query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
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Why did Eisenhower initially lie about the U-2 incident? | [
"Ike's biographer simply calls his insistence on secrecy and denial of the U2 program a fetish. Ike thought Powers had followed orders and had taken the suicide pill after setting aircraft's demolition charge. The idea was that the cover story of a weather research flight would actually work, though Khrushchev delayed the revelation that Powers had survived long enough for Ike to hang himself - one of the great propaganda coups of the Cold War. When it became apparent that the United States was lying, the State Department turned to damage control, and fed the impression that rogue elements within the Pentagon had ordered the flights. As a soldier, Eisenhower found the art of spycraft to be disagreeable, so he was loathe to publicly admit that he relied almost exclusively upon it to influence the post-War world."
] | [
"At the 1985 peace summit in Geneva, Ronald Reagan asked Mikhail Gorbachev for Soviet support, in case there was an imminent threat of an alien invasion from outer space. Gorbachev was taken aback by this suggestion and politely changed the subject. General Colin Powell, who at the time was the Deputy National Security Advisor, was horrified that Reagan went off script and even brought the topic up. One of Powell's jobs as Deputy National Security Advisor was to carefully read Reagan's public speaches and delete any interplanetary references. He told Reagan that the plans the US Military had for that contingency were \"Top Secret\". President Reagan was only able to speak publically about an alien invasion from outer space once while president of the United States. He did so at a high school in Maryland, shortly after he returned from the 1985 Geneva summit with Gorbachev. Source: \"How UFOs Conquered the World\" by David Clarke (2015)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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Are there any incidents of government spy agencies using seduction to gain information from an enemy, like in a Bond film? | [
"Yes, this method is commonly known as \"honey trap(ping)\". The probably most well known example of the use of a honey trap would be the case of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear technician who became the whistleblower who unveiled the secret Israeli nuclear arms program. While he was trying to sell his story, he was in Australia. Since the Israelis did not want to cause diplomatic trouble with Australia, they decided to use Vanunu's well known loneliness and sent a female agent to pose as an American tourist and befriend him. The agent then convinced Vanunu to travel with her to Rome, where three other Mossad agents were waiting for them in an apartment, overpowered Vanunu as soon as he and the honey trap entered and kidnapped him to Israel, where he was tried and subsequently imprisoned."
] | [
"Espionage: the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information. Nothing about that says they have to be a government official. A farmer who reports troop movements to the enemy is a spy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
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What's your favorite book about the American revolution? | [
"Robert Middlekauff's early 1980s classic \"The Glorious Cause\" is often considered one of the best among academics, it also has a lot of interesting anecdotes that make it fun to read."
] | [
"Just asked this in the other sticky, but maybe this is the better place for it: Does anyone have any good book recommendations about the Nigerian Civil War or about Biafra as a country?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
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"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Literature:"
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AskHistorians Book Club - 2nd Reading Announcement | [
"Clicked on the article link and started reading, then realized about 20 minutes later I should get back to work. Good article and very interesting topic that I hadn't given any thought to previously. Looking forward to reading the discussions next week."
] | [
"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 about Literature:",
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AskHistorians Book Club - 3rd Reading Announcement | [
"I'm new to this, are we allowed to discuss the intent or narrative of the author and the context in which this was written even if it's within the last 20 years?"
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the comment about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How accurate is the Broadway Play Hamilton? | [
"Hi there - and yes, you've come to the right place! There's always more room for further answers, but there's now a part of our FAQ section dedicated to the question '[How historically accurate is Hamilton?](_URL_4_)'. In June 2016, a bunch of flairs in early American history, including /u/uncovered-history, /u/TRB1783, and /u/irishfafnir answered lots of questions about *Hamilton* [in this AMA thread](_URL_5_) - that would also be a good place to start!"
] | [
"Out of curiosity, was this post prompted by the \"Amazing Story\" video on the front page?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
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Atlantic Historians: What trends do we see in regards to the Haitian Revolution? | [
"Don't speak for the entire field of historians. They've already spoken for themselves. Your historiography should take these statements and make an attempt at understanding their meanings and implications. What, based on their choices of analysis, has governed their focus in writing? What implications does this have for our understanding of Haitian history?"
] | [
"What are some of the most important contributions to the study of U.S. history by non-U.S. scholars? Are there any good analyses of trends in specifically non-U.S. scholarly views of American history?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
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How have countries in history reacted to neighbors collapsing from internal strife? | [
"Depending on available resources and the cost of conquest/rebuilding and maintenance... invasion. I'm not saying it's the default response but as a sovereign entity losing cohesion is tantamount to inviting foreign interferance. This interferance may or may not be cloaked in altruism to restore the previous rule if the situation was beneficial, putting up a puppet ruler if it wasn't and lastly straight up annexation."
] | [
"Colonialism, dictatorship, ethnic conflict, corrupt governments, capitalist exploitation, take your pick."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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Saturday Reading and Research | February 21, 2015 | [
"Currently reading Sheilagh Ogilvie's [*A Bitter Living: Women, Markets, and Social Capital in Early Modern Germany*](_URL_0_) which is not only delightfully written but very eloquently argued as well. Can anyone else recommend something that incorporates social network theory/analysis, applied to Central Europe in the 17th -18th centuries?"
] | [
"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 post about Literature:",
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The Command for Animals to Fast and Wear Sackcloth in the book of Jonah. How would an 8th Century BC person have viewed it? | [
"Well, when we speak about this far in time we can not say very much about daily life and rituals of those people. But Herodotus mentioned something similar that can help us. Herodotus mentions great Persian commander Masistius that died in combat with Athenians. And after his death Herodotus mentions some strange Persian ritual. He said that Persians shaved their heads and cut the manes of their horses as signs of mourning. Source: (*The Histories, book IX, 23-24)* In this example we can see that is was not odd to use livestock for mourning or some other ritual. I asked this myself long time ago this is what i found, maybe there are some new discoveries on this subject. I hope i helped."
] | [
"1) Jesus is God in Christianity. They are one and con-substantial. 2) Jews don't recognise Jesus as being divine. 3) The Bible is a collection of scriptures written over a long period of time. The Scriptures as we see them today were put together in the late 4th century. The New Testament contains the Gospels. 4) Scientology isn't Christian, but the others' differences vary between beliefs, interpretation of Scripture and authority. 5) Christians don't need to adhere to the Mosaic Ceremonial Laws as per the Council of Jerusalem and so don't need to be circumcised."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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Why was the only person to be convicted for My Lai a 2nd Lt? | [
"Medina denied giving the orders to Calley during his court-martial, and only admitted to being a part of the incident later. Medina's defense lawyers cooked up a sickeningly brilliant defense of his position. He claimed that while he had briefed his men on the possibility that there would be Viet Cong in the village of My Lai, he never gave any direct orders to kill Viet Cong, even though eyewitness accounts had him killing unarmed civilians. It **is** directly contradictory, and it's widely considered a farce that Medina got off scot-free. In fact, no one got any punishment for the massacre except for Calley, who ended up only serving three and a half years on house arrest. Don't forget, this wasn't swept under the rug at the point of the trial, this trial was a huge deal to the American public and a source of colossal outrage. It was the proverbial \"last straw\" of the political victory of the Viet Cong/PAVN at Tet, and helped bring about the end of the American influence in the conflict. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Unfortunately it is true. Even the part where Stan sings Oliver North got off scot free. I had to double check that, because I thought for sure Oliver North was convicted for his role in Iran Contra, but on 9/16/1991 all charges against Oliver North were dropped."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
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Any good sources for late 17th early 18th century British infantry drill? | [
"I'm assuming you mean the \"late 18th and early 19th Century\", then the British would have trained to the [Manual of Arms 1764](_URL_0_) (updated version, but best .pdf I could find on short notice), the Colonials would have used that to begin with also until they phased in von Steuben's [Revolutionary War Drill Manual](_URL_1_) in 177~~9~~**8**. Hope that helps some."
