men often collapse very soon after their death? | [
"Genghis Khan's empire did not collapse upon his death, but only expanded more, it was not until the death of Möngke Khan, more than 30 years and a couple of Great Khans later, that the empire broke apart."
] | [
"Yes. Every world power in human history has collapsed in upon itself or fell to conquerors. There's no reason to believe the US is unique in that regard."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Did people ever swim in castle moats for recreation? | [
"Most every historical document I've read has indicated rivers and water sources in towns/cities prior to the 20th century(and in plenty of places through it) would mostly be filled with waste and sewage. So provided it wasn't a dry moat like most it probably also wasn't water you would want to bath in."
] | [
"Because they're not allowed to use chewing tobacco in the dugouts anymore"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
DId the HRE ever help out the teutonic order in the balkans? | [
"I'm sorry, I think you might mean the Baltics, surrounding the southern coast of the Baltic sea the Teutonic order was given land by the Polish Duke Conrad of Mazovia on the assumption that they would first help conquer and christianise the Romuva pagan tribes to the north (modern day Polish Pomerania, Leningradin... | [
"If you consider the Greek city states of antiquity to be seperate nations, then technically during the invasion of Xerses I they created a multinational force led by the strongest state (Sparta) to stop it. I would probably point you towards the Mongolian invasion of Europe otherwise. Basically Poland, Hungary, pa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Does anyone know when the next two books in the Oxford History of the United States will be published? | [
"I actually believe there are three more volumes to be published--the other one being on the Progressive era through the 1920s. They just published the volume on Reconstruction and the Gilded Age a month or two ago, and the shortest time in between publications of a new volume has been two years. Since a volume was... | [
"When the US has only existed for a fraction of the length of time that the kingdoms in the British Isles have, I think you can understand just how immense the history of Blighty truly is. I say first you must commit to a time period before proceeding. Do you want Brythonic, Roman, Romano-British, Saxon, Norman, Vi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about history:"
} |
What forms of entertainment did Native Americans have, pre 20th.c? | [
"The Washoe, the Northern Paiutes, and the Shoshone of the Great Basin enjoyed gambling. [This image](_URL_1_) shows a group of gamblers in Virginia City, Nevada ca. 1880 (or slightly before). They are using cards, which they adopted after contact. In pre-contact times they used marked sticks. Like most people, the... | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In his 3rd Army Speech, Patton references 400 German soldiers being killed due to a sentry sleeping on duty. Hyperbole or fact? | [
"400 German soldiers being killed in a single episode like Patton mentioned would have constituted a significant portion of all German casualties during the allied invasion of Sicily. The Germans lost 4,678 men killed during Operation Husky; 400 men is a little over one-twelfth of that. Perusing the relevant resour... | [
"Read \"Black Armor\" written by the White Commander of the Sherman unit. He talks about what the 'real situation' was for these men. It was hard as hell for him to get any of his men promoted to officers, they had more NCO's that Commissioned Officers. Yet they were one of the highest decorated tank units during W... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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} |
Wednesday Week in History | July 17-23 | [
"On July 18th, 1940, FDR was nominated for an unprecedented third term by the Democratic Party at their convention in Chicago. This went against the unwritten rule that no US President would serve for more than two terms (begun by George Washington, who refused to run for a third term in 1796). FDR later served a, ... | [
"1. The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 3. The Civil War by Shelby Foote 4. Reconstruction by Eric Foner 5. The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman 6. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch 7. Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War by John Ellis 8. The... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Was heat exhaustion/sunstroke a big problem for the knights who fought in crusades? | [
"This certainly came into play in battles in the Levant. It was a crucial factor in one of the most famous battles of the crusades, Hattin. The crusader army under King Guy was weakened and killed off as much by the heat and dehydration as by Saracen steel and arrows. Saladin cut the crusaders off from any water su... | [
"Follow up question: What other types of bootcamp training strategies would drill instructors use? Also what were training structures like when there was a massive influx of troops who needed to be trained quickly, such as when the US joined WWII after Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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} |
What embodiments of evil have there been throughout history? | [
"[A popular past thread.](_URL_0_) I also believe that the meta post is actually an April fools joke so I don't think you need to keep count."
