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Why is the word for 3 (Three) more common across languages than the words for 1 (One) and 2 (Two) | [
"> why does this similarity only occur between greek, slavic, germanic and latin languages These languages are all Indo-European languages. In Celtic languages (also Indo-European), 3 is \"tri\" or something very close to that. Another Indo-European language, Sanskirt, has \"tryah\" as three. \"One\" and \"Two\" are probably more similar in these languages than it might first appear. [Here](_URL_0_)'s a rather exhaustive comparison between numbers in a lot of Indo-European languages."
] | [
"When you start counting: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 notice that more than half of the numbers start with \"1\". Only one number starts with \"9\". If we would count until 99, we would see that all starting numbers have the same probability. As soon as we go above 100, there will be 100 numbers starting with \" 1\". The likelihood that we stop counting in the 100s is much higher than in the 900s."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
With the centenary of the first Word War's commencement fast approaching and the death of the last living combat veteran, how might our perceptions of the war begin to shift? | [
"I think WWI is largely forgotten in the minds of the general public, at least in the United States, in favor of WWII. I mean, people know there WAS a first war, because they're numbered, but I highly doubt your non-history buff on the street could name an enemy besides Germany."
] | [
"I don't know too much about this, but Antoine Prost had some interesting ideas about representation after World War I if you are looking for something to help. Remembrance of atrocities or catastrophes is not immediate, it takes years. The Holocaust wasn't truly engaged with as a concept until the 1970s in most of Europe, even later for other countries. I think also that the emphasis on the geography of the Great War depends on country to country. In countries such as Great Britain and USA, there wasn't such a popular emphasis on the land, because no battles were fought on UK or USA soil. Remembrance days are very much focused on the lives that were lost; the men that sacrificed their lives. In France, say, the most noticeable immediate impact the war had was how it absolutely decimated the land, buildings, farms etc etc. For T.S. Eliot and other artists/poets etc, their emphasis would be more on the land as its more evocative than focusing on lives that were lost."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What historically-significant sights should I see on my trip to Israel? | [
"For more modern stuff going from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and seeing all the checkpoints and the wall is pretty bizarre, and gives a kind of 1984 Orwellian feeling."
] | [
"Do you have a specific place or country in mind?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Need help identifying the tanks used by the Guards Armoured Division at Nijmegen in Market Garden | [
"Not that it makes much difference at wargaming scale (Sherman II had the cast hull, III the welded, and the V had a longer wheelbase), but for the sake of a drill-down, near as I can tell, in late 44 you're looking at the following split. Guards Tank Battalions, Sherman V/VC Welsh Guards (Armored Recce Regt) Cromwell IV/V Obviously I won't stand up and say that the Sherman I, II or III weren't used at all by them, but a quick scan of photographs for those units show the V was the dominant variant. A couple of Wargaming OrBats have similar conclusions. eg _URL_3_"
] | [
"The circular patches with the \"A\" are the insignia of the US 3rd Army, which in WW2 was under the command of Gen. George S. Patton. The triangular tricolour patches are the insignia of the US 16th Armoured Division. If you look closely, the embroidery below the 16 shows a tank track. The 16th Armoured was established in 1943, and reached Europe in 1945. It saw combat very briefly at the end of 1945 in Czechoslovakia, before withdrawing in accordance with a treaty with the advancing Soviets. The patch at the bottom left with the winged star is the symbol of the USAAF, which is a little confusing. Did he transfer to or from the airforce at any point?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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How did the sumerians know about the precession of the equinoxes? | [
"Is it that hard to believe they were paying attention for years?"
] | [
"One solar day is the time it takes the planet to perform 1 full revolution on its axis. The real question should be why do planets revolve on their axis at different rates."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Uncertain if literary recommendations are acceptable here but: what is the best book on the Reconstruction era in the USA? | [
"Well, Eric Foner is considered the go to for modern scholarship, so *Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877*. There's also W.E.B. Du Bois' 1935 *Black Reconstruction in America*, which was the first book to argue against the distorted and racist historiography of the time. Edit: Amazingly, Du Bois was actually nine years old when Reconstruction ended, though he was in Massachusetts so he wouldn't have seen any of the direct effects."
] | [
"Can anyone suggest respected works that deal, on a theoretical level, with the concept of elites? Specifically from the standpoint of history."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
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What political parties would the characters on Downton Abbey have supported, assuming they all had the right to vote before 1918 (and cared about politics at all)? | [
"I'm guessing most of them would have been staunch Conservatives, with the exception of Lady Sibyll and her husband Mr. Branson who describes himself as \"a socialist, but not a revolutionary\", so probably the left wing of Labor or possibly some obscure smaller party (there were several of those). Sir Richard Carlisle may have been a Liberal, since they were were the party of laissez-faire economics."
] | [
"Nancy Astor, who was born in Virginia as Nancy Witcher Langhorne, took Waldorf Astor as her second husband and was the first woman to actually take her seat in the House of Commons (though she was not the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons; Countess Markievicz had that distinction, but was inconveniently detained in Holloway Prison). Astor was not tremendously influential politically, being regarded more as a social power. However, for an American to achieve such high social station as she did AND to be elected into the British House of Commons (particularly as a woman), she did rather well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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} |
How common is it for different cultures to have similar mythologies? | [
"It's ridiculously common. The flood story is found (of course) in the Bible, the Epic of Gilgamesh, I believe there's a Mayan story about it, and a Hindu story. Much more common is a related deity. I live in the South, so here it's Jesus, but there is a common link with a huge number of religions to the story of Jesus: born of a virgin, teaching at the temple at 12, father is a god, crucified, resurrected after 3 days, died for the sins of the world,etc. This list includes Horus (Egyptian), Vishnu (Hindu), Buddha (Buddhism), Dionysus (Greek), Zarathustra (Zoroastrianism, which is Iranian in its earliest days). So as you can see, there cradle of the world shared a common beginning story- both with creation of the world and deities who shared backgrounds. From what I understand (and someone PLEASE school me if I'm wrong), it's typically seen as a very strong link between early civilizations. Basically, the beliefs survived, we just re-named the main characters."
] | [
"Just to provide a little encouragement, this is definitely answerable! The Greeks, Romans, Middle Ages Christians, and Hindus all definitely wrote down or alluded to their understandings of food's necessity and the operation of the body. I would even be willing to bet we can glean some understanding of earlier views on the subject, by analyzing sacrificial customs and myths."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Did per capita incomes in the South match those in the North before the US Civil War? | [
"Clarification: when you ask for a per capita comparison do you mean to include the enslaved population as well or to not consider them? This choice will likely have a huge effect on the conclusion as well as implying moral judgments."
] | [
"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:"
} |
I am an aristocrat in Elizabethan England, taking my carriage into town to tend to some errands for the day. Where is my carriage "parked" while I go about my business? Has the modern concept of a parking lot emerged yet? | [
"Hi, you may be interested in a couple of previous threads * [Modern cities bristle with parking lots used by commuters, businesses, and residents. Before the automobile, how did urban centres like London, Paris, and New York \"park\" their horses, carriages, and buggies when not in use?](_URL_0_) featuring /u/henry_fords_ghost * [You are a fairly well-off Londoner in Victorian times. How would you \"park\" your horse-drawn carriage without it being stolen? Did someone have to stay with it at all times?](_URL_1_) - featuring /u/jpallan"
] | [
"It's purely ceremonial. You have to realize that this wasn't always the case. About a thousand years ago, most cities were protected by walls. There was usually only one or two ways of gaining entrance to any city. This was either a locked door or gate. This is because back then anyone arriving could have been a barbarian coming to ransack your town and cut off everyone's head- highlander style. But if you held a key to the city, you were trusted by that city. You could come and go without all the rigmarole of, \"What do you want? Are you going to come in to our peaceful town and go berserk on our innocent women and children?\" So it's a modern way a community honors someone trusted or respected."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why isn't ~410 AD not considered as important as 1066 AD for England? | [
"Hey, just letting you know that I removed this question because not only is it a [poll-type question](_URL_0_), but it's also trivia seeking and involves a good bit of [soapboxing.](_URL_1_.) Please remember that this is *Ask* Historians, not *Debate* historians, /r/changemyview, or *Lecture on my personal beliefs*. Also, just as a quick correction - the Rescript of Honorius was issued in 383 CE, rather than 410 :) Thanks bunches! :)"
] | [
"I'm sorry, I'd appreciate it if you could clarify your question: what questions were you asked about 1300? I can't think of any event that took place in the exact turn of the century, are you sure it wasn't a question about the 1300s aka the entire 14th century?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What are some misconceptions about the Wild West | [
"hi! you'll find more examples in the FAQ* [How historically accurate ... are \"Wild West\" tropes?](_URL_0_) *see the link on the sidebar"
] | [
"The main reason is because of the religious background of the United States."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What good books for a layman can I read about the history of Mexico? | [
"Michael Coe and Rex Koontz's *[Mexico: From the Olmec to the Aztec](_URL_0_)* is a great read, and it's not pricey. Coe, more than most other scholars, puts out very readable books for a public audience. *Mexico* is his most comprensive, but he does have two other good books on the Maya: *The Maya,* and *Breaking the Maya Code.*"
] | [
"I would really like to know a good book on the philosophy of history, or a place where I could learn more to contribute about the philosophy of history."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In one of his books, anthropologist Michael Harner mentions a strange village called Macas, founded in 1599 by survivors of a Spanish massacre. Its inhabitants are all white Spanish-speakers despite it being located deep in the Amazon. Could anyone tell me more about this place and its history? | [
"Which of Harners books was it? In, The Jívaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls, he writes a brief account of the uprising in which the Spanish colonists were massacred. The people he called Jivaro are now called by their own word for themselves, the Shuar. Macas is, and has been for 85 or so years, the capitol of the Ecuadorian state of Morona-Santiago. Most of its inhabitants are either Shuar, or immigrants from the nearby province of Azuay, in the Ecuadorian Sierra, who mostly arrived after 1950. I don't think any claim to be descendants of the colony that was massacred, but I'll look into it and post again. Edit: The University of Cuenca has just begun to digitize the archives of CREA, the Centro de Reconversión Económica de Azuay, Cañar y Morona Santiago. That organization was the driving force in the mid 20th century development of Macas. So, the primary sources available are about to expand immensely."