] | [
"David Miller's *The Illustrated Directory of Uniforms, Weapons, and Equipment of the Civil War* is regarded as the gold standard work on Civil War militaria. Robin Smith and Ron Field's *Uniforms of the Civil War: An Illustrated Guide for Historians, Collectors, and Reenactors* is more of an entry-level text, but is very accessible. You may also find it worth buying one of Don Troiani's art books. He does meticulous research into his Civil War scenes and does a great job capturing the essence of Civil War soldiers in camp and combat."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Education:",
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Chart showing quantity of historical documentation available per time period? | [
"This is an interesting idea, which would make researching a certain area of time far, far easier - but, as far as I can discern - utterly impossible, unfortunately. Just to go through a single hundred-year period - say 1600 to 1700 - and attempting to gather all the remaining documentation available and pertaining to the time (printed pamphlets, notices, proclamations, and news sheets, in addition to the utterly vast number of surviving handwritten texts - which is staggeringly huge, really - *as well as* everything else one might consider an historical document), an historian would have to travel the globe for a decade or more compiling sources just to get even a remotely accurate picture of the sort of materials available to consider. Still, I'd love to see that list."
] | [
"Common methods of reference would be how many years into the reign of the current ruler, or years past some significant event known to their intended audience."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
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Did any countries besides the US attempt legislation similar to Prohibition? How did it go? | [
"Yes, many other countries tried various forms of prohibition. A limited form in Iceland was still going in the 1980s (the large portions were removed in the 30s)."
] | [
"Could the rebuilding of Japan after WWII be considered a partial colonization by the United States?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
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How come Pizarro and his small army were able to defeat the Natives and capture Atahuallpa, even though they were outnumbered 1-400? | [
"Not to discourage further discussion, but this question has seen some very high quality posts, most notably this [one](_URL_1_). You may also be interested in these posts from /u/anthropology_nerd on the subject: [On the myth of a few Europeans beating scores of Americans](_URL_2_) and [On the use of native allies](_URL_3_), parts of their [Myths of Conquest](_URL_0_) series."
] | [
"Thanks guys! This was an awesome start to my day! I was particularly surprised to realize how long the conquest took and how many times it seems like Cortez was extremely lucky (getting native support after breaking out of Tenochtitlan, having the forces sent to arrest him switch sides, almost being captured during the siege, etc.) Two questions about Cortez's native allies. 1) Are there casualty figures for them throughout the conquest? Were those casualties comparable to Aztec casualties? Basically, to what degree did Cortez's Spanish \"shock troops\" tip the balance away from Aztec dominance? Obviously, it caused them to win rather than lose, but I never got a sense of how balanced or unbalanced Cortez's victories were. 2) Did smallpox hit Cortez's native allies? To the same level? Less? More?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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What is the Legend behind "Arizona Sword" by Leslie Fish? | [
"This is legitimately fascinating. I'm sorry I can't help more, but I strongly suspect it's an excellent modern story rather than than anything aboriginal. You're right that swords in the Southwest are symbolic of conquistadors, but unfortunately this is a song about an *Arizona Sword*. Arizona, the iconography of the Sun, the phoenix, and copper rays are all firmly attached to the modern state. The idea about liberty would be extremely strange for a native story, or one from early settlers. Secondly the color white is an interesting choice, as moons on puebloan pottery are often painted a faint yellow, while Jade (black-green) is not a commonly used color by natives. Green is more traditionally the color of plants (e.g. [Palo Verde](_URL_0_), or malachite/turquoise. Funnily enough, the ironic ending would be perfect for a native story, but the message and details just aren't right."
] | [
"Check out Robert E. May's *Manifest Destiny's Underworld*."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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AskHistorians Podcast 134 - The Adjunctification of Academic Life w/Professor Daniel Bessner | [
"A podcast episode that may also be of interest: [Working People: After the Academy - we talk to eight working-class scholars about loving, leaving, and being left behind by academia](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"Okay so this is a huge huge topic so i'll give you some of my personal favorites and/or quality works. **African Americans** * *Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I*- Adriane Lentz-Smith * *Black Newspapers and America's War for Democracy 1914-1920*- William G. Jordan * *The Double V: How Wars, Protest, and Harry Truman Desegregated America's Military* - Rawn James Jr. * *Cold War Civil Rights* - Mary Dudziak * *African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement* - Vincent Intondi **Asian Americans** * *Double Cross: Japanese Americans in Black and White Chicago* - Jacalyn Harden * *No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai'I During World War II* - Franklin Odo **Hispanic Americans** * *No Mexicans, Women, or Dogs Allowed: The Rise of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement* Cynthia Orozco * *Raza Si! Guerra No! Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Vietnam War Era* - Lorena Oropeza"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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What is the history of the boomerang? | [
"From what I have learnt from Aboriginal elders (I taught in a high school in Outback Australia) there were a couple of uses for boomerangs. The first was as a hunting tool, which is the most known form of boomerang. It was designed to return after being thrown. The second was a war boomerang, which was heavier and wasn't supposed to come back. I can't give any explanation for the creation of the boomerang, as the elder just said that they had made them since the dream time. Hopefully that helps a little. I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but I learnt this a few years ago now and my memory is starting to get rusty."
] | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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Other than the JFK assassination, what are some other events where the account given by historians was rejected by the general public? | [
"Quick example answer: In the mid seventeenth century it was a relatively common assertion, at least among his political enemies, that Charles I of England had arranged the fatal poisoning of his father, James VI/I, when all official records indicated otherwise."
] | [
"It's generally about the timing and that the initial reports did not 100% line up with the eventual findings released to the public. There were also videos released from families of victims that people felt were not acting the way that the families would have acted were they really mourning. Pretty much every major event has a conspiracy tied to it. It's in our nature to question things rather than accepting what we're told. We want evidence and want to know what REALLY happened."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
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How did Lewis and Clark communicate with the White House during their expedition? Did they just disappear for a while and then show up again after two years? | [
"According to the book on the Journal of the corps of discovery they were missing for a couple of years and feared dead. They lost contact going west in South Dakota, They took a bad route to cross the mountains didn't see any ships in Oregon. On the way back snow caused a lot of delays and they spent a lot of time with the Nez Perces. When they got back to the Missouri River and their boats , they made it back to St. Louis in a hurry and the News erupted with their account of survival. A source _URL_0_"
] | [
"Ironically, the king of England wrote in his diary \"Nothing of great importance happened on this day.\" It wasn't his way of being funny or bitter about America being independent, because news of total independence wouldn't reach his ears for another 3 months, as that's how long it took to cross the Atlantic via boat. This might not quite be the answer you were searching for, but it still happened on that day, and it's quite entertaining to know, IMHO."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
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The last drink of Christ: Mercy or prank? | [
"> I learned that the common interpretation is that the same soldiers, out of the niceness of their hearts, gives him some of the own vinegar-infused drinking water (a popular drink then, apparently) I can address this small portion. Soldiers and poor members of society drank a beverage called Posca. It was a mix of wine, vinegar and herbs. Its is a certainty that Roman soldiers from this era would have had this on their possession."
] | [
"Jesus eats it to fuel his dark powers."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
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Why is the Charge of the Light Brigade so famous or important? | [
"hi! you might be interested in a couple of earlier posts * [What is the significance and relation of the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Crimean War?](_URL_0_) * [Why is the Charge of the Light Brigade such a big deal?](_URL_1_)"
] | [
"One of these is not like the others."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
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I'm interested in the history of the addition of Hawaii to the United States. What was the reasoning behind it? Did the people accept it with open arms? | [
"Besides the obvious economic interest, Hawaii was geopolitically important as the last major piece of land that a naval fleet attacking the West Coast of the United States would have to pass. Thus after the acquisition of Alaska, getting Hawaii all but secured the US from Pacific assaults. Source: _URL_0_"
] | [
"It's highly unlikely. Congress would need to approve it, and the Republicans would never support the addition of a state whose electoral votes would almost certainly go to the democrats in every presidential election. Then there's time money issue. If admitted to the US, Puerto Rico would be the poorest state in the us. Not a lot of US politicians want to take that on. Also, just over half of Puerto Ricans approved of statehood in a 2012 vote. If the us approved statehood, you'd have quite a few Puerto Ricans actively working against it. It might happen someday, but not anytime soon."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
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How risky was being a druglord in the late 1700s early 1800s? | [
"There were no druglords at that point. They would have nothing to sell, because all medicines, herbs and alcohol were legal. Synthetic drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin didn't exist yet. Even opium was legal, with the exception of China, which had some trouble with British opium exorts, which led to the opium wars. Still we can hardly talk about druglords in the modern sense, there weren't an even in China, the true \"opium druglords\" were the British who exported it there from British India."