] | [
"Desperation leading to ingrained de-humanization of their enemies. People have, for the entirety of humanity, done things similar to what the SS had done. There have been massacres and slaughter and war since the dawn of man."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why did Eisenhower send federal troops to allow the 'Little Rock Nine' to go to school? What did he gain? | [
"It is also important to point out that Faubus was directly ignoring a federal court order to integrate Little Rock's schools, and Eisenhower (being the Chief Executive of the federal government) had to show the supremacy of the federal government. To allow integration to be stalled in the face of a federal mandate... | [
"> What Gould the Feds to to the state? The Federal government could deploy military troops to enforce the ruling, similar to the deployment of the National Guard in desegregating schools. If push comes to shove it will end at gunpoint, one way or the other."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Was the millennium from 999-1000 ad marked in any special way? | [
"Here's another question - were any contemporary calendars actually recording this as the year 1000? Had the calendar we use today been adopted by Christians yet?"
] | [
"First, it is BCE for \"Before the Common Era\" and CE for \"Common Era\". Or prior to that it was BC for \"Before Christ\" and AD for \"Anno Domini\" or \"in the year of the Lord\". AC is for air conditioning or alternating current. > but how did they measure the years at the time? It depends on who you were talk... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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[Serious] How did people view conception in pre scientific times? What was their view of semen, menstruation etc.? How much did they know? | [
"Just FYI, this isn't Askreddit, all topics are \"serious\" and the mods work very hard to remove jokes from every thread."
] | [
"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 Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How did it become legal in the UK to shoot the Welsh with a bow, but only on a specific day? | [
"This sounds like a Anglo-Saxon law/Doom that was instituted before the Conquest of Wales by Edward I(also known as \"hammer of the scots) in 2 campaigns,the first in 1276-1277 and then the final \"conquest which started in 1282 to 1283. Now I could not find an actually Doom proclaimed by any King, most deal with ... | [
"Clearly you're forgetting that the Brits also have a ban on showing up to either House while wearing a suit of armour."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What kind of condiments were available in the Ist century AD in Eastern-Europe? | [
"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."
] | [
"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 Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Would Indiana Jones and the Knight have been able to communicate in The Last Crusade? | [
"Wikipedia's article [*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Plot*](_URL_0_) says the action is set in 1938, and that the knight had been kept alive for 700 years (therefore born ca 1200), making him a speaker of [*Early Middle English*](_URL_1_) (as opposed to the modern [Received Pronunciation](_URL_2_) he speaks ... | [
"Just in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, they made several changes to make it appear more civil. Some changes were even more controversial, such as making Satan shoot first and adding Dewbacks on Noah's Ark. I'm still waiting for the Old Testament to appear on Blu-Ray."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Thoughts on Niall Ferguson's "Civilization"? | [
"Don't read Niall Ferguson. Don't read Niall Ferguson. Don't do it. Instead, spend your time reading [this](_URL_0_) and don't read Niall Ferguson. (except maybe his pre-2000 works) There are dozens if not hundreds of books on the subjects he writes about and assuming the time you're willing to spend on this is fin... | [
"1. The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 3. The Civil War by Shelby Foote 4. Reconstruction by Eric Foner 5. The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman 6. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch 7. Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War by John Ellis 8. The... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Where can I find a comprehensive read about the Russian bureaucratic machine from the 19th and early 20th centuries? | [
"One of the standard works on the tsarist bureaucracy is the anthology *Russian Officialdom: The Bureaucratization of Russian Society from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century* edited by Walter Pintner and Don Rowney. The entries cover the period you want. If you have access to jstor, Alfred Rieber's \"Bureaucr... | [
"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 title:",
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"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Would private ownership of a cannon have been legal in American immediately after the Constitution was ratified? | [
"This site lists over 500 American privateers operating in the War of 1812. _URL_0_ Privateers were privately owned ships, operating under a \"Letter of Marque\" from the US government, which allowed them to war against enemy vessels. As these privateers were armed with cannon, and were privately owned, we can safe... | [
"The two biggest events that took away power from the States and gave it to the Federal Government was the US civil war, and the expansion of the use of the Commerce Clause of the constitution to do things like ending segregation in the South."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Could a private American citizen buy a cannon in 1776? | [
"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... | [
"As a related sub-question, how many Scottish colonies were there prior to 1707?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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} |
Was Benjamin Franklin licentious? | [