] | [
"Ecuador was named in 1830 at which point the Spanish people were accomplished navigators. Prior to that the region was named \"Quito\" after its largest city. The meaning of that name is unknown due to the extinction of the native people."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Questions About April Fools Day | [
"Follow up question: Was there ever an April Fools prank/joke someone pulled that got them charged or executed?"
] | [
"Sleep - Shake Unconscious - Splash Coma - Wait and Hope Vegetative State - Wait and Bury"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Elusive Sources: Leo VI's Basilika Code of Laws | [
"The citation you're looking for is: Fabrot, Charles-Annibal, Carl Wilhelm Ernst Heimbach, and Gustav Ernst Heimbach. Basilicorum [Leonis Imperatoris] Libri LX. Post Annibalis Fabroti Curas Ope Codd. Mss. a Gustavo Ernesto Heimbachio Aliisque Collatorum. Lipsiae: J. A. Barth, 1833. [Here it is in Hollis](_URL_1_) (I couldn't believe Harvard didn't have a copy) [Columbia also seems to have it](_URL_0_) as an e-resource, but I have no other link."
] | [
"The Art of War in the Western World - Archer Jones"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Education:"
} |
[META] Welcome to the latest batch of new readers! Here are some reminders... | [
"Oh, so that's why I've been seeing all these, not to well thought out, and irritating questions to /r/bestof's credit though, they are a genuinely good subreddit, which has led me to discover many cool, subreddits"
] | [
"Hi! In case no one answers your question here, you can try again this Saturday when the Automods submit the next Saturday Reading and Research Post. It's a weekly post where you can talk about what you are reading and ask for recommendations. For example, [this](_URL_3_) was last week's. Hope you find your books!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Asking for an Italian fiction novel about WW1 and disillusionment, a la "All Quiet on the Western Front" | [
"I highly suggest Lussu's \"Un anno sull'altipiano\", there is also a film inspired by the book \"Uomini Contro\". I think it was translated in English with the title \"A soldier on the southern front\". Right now I don't remember other books, will update if I do."
] | [
"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 Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What was the last feature film that was created using only analog processes? | [
"To clarify, I am asking what was the last film created entirely using only analog processes? That is to say: without any DIT, non-linear editing, digital sound or VFX, etc."
] | [
"The trailer was created for television's low resolution (at the time of old movies), even though the movie was to be played in theaters."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
During the Battle of Stalingrad, it's said that the troops in Pavlov's House played a single tune over a gramophone. What tune was this? | [
"From the source that I got, it was apparently tango music, interrupted by brief communist propaganda messages. Strange yes, but tango was in fact a popular art form during '30s and '40s Soviet Russia. The book I saw it in was \"Stalingrad - The Fateful Siege 1942-1943\". You can find numerous clips on YouTube of old-school 1930s tango from Eastern Europe on YouTube."
] | [
"The book The Retreat: Hitler's first defeat by Michael Jones, mentions an incident on that happened on the eastern front on Christmas eve (December 24) 1941 . A group of German soldiers found an abandoned church and decided to clean it up and have a small Christmas eve service. A number of locals came and attended it, and about halfway through, a group of soviet Cossack soldiers entered the church, took off their hats and stood at the back for the remainder of the service, after it was over they simply left and disappeared back into the woods."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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} |
Britain was forced into decolonisation by America, however had begun the process years earlier. Did the British Empire seek imperialism by other means ? | [
"I think your question is misplaced, what era did America force Britain into decolonisation? It can't have been the American revolution, as the empire only grew after 1783, and didn't peak until 1922 150 years *after* the American revolution. If you are speaking of post WWII, then it was Britain herself who forced herself into decolonisation. India the jewel in the crown gained independence in 1947, and since Britain had to rebuild her own economy, decolonisation soon followed. It wasn't America who forced Britain to decolonise, it was two world wars."
] | [
"The British Empire was arguably one of the vehicles that enabled the virtual extinction of the slave trade. That must rank fairly high in a list of good things. In India, Suttee and the rigid caste system were broken under British rule, and similar improvements could probably be found for most of the other territories of the Empire. Not to mention the technological and economic improvements that occurred. One thing that is often overlooked when discussing the Empire is that without the advantages of resources, economy and manpower that the Empire brought it is doubtful whether Britain would have been able to stand up to the might of Nazism, and to some extent the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII was a result of Britain's having an Empire."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
At what point in history did it become widely known what year we’re in? | [
"Hi there! /u/sunagainstgold gives an excellent explanation of the history of our current calendar and dates [here](_URL_0_). There's always more that can be said, of course, but you'll hopefully find that it answers your question."
] | [
"There was no \"break\" from the middle ages like you're thinking of. Is there some reason you expected there to be?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
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Rewind to medieval Europe: what were the commoners and elite using to wipe their nether regions? | [
"a popular question! there's always room for people to contribute information about more cultures, but meanwhile, you can get started on this section of the FAQ* [Toilet Hygiene](_URL_0_) *see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab"
] | [
"First things first: showering *daily* is less healthy than you think it is. Unless you have a very active lifestyle (tons of physical activity - be it during leisure time or work), you don't need to shower more than 2-3 days per week to stay healthy. Then, moving onto the matter at hand: the thing is, they did. When health practices were less used, people were a lot less healthy. They tried to hide it by using perfumes, but they really were extremely unhealthy below their dresses. Don't let movies/TV-shows fool you: health conditions during the middle ages were terrible. From the skin, to the teeth, and even the hair; be it peasants or even nobles: you really do not want to ever have lived during those times. Infections were one of the most common causes of death, and the average lifespan was 40-50 years."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I am a citizen of Britain or another European country in the immediate period following the Revolutionary War. How do I emigrate to the United States? | [
"The United States actually passed immigration [legislation]( _URL_0_) fairly soon after becoming a country. [some more info](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"They have not chosen to apply to be States yet. Puerto Rico was close to voting to apply for statehood a few months ago though."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about American government and politics:"
} |
Why didn't the U.S. take Patton's advice after WWII and fight Russia? | [
"1. It would have been a tough sell politically to suddenly attack a country that was your ally just a little while ago. 2. No casus belli. The Soviet Union didn't do anything that would provoke a war. Also, the post-war world was basically agreed to by all the parties involved at the Yalta as well as other conferences. 3. A hot war is always more costly than a cold war. Fighting the Soviet Union would have probably cost hundreds of thousands of American lives, and an untold amount of treasure. To end the war, the US would need to invade Russia, which isn't the easiest thing in the world to do."
] | [
"It was hard for them to work together due to the huge geographic distances between them. There were some long range submarine cargo missions, supplying things like rubber and tungsten. And some designs for aircraft ended up in Japan too. When Japan attacked the US, Germany declared war on the US in the hope that Japan would return the favour and declare war on Russia. But they didn't. Russia and Japan didn't end up fighting till the last month or so of WW2 in 1945."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about history:"
} |
Canadians have the day off. Most of them are celebrating Victoria Day, in honor of Queen Victoria, but in Quebec it's National Patriots' Day, in honor of a French Canadian war of independence against the British monarchy. Why did the Rebellions of 1837 fail where the American Revolution succeeded? | [
"American Revolution had foreign support, Canadian rebels didn't."