] | [
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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Announcement: On November 25th at 12PM PST AskHistorians will be hosting an AMA with Dr. Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum | [
"12 PM PST is 8 PM GMT, for us europeans. That's great news, I'm really looking forward to this. /r/AskHistorians is one of (if not *the*) best subreddits and definitely deserves some attention from outside of Reddit itself."
] | [
"[Here's](_URL_0_) the BBC podcast from \"In Our Time,\" you might look up the names of the contributors on JSTOR or other databases for their publications. They are Phil Perkins of the Open University, David Ridgway of the University of London and Corinna Riva of University College London."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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D-Day: Why did the Allies run into the Atlantic Wall instead of invading Southern France and moving north? | [
"The event you are thinking of, Operation Dragoon, did occur beginning on August 15 1944. The reasons a cross channel invasion was held first were many though. The biggest was that it offered the most direct route to Germany and was the most straight forward to keep supplied. Making Southern France the main effort would have strained the already stressed supply chain in the Med working to keep the drive through Italy going. The British also weren't crazy about it from the start as they felt it unnecessary drain on Italy and Overlord. But got on board when the plan was to have both landings in France occur at the same time. However the lack of sufficient amphibious vessels meant Dragoon had to be pushed back."
] | [
"Marines would have been more successful at a beach landing, but there was only one beach landing on D-Day (more or less, if you group it together). After D-Day the Allied forces had to fight inland, which was more suited towards the Army. In the Pacific, the troops had to go \"Island Hopping.\" They would deploy from ships and land on the beaches, fight to the death over little scraps of sand for a few days, then board the ships again and move on to the next island. There were a lot more beach landings in the Pacific Theater than the European."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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I'm a new Christian roman citizen living around 70 AD in cities influenced by apostle Paul. What does my church/meeting place/Christian household etc. look like? | [
"You probably meet in a house/apartment. There are not church buildings at this time, and it's unlikely you would meet in any other kind of building. Likely you meet at least weekly, on the Sunday morning to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, but given social conditions you probably meet very regularly with other believers. The NT, in the introductions and sign-offs to letters seems to indicate multiple churches, i.e. multiple gatherings, in some cities, often identified by whose house they met in. Probably a typical house church was not more than 20. For further reading, Edwin Judge would be my starting point, something like *The Social Pattern of the Christian Groups in the First Century\" 1960. (One of his earliest works, but the later stuff is good too)."
] | [
"Well most times people would participate in houses of a fellow member. I am sure you have seen the fish that so many people associate with Jesus/Christianity, that came as a result during a time of human persecution in the Middle East. One person would draw half in the sand with their foot during the conversation, and if the other person completed it then they would be able to recognize each other as fellow member. Many groups that were persecuted in societies had ways to subtly locate each other without raising alarms."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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What amendments of the constitution were extremely revolutionary or reactionary for thier time? | [
"Amendments to which constitution? There are so many of them."
] | [
"How revolutionary was the general populace in areas controlled by the anarchists? Did they actually believe in the anarchist ideals? To what extent were those ideals actually carried out?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
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Anti-abolitionists in the US cited economics as their most common argument against ending slavery. Did the US suffer any noticeable recession soon after the passing of the 13th Amendment? | [
"I would imagine this would be really hard to quantify since so much of the South'a economy was also recovering from the loss of life and and other reconstruction efforts after the devastation of places like those visited by Sherman and the Northern army."
] | [
"The Northern States and the Southern States had incompatible business models. The Northern states were opposed to slavery, an essential part of Southern agribusiness, but they were not willing to compensate the Southern slaveholders to get them to free their slaves. As new states were formed, a huge debate took place regarding their business rules. The Northern states wanted the whole country to use their business rules - which by the way prohibited government seizure of private property without compensation. The Southern states wanted each state to have it's own rules. Negotiations failed, and both sides were willing to take up arms for their principles."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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I was given a mysterious Terracotta Statue Head....Could this be an authentic Mayan, Aztec, or Inca relic? | [
"It definitely looks authentic. The ear spools and zoomorphic nose are distinctly Mesoamerican, but I can't get more specific than that without some kind of contextual information. (That's the problem with looting – once you take the artifact out of context we lose all of that information.) I couldn't see one in the pictures, but is there a crease running down the left or right sides of the figurine? That could be an indication of mass production (which doesn't mean it isn't authentic, it just means it was mold-made)."
] | [
"Child sacrifices to Huitzilopochtli are not well documented. Usually children are sacrificed to deities like Tlaloc in Mesoamerica. Found within the Templo Mayor was a child burial dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. The child was dressed up like the god complete with a little wooden shield, bells around his feet, and bundled bird feathers on his arms. If you can read Spanish I highly recommend checking out the article on this unique sacrifice. _URL_4_ Drawing of the unit - _URL_5_ Reconstruction drawing - _URL_5_ Image of Huitzilopochtli from the Florentine Codex - _URL_4_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
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} |
Did the Soviet Union ever support the IRA? | [
"They did have a secret agreement that started in 1925, although Stalin was always sceptical of the IRA and the agreement was kept secret to the extent that even the British and American intelligence services had little idea about the extent of it. The main part of the argument was that the IRA would 'spy' or try to gain intelligence from Britain in return for a £500 per month payment. The IRA also had to support the aims of the Soviet Union, for example they ended up sending equipment to China. The payment was also cut in 1927 down to £100 per month which led to a disaster within the IRA as they simply could not run on that amount of money. The Soviets did end up paying £1,000 as a one off to keep the IRA going. The soviets were also reluctant to send weapons as they did not want them to be traced back and cause further tensions with the Soviet Union. I would highly recommend [this](_URL_0_) article as well as a 'Decoding the IRA' by Thomas Mahon and James Gillogly if you can get your hands on a copy."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
how much civilian life was lost in sherman's march to the sea? | [
"Surprisingly little. The total casualty count is commonly accepted as around 3,000 but this number includes conflict with militia and military personnel in Georgia and pockets of resistance. From what I remember the actual civilian casualties numbered around 100. The real damage was done to the city of Atlanta and the Georgian countryside where over 300 miles of railroad tracks were destroyed along with $100 million worth of property. Including a very significant amount of corn, cotton, hay, livestock (cattle and mules), horses and homes. Considering the fact that Sherman managed that much destruction it's actually impressive how few civilians died, although they lost their homes and property (part of which if I recall correctly was due to some Georgian leaders not ordering evacuations) Sherman's march was remarkably disciplined and resulted in very few casualties considering the scale of the many other battles in the Civil War."
] | [
"I would imagine this would be really hard to quantify since so much of the South'a economy was also recovering from the loss of life and and other reconstruction efforts after the devastation of places like those visited by Sherman and the Northern army."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Help identifying German WW1 Photos (Imgur link) | [
"Knowing that he is (possibly Bavarian) from Munich, he maybe been in the 1st Bavarian Corps likely the 1st Royal Bavarian Division which was located in Munich. I cannot really figure out which unit this was, but I can get some clue from the first picture, which is an inspection of an infantry division by Kaiser Wilhelm II along with Crown Prince Wilhelm and the staff, but I’m not sure if that soldier is part of the unit of his. Are you able to clarify more details, such as medals, rank or anything else?"
] | [
"That is a WWI era Yugoslavian/Serbian officers cockade cap badge. I believe they are pretty rare. Usually those pins had blue in the center and red on the outside. It is from the Yugoslavian \"Kingdom era\" 1918-1939 Hope that answered some questions. Edit to add example: _URL_0_ Just a little way down the page youll see the same badge and description."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about history:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What influence did the hanseatics have on scandinavian culture and language? | [
"Hanseatic influence brougth a lot of changes to my home country Sweden. These are just two things i remember from the top of my head. First and foremost it change the language alot, something like 40% of the modern Swedish vocabulary is based on expression imported from German during this era. This is probably what happened to Norwegian and Danish aswell because these three languages are very similar, while Icelandic has'nt had any foreign influences and is therefore very different. And then the Hanseatic League also financed Gustav Erikssons revolution against the Danish, which made us Swedes independent. He also introduced protestantism so that he could confiscate church property in order to pay back the debt(and increase his own power)."
