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Why are the Central Powers popularly regarded as the "bad guys" of World War I?
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[
"Because they (chiefly Austro-Hungary and Germany) were perceived as the aggressors. [The Austro-Hungarian Empire invaded Serbia](_URL_0_) and the Germans invaded Luxembourg and Belgium, allowing the Allies to claim 'they started it' and extract massive reparation payments upon the ceasefire. From the [Treaty of Versailles' preamble](_URL_1_): > THE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS being equally desirous that the war in which they were successively involved directly or indirectly and **which originated in the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on 28 July 1914 against Serbia, the declaration of war by Germany against Russia on 1 August 1914, and against France on 3 August 1914, and in the invasion of Belgium**, should be replaced by a firm and durable peace. Though I would like to think most people no longer regard WW1 as a story of 'good guys or bad guys'..."
] |
[
"There isn't really an established procedure to this - it all depends on what the war was about and what the winning country wants out of it. After World War I, the victorious Allies imposed a bunch of punitive measures against Germany and the other defeated Central Powers. After World War II, the victorious Allies helped Germany rebuild."
] |
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Are there any pre-internet era instances of "trolling" in films, literature, or just everyday life?
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[
"I guess I don't know exactly what you mean by 'trolling.' Because if it's just being a smarmy jackass, that's as old as the human race. Here's a great example of some interwar period trolling: _URL_0_"
] |
[
"Because for whatever reason, western society has become more accepting of depictions of violence than it has of depictions of sex. You see the same thing in films, TV, book, and other entertainment media."
] |
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A question about ancient and modern battle losses.
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[
"For the most part numbers of soldiers in a battle was greatly exaggerated for a number of purposes. If the victorious army claimed to have killed more men they got more glory. An interesting topic you may wish to follow up on is the roman conquest of hispania. It took absolutely ages because generals sent out there were loot seeking and triumph hunting. Triumphs were often awarded for killing X thousand people, so numbers were often artificial to allow for greater recognition upon their return to Rome. Also historians like thucydides often relied on second hand witnesses who were not sure of the numbers themselves."
] |
[
"Just a follow-up question to the original question - what about the reverse. What was Napoleon's view of the United States?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
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Why didn't Russia veto UN action during the Korean War?
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[
"The Soviet Union walked out of the Security Council in January 1950 to protest the Chinese move. After the June 1950 intervention vote, the Soviet Union never missed a vote. _URL_0_"
] |
[
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] |
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If a medieval peasant found a large beehive forming near his house, how would he best get rid of it without being stung since they didn't have the modern equipment we have?
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[
"Another question: Would he even want to get rid of it?"
] |
[
"It's incredibly difficult to make a sting-proof suit that allows the wearer to maintain the necessary mobility to carry out beekeeping activities. The suit would have to be more-or-less watertight, as bees can fly/crawl into very tight spaces. It'd also have to be incredibly strong, fairly thick, and acceptably pliable. Ordinary bee suits allow for the occasional sting, which isn't a deal-breaker for your average beekeeper. In fact, there is a number of the beekeeping community that doesn't utilize a bee suit at all when they tend their hives. Some purists would argue that a person who needs a bee suit isn't tending their colonies correctly, and a person who wants a bee suit should find a new hobby."
] |
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In WWII, when the USA sent supplies to Vladivostok how did they do it? As they were still in war with Japan, I am very confused about this. The linked documentary shows that the supplies were brought to Siberia, THROUGH Japanese waters. Please explain?
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[
"They used Soviet-flagged ships with Soviet crews. As the USSR was not at war with Japan and Japan wanted it to keep that way, they didn't interfere with the shipping."
] |
[
"It was hard for them to work together due to the huge geographic distances between them. There were some long range submarine cargo missions, supplying things like rubber and tungsten. And some designs for aircraft ended up in Japan too. When Japan attacked the US, Germany declared war on the US in the hope that Japan would return the favour and declare war on Russia. But they didn't. Russia and Japan didn't end up fighting till the last month or so of WW2 in 1945."
] |
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What does "P.F.P.N." in some Roman names mean?
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[
"It stands for *Publi Filio, Publi Nepoti* meaning \"Son of Publius, Grandson of Publius\". For Lucius Cornelius Scipio, he was the son (so P.f) of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. He was the grandson (P.n.) of Publius Cornelius Scipio. Marcus Licinius Crassus was the son of Publius Licinius Crassus and the grandson of Marcus Licinius Crassus whose father's name was Publius Licinius Crassus. You can see why they invented a shorthand way of designating which Publius we're talking about since people born 50 years apart would have the same name."
] |
[
"Because all caps indicate acronyms and initialisms, for example, the USA, CIA, MIB, NFL, MLB, USPS, etc."
] |
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How active were the US Special Forces in the Russia-Afghanistan Conflict of the 1980's?
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[
"US Special Forces, as in the military special forces, were not involved in the Afghan-Soviet War. The only ones that had direct involvement in assisting and financial roles was the CIA. All the actual combat missions were done by Afghan rebels, but were at times planned by the CIA or by advisers. The CIA itself changed its mission halfway through, from simply wanting the Soviet forces to be stuck in Afghanistan and having its resources drained to actually assisting to a Mujahideen victory."