] | [
"There really isn't any convention. In fact many wars go by different names in different countries. For example in Russia what I call WWII is called The Great Patriotic War. What I learned about as The French and Indian War is simply the North American part of the Seven Years War in England. Although, even having been educated in an Alabama public school, I do not refer to the Civil War as the Great War of Yankee Aggression. Which when you think about it, calling it The Civil War only makes sense in the USA."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about History:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about History:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Transportation in pre-Columbian America | [
"Llamas didn't make it north of South America, in part due to the narrow pinch at the Isthmus of Panama. In Central and North America, walking (or boating/canoeing) was the only way to get where you were going, even over long distances. Bernal Diaz writes in 'A History of the Conquest of New Spain' that Mexican rulers often provided Cortes and his conquistadors with professional carriers, known as *tlameme*, to bear large loads for the Spanish as they marched inland."
] | [
"Here is a question I have asked a few times: What name do you use for places? I've become somewhat increasingly suspicious that naming conventions are often ways to erase the heritage of certain populations: we often talk about \"Bronze Age France\" and \"Iron Age Britain\", but also \"neolithic Mesopotamia\" and \"paleolithic Anatolia\" (as opposed to Iraq and Turkey). Particularly given that naming conventions are rooted in nineteenth century scholarship."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
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} |
When Did It Become Convention to Say "The United States is..." as opposed to "The United States are..."? | [
"It's a bit lengthy, but [this](_URL_0_) [series](_URL_2_) [of](_URL_3_) [posts](_URL_1_) by linguist Mark Liberman over at Language Log covers the issue quite nicely. There's four of them, looking at usage in newspapers, Supreme Court opinions, presidential addresses, and a second look at Supreme Court opinions with a more easily searchable database to mine."
] | [
"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 Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A Caro 9. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan 10. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn 11. 1491/1493 Charles C Mann Sorry, couldn't keep it to 6."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Tell me about the Goths. | [
"The history of the Goths is pretty well documented, but you might miss this tidbit: A branch of the Gothic people ended up in the Crimean peninsula, [where they lingered as a tiny independent state until 1475 and maintained a separate identity for two more centuries](_URL_1_)."
] | [
"Now you too get to see the terrible deleted comments! Welcome!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Roman History Reading Suggestions | [
"Rome spanned over 1,000 years. Finding a good over view could be tough. Hopefully someone will chime in with some good reading recommendations, but in the mean time I'd recomend [The History of Rome](_URL_0_) podcast by Mike Duncan. I know you are requesting a book, but this is one of the best over views of Western Roman history I have encountered."
] | [
"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 post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Was travelling during "The Roman Empire is just about to fall" era dangerous? Could I as a travelling person simply go from one "country" to another without being murdered? | [
"hi! there's lots of room for more contributions on this, but meanwhile, check out these previous related discussions * [Ancient Rome: How could a foreigner make ends meet if they suddenly found themselves in Rome?](_URL_2_) * FAQ section [Proof of Identity](_URL_0_) - look for posts tagged \"Rome\"; they're roughly in chronological order. This doesn't directly address your question, but may give some extra context on the the traveler's problem of establishing his/her identity in a foreign land * and just for fun, I can't resist including this classic from earlier this week :) [Roman citizens were free to travel throughout the Empire unimpeded, but how did they prove they were Roman? Did they have the equivalent of a passport?](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"It's purely ceremonial. You have to realize that this wasn't always the case. About a thousand years ago, most cities were protected by walls. There was usually only one or two ways of gaining entrance to any city. This was either a locked door or gate. This is because back then anyone arriving could have been a barbarian coming to ransack your town and cut off everyone's head- highlander style. But if you held a key to the city, you were trusted by that city. You could come and go without all the rigmarole of, \"What do you want? Are you going to come in to our peaceful town and go berserk on our innocent women and children?\" So it's a modern way a community honors someone trusted or respected."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Are there any "joke" paintings from before the late modern period? Or art that was meant to be a parody or satire of the style it's in? | [
"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 of nude women (typically called 'Venus' because that made the nudity of the subject acceptable). Is something like this what you're thinking of?"
] | [
"It was one of the first and biggest instances of people being \"weird for the sake of being wired\". Some of the founders saw it as a response to the harsh realities of WWI, they thought we needed to basically restart culture completely by doing things that were not based on anything: randomness, completely unfollowable eccentricity, and a dissection of themes down to the point that they're not even recognizable as language anymore. It was a kid of artistic anarchism. They rejected the establishment. Duchamp turned a urinal on its side and called it a fountain. He also dressed as a woman an changed his name to Rrose Selavie. Others made collages of found objects or recorded nonsense syllables and called it poetry. This all paved the way for other artists to explore art that wasn't based in reality, that didn't have to have a clear purpose or even a goal."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Arts and Culture:"
} |
I've come across this collection of funny images in medieval art (e.g., cows in a boat on land) a few times - what's the reason for this type of art? | [
"I can't answer this, but I remember that there was a similar question about [Why are there so many medieval paintings of people battling large snails?](_URL_0_) that you could look into while you're waiting for another answer."
] | [
"Interesting question. I wonder if Van Eyck tackled that challenge. What came to my mind was the genre of Saint Christopher paintings (_URL_0_), but those are probably based more on fantasy and aesthetics, so perhaps an extremely studied still life painter was up to the task. I would imagine that with the advent of Dutch still-life painting this idea was explored. Sorry if this was not informative."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How is the revolutionary war viewed from the British perspective. | [
"Can't help with the present day perspective, but a great read on this subject for the 18th century perspective is Redcoats and Rebels."
] | [
"Are you considering the 18th century to be in conjunction with the great divergence?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about history:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What does a NSDAP stamp mean when it's on an ID from 1945? | [
"The Arbeitsbereich der NSDAP was the branch of the Nazi Party in the Netherlands. Did the stamp look something like [this](_URL_0_)? These were revenue stamps that were attached to party member's membership documents to show that they had paid their dues."
] | [
"It's a jumbled mess is what it is. It's a sheet of some kind with the stuff on the bottom commemorating the Reichsparteitag 1933 and the seal in the middle commemorating Hitler's speech on the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933. However since the middle seal spells it \"Adolph Hitler\" rather than \"Adol**f** Hitler\", my opinion is that this is an arts and crafts project of someone from an English speaking country (where it is common that Adolf is misspelled) rather than an official Nazi poster. Official Nazi posters tend not to spell the name of their Führer wrong."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Leader's Name that was eaten by dogs - late 80s, early 90s? | [
"The name you might be looking for is Nicolae Ceaușescu, the communist leader of Romania, however he was not eaten by dogs..."
] | [
"A hundred years ago? Do you mean 5,000 years ago?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How much would a nice outfit from the Renaissance period in Europe cost in today's currency? | [
"I'd like to know this too! I'd also be interested in the cost of garments from aristocracy in the 1920's (say, Downton Abbey). It seems (the women) purchased a few new pieces each season and just wore the same few dresses every night for dinner and parties. How many garments did the average wealthy woman own? Wasn't it weird to wear the same dress a dozen times all season? When did it start to become normal to NOT wear the same few things over and over again?"
] | [
"It's decided by what people are willing to pay for it on the international market."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
In Assassin's Creed Origins' new discovery mode, the section on the Roman military tells us that civic soldiers were granted the right to vote in return for their military service. Is this true? | [
"Haven't played the game, but what this is might be referring to is that if you were not a **citizen** of the Roman Empire but lived in its territory, you would be a *peregrini* and could serve in the *auxilia*. After serving your full term, 25 years under Augustus, you and your family and your descendants were granted citizenship, which brought a number of privileges and rights, including the ability to vote."
] | [
"Not an answer, but a question to add onto this, did the Roman Legion have a series of camp followers? What was life like for these people?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What was Marquis de Lafayette's personality like? | [
"I would recommend Sarah Vowell's brand new book, *Lafayette in the Somewhat United States*. She is not a historian, she's an essayist but what I love about her is how she plays historian, historiographier, and essayist in how she melds history with public perception of the history. As such, a majority of the book is focused on Lafayette and his role in the American Revolution. With this she describes Lafayette as glory hound and looked toward America as a place to gain glory from battle outside France since it was the place of a major war. However, there might have been other things, as Vowell also alludes to the very close father-son relationship that both seemed to have been wanted by both. As usual, Lafayette was complex individual and I feel that the sites that you are referencing only one example out of many. There is another book I would recommend *Lafayette in Two Worlds: Public Cultures and Personal Identities in an Age of Revolutions* by Lloyd S. Kramer."
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Anyone know how to pronounce the viking name 'Gnauðimaðr'? | [
"You might try /r/Norse - it is home to many native speakers of Icelandic and there are others who have studied Old Norse intensely."