] | [
"Immigration was very common before the american civil war. The immigration kicked off with a bang early during the 1800s. Some of the nationalities involved in the mass emmigration which started to take place was swedish, irish and german. Around a third of the swedish population did infact emmigrate to America."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about History:"
} |
I have a letter from 1917 from my great x 3 grandfather running from the Mexican general Pancho Villa, Escaping death by being covered in a shallow grave. Is this sending somewhere? | [
"Personally I would reach out to your local university's library and ask to speak to special collections. While your local Uni may not specialize in that field they are usually more than accommodating when it comes to including new information into their systems. You can loan the letter to them, which would keep the letter in your family's name, but place it's possession in an environment that would ensure it's security. I know the University where my sister curates a collection that specializes in river-waterways, has recently accepted a collection of 19th century photos of pets. Just having that information out there can be helpful for future historians."
] | [
"Sometimes a man got paid to wake them up throwing small stones to their windows or with a long stick. There is a picture of this profession, I think I saw it in reddit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about History:"
} |
Are you able to purchase globes that represent the existing borders of a specific time period i.e. 14th century B.C.E. globe, 3rd century C.E. globe? | [
"It's not what you're looking for, but [Geocron](_URL_0_) has a database of all global maps from 3000 B.C. to 2017 A.D."
] | [
"\"ancient times\" is very broad. Are there any specific cultures you're interested in (e.g., Republican Rome, Old Kingdom Egypt, etc.)?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How did people in other times explain static shock? | [
"This question gets asked again and again on AskHistorians, but never really got a comprehensive answer. The two top comments here are a good start though: [Did the ancients give one another tiny static shocks? What did they think it was and are there accounts of this?](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"To be a little less specific, what did people think the future in general would be like before the Industrial Revolution?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In "Shawshank Redemption", Andy crawl through his wall to escape (pictured). Given that Tim Robbins is 6' 5", that would mean the interior prison walls were at least 7' thick. Was this common for old prisons? | [
"I won't comment on the movie \"Shawshank Redemption,\" but I will say this: The walls of older prisons could be quite thick. Take Alcatraz, for example. That prison became famous after a 1934 renovation that turned it into a state-of-the-art federal penitentiary. The renovation installed poured concrete walls a foot or less thick. But before that renovation, Alcatraz was used as a military prison as well. [This National Park Service cultural inventory has some details](_URL_0_) (PDF warning). Some sections of the military prison facilities incorporated fortifications built previously on the island, and the walls of those fortifications could be several feet thick, as they were designed to repel cannon fire. Looking farther back in history, the walls of one of the world's most famous prisons, the Bastille, [were five to 12 feet thick and built of stone](_URL_1_)."
] | [
"I work in an \"all-glass\" building. * The facade of a glass building isn't literally 100% glass, there are bound to be spaces between windows even if they're thin or just along the corners. The walls might go there. * Just because you see a window on the outside doesn't mean there's an open space on the inside...it might just be a solid wall. On my building it appears to be all glass vertically, but inside the windows only go up to about 2ft below the ceiling and about thigh-high off the floor. As far as insulation, I don't know how that stuff works, but as it happens we were fixing a table in our break room the other day and as we were screwing the fixtures in we noticed that the wall the table was attached to had insulation in it. This was an *interior* wall, kitchen on one side and an office on the other."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did George Washington really make this statement as quoted in a _URL_0_ publication regarding the US flag? (quote and link inside) | [
"I doubt it. A few quick searches of [Founders Online](_URL_2_) (a database which includes the text of all the 62 volumes of the [Papers of George Washington](_URL_0_) doesn't turn up anything that seems similar to that quote. I think this is a result of \"academic inbreeding\"--meaning, someone, somewhere said a thing and it got published in a book, and an influential book repeats the thing and cites that book, and then lots of later books cite the influential book and repeat the thing, and as a result everyone thinks the thing is true because it's repeated in so many different publications when in reality it was just the one guy who said the thing without anything solid to back it up. As far as I can tell, the earliest instance of this quote comes from Peleg D. Harrison's *The Stars and Stripes and Other American Flags* published in 1905. Here's a copy of [the quote from the 5th edition that book](_URL_1_) (on p. 59)."
] | [
"/u/restricteddata talked about that passage's origins in [his answer here](_URL_0_), with attention paid to the particular translation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
You are a central European commoner in the mid 1500s. What advancements in your daily life make you thankful its not the 1400s anymore? | [
"Related question: Is the mindset that we live in a \"better\" time a modern one? So would someone in the 1500s even view any sort of technological progress as being good? As in the mindset that the non-existent past was some golden age. Perhaps the question could also be answered the other way around, \"why would someone in the 1500s think someone in the 1400s was better off?\"."
] | [
"The Middle Ages is a pretty huge period that spanned centuries, so you might want to refine your question. The daily life of a monarch in the 8th century was incomparably different from that of a 16th century one."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about history:",
"pos": "Represent the document about history:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was President William McKinley's reasoning for his views on the issue of the annexation of the Philippines? | [
"My understanding is he was sort of painted into a geopolitical corner. He hadn't really intended on taking the Phillipines, but now that he had them he couldn't give them to anyone else (because they'd just use them as a base for competition in China), couldn't give them back to Spain (because we had just beat the pants off of them and it would seem like a really pussy thing to do), and couldn't give them independence (because he thought they were a bunch of ignorant savages who couldn't govern themselves). Plus at that time period pretty much any island in the Pacific was useful as a naval coaling station and storehouse for supplies, much less somewhere like the Phillipines where there was the potential for a functional colony rather than just a lagoon and a beach to pile stuff on."
] | [
"The most common answer is when they vanquished us (Spain) in the Spanish-American war (1898-1899). That war was universally seen as the end of an empire (the Spanish) and the beginning of another (the american) with the annexation of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam and the near-annexation of Cuba."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Day of Reflection | July 14, 2014 - July 20, 2014 | [
"Rather than singling out a specific comment, I'd like to point out /u/tayaravaknin's entire [Israel AMA](_URL_0_), which was filled with great answers."
] | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why was A 440 as standard tuning included in the Treaty of Versailles? | [
"I am astonished to report that this is in fact true. Treaty of Versailles Article 282: ... (22) Convention of November 16 and 19, 1885, regarding the establishment of a concert pitch. ... _URL_0_ This is part of a list of 26 rather technical and fiddly treaties and conventions that the new Germany agrees to be part of. I, too, would be delighted to hear more about it, but I wouldn't take it too seriously as a sign of widespread international concern over concert pitch."
] | [
"We're not in the business of predicting the future, but I guess you're asking if an 'expiry date' was agreed for the treaty when it was signed in 1920?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do you explain Britain’s rise to global dominance while also explaining Dutch decline over the same period? (Early Modern Europe) | [
"The fourth anglo-dutch war was pretty damaging. The Dutch lost half their fleet and roughly 60% of their capital during the war, which ended in 1784. Before that the VOC wasn't doing terribly, but suffered from typical corruption. Basically, the VOC was in a gentle decline, mostly due to the competition in the sugar market - slavery in the americas made sugar highly profitable, and from about 1720 onward the indonesian sugar trade went into a steep decline. Sugar wounded, war battered, and eventually corruption eroded the last vestiges of structure and the VOC was dissolved in 1799. The English, on the other hand, always ran a tighter (and often more self-reflective) ship with the East India Company. But they had sugar in the americas, and started making more serious inroads into the indian market, which the Dutch were largely frozen out of. Hope this helps."