"Franklin acknowledged one illegitimate son, William Franklin, who later stayed loyal to the British during the Revolution and was appointed royal governor of New Jersey. As far as I know, he didn't have any more extramarital liaisons, or at least none that became known. Much later, when posted to the French court ... | [
"Because he became President and his name wasn't George W. Bush."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
China refused to send any representatives to Churchill's funeral. Why? | [
"> Edit: why was that comment removed? It sounded like a good explanation. It *sounding* like a good explanation does not always mean that it *was* a good explanation. Questions that are based entirely on conjecture or speculation or unsourced opinions will be removed. We have a minimum standard of quality for top-... | [
"As a way to snub George W. Bush."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why do we picture the cliché bomb as a "cannonball" with a fuse? | [
"That's because early explosive bombs did physically resemble the popular image of the bomb. Just take a look at this [illustration of a fragmentation bomb](_URL_0_) from the *Huolongjing*, a text from the Chinese Ming dynasty. It shares the same shape as drawings of bombs commonly seen in popular culture. Primitiv... | [
"That's what old-timey artillery shells and grenades looked like. Black iron sphere with a fuse in one end. Light, launch, and hope it explodes near where you want it to explode."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In Ancient Greek warfare, what happened when two phalanxes met on the battlefield. | [
"Not to discourage further answers, but /u/Iphikrates has answered a lot of questions on hoplite warfare, you should check out these especially: [How were ancient open-field battles organised?](_URL_5_) [Did the people in the front lines of ancient armies basically know they are going to die?](_URL_2_) [What were t... | [
"From van Wees, he postulates that the battle scenes from the Iliad were modeled on Dark/Iron Age warfare into the Archaic Age (before the development of hoplite warfare. That warfare was essentially skirmishing between bands of men who clustered around warrior elites. Each person was expected to take a turn at the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
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} |
What other dating systems were widely used other than B.C. and A.D.? When were those systems replaced? | [
"The Japanese used *nengo* (年号), eras declared by the imperial court. They didn't have a set length and a new era could be declared for any of a number of reasons: a new Emperor taking the throne, a natural disaster, astrology, etc. The longest *nengo* lasted for thirty-five years, but the majority were less than a... | [
"A.D. Is not after death. There would be time missing in between where Christ was alive. It mean anno Domino (in the year of the Lord). Edit: Towards the end of high school teachers began using B.C.E. which stands for Before Common Era. C.E. can be used in place of A.D. for Common Era."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
(Egypt) I heard about a Pharaoh who erected a statue of a vagina "in honour" of his retreating opponent. Is this true, and if so, whom? | [
"According to Herodotus's _Histories_, yes and no. This was done by Rameses II, who Herodotus called Sesostris. He didn't build a statue of a vagina, though; he built pillars everywhere he conquered, and if whoever he had just defeated were particularly weak and didn't offer any real resistance, he drew a vulva on ... | [
"It has to do with idolatry. When you paint a picture of Mohammed, people may start to pray to him and worship him as a god. Mohammed in Islamic faith was just a man. Only Allah should be worshiped as a god because he is their God. However, naming a child after Mohammed is more like paying homage to him. No one is ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
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} |
How did Qin Shi Huang manage to completely change the Chinese first person pronoun? | [
"I believe the footnote statement is quite simply not true. Quoting from Edwin G. Pulleybank's “Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar”: “Judging by the use on the oracle bones in which … 朕 refer (almost) exclusively to the king himself while 我 refers to Shang collectively, the original distinction was between singul... | [
"The Confucian Age was in the Spring and Autumn period, this was the age of philosophers, about the time of Buddhas life and the lives of the Hebrew prophets The Sung/Song dynasty was one of the best eras in Chinese history. It had many advances in literature and the arts. Sorry, no book recommendations :("
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
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Are any historical figures before the industrial revolution remembered for wealth or business success attained outside of politics? | [
"That depends on your definition of wealthy and successful. A Portuguese merchant could become incredibly wealthy by dealing, trading and smuggling in the Indian ocean in the 15th century, and a Spaniard could become one if he had enough land in his Hacienda in the new world. So, yeah, you could become fairly rich ... | [
"Not much of a thing anymore. Basically all of serfdom was a regressive tax, at least how it’s portrayed. A possible reason for regressive taxation is that the majority of the population is poor, and the wealthy, elite citizens need the money to improve everyone’s lives. Also, it’s feasible that the vast majority ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When we look at the Caribbean during the turn of the 18th century the history is dominated by Piracy. Is there any good history out there on the actual colonies themselves, such as their economies, differing internal policies, and interactions with each other? | [
"If you don't get a good answer here, try asking this again in the Thursday Sources thread in a couple days. people are more likely to give you a quick steer towards a good work in that thread."