] | [
"Well, modern English is influenced a good bit by Old Norse. The bynames and patronymics you talk about are, because of that influence, easily translated to English. For example: Eírikr bloðöx = Eric Bloodaxe Eírikr rauði = Eric the Red Ivarr beinlauss = Ivar the Boneless (though legless is a possibility, too) Hrolfr ganga = Rolo the Granger (really, it should be Rolf the Walker, but still) Egill Skalla-Grímsson = Egil Skallagrimsson etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
What was the world's reaction like to the UK successfully testing its nuclear weapons in 1952, from its allies like the United States as well as the rest of Europe and the USSR? | [
"Am I right in thinking the UK's Nuclear weapons were built with US assistance? Is the same true of France?"
] | [
"At the end of the Second World War, the USA and the USSR (Soviet Union) were the only two world powers left. Pretty much every other nation was either completely destroyed or crippled to the point that they simply could not compete. It was known by both sides that after the war against the Axis was won, there would be tension and conflicts. The USA and USSR had opposing interests and competed on almost every scientific, technological, and military front. So once WWII ended, both sides immediately began gobbling up smaller satellite nations as fast as they could. Most of eastern Europe ended up under the control of the USSR, and the western nations to the USA. If you have heard of the \"Iron Curtain\", it refers to the geographical wall of Soviet-controlled states in Europe. Any more questions, feel free to ask."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
During the French Reign of Terror, did the average person have to worry about getting sent to the guillotine? | [
"Since the average person wasn't a noble or a priest, no. Plus, only around 17,000 people were executed in a population of about 25,000,000, so the chances of being executed for the average person was low. Sources: _URL_1_ _URL_0_"
] | [
"This custom came from the French Revolution. In France, the members of the National Assembly that supported the King sat on the right side while those that wanted reform sat on the left. Therefore, conservatives became right wing and liberals became left wing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What was the Soviet Union’s opinion on FDR’s “New Deal”, “Fair Labor Standards Act”, and the “Social Security Act”? | [
"Stalin discussed the New Deal with H. G. Wells when they met in 1934, and gave his opinions about it at some length. Wells posited that the US was developing a type of \"socialism\", and that it might serve as an alternative to Soviet-style socialism, and Stalin explained that Roosevelt's reforms weren't really changing much at all in terms of the essence of capitalism - only restricting some of its excesses, and that such solutions were inherently temporary and unstable because, in a capitalist system, you can only go so far in restraining the freedom and activities of the capitalist class; they will inevitably push back and undo any reforms that they don't consider to be in their interests, and they will succeed because they hold the real power in a capitalist society. The full interview can be seen below. It's a very interesting discussion. [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"| Democrat | Republican ---------|----------|---------- Philosophy | Liberal, left-leaning. | Conservative, right-leaning. Economic Ideas| Minimum wages and progressive taxation, i.e., higher tax rates for higher income brackets. Born out of anti-federalist ideals but evolved over time to favor more government regulation. | Believe taxes shouldn't be increased for anyone (including the wealthy) and that wages should be set by the free market. Social and human ideas | Based on community and social responsibility | Based on individual rights and justice | Symbol | Donkey | Elephant | Color | Blue | Red | Founded in | 1824 | 1854 Senate Leader | Harry Reid | Mitch McConnell | Chairperson | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Reince Priebus Famous Presidents | Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama | Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Richard Nixon Website | _URL_1_ | _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Are there recorded cases of intentionally baiting a camp with booty and then ambushing the plundering enemy? | [
"Herodotus writes in his Histories how Cyrus the Great raised a massive banquet and left it guarded by only a few men as he performed battlefield maneuvers. 1/3 of Tomyris's army split off to capture it. They were all killed. Tomyris would go on to win the battle, however. She supposedly dipped Cyrus's head in a skin full of blood to make good on her threat to give him his fill of it. Edit: corrected an inaccuracy about the fate of Cyrus's skull."
] | [
"Aye, they did, it's not a recent invention. However, they had very different situations that would lead to it, such as noticing that a predator had been lurking around the cave, or that the head of the clan seemed to be upset with them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What were parties really like during the Roaring 20s? | [
"Lynn Dumenil's *The Modern Temper* argues that while the parties and flappers existed like Fitzgerald portrayed, that books such as *Gatsby* give a false impression about how widespread the lifestyle was. Dumenil suggests that only the smallest minority of the nation enjoyed the idea of the \"Roaring Twenties.\""
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why hasn't South America played a bigger role in the world? | [
"> or a Washington Bolivar? Generally regarded as one of the most important men in history and was called the \"Washington of South America\" by Lafayette."
] | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How common was the practice of "salting the earth" after defeating an enemy? | [
"It's my understanding that it may have never happened. There's a legend that Scipio Africanus did this to Carthage, but I'm not aware of any reliable documentation that it's true. I think there are also some later medieval legends that early medieval Italian warlords did this to each other, but still no concrete history."
] | [
"Are you referring to the 732 BC conquest by the Assyrians, the 500 BC conquest by the Babylonians, or the Third Jewish/Roman Revolt of 130 AD? The Romans killed and kicked out nearly all Jews. Why do you blame the Palestinians for that? Does this mean I can go back to my ancestral home in Ireland and take the land back from the family that bought it form the English occupiers? Is the statute of limitations 200 years or 2000 years?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Communist block's view on the '68 movements at the time, particularly Mai 68. | [
"In the biographie of Rudi Dutschke and Ulrike Meinhof by Jutta Ditfurth it is said, that at least the GDR(DDR) wasn t to happy about it. I mean Dutschke has been born in the GDR but emigrated into the BRD. Files about him charactersize him as an anarchist and therefore not a communist. So much for germany"
] | [
"Happy the war was over, decreasing the risk for direct military action between USA and USSR, especially nuclear. Opening up for thawing of relations between the two. Pride in USSR's role as a communicator and at times unofficial mediator in the drawn out peace process ('63-'73). Some pride in the little nation that could somewhat stand up to massive western imperialism. Troubled by the political ground won by USSR's main competitor in SEA - China. That's the general idea, hard to say how it was practically disseminated in the general public. *Sources: Ilya V. Gaiduk - The Soviet Union and the Vietnam War. Confronting Vietnam: Soviet Policy toward the Indochina Conflict.*"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Has any other tragedy in US history been celebrated or remembered as intensely or for as long as the September 11 attacks have? | [
"Sorry, we don't allow [throughout history questions](_URL_0_). These tend to produce threads which are collections of trivia, not the in-depth discussions about a particular topic we're looking for. If you have a specific question about a historical event or period or person, please feel free to re-compose your question and submit it again."
] | [
"Picture this: It's September 2001. The worst terrorist attack on American soil has just occurred. The twin towers were demolished in spectacular fashion. The Pentagon has one of its wings in rubble. Over ~~5,000~~ 3,000 Americans are dead, 6,000 injured. People are shocked, bewildered, and angry. \"How could this happen?\" they ask themselves. \"How did nobody see this coming?\" Congress responds swiftly, granting law enforcement broad new powers to detect and intercept terrorist plots before they are conducted. Civil liberties are swept aside in the name of national security."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
As a non-academic, how can I stay up to date on new historical research articles? | [
"Humanities and Social Sciences Online, at _URL_1_, is a good source for open-access reviews of new scholarly books. So, not research articles, but still very useful for plunging into recent research in the field of your choosing. It has a wide variety 'discussion networks' - e.g. [Military History](_URL_1_~war/), [Latin American History](_URL_0_), etc. - with their own review feed and mailing list."
] | [
"I'm looking for recommendations for books to read if I want an overview of the history of the LGBT+ movement in the United States but don't have any previous background knowledge in the subject."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Literature:"
} |
What was the peak of Soviet military strength? | [
"Questions of comparative strength are extremely difficult to give you. They had more men under arms during the Second World War than later, but after 1949 they had atomic weapons, and after 1953 they had hydrogen bombs. ICBMs followed after Sputnik in 1957. There's an argument to be made that the Soviet Union's ability to project power, relative to the rest of the world, has never been greater than in 1957. For the purposes of your inquiry, are you referring only to conventional forces?"
] | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
It’s the “Roaring Twenties” and I’m a gay man who is looking to have a good time. Are there any parties or places that would cater to me specifically or not mind my presence? | [
"This was true all over the place. Her in South Florida, I have researched this. The terminology used was \"female impersonation.\" Between Miami and West Palm Beach there were many places where drag shows took place that from a news stand point appeared to have been popular among homosexuals. Prior to the 1950s it would appear here that gay people lived without much attention since it was something rarely talked about. These drag shows were popular among both gay and straight. There is a movement here that was known as the \"Homosexual Panic of 1954\" which is the year an incident took place and suddenly the general public realized there were actually *a lot* of people who were gay in this area. It was at that time the issue came more to light and seemed to be problematic. There is a great book that talks about the 1920s era at least from a Florida perspective (which i imagine echoed a lot of large populated areas at the time) called *Welcome to Fairyland.*"
] | [
"Most major events in life have some kind of celebration tied with them. The Bachelor/Bachelorette party is a celebration with your close friends as you are ending the period of time that you have a massive amount of time to hang out with them and transition into one where you have less as you will be spending that time with your newly formed family. If there is risk of infidelity then you are not mature enough to be married and you really shouldn't be be doing it. Also many if not most do not include sexual component. The most recent one that I was involved with we went camping for a weekend."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Has the United States ever had a "backup capitol" in the event that Washington D.C. is damaged, invaded, or in any way compromised? | [
"**Yes.** [Beneath the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia is a bunker](_URL_0_) with 3-foot-thick concrete walls, rows of metal bunkbeds (1,100 in all), a complicated air filtration system, meeting rooms, a communications center, and storage spaces. This was the secret home of the U.S. House and Senate in the event of a nuclear war. In effect, it was a shadow Capitol. It was envisioned in the late 1950s as President Dwight Eisenhower tried to figure out how to maintain law and order after a nuclear war. In 1958, Project Greek Island broke ground. For more than 30 years, the U.S. government used a shadow company known as Forsyth Associates as a cover to maintain this secret bunker. [In 1992, the Washington Post exposed the bunker's existence](_URL_1_), bringing an end to its usefulness as an emergency shelter. The Greenbrier has been replaced by other plans for the House and Senate, but those remain secret."
] | [
"1. It has been attempted in the past, and some of these attempts have been successful. 2. In some instances, the group holding them is judged to be relatively unlikely to execute them and it's decided a rescue attempt would be more dangerous for the hostage(s) than negotiations. 3. Oftentimes it is very difficult to know where the hostage(s) are being held, especially in a chaotic and war-torn third world nation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
I recall reading somewhere that the British and the US narrowly avoided war in the late 1800s. Can anyone shed some light on the relations during this period? | [
"Could you be more specific? The only one I can recall is the Oregon boundary dispute in the first half of the century. _URL_0_ As the US became a world power in the late 19th and early 20th century, the military always considered Great Britain a potential enemy, but I can't think of any near-outbreak of hostilities."
] | [
"France/Belgium/Germany seems relevant. Sandwiched between both major powers, Belgium was used by the Germans as a backdoor into France in both World Wars. Is that helpful? In truth I'm a little confused as to what exactly your looking for. Could you elaborate a bit more? Perhaps if you give us some insight as to the purpose of your inquiry we could better help you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about history:",
"pos": "Represent the post about history:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How historical accurate is The Great War on youtube? | [
"Hi there -- rather than asking a historian here to watch all (counts ...) 201 episodes of a web series and comment on its accuracy, would you perhaps be interested in providing a summary of the main points of the series and its sourcing? Or alternatively, individual themes or episodes you'd like to have fact checked?"
] | [
"Chronological: - Ray Harris Jr.- The History of World War 2 - Mike Dunkan - The History of Rome - Robin Pierson - The History of Byzantium (follow up podcast) - Khodadad Rezakhani - Iranologie (History of Iran) - The British History Podcast Other: - The AskHistorians Podcast (Intervies with AskHistorians contributers) - New Books in History (Interview with Authers) - Dan Carlin - Hardcore History - Russ Roberts - Econtalk (mostly about Economics but includes quite a bit of History) There are more, but others I have either not jet listen too, or I don't think they are quite as good as the ones I have named. Edit: Maybe not really a podcast but you might still like it. The youtube channel \"TheGreatWar\" goes threw the First World War week by week tracking the original war 100 years later."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
A prominent Serbian archaeologist said that information about tribes attacking the limes in Caledonia would reach the senate in Rome in about three hours using a system of flags. Is there any truth to this claim? | [
"I don't wish to be disruptive here, please excuse me; I'm sure no limes were attacked in the making of this post, but for the life of me I don't know what that word in the title was actually intended to be. Lines, perhaps? Can someone please explain?"
] | [
"Is there any evidence that the legion was lost? and not just destroyed at Carrhae? There is no evidence that I know of, of any kind of incursion of Romans in Han China at the time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why didn't people in Victorian times realize fossil fuels would run out eventually? | [
"What makes you think they didn't? For instance, in his novel \"The Mysterious Island\", Jules Verne describes a discussion about the future of civilization after coal runs out."
] | [
"It did. What makes you think it didn't? Because we can dig it up? We can dig up iron too you know. Gold is a lot rarer so there still won't be as much of it down there as iron."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Earth Science:"
} |
In the year that it is set, would a man with Forrest Gump's IQ and abilities be able to get into the military? | [
"At the My Lai war crimes trials, a clinical psychologist testified in the defense of Charles Hutto (who had confessed to killing civilians) that he did not adequately possess the capability to make the judgement on whether the order to kill civilians was legal, that his personality was marked by a total lack of creativity, a willingness to submit to orders from authority figures and a willingness to believe in others. I suspect a more modern psychologist might insert some qualifiers in there - *unreasonable* orders and believe *uncritically*. This was enough to acquit him, essentially allowing him the defense that he was only following orders. His acquittal led to charges against 7 others being dismissed or dropped - implying that they were just as \"psychologically subnormal\". *Four Hours in My Lai*, Bilton & Sim."
] | [
"If it's okay, I'd like to ask an add-on question: could anyone, theoretically, do the exam, or was it restricted to the middle classes? I mean, clearly a peasant would probably fail because of their poor education, but were they allowed to try?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
AMA: Blood Runs Green. 19th century Irish-America; 18th & 19th century Ireland; museum development | [
"Hate to double-dip like this, but I wanted to also ask a \"big question\" in regard to your topic: Why did Chicago of all places become a hotbed of Irish immigration? In 19th century America, I (rightly or wrongly) think of New York City, Boston and Chicago when I think of Irish immigration, but I don't think of places like Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans or St. Louis, which were all big cities in the mid-to-late century."
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Day of Reflection | August 04, 2014 - August 10, 2014 | [
"A fine post by /u/snickeringshadow on the historiography of the Mayan Collapse and a discussion with /u/retarredroof about the way in which changes in archaeological theory affected the study of this period: _URL_0_"
] | [
"It's a bit unclear what you're interested in. (Early US education? Mann? Cremin's perspective?) But here are some resources that may help: > Binder, Frederick M. The Age of the Common School: 1830-1865. New York: Wiley, 1974. > > Glenn, Jr., Charles Leslie. The Myth of the Common School. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1988. > > Howe, Daniel Walker. “Church, State, and Education in the Young American Republic.” Journal of the Early Republic 22, no. 1 (April 1, 2002): 1–24. > > Kaestle, Carl. Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780-1860. 1st ed. Hill and Wang, 1983. > > Spring, Joel. The American School: From the Puritans to No Child Left Behind. 7th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. > > Katz, Michael B. “Horace Mann: What Went Wrong?” Reviews in American History 1, no. 2 (June 1, 1973): 218–223. > > Messerli, Jonathan. Horace Mann: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1972."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
German battle accounts | [
"_URL_0_ Is an enjoyable read. The author sort of prides himself as the noble German subordinate to Rommel who loved France, hated the Nazi's etc. It is of course hard to tell how much of that is true but it's still a good read."
] | [
"Not have most of their forces across the Atlantic ocean?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did the Government of the Republic of Venice work? How democratic was it? | [
"Tacking on my own question here, as I've been meaning to ask it for a while: Can anyone point me to a good in-depth book (in English, preferably, though French would work at a push) examining the Merchant Republics of the Late Medieval/Early Modern? Venice would be fine, but I'd be happy to read about Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and the like as well."
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How did blue cheese nearly cause a mutiny on the Greek battleship Averof in 1911? | [
"The passage in Wikipedia is lifted directly from [this book](_URL_0_) which seems to be a passion project and doesn't offer further citations. You can find [unsourced](_URL_1_) statements to the effect of \"[the ship's] first voyage, to Britain for the coronation of King George V, was marred by a brawl between sailors and locals. They had been served blue cheese, something the sailors had never seen before. They thought it was moldy and took it as an insult.\" which might be provide some context. But, it should also be kept in mind that, per Fotakis' [*Greek Naval Strategy and Policy 1910-1919*](_URL_2_) those brawls and \"near mutiny\" should be seen in the context of a severe general discontent among the sailors bred out of harsh treatment by the ship's officers."
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Did military recruitment propaganda stop emphasizing notions like "glory in battle" or an "honorable death"? When? Where? Why? | [
"Don't completely discount the idea of \"glory in battle\". In the U.S. especially, look at, for example, the U.S. Marines- \"the few, the proud\", \"looking for a few good men\" \"first to fight\", etc."