] | [
"Where would I go for material on the medieval monarchy in France? Ideally from the emergence of the Capetians to sometime in the Early Modern Era."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Literature:"
} |
Richard the III's remains have undergone dna testing - what does this sub think of the findings? | [
"From a somewhat cynical perspective, we found a body in the location where ample historical documentation said it would be. It is always nice to confirm sources but the actual archeological importance is not so great, and vastly outstripped by public interest. It has clearly done great things for public interest in archaeology in Britain which is of greatest importance, but in an academic sense most don't have much to say about it at all. The cemetery site itself, however, is actually very cool, going at least as far back as late Roman times."
] | [
"It's much much much older than a few decades. The best guess is 1475, although it could be older. There's a lot of competing theories as to its origin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Do we know what happened to Pompeia after Caesar divorced her for not being "above suspicion" in the Bona Dea festival controversy? | [
"There is no further mention of her in any extant source that I can find, not even in scholia. She disappears from the historical record. :("
] | [
"Graffiti in ancient Rome was often very political, and if it attacked powerful families, they would act quickly to erase it and punish those who wrote it, if they could be found. In Suetonius (I believe), you can find the story of Brutus entering the Senate to find his seat tagged with references to his ancestor, the first Brutus, who drove out the last king of Rome. This perhaps, among other things, compelled him to turn against Julius Caesar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The role and size of mutual aid societies before the advent of modern welfare systems: how effective were mutual aid societies in replacing welfare and medicare? | [
"For reference: the quoted article appears to be [Joshua Fulton, Welfare before the Welfare State](_URL_0_). The article appears to draw entirely upon [David T. Beito, From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State (2000)](_URL_1_) — reviewed [here](_URL_2_). Much of the work appears to rely on historical accounts from the *Fraternal Monitor* and [a history published by it](_URL_3_) [free ebook]."
] | [
"The Progressive Era actually didn't install a lot of the components of the modern welfare state. There was increased regulation of the economy, but there was no real direct transfer of money from taxpayers to needy groups until the 1930's. The Roosevelt Administration brought in programs to specifically alleviate suffering caused by the Great Depression. This initially included programs like school lunches to poor students investment in infrastructure targeted to benefit economically depressed areas. the 1935 Social Security Act was created to make sure that the elderly, many of whom had lost their savings in the crash as well as provide unemployment insurance to bridge those between jobs. However, the government favored creating jobs programs over long term aid."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Do posts on this sub ever get answered? | [
"The dynamics of this sub don't work well with trending algorithms. Someone posts a question, others are curious so they upvote it... then crickets. But that's a *good* thing. You don't want fast, off the cuff replies. You want well thought out, detailed answers. The problem is that you don't get those until the post has been replaced by another new, trending one that has no answers. There are many fantastic answers in here, but you have to dig a little. **TL;DR: sort by best this week**"
] | [
"It's for the people who want more Karma and want their posts to be on the front page. Or they're just too lazy to find the right subreddit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Saturday Reading and Research | December 30, 2017 | [
"Read *Down to Earth* by EDIT: Ted Steinberg recently. It was fascinating and I really enjoyed it; however, it did have a line at the end of the book that bowled me over. When discussing appropriate relationship between states and the environment, Hays noted that China had increased its production but had managed to limit its environmental impact. He then wrote, “The Chinese example is living proof that the royal road to consumption—for all its ecological problems—does not necessarily have to be paved with disaster (281).” I wonder if, looking back at China's current environmental issues, he wishes he could have that sentence back. *This is in no way suggesting that other states, notably the United States, have stellar environmental records."
] | [
"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 title about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Was Thomas Edison really the "total dick" that people on the internet make him out to be? | [
"Not to discourage other responses, but there have been similar questions before, specifically in regards to his behavior towards Tesla, and in my opinion, /u/khosikulu killed [it just like Edison did that elephant!](_URL_2_) The gist of it is that the rivalry - if there was any - was *probably* very much overblown by a biographer of Tesla, named O'Neill, in the 1940s. But go read his whole answer!"
] | [
"Scientology isn't as popular as they want you to think it is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Religion and Crime:"
} |
Day of Reflection | October 14th–October 20th | [
"I know I'm at the tail end of this day of reflection (and I'm sort of tooting my own horn), but /u/Commustar gave a [really comprehensive, well researched answer](_URL_17_) to my admittedly vague question on the Swahili coast and I think it deserves a look."
] | [
"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 argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How was "Van Gogh" pronounced? | [
"This isn't really an askhistorians question, more of an \"asklinguists\" or \"askadutchperson\" question. Brits say van-goff to rhyme with cough, but Dutch pronunciation is much more similar to the Scottish \"loch\". It's quite a difficult sound to replicate if you are a native English speaker, hence the different pronunciations we have."
] | [
"It doesn't mean anything. It's like \"Rama Lama Ding-Dong\" or \"Give Peace a Chance.\" --Homer Simpson"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why are tennis and golf fans required to watch in total silence, whereas fans of other sports are encouraged to cheer loudly? | [
"Hi there! Is this a historical question? If so, could you edit the expanded text to reflect that? Thank you!"
] | [
"By the same token, isn't it more fun to play football yourself? Sure, playing football. But sometimes it can be relaxing and interesting to watch it done by others, while listening to experts discuss the strategies and provide colorful commentary about the game. Or even just to have it on in the background while you're at work or doing chores. Same deal goes with gaming, for a lot of people."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Were the taxes and economic policies that Britain imposed on America in the 18th century really that unfair? | [
"I'm going to let Trib173 or one of the more knowledgeable early American historians answer. But one thing you should keep in mind that is British rule in America was largely one of benign neglect. Britain was largely absent from the colonial system. Now take that in the context in a government that was all of a sudden very real and on your door step and you can see why the colonists were panicked."
] | [
"Grenville was Prime Minister only between 1763-65. All subsequent controversial bills--the Townshend Duties, the Quebec Act, the Intolerable Acts--were passed by other ministries. There was a lot of turnover leading up to 1776. We have Rockingham, 1765-66; Chatham, 1766-68; Grafton, 1768-70; and Lord North, 1770-82. You also need to consider the collective process by which acts made it through Parliament. The Prime Minister was not some kind of dictator. There's also King George III to consider, who was not exactly a figurehead. My point is that power was diffused. Also look at the flip side of the dispute. Why were these acts controversial in the first place? Why were the colonists so intransigent? Why did the colonists have such radical beliefs regarding the power of Parliament? Why couldn't they reach a compromise? Wouldn't it be more logical to say that the colonists themselves were the biggest \"cause\" of their own revolution?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
When did the legend of Robin Hood start circulating through England? Bonus: How accurate is it? | [
"Legends relating to Robin Hood have their earliest reference in the [1400's.](_URL_0_) > THen Robyn goes to Notyngham, > > Hym selfe mornyng allone, > > And Litull John to mery Scherwode, > > The pathes he knew ilkone. The modern Robin Hood has mostly crystallized around the representation in the [popular novel Ivanhoe](_URL_1_), which included Robin Hood and his merry men as major secondary characters - complete with arrow splitting at an archery contest."
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How were bridges of stature built prior to the invention of the caisson? | [
"PS: I thoroughly recommend David McCullough's \"The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge\". If you've read McCullough's work before, you know the sort of detail he brings to any topic. He pulls no punches in describing the Tammany Democrats, makes an otherwise white-bread topic (bridge-building) into a triumph of humanity, and will make you look at bridges much more closely as you cross them (and have a much greater respect for them)."
] | [
"They used cranes The Ancient Greeks were using cranes no later than 515 BC. Before that it would have been ramp systems and rollers which they removed after they were done with construction, but for most of the buildings you're likely thinking of they would have used winch and pulley crane systems. The Parthenon was built with much smaller stones than the temples a few hundred years before it because these smaller stones were much easier to move with a crane and the crane was a lot easier than the ramp system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
The concept of "blood money" was, and still is, found in many societies around the world. Why did it die out in western civilizations? Did it ever exist in America? | [
"You can still sue in court for civil damages for \"blood money\" paid out for injury or death of a family member in America. OJ Simpson is the most famous recent case."