] | [
"Better military and advanced weapons played a big part of it. This allowed them to dominate strategic places throughout the world related to things like the spice trade, slave trade, and shipping ports. Examples include India and Sri Lanka, various places in Africa, plus Ireland and Scotland, as well as the Americ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What's a "sword-moot"? | [
"I trust you took it from this [source](_URL_0_): As far as I understand it, it just means that Olaf was tested in battle (with his sword) for the seventh time and survived it. It's not a specific ritual, although the number seven bears a symbolic meaning of completion for the medieval reader."
] | [
"More of course can be said here, but do check out [this old thread](_URL_0_) courtesy of /u/henry_fords_ghost."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Need help with some specialized WWII research, regarding the German occupation of France. | [
"Although it can be terribly boring at times, John Sweets' \"Choices in Vichy France: The French under Nazi Occupation\" gives a very thorough look at the occupation experience of Clermont-Ferrand. The city has two universities, the Blaise Pascal University established in 1854 and the very prestigious University o... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was the greatest party that ever happened? | [
"It'll be very difficult to ascertain because the idea of \"party\" changes from era to era and region to region. Even today, parties in China aren't quite the same as parties in the US, for example, because in China people are more inclined to sit at separate tables and make the meal into the centerpiece of the pa... | [
"Why? No one knows. How? No one knows. But it's well understood what the consequences are."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are some music selections that would have been played in the Galleria Borghese in Rome in 1624? | [
"which painting is it? The famous composer Luigi Rossi was on the payroll of the Borghese family that year, so his music is a very safe bet! You would have probably heard baroque harp, archlute, harpsichord, and singing, likely with a string instrument on the bass line and perhaps with some violin interludes. Here... | [
"Time periods my friend. Baroque is estimated from 1600-1750, classical was 1750-1800 and romantic was 1800-1900. With this info I'm sure you can go Google the popular artists that were relevant during each said period. Have a great day!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
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} |
Qing Dynasty Reading List Question | [
"For a general overview of modern Chinese history I personally liked The search for modern China by Spence, it covers Chinese history in a fairly well from 1800-1990."
] | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How accurate is Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States? | [
"Stone nailed it. It's a very sober narrative and he does present the rationality of the leaders he is condemning. The leaders of the US would argue that Stone or his hero Wallace are idealist and that their views serve no practical purpose in the real world. But, I think we need as a country to have that idealism ... | [
"Well, if you want general history books about the US from the right and from the left, then read *A People's History of the United States* by Howard Zinn (left) And from the right, *A Patriot's History of the United States*."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How accurate is Oliver Stone's Untold History Of The United States? | [
"While there’s always more to say on the subject, you might be interested in these previous answers on Oliver Stone: * [How Accurate Is Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States?](_URL_0_) by u/restricteddata specifically on the Wallace would have spared us the Cold War counterfactual * [Did Reagan turn do... | [
"Well, if you want general history books about the US from the right and from the left, then read *A People's History of the United States* by Howard Zinn (left) And from the right, *A Patriot's History of the United States*."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What was the squad composition of a standard squad in WW2 for US, UK, USSR, Germany and Japan? | [
"In the Red Army, TO & E 04/401 issued on April 5th, 1941, defined an infantry squad as 11 men: * Junior Sergeant or Sergeant (commander) with SVT-40 * Machinegunner armed with a DP machinegun and an assistant * Two submachinegunners with PPD-40 submachineguns * Six riflemen with SVT-40s. TO & E 04/551 issued on De... | [
"Follow up question: What other types of bootcamp training strategies would drill instructors use? Also what were training structures like when there was a massive influx of troops who needed to be trained quickly, such as when the US joined WWII after Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Did a Japanese Admiral during WWII really say "We've awaken a sleeping giant"? and if he did, did he completely forget about WW1 or was he talking about our Navy? | [
"The quote is widely attributed to Admiral Isoroko Yamamoto, the man who designed the Pearl Harbor attack and the poorly conceived Midway campaign 6 months later. The specific quote, \"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve\" is from the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tor... | [
"Yeah, Tora! Tora! Tora! is pretty good. It did though confuse even some historians into thinking Yamamoto said the Sleeping Giants quote. Pearl Harbor got so much wrong. For starters, the US didn't have modern warships stationed at Pearl Harbor. For another no US army pilots were transferred to the RAF to get comb... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
History of Nuclear Weapons Advancement and Production | [
"Yes, though the answer to which one depends on which aspect of the technology you care most about: * Are you asking about the specifics of warhead design and development? (e.g., the \"physics package\") If so, Hansen's _Swords of Armageddon_ is probably what you want, for an extremely \"in depth\" approach. * Are... | [
"Side 1 - For Vaccines: -Science Side 2 - Against Vaccines: -Paranoid idiocy"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
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