] | [
"Also, would her military experience be any useful in finding a job? Did women serve in the British military during World War 1 and if so, did they go back into the workforce afterwards?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Ancient Warfare -- I need to study the tactics and strategies used by generals and armies in great detail. Can someone please recommend good reading material for this? | [
"Well if you are looking for organization, tactics and strategy of an Early Roman Empire army, look at Vegetius' De Re Militari, there are free translations pretty easily available online. While Vegetius is writing at the time of time of the late Empire, the army he is describing is an ideal force that he wishes the Emperor to return to. Gives a good impression and was also the basis on which most Medieval and even Early Modern generals based their tactics/strategy."
] | [
"I would really like to know a good book on the philosophy of history, or a place where I could learn more to contribute about the philosophy of history."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Is this _URL_0_ article on the transcontinental railroad bad history? | [
"If you want to read a short and good book on the subject, Rayner's *The Associates* tells the story of Leland Stanford, Huntington, Crocker, and friends, as they built out railroads in the West. Setting aside the Mises article's smugness about Austrian Economics, they are absolutely right about the corruption and crony capitalism of the railroad trade. For example, when they came here to Fresno, they told the City Council that if they wanted the train to come through here, they'd need free land, tons of cash \"incentives\", and so forth. This was what they did with most of the cities, and it usually work. Fresno told them to go to hell... and they built the railroad anyway. The whole Progressive Revolution with Hiram Johnson was a reaction to the crazy amount of power the railroads had in turn over state politics."
] | [
"they push on other things or use little scales on their belly _URL_0_ props to asking a question which is literally answered on a \"kidzone\" website. this is truly ELI5-worthy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Biology:"
} |
What happened to American surf culture after its brief popularity in the 1960s? | [
"hi! If you're mainly interested in the 60s-ish days, you'll find more on the surfer/tiki/Polynesian craze in these posts * [Why was surfing seemingly the focal point of popular youth culture in early 1960s America?](_URL_13_) * [So what is the deal with tiki culture?](_URL_12_)"
] | [
"There were tons of extremely well known acts there besides Hendrix. Creedence Clearwater Revival, Carlos Santana, The Who, Jefferson Airplain, Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar, Grateful Dead, etc. It was significant because it was a huge festival full of some of the most famous musicians of the late 60's. It basically summarized the hippie counter culture of the time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
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} |
Wednesday What's New in History | May 04, 2016 | [
"A recent court ruling has announced that people should be permitted to photograph and make copies in Russian archives, free of charge. This is potentially a very exciting development, as it is currently incredibly complex and wildly expensive to order copies of archival documents. Apparently the Ministry of Culture will be appealing, but it seems like things are changing. Photography was just allowed in the major research library in Moscow (the Leninka) at the beginning of the year. It seems like research could be movie back in the direction of the early 1990s, a period of unheard-of openness that those of us too young to have experienced it can only dream of. This could usher in new types of research, so let's keep our diners crossed, I say!"
] | [
"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 Massachusetts Press, 1988. > > Howe, Daniel Walker. “Church, State, and Education in the Young American Republic.” Journal of the Early Republic 22, no. 1 (April 1, 2002): 1–24. > > Kaestle, Carl. Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780-1860. 1st ed. Hill and Wang, 1983. > > Spring, Joel. The American School: From the Puritans to No Child Left Behind. 7th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. > > Katz, Michael B. “Horace Mann: What Went Wrong?” Reviews in American History 1, no. 2 (June 1, 1973): 218–223. > > Messerli, Jonathan. Horace Mann: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1972."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Were all US astronauts military officers on active duty up to some point? When did this change, and why? | [
"Astronaut Group 4 was the first group of non-pilots to enter the NASA astronaut core. Previous groups were taken from test pilots and fighter pilots. Harrison Schmitt on Apollo 17 was thus the first US non military officer in Space. Source: Eugene Cernan's Autobiography right next to me."
] | [
"Also, would her military experience be any useful in finding a job? Did women serve in the British military during World War 1 and if so, did they go back into the workforce afterwards?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What do Historians think of the works of Grover Furr? | [
"How reliable is Grover Furr? The short answer is not at all. Furr is a rank Stalinist apologist and not a professional historian. While the latter is not an automatic disqualification, his books and articles twists evidence and interpretations to suit an agenda of rehabilitating Stalin, much as David Irving selectively read archival evidence to rehabilitate Hitler. As such, he is usually banded about by the folks over a r/Communism as proof that the glorious Soviet experiment was never tainted by such sundry details like Gulags, mass murder, political purges, or invasions of neutral territory. /u/International_KB went into a delicious takedown of Furr [here](_URL_0_) and of the wider attempt to rehabilitate Stalin on badhistory [here](_URL_1_)."
] | [
"Are there any good introduction books to historiography in general? JFK in particular? Thank you"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How did the Baylonian base-60 system for time keeping became popular around the world? Were there any other systems? | [
"The origins of the base 60 system are murky although it affords a number of arithmetic and potentially astronomical conveniences. Mesopotamian astronomy was highly influential and you can see that influence reflected in, say, Ptolemy's Almagest (in turn, highly influential) where he also divides the circle in 360 units. So there's a fairly clear chain of influence starting with Sumer to Hellenistic mathematics and astronomy."
] | [
"Numbers are easier to learn then an alphabet. And our current number system are not very old and spread well after we had alphabets that is recognizable today. Before the Arabic numerals (which came from India) the Roman empire used Roman numerals. This was very good at counting and organizing units but was rather difficult to do maths with. There were a number of different techniques used based on physical objects. However when the Arabian scholars and merchants brought the new number system from India it soon replaced the old systems. This allowed for a better economic system. It was now much easier to calculate interest and divide ownership and so on. This was things that were very hard to do with the old systems. And even when most switched to using the numbers that came with the new number systems there are still alternative numbers. For example Chinese can use the traditional symbols for the numbers."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
I know it wasn't a solid unbroken hundred years, by WHY exactly did the Hundred Years War last so long? | [
"Not got enough info to give a proper answer at present (will check back later to see if any gaps need filling in from other's answers will be happy to do a spot of research, am interested myself) But thought you'd be interested that this question is a basis of an established thought experiment in game theory _URL_1_ (see pages 3 and 4) As this shows the 'universal game' (or disorganised conflict) ends when a player runs out of resources. This happened when the wars of the Roses diverted English belligerents to have to defend territory much closer to home. There was also internal strife caused by the costs of the war which undermined English efforts and culminated in the Peasant's revolt. _URL_0_ The English at this point still held possessions in France so they still had a buffer zone despite their internal vulnerabilities."
] | [
"You do realize that they didn't count backwards in ancient times."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about History:",
"pos": "Represent the document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are there any known detailed 'after action reports' made by Roman generals? Much like the ones made by Generals in the 17/1800's? | [
"Although obviously in a different style, most Roman primary sources that cover battles will give a play-by-play of the battle, although if you're not familiar with the style of writing can be hard to understand and probably the closest to an actual after-action style report would probably come from Caesar's conquest of Gaul as it is written by the man himself about, surprisingly, his conquest of Gaul and the battles that took place there."
] | [
"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 scholarly works I've ever read on the collapse/end of the Western Empire in 476."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about History:"
} |
Need a book recommendation on Alexander the Great | [
"Well, there's a trade-off. You're after a book that's accurate; a good read; and tells you why he was \"great\". In reality, you have to pick two. Having said that, you could do worse than: * J. M. O'Brien, *Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy* (Routledge, 1992) -- not authoritative, in the sense that O'Brien doesn't delve much into sorting fact from fiction, and has an axe to grind about alcoholism as Alexander's tragic flaw (his \"invisible enemy\"), but quite readable. * C. G. Thomas, *Alexander the Great in His World* (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007) * P. Briant, *Alexander the Great and His Empire: A Short Introduction* (Princeton, 2010) -- these two are both more academic: that means they're more authoritative, but also rather drier. Alternatively you could go straight to Plutarch's *Life of Alexander*, but then you need to forget about accuracy."
] | [
"What if you want a printed version of what was said?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
First-year professor needs book advice to prepare for world history course | [
"Have you by any chance read *A History of World Societies* by John P. McKay (and several others)? I know there's a concise version out there that might interest you."
] | [
"Check with your class resources. This is probably talking about something more specific that has been previously discussed in your classroom."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
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"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why weren't Nile Crocodiles hunted into extinction? | [
"It's been 5 hours without a top level comment that I can respond to, but I wanted to say that it is unusual for crocodiles to chase after people, and crocodiles are usually dangerous for being quick to strike. One can guess that crocodiles wouldn't be considered a major threat since they're unlikely to attack towns or even individuals who keep their distance, but hopefully someone has some actual knowledge of the situation."