] | [
"It has been and is socially acceptably in a huge range of cultures, and not just Japan. From ancient Rome to the modern Netherlands, it has long been enshrined as acceptable in both law and custom in many different places and specific contexts. I humbly submit that you're confusing your own location with the rest of the world..."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
So what did bachelor's eat? | [
"In the 19th and 20th centuries, many single young men who moved to the cities to work lived in boarding houses, where they rented a bed or a room, and shared washing and dining facilities with the other tenants. The landlady might have provided some sort of simple meal (bread, stew, etc) or at least access to cooking facilities. The 1962 movie *The L-Shaped Room*, while being salacious and dramatic, provides a decent look at what it was like to live in a boarding house in England in the early 1960s."
] | [
"But how would they know which one is Will?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What happened to Jakub Schmied, the maintenance man who turned in the Scholls and "broke" the White Rose anti-Nazi group? | [
"He received around 3000 Reichmarks for informing on the white rose movement in 1943, after the war he was convicted during the denazification process and sentenced to 5 years in prison most of which he served, and had his pension removed. He pleaded clemency upon being convicted, claiming that he was uninterested in the content of the leaflet but simply doing his duty since there was a law which forbid the distribution of leaflets. This claim was not accepted very well by the courts but he was released somewhat early in 1951. His pension was restored to him upon his retirement. He died in 1964."
] | [
"It was more of a recovery ordeal than \"punishment\" At the time, they had not found the child's body."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Day of Reflection | March 31, 2014 - April 06, 2014 | [
"I enjoyed this week: * /u/Qweniden in [*When did humans start drinking things that weren't water?*](_URL_0_) * /u/bix783 in [*Why is Middle-Age mostly considered as an era where people were dirty and mostly unpleasant compared to the Roman Empire period?*](_URL_1_) * /u/restricteddata in [*How did the Soviet Union manage to acquire atomic bomb technology?*](_URL_3_) * /u/Emjoyable in [*Language barrier aside, if you had a modern actor such as Liam Neeson, Tom Hanks, Judi Dench go back in time and perform an ancient play would ancient viewers appreciate and understand the acting styles those actors from today use? How about vice versa?*](_URL_2_) (some of them dangerously close to April 1st...)"
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Is there any truth that the United States Navy has sold decommissioned ships to companies like Gillette as a source of material for the manufacturing of razor blades or other consumer goods? | [
"The navy has been scrapping (dismantling and selling) ships for many, many years. Generally, a middleman would handle this: the ship would be towed to a breaker's yard, broken down into scrap metal, the metal recycled, and then sold to whomever needed it. If the navy did sell steel to Gillette, it was with one or two degrees of separation."
] | [
"In the days before weapons contractor conglomerates, if your country was involved in a war, certain companies would change what they manufacturers in order to help the war effort. In the U.S. during WWII ford made tanks, DuPont made parachutes and other fabric related military items. In Nazi Germany BMW made airplane engines. Volkswagen and Mercedes made military vehicles."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Did the Soviet Union perform overflights of the United States? | [
"This is asked frequently, the short answer is that no, the Soviets did not try to penetrate the U.S. This was due to them having long distances to get there and also having to have to go through Canada, which would notify the U.S. Instead the Soviet Union took advantage of the fact that the United States is an open society: They sent KGB agents into the US and tried to subvert it from within. The U.S. had to do overflights because the U.S.S.R was a closed society and they couldn't get agents there."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Day of Reflection | October 7th–October 13th | [
"I have to give props to /u/Qhapaqocha for boldly wading into dangerous, downvote-infested waters in \"[Out of all the Native American tribes, which were the most technologically advanced?](_URL_0_)\" Explaining why notions of 'progress' are problematic is always difficult given how ingrained the concept is in Western culture. His efforts were commendable, especially because it lead to [this spin-off thread](_URL_1_) that had several good responses."
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How accurate are Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth" and "World without End" to actual life in 14th Century England? | [
"It has been a very long time since I read the book, but unless my memory is playing serious tricks on me, the cathedral was being built by a monastery, not a parish. It would only be a monastery or a diocese that would build a cathedral, not a single parish (a parish is a subdivision of a diocese, and 'cathedral' comes from \"seat of a Bishop\"). The abbot of a monastery is and was of the same religious level order as a bishop of a diocese, and they were lords of the realm as well back then (I don't know if they still sit in the House of Lords, but they used to). I'm not sure at what level of nobility they were either, but at least equal to a baron and, like a baron, they could \"own\" or at least govern a town."
] | [
"You might like Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherford. It's set in a single location and spans prehistory through the 20th century."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
During WWII my recently deceased US Army grandfather helped break up a German spy ring near the Panama Canal. Does anybody know more about this or operations like it around Panama? | [
"I'd recommend searching through this book: Max Paul Friedman, [Nazis and Good Neighbors: The United States Campaign Against the Germans of Latin America in World War II] (_URL_0_) (2003), which [discusses Panama] (_URL_1_) at length."
] | [
"A follow up question, how was General Pershing viewed by American generals during World War 2? Was he involved in raising war bonds or other positions away from the front lines or back at home? Thank you in advance!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about history:",
"pos": "Represent the post about history:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What are your feelings on Howard Zinn as a historian? | [
"You should consult the [FAQ](_URL_1_) Questions like these are very common. In general, the consensus is that he was much better at being a political agitator than being an historian. Not that the subjects and stories he talks about aren't important, or that his conclusions are flat out wrong. It's just that his technique was not that of an historian. Without even arguing over contentious interpretation, this quote from [The New Republic](_URL_0_) sums up the problem with Zinn as an historian: > He wrote a creditable dissertation, on Fiorello La Guardia, which is still occasionally cited by scholars and which would constitute Zinn’s only sustained engagement with archival documents. Past his dissertation, he just didn't have time for archival work. This would be like a basketball player never dribbling the ball once he got out of college. It's conceivable that you might do something of value, but you're ignoring huge fundamentals."
] | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Literature:"
} |
After talking with some co-workers, I'm naturally curious: Which came first- the tie or the collared shirt? | [
"The tie was first used by Croatian mercenaries fighting for Louis the XIII in the 1600's. At the time it had a function besides being an accessory, and that was wiping sweat or blood from your forehead. Some soldiers wore it over their shirts, which had no collar but some wore it plain and thus one might come to the conclusion that the collared shirt came later. It is however possible that collars did exist beforehand since the neckcloth is older than the necktie and there would have bean a reason for the collar to exist. Sadly I have no clue if this is the chase."
] | [
"Your clothes. For a lot of people it'll be blue or a shade of grey. The bluish color usually comes from blue jeans, the gray a combo of tighty whities and blue jeans and/or whatever color your shirt is. If you wear red shorts and a white shirt all day you'll end up with pink belly-button lint. There was a show called Brainiac on BBC a few years back that did this and that was the result."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What's the deal with the United Fruit Company and Honduras? How did a fruit company create a military coup? | [
"Can you clarify which military coup you are referring to? I would assume you mean 1963, but UFC and its successors have been major players in Honduras for quite a long time."
] | [
"Banana republic can either be: A fake republic, like the Nicaraguan republic in the late twentieth century. In this sense, banana is a connection to a centralized republic, like, int he hands of the few, in the case of Nicaragua, the hands of the banana business family. See the paradox? Or you can be referring to the nation and not to the system. In this case, we can use the southern central American countries, or the northern south American countries to explain. Historically, the government of these countries was controlled by the owners of the banana farms, these families were friends with the United States. So it was like \"we give you bananas, and you give us other stuff so we can control the masses\". And there you have it, a fake republic, dominated by the banana families. And, of course, there were several other banana companies that wanted to be the most powerful ones, but let's not complicate it. Here is an awesome video to explain it better and more organized: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Was the story of Jonah intended as satire? | [
"Pitch this one to r/AcademicBiblical as well (if it's not in their wiki/FAQ somewhere). They should be able to give you a rundown of the scholarship history on the matter. :)"
] | [
"\"Satan\" is a Hebrew word meaning adversary, but the concept of 'the devil' was really made up by the church at some point along the line. The \"banishment of Lucifer\" is from a book called \"Paradise Lost\". Not the Bible or any part of the Torah."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is Ottoman bureaucracy considered efficient? | [
"Could you elaborate on this question? Who is making this claim, in what context, and for what time period? Right now it is too vague to properly answer."
] | [
"> To what extent can Belarus be called a true authoritarian dictatorship? About as much as Russia can be."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Has there ever been a self taught spy? | [
"You have the story of Joan Pujol Garcia, a spanish citizen who deliberately became not only a spy, but a double-agent spy in WII. He is one of the most creative spies ever, since he created a network of more than 30 fictious agents. You can read his story here: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Indeed, how does a perfectly normal human being become a pathology?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Any evidence of widespread food-borne botulism in the pre-modern world? | [
"No strong evidence, but there are theories that some short-lived outbreaks of disease may have been botulism. For instance, during the [siege of Amida](_URL_1_) during the humid heat of the summer of 359, a plague broke out the lasted only ten days and didn't seem contagious. It has [been theorised that](_URL_2_) this may have been becuse the food stores had become contaminated. It's otherwise hard to explain why the outbreak ended so quickly. The early Catholic Church also outlawed sausages and made the consumption of sausages a sin - perhaps because outbreaks of botulism were seen as diving punishment, but more likely because they were associated with certain pre-Christian festivals. In the 10th century, the [Byzantine emperor Leo VI outlawed blood sausages ](_URL_0_) after outbreaks of illness that fit the symptoms of botulism."
] | [
"Tobacco is a good example. While it was a common item with pre-Columbian Native Americans, its popularity exploded after it was brought back to Europe. There, it seemed everybody was smoking it all the time. Of course, Europeans then could only speculate about tobacco's effects as only modern science would prove its terrible effects on the teeth, gums, and lungs, but some early anti-tobacco efforts did materialize, such as King James's 1604 \"Counterblaste to Tobacco\" (_URL_0_). Another example is that of syphilis. There is good evidence that syphilis did not exist in Europe until Columbus's crew imported it in 1493. While it was contested that syphilis existed in Europe pre-Columbus, a new 2011 meta-analysis from Emory University demonstrated that the pre-Columbian cases were not actually *bona fide* syphilis, and that the verifiable outbreaks were all post-Columbian (_URL_1_)."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
When did the devil become red? | [
"This is how Dante Alighieri described Satan in the Divine Comedy, which he wrote in the early 14th century. This is from the Everyman edition, translated by Allen Mandelbaum. > If he was once as handsome as he now is ugly and, despite that, raised his brows against his Maker, one can understand how every sorrow has its source in him! I marvelled when I saw that, on his head, he had three faces: one - in front - bloodred; and then another two that, just above the midpoint of each shoulder, joined the first; and at the crown, all three were reattached; the right looked somewhat yellow, somewhat white; the left in appearance was like those from where the Nile, descending, flows. *Inferno, Canto 34* So redness has some long association with the popular image of Satan, but it seems we've abandoned the portrayal of him with 3 faces."
] | [
"Of course not. Why would you think this?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Can anybody recognize this scientist? | [
"That looks a bit like Leo Szilard on a funky hair day."
] | [
"...What? I've never heard of this. Do you have a video example?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Question about a statue in York, ME. | [
"Can you share where they say they don't believe its from a Union unit? Or without better photos its tough to really drill down I suspect. The soldier depicted seems to be wearing a shell jacket or sack coat, and Hardee hat, however both were extensively used by units on both sides and in all theaters as supplies and the environment allowed. While his blanket roll up isn't really helpful either as men on both sides routinely carried it like that."
] | [
"Did you mean in the USA, or in Japan?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I'm wanting to write a story based in Ancient Egypt and I need help with naming a character. | [
"When specifically is the story set, ancient Egypt existed for over 3000 years?"
] | [
"I'm not sure what it is called for the time period you've given an example from. However, your research may be more successful if you're searching the right era. The example you've given is Early Modern English, not Old English."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Enabled the fear of communism the working class to obtain improved social conditions in the 1950's until the 1980's in Western Europe? | [
"Do you mean: \"Did the fear of communism enable the working class to obtain improved social conditions in 1950s until the 1980s in Western Europe?\""
] | [
"Weak governments that never really enforced the rule of law in the 19th and early 20th centuries would be the biggest reason."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What is the origin of the term 'score' as meaning a musical production? | [
"According to the Oxford English Dictionary it came from the Old Norse skor, which mean notch, tally or twenty. It grew out of this definition of score which began in Middle English: > A drawn line, orig. one constituting a boundary (chiefly fig. in out of score, beyond the limit, excessively, unreasonably); a stroke, a mark. ME. By the early 18th century it came to mean: > A written or printed piece of a composition showing all the vocal and / or instrumental parts arranged one below the other."
] | [
"One is the British term, the other the American. They are the same thing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
"Spirited Away", one of the most acclaimed japanese movies ever, deals with motives of child prostitution in old Japan. How present were these in reality? | [
"Should point out that it is only a fan theory that SA is about prostitution."
] | [
"Well popular is not equal to not childish. In Asia anime is also viewed as childish. It is popular, but still viewed childish. In the west, the major difference isn't if people think anime is mature. The difference is simply that Japanese anime aren't very popular in the west."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Entertainment:"
} |
What was North Korea like prior to the start of the cold war? | [
"Try [this](_URL_0_) thread. Also, consider what you want to know. As a political entity, North Korea is a child of the Cold War. Do you want to know about Japanese rule in northern Korea? Then I probably can't help you."
] | [
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Any books about the history of England or the US through their respective literature? | [
"hi! this may be worth x-posting to /r/AskLiteraryStudies"
] | [
"What are some of the primary sources that you have found? This sounds interesting. Would you recommend any books for a fun read?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
AskHistorians Podcast 94 - Dr. Andrew Mangham - Dickens, Victorians, and Sensation Fiction, oh my! | [
"Just a reminder for those who missed it last time: Old episodes of the podcast are going up on [Youtube](_URL_0_) again. *Daily.*"
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Has there ever been a successful non-violent secession movement? | [
"Look up the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakia was founded after WW1. After WW2 it become a satellite of the Soviet Union. After the fall of the soviet regime the Slovak portion started to ask for the dissolution of the federation. They were mostly against the centralization of power in Prague, the capital of the Czech state and of the federation. The political debate was fierce, but when a decision was taken the separation then went smoothly and was finalized on 31 December 1992."
] | [
"A terrorist is someone who intentionally does acts of violence in order to instill fear or 'terror' in people to affect change or to carry out an ideology or idea. A rebel is someone who is a part of or builds a group of people trying to overthrow an existing government or president. A separatist is someone who usually wants to stay separate from a large group of people, or a government. ie.: The confederate states could be classified as separatist. Someone can be a terrorist and not a rebel (Osama bin Laden). Someone can be a rebel and not a terrorist (Che Guevara, Founding Fathers of the US). Someone can be a Separatist and not a rebel (Jim Crow, Confederate Army). Edit: A separatist *could turn into* a rebel, and a rebel could turn into a separatist. It depends on the context or the political climate of whatever country these groups are working in."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did people work out in the middle ages for the sake of being fit? | [
"A few related threads with answers on this sub: [How did nobles exercise during the middle ages?](_URL_0_) [How fit was the average person in the middle ages, compared to say the average roman or modern westerner?](_URL_2_) [Did nobility in earlier times, such as during the middle ages through the renaissance or even earlier have workout routines?](_URL_1_) Hope it helps"
] | [
"Roman gladiators weren't as fit as movies but actually had a layer of fat for this very reason"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
At what time did the world have the fewest number of independent countries? | [
"This is a pretty dicey question, due to the variable number of qualifications and the open-endedness of the question. \"Country\" usually is taken as \"independent state,\" with the implication of being internationally recognized(so Transnistria, Rep. Srpska would be out. ) Although the question is a weak one, the logical point would be 1914 or 15: The various empires had gobbled up Asia, Africa and Oceania, and the Austrian, Russian and Ottoman empires were not yet broken up."