] | [
"Because we haven't been trying for tens of thousands of years to breed elephants."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What's The Story of the Armed Services Editions of Books During WWII? | [
"More can always be said, but I would at the very least point you to /u/caffarelli's review of *[When Books Went to War](_URL_0_)* from a few years back, which coveres the military library program in WWII and would likely be a great place to start!"
] | [
"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 Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A Caro 9. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan 10. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn 11. 1491/1493 Charles C Mann Sorry, couldn't keep it to 6."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
When measured by GDP, how big was the United States government under George Washington? when (up to 1995) was the United States government biggest? When (up to 1995) and which government was the biggest? | [
"OP are you looking for (a) size of government (in terms of dollars expended? or employees? or some other factor) in Washington's day vs. late 20th c? (b) size of economy (as measured by GDP) in the late 18th c vs. the 90s? (c) size of goverment relative to the economy (e.g., something like government expenditure as a percentage of GDP) in Washington's day vs. the present. Not a historian, but I'll just note that if you're looking to compare government expenditure in the 18th c with that in the late 20th, you're dealing with apples and oranges. It's not an especially meaningful comparison, I think. Modern government has all sorts of expenses that didn't exist in Washington's time: health care, for instance. Transportation infrastructure. A military capable of global force projection vs. one designed merely to protect against invasion. And so on. What government *was* in his day versus our own has changed so much."
] | [
"Most EU countries have a higher tax rate than the US, combined with significantly lower military spending and smaller populations than the US. In 2011, Germany had a tax revenue of $1.551 trillion. In that same year, the US had a tax revenue of $4.218 trillion The US had a population of 311.6 million. Germany had a population of 81.8 million. Then, on top of that, of their $4.218 trillion the US spent $693.485 billion on military. Germany spent $48.8 billion. So the US only had 2.71x more tax revenue despite having 3.8x more people - and then the US spent 14.2x more on their military than Germany. (All values listed in USD$ and sourced from Wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Examples of Autocrats who were loved by their people | [
"### Three French generals who seized autocratic power and were loved! #3 will shock you! [Click here to never spend another penny on food again!](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"He opposed Vietnam so the US liked him, the Russians and Chinese liked the Communist government, he shut the outside world out while he was massacring people and the US hadn't signed the genocide convention yet. See \"A Problem from Hell\" by Samantha Power for more information."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
The AskHistorians Podcast - Episode 15 Discussion Thread - Battle of France | [
"After reading several books on the battle of France from both the British and the french perspective we see large mistakes from the general staff when trying to cooperate in joint action between all the allies (including Belgium) why was this the case? They had front WW1 together in which they did (eventually) learn to cooperate in an efficient manner what lead to this degradation of joint staffs? Also why on earth did the belgians refuse to let the allies enter EVEN after plans were found detailing a german invasion through belgium? Thanks"
] | [
"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 Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A Caro 9. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan 10. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn 11. 1491/1493 Charles C Mann Sorry, couldn't keep it to 6."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
The State of Oregon's original constitution included a clause banning black people from the state. How were they planning to enforce this? | [
"One question to add: did the founders actually expect to see black migration? At the time of Oregon's founding, the U.S. still had slave states and the transcontinental railroad hadn't been constructed."
] | [
"It suggests that while the government in a democracy should be controlled by the will of the majority, the majority's power must be tempered by establishing inalienable rights of minority groups who might otherwise be dominated and abuse. For example, in the United States the Congress cannot take territory from a state without its consent; a small state like Rhode Island is protected from everyone else. Similarly if a majority of people is of a particular religious group, it could not establish a state religion because the First Amendment forbids doing so. The same concepts are found in the state constitutions."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What are the major controversies of modern academic history? | [
"Human memory as a valid primary source. Can we trust first hand accounts for historical knowledge? Are they any more or less reliable (or \"true\") than official sources, such as government documents? Is memory best treated as an anecdotal supplement to historical events or should it form the foundation of historical understanding? It's an extremely important debate and relevant to lots of different fields, from ancient history to Holocaust studies. It also ties into the whole post-modernist debate over whether or not truth is purely subjective."
] | [
"Can anyone suggest respected works that deal, on a theoretical level, with the concept of elites? Specifically from the standpoint of history."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What can you guys tell me about this ring? We believe it was one of many dispersed during WWI after the German government confiscated precious metals. | [
"When Prussia declared war on France in 1813, the prussian government started a campaign to finance the war. People where encouraged to give their gold and silver (jewellery, silverware etc.). In return, they got iron rings. This also happend during WW I. The ring your great grandfather found was probably the iron counterpart of a golden wedding ring that was given for the war effort. German Wiki article: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Hist tomb was not robbed when first discovered and thus had TONS of valuables. The people who found it then kept with tradition and robbed the fuck out of it. Also sent some to museums."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Who are some of the lesser known inventors during the Industrial Revolution? | [
"The least known and yet most significant inventor of the industrial period that I'm aware of would be the original inventor of the [centrifugal governor](_URL_1_). It's difficult to either be lesser known than unknown or to overstate the importance of regulated adaptive feedback in dynamic systems. Addendum: this is the gadget that gave us the timeless expressions \"balls out\" and \"balls to the wall\". EDITS: [Small photo](_URL_2_) of painted red balls of a governor for the [tentering gear](_URL_0_) of a windmill. The second link also has a photo with the white painted balls of a governor. Windmills are surprising complex with feedback systems that adjust the head angle into the wind, the sail tilt, and the power transfer to millstones."
] | [
"What are the must read books about the American revolution published within the last five years? What are the current arguments being discussed by historians who study the era?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Literature:"
} |
Does anyone have any recommendations for books on the KGB? I am especially interested in the period during the fall of the USSR. | [
"The fall of the Soviet Union was covered in relative detail by Serhii Plokhii in ‘The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union’(2014). He covers the drama of the final days of the country with detail on the KGB, including Putin, when necessary."
] | [
"Follow up question. Boris Yeltsin was a famous alcoholic. Did this change how seriously he was taken in the days directly after the fall of the USSR?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Monday Mish-Mash | Naval Warfare | [
"Having seriously enjoyed *Master and Commander* (the film, not the book, though I'm sure the books are great too!), I've been annoyed at just how few movies centered upon \"the age of fighting sail\" there are, and just how... well, *poor* they tend to be at that. I'm hoping I've just had bad luck finding the good ones, though. Can anyone recommend some that actually stand up very well? I'd be shocked if anything could actually match *Master and Commander*, but even something that's half as good would be an improvement on nothing."
] | [
"Sleep - Shake Unconscious - Splash Coma - Wait and Hope Vegetative State - Wait and Bury"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How did comparatively tiny Salt Lake City (pop. 191,000) get a professional basketball team? | [
"* Salt Lake City had a popular ABA team (the Stars) that were relocated there from LA and set attendance records, but inexplicably folded for financial reasons. (See _URL_1_) * The Jazz had venue problems in New Orleans, and eventually played at the Superdome, but Mardi Gras and football playoffs gave them schedule issues. (See _URL_2_) * New Orleans had an 11% amusement tax on tickets, which was the highest in the league. (See above) * There were talks about the Oakland As or the Pittsburgh Pirates moving baseball to the Superdome, which would have caused even more scheduling issues. (See this for a mention of the As: _URL_0_)"
] | [
"The Desire trilogy is set in Chicago of 1895, which was worlds apart from what it was when Lincoln went to Congress in 1846. It had grown from a port town of maybe 20,000 to an industrial city of of 1.3 million. Lincoln's Illinois was primarily agricultural."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are these theories about the causes of World War I reasonable? They seem quite unorthodox. | [
"The Lusitania claim should be easily shown false on the face of it. The ship sank in May, 1915. The US didn't declare war until April, 1917. If the US had intentionally sent the ship to her death for an excuse to join the war... why would they then wait two years? (I've heard people say that the British wanted it sunk to sway American opinion. That at least makes slightly more sense, I guess, but it is still a pretty baseless conspiracy theory as far as I'm aware)."
] | [
"They believe that their race is superior to all others. They then come up with a wide array of \"evidence\" to support that claim."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
When did 'XXX' start to be used as the universal label for pornography and why? | [
"When the MPAA ratings were introduced in the 1960s, X was used as the highest rating, equivalent to the way R is used today. Porn producers in the 1970s picked up use of the X-rated banner, and using XXX came about as a play on that, indicating that they are more extreme than X-rated. The MPAA soon dropped usage of the X rating to avoid the association with porn. That's when it picked up NC-17. It's mentioned in [this article](_URL_0_). Perhaps someone else can furnish you with a more in-depth source, but that's the gist of it."