] | [
"What color is the skin of most of the people who make and utilize those drawings? Theres your answer"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Is There A Database for Academic Works? | [
"There isn't a single database for academic works -- even academic databases/search engines such as JSTOR aren't comprehensive. Happily, booklists exist, including [the AskHistorians booklist](_URL_0_) (although ours does mix pop and academic sources). One thing you might consider doing is searching for comprehensive exam lists -- these are usually lists that colleges and universities generate for people studying for graduate degrees, which require (as the title implies) comprehensive examinations of knowledge in an area. These require a bit of [Google-fu](_URL_1_), but if there's a particular area you're interested in, you're welcome to ask a more specific question here."
] | [
"Being Black Does Actually Have (Relatively Minor) Health Consequences, It's Just That They're Obviated By Modern Life. There's An Energy Cost To Have Extra Melanin, Even A Small One, So If You Don't Need It It Won't Be Selected For. Melanin Reduces Vitamin-D Uptake From The Sun If Sunlight Is Lower Than You're Adapted For. Vitamin-D Deficiency Was Very Common In Black Children In The Northern US And Europe Before Modern Technology Made Nutrients More Easily Accessible. Being Black Or Brown Outside Of The Tropics Would Have Been Maladaptive For Most Of Human History Because There Would Not Have Been Enough Sunlight For Proper Nutrient Uptake. Capital Letters."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Roman pronunciation of the letter C and traditional month names. | [
"Classical pronunciation (i.e. during Roman times) is always hard C. So, yes, Caesar would be pronounced \"kai-sar\" and Cicero \"key-ker-oh\" And, yes, December would be pronounced with a hard C in classical pronunciation as well, like in decade (which shares a root--the latin for the number 10 is \"decem,\" and December was originally the 10th month)."
] | [
"If I may butt in someone else's question... What of the women's names (ending in -ine in the original french)? And do we have any such written traces?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Can I recover my grandfather's WW2 records? | [
"Start at [ancestry](_URL_0_). You can register for a free trial and cancel it before you're billed if you aren't happy, but the site may well have documents retaining to his earlier life (such as his birth certificate or any travel documents) or possibly documents regarding the war. The 29th Infantry Division were indeed present during Operation Overlord. It is difficult to know where exactly your grandfather was but a regimental diary may shed some light. Unfortunately, I am British, so I am unsure where you would find this information (here it would be find at the National Archives in London). Perhaps somebody else who lives in the US can help with this."
] | [
"It could be that he was attached to an RAF squadron. Do you know what unit he belonged to?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Are there any diaries or journals (primary sources) left behind by American/British forces during French-Indian War that are online? | [
"[This one might fit the bill,](_URL_0_) [as could this one.](_URL_1_) For your future research skills, the keywords I used in a google search were \"french indian war diaries,\" the second two results are the good stuff. :)"
] | [
"Holzminden Internment Camp was a camp for foreign nationals within Germany during WWI; French, Belgian, Polish, even some British civilians were interned there during the war. As to why the medal was given out, it could be a commemorative piece; beyond that I'm afraid I can't help you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Good websites for primary sources? | [
"There's a link in the sidebar to a [similar thread.](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"What are some of the primary sources that you have found? This sounds interesting. Would you recommend any books for a fun read?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Any good websites to look up primary sources | [
"I honestly just use LibGen and _URL_0_ for academic sources. Nice, classic reputable print works that you can just digitally download."
] | [
"Hey there! Would you be able to provide some examples of the texts your're talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Announcing the Best of December Winners | [
"You are too kind! Thanks. I hope people will continue to enjoy it; as for me, it's like a journey where you know more or less your final destination but don't really know what turns lay ahead... Since most of the time I don't know in advance what's going to be the focus of the next week, I suppose this helps keeping it \"open\" - as I don't have to pick in order to follow a line of thought or a specific theme. Eventually, maybe, a coherent picture will surface, that retains an idea of the size and scope of the processes involved. And for anyone who has suggestions or would like some topic to be touched upon... just let me know!"
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Announcements:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Announcements:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is the oldest historical artefact still in use today? | [
"What precisely do you mean by \"artefact\" and \"in use\"?"
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Books or information on the pulp sci fi and independent magazine era | [
"This is /u/AncientHistory's very direct specialty, but I can't resist the urge to recommend * Brian Aldiss, *Trillion Year Spree* (or its earlier edition, *Billion Year Spree*), my favorite literary history of sci-fi as a genre. You can just read the pulp chapters, or enjoy how much he loves all of his subject matter There is also * Mike Ashley, *The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950,* the volume in his series that covers your era of interest"
] | [
"I wonder if they were more a convention in 50's movie westerns than a common reality."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Western saloons:"
} |
Saturday Reading and Research | August 29, 2015 | [
"I found a WWII-era letter from [Sven Liljeblad](_URL_0_) (1899-2000), my mentor, in answer to a request from the Smithsonian at the end of the war. The Smithsonian asked about the effects of the war on the community of folklorists, ethnographers, and anthropologists in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Sven's response is a 21-page, single-spaced \"who's who\" in the Nordic intellectual community at the time. Of greater interest was the next copy of the letter in the file I had opened: Sven had indicated to the Smithsonian that he had sent enquiries to various contacts to learn more about the condition of the survivors. Extensive marginalia on this second copy of his letter detailed \"imprisoned by the Germans\" or \"wife killed by Germans,\" in the Norwegian group, as one might expect. The Finnish scholars met with their own type of grief. It was a remarkable document, archived at Special Collections at the University of Nevada, Reno where Sven spent some of his last years as a scholar."
] | [
"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 about News:",
"pos": "Represent the post about News:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How much do we now know about the Kingdom of Zimbabwe? Is this an active area of study? | [
"Here is a BBC documentary from 2010 on this very subject, part of the 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa' series. _URL_0_ The whole series is worth watching in full. Incidentally Great Zimbabwe was the subject of the very first independent history project I ever did in school! But that's not gonna help us much here as I was about 7 or 8 and as I recall I just copied a few pages out of an old encyclopaedia and drew a bad map of Africa. But I find it interesting that you were being censored from learning this stuff whilst growing up in the area whilst I was being encouraged to learn it growing up in the Old Colonial Power (U.K)"
] | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Texas during Reconstruction | [
"According to Kenneth W. Howell, \"indian depredations, continuing problems between whites and Tejanos in south Texas and ex-Confederate attacks on blacks served to make Texas the most violent place in all the former Confederate states.\" His book is called [Still the Arena of Civil War: Violence and Turmoil in Reconstruction Texas](_URL_0_) and a lot of it is free to read online. Basically, it sounds like Texas had more going on than other states."
] | [
"Relevant entertaining and informative youtube video Electrocution in Water: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What did people call bellybuttons before buttons were invented? | [
"In English, the precursor to \"belly button\" is \"navel\" -- Middle English \"navel\"/\"navele\", from the Old English \"nafela\", which in turn comes from proto-Germanic language roots. Indeed, the use of \"navel\" continued on past the invention and popularization of buttons -- buttons as garment closures (the kind with a shaft rather than a flat back) were popularized in the 13th century. \"Belly button\" only dates back to the second half of the 19th century, apparently as American slang. Green's Dictionary of Slang gives it the according definition: > [mid-19C+] (US) the navel, esp. in juv. use; thus *my belly button is playing hell with my backbone,* I am very hungry Its proliferation in print is a 20th century phenomenon, not only because the navel was a difficult topic of discussion outside medical contexts in the 19th century but likely also because of the general proliferation of phrases that in the century prior had been only suitable for spoken slang."
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Are there some great explorers/travelers, similar to Ibn Battuta or Zheng He, that many people don't know about? | [
"Do you have a specific time period? I dabble in travel history so I might be able to give varied examples. To start, though, I'd suggest James Redpath, a Northern journalist who traveled the US South pretty extensively in 1857. His book, *The Roving Editor*, includes a large number of interviews with actual slaves, which is very rare before the Civil War. Redpath usually gets overshadowed by the bigger travelers of the period like Tocqueville and Frederick Law Olmsted, but I find his account fascinating."
] | [
"Because, Monica, they are an insight into a side of a culture us outsiders wouldn't normally be privy to see."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What did people know about sex in the United States before the Kinsey Reports? | [
"also how accurate was the Kinsey Report? I've heard wildly conflicting statements"
] | [
"To be a little less specific, what did people think the future in general would be like before the Industrial Revolution?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
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