] | [
"In Australia a few games have been blocked due to excessive sexual explicitness or strong themes, this probably isn't what you're looking for though."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
I'm an austro-hungarian infantry man on the western front in 1916. What is my day to day life like and what happens to me after the war? | [
"Very few (no?) Austro-Hungarian units were on the western front. They had their own fronts to worry about, in the Balkans and Russia, among others."
] | [
"Combination of things... mainly it just wasn't a thing back then so wasn't recorded or considred. Second, in a good fudal campaign there might only be one or two good battle, and the wars (at least the marching about looking for a fight bit) only lasted for a season or two so it was much shorter. Third, there was no such thing as a professional soldier, so while a person may be horrified and haunted by what they'd seen they might only be exposed to it once or twice (see above) before returning to their trade for the rest of their life. Fourth, the nature of war has changed, now people die and are mutilated and torn to bits... most 'early' wars one side lost nerve and ran off before a significant number had died. Fifth, in an insurgency (like you see in afghanistan) there is no 'front line' they can attack anywhere so its not like they can pull a WWII and ship you a couple miles away to 'get away from it' I'm sure some other people can cover this further but that's the jist i think."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Question about early colonial expansion in North America... | [
"There is a major difference between nutritional deficiency and a deficiency in caloric intake. The latter is what most likely concerned the early settlers, as opposed to modern diets that recommend limiting so-called \"empty calories.\" So yes, it's pretty outlandish. I wouldn't try to starve someone by giving them free twinkies. \"They had been eating it for thousands of years\" nuff said"
] | [
"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 query:",
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"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Depiction of Europeans in art by non-Europeans pre-industrial revolution | [
"There are many depictions of 16th and 17th Century Europeans in Iran, like in murals in Isfahan. Europeans often traveled and lived there. Many Dutch and Portuguese are shown in murals on the Chehel Sotun reception palace _URL_2_ _URL_1_ These tiles in the Metropolitan Museum in NY show a romantic scene _URL_3_ _URL_0_ Chinese or Europeans in Iran would not be rare even back then, since Iran and China have had trade relations for more than a thousand years, and of course Iranian relations with Europe go back to the ancient Greeks"
] | [
"The French Revolution in regards to the mindset of modern culture. The Industrial Revolution when it comes to technological advancements."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In World War One, when tanks were first used, what did the Axis think of them? Did they know what they were? Did they find them frightening? | [
"Axis? I believe you mean the Central Powers."
] | [
"The French were globally believed to have the strongest military in the world. Not to mention a believed strong defensive line along their border with Germany. So it wasnt that they didnt think they couldnt beat Germany, it was that German tactics and strategy knocked the French and the British expeditionary force on their behinds."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Was Lavrentiy Beria a serial rapist? | [
"It is actually something that has merit, and not just from Sebag-Montefiore's writings. Amy Knight, who wrote the only (as far as I know) English-language biography of Beria, *Beria: Stalin's First Lieutenant* (1993) notes that he had a voracious appetite for women, and it was one of the accusations his opponents brought against him when he was arrested (they had a list of 39 names). While the latter obviously was politically motivated, it seems that there is some basis to the stories. I don't have the book on me at the moment so can't get the specific details she mentions, but can do so (for tomorrow), if needed."
] | [
"How would a psychiatric exam help catch a serial killer?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Did Newfoundland benefit by joining Confederation in 1948 rather than 1867? | [
"Newfoundland didn't join Canada in 1867 because it was not Canadian in any meaningful way. It was much more akin to, say, Bermuda today in its orientation away from Canada and toward Britain and the US. Newfoundlanders saw themselves as Britons who happened to live in the northern mid-Atlantic and traded with and visited the \"Boston states\" of the US, not orphaned Canadians. (The neglect worked both ways; Newfoundland was Canada's eighth-largest trading partner as late as 1949.) If Newfoundland had somehow been persuaded to participate in the Confederation in 1867 it would not have gone bankrupt during the Great Depression, so would have been spared a decade of grinding poverty and 15 years of no self-government. So, yes, joining earlier would have been better."
] | [
"Other British Colonies which became independent in the 20th century also became prosperous. Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates are all British colonies which became independent in the 20th century and are prosperous today. (This also assumes that you consider Ireland to be a colony, which it was not, since it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland since the Acts of Union in 1800.)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why did so many people in the past seemingly die of things like heartbreak and shock? | [
"It sounds like you're getting your facts from pulpy novels of the day, and not from history. It's dreadfully romantical to end a story with the two lovers dying within days of each other due to heartbreak, but it's not rooted in facts of any kind. & #x200B; There's also a long history of salacious or potentially controversial media advertising itself as being life-threatening to consume due to the sheer gratuitousness of the content. This is an advertising gimmick, not an actual public health issue. & #x200B; In re dying of shock, \"shock\" can be both the familiar emotion of feeling shocked, or it can be a medical condition caused by blood flow problems after massive physical trauma. You can definitely die of the latter kind of shock."
] | [
"When people get old their bodies break down, resulting in things like organ failure or dementia. This is what people usually refer to as death from old age. No, your body doesn't suddenly decide that it's been around long enough."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
When did we replace "v" with "u" | [
"In actuality, we didn't really \"replace\" V with U. Instead, V was split into V and U, depending on where in the word it was used. This started sometime in the late middle ages, probably not earlier than AD 1300. [From Wikipedia's article V](_URL_0_): During the Late Middle Ages, two forms of 'v' developed, which were both used for its ancestor /u/ and modern /v/. The pointed form 'v' was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form 'u' was used in the middle or end, regardless of sound. So whereas 'valor' and 'excuse' appeared as in modern printing, 'have' and 'upon' were printed as 'haue' and 'vpon'. The first distinction between the letters 'u' and 'v' is recorded in a Gothic script from 1386 [edit] To answer your question about what the Romans used for \"V,\" they used \"V\". Someone with some more linguistics chops can probably provide more information on this, but the letter V was used for V, U, and W sounds, I believe, and so there was just no need to use \"U\" for anything."
] | [
"I've seen it both ways. I'd pronounce \"24/7\" as \"twenty-four seven\" and \"24x7\" as \"twenty-four by seven.\" As to making sense, English often doesn't."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How large was the fertility difference between victorious and defeated people? Do we all descend from a few victors? | [
"The genes of the victors do spread easily - look at the descendants of Genghis Khan - but look at, say, the [genetic evidence in Britain](_URL_0_) around the Anglo-Saxon invasion. \"When I looked at exact gene type matches between the British Isles and the continent, there were indeed specific matches between the continental Anglo-Saxon homelands and England, but these amounted to only 5 per cent of modern English male lines, rising to 15 per cent in parts of Norfolk where the Angles first settled. There were no such matches with Frisia, which tends to confirm a specific Anglo-Saxon event since Frisia is closer to England, so would be expected to have more matches... English females almost completely lack the characteristic Saxon mtDNA marker type still found in the homeland of the Angles and Saxons.\""
] | [
"Both in the US and in Mexico there was an enormous massacre of natives, but it was much more widespread in the US. After the massacre, in the US it was less likely for the invaders to mate with the natives. In Mexico, there where a lot more native survivors, and after a lot of boning, they had a lot of mixed-race offspring. Also, Spaniards have slightly darker skin to begin with than Irish, British, Scottish, and other Saxon immigrants the US got."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did the Russian reputation for fatalism, real or stereotyped, develop? | [
"In what Russians wrote about themselves there is no fatalism, but there is concept of \"Avos\". \"Avos'\" is used in the same sense as the Arab \"insh'allah\" (or, say, Spanish \"ojalá\") - \"let's hope that...\" and when Russians are asked why they're doing completely doomed things it's said they do it on \"Avos'\". For example, one of the ships of Nikolay Rezanov sailed on to take possession of the Columbia river in 1806 was called \"Avos'\". Indeed it ultimately failed. Avos'ka, or the little Avos', is what the Russians called [the nets that you received as shopping bags in the Soviet era](_URL_0_) because, as the comedian Arkadiy Raykin put it, you said \"avos' something will still be in the netting when I'm home\". Russian 19th writers would discuss it as a particular trait of the Russian character and from there it might have been translated as \"fatalism\". But they didn't just make it responsible for a submission to the fate but also to hopeless and irrational daredevil insurrections against it."
] | [
"Here's a question - was Machiavelli an idealist or a realist? Did monarchs of his time take up his advice? If so, did it work, or did his advice come off as foolish rhetoric?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Where did the hard shell taco originate from? | [
"Jeffrery Pilcher actually wrote an amusing book on this topic matter called \"Planet Taco\". Long story short, the hard-shelled U shaped taco shell was invented in the mid-twentieth century by Mexican Americans and was later capitalized on by the Taco Bell corporation due to the easiness of storing and transporting them."
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
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