] |
[
"The Chinese were equipped with Soviet made MiG-15 fighters. They outclassed everything that the UN could put into the air and it stayed that way largely until the introduction of the North American Sabre. While the Sabre closed the performance gap, it was by no means a superior aircraft. Source: Xiaoming Zhang, \"China and the Air War in Korea, 1950-1953,\" The Journal of Military History 62, no. 2 (1998). pp. 349"
] |
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The game victoria 2 portrays krakow as an independent state in 1836, is this accurate?
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[
"Free city of Kraków was a remnant of partitioned Napoleonic Duchy of Poland. Under Treaty of Vienna > Cracow with its territory, shall be considered for ever as a free, independant, and strictly neutral city, under the protection of the Three High Contracting Powers. Three High Contracting Powers being Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria. It was nominally neutral, not allowed to give asylum to political prisoners, hide criminals from other countries, participate in weapons trade and such, but it quickly became one of the primary centers of Polish independence movement. By the time Victoria timeline starts, that is after November Uprising, in which Kraków was instrumental, it lost most of its privileges, with Austrian police on the streets and garrisoned by Austrian soldiers. After Kraków Uprising in 1846 it was annexed by Austria. So museum version was likely 'lies to the children', simplified version of the truth."
] |
[
"Its super complicated. Some representatives of these states stayed as like a goverment in exile, some positions were left vacant, representaives who took direct part in seccesion were expelled. This gives a general overview of the beginning of the war. _URL_0_ There was definitly more pro union and north bills passed. West Virginia was also allow ro break off of virginia and was admitted. The southern states would had never allowed this to happen."
] |
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How truly does a TV Show Vikings or Game of Thrones represent a medival battle?
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[
"I [broke down](_URL_0_) the Battle of the Bastards a couple of years ago. While I might write a few things differently now (and probably even then if I hadn't been writing in a trance during the weekend), it's substantially correct. I've also written more recently on [cavalry](_URL_3_) [warfare](_URL_1_) and [infantry combat](_URL_2_)."
] |
[
"Are you considering the 18th century to be in conjunction with the great divergence?"
] |
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I've heard arguments both that "Irish need not apply" signs were largely a myth and that they were, in fact, common. Is there a consensus among historians on the issue?
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[
"I talked about the historiography of “No Irish Need Apply” in [this earlier answer](_URL_0_), if you’re interested!"
] |
[
"I have a bit of a tangential question. I've heard numerous times that the decision to criminalize marijuana was influenced by lobbies such as pharma, paper, textiles, etc.; however, I've never seen any reliable sources report this. Is there any validity to this claim?"
] |
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Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs Questions - why is there an Irish one?
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[
"\\ > Why is the hex sign known only as a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, and not just a Dutch thing in general? & #x200B; Just a quick clarification. The \"Dutch\" in \"Pennsylvania Dutch\" is a re-spelling of \"Deutsch\" or \"German\". They mainly originated in what is now south-west Germany."
] |
[
"No, that's why it's called American Sign Language."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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What was shopping like in the Soviet Union like?
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[
"Price comparison of American and Soviet food by after-rent-taxes monthly income _URL_8_ Comparison of income level of various professions based on percent of average monthly income _URL_8_ Moscow, 1954, on the shelves of Home Appliances _URL_8_ consumer goods of the USSR Exhibition 11.08.1987 _URL_8_ USSR: labels, packaging, advertising Soviet times _URL_8_ Advertising in the Soviet Union Electric shaver _URL_8_ Advertising in the USSR, electric frying pan _URL_8_ Advertising in the Soviet Union, lipstick _URL_8_"
] |
[
"What drugs were popular in 19th century Britain?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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Aqueducts are vulnerable to being cut during a siege. What measures have been taken historically either to mitigate the loss of external water sources, or to prevent the damage itself from occurring?
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[
"Followup, does this also apply to rivers? has anyone ever tried to cut off the water supply by rerouting a river."
] |
[
"Yes they were actually used. Often they were to set fire to wooden buildings during a siege, light boats on fire in sea warfare, also for burning enemy equipment such as primitive artillery, and for burning down the tents they were camping in. Furthermore, an arrow may not pierce armor or a horse's skin. Having that arrow then be on fire stuck into the side of your chest or your horse will cause more damage. There is also a strategic part: If your army may not wipe out the enemy, or you simply cannot attack them because there's too many, then you can cut off their supplies. By burning forests and fields of food, you can stop them having access to wood and crops. This will cause them to have to either retreat, or make a massive push which could be costly if ill prepared."
] |
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Could natives of British colonies migrate between each other and to England?
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[
"The first serious emigration from what you describe as the colonies to the UK took place post American War of Independence with American loyalists arriving in the UK. Subsequent to that immigration to the UK from the colonies was mostly that of seamen, mostly from the sub continent, \"paying off\" ships in the UK and, sometimes, settling in whichever port they were in. The main centres of this pattern of immigration were Cardiff, Liverpool, London and the Tyne, especially South Shields. This book has some details Coolies, Capital and Colonialism: Studies in Indian Labour History. Rana P. Behal, Marcel van der Linden, published at Cambridge. It is a bit polemical at times, but the essential story is correct. More here _URL_0_ also here The Invisible Empire: White Discourse, Tolerance and Belonging Again, this is a bit polemical with condemnation of the living conditions of lascars, whilst seemingly unconcerned, or unaware, that living conditions for British or other European seamen were pretty much the same."
] |
[
"Colonization implies that there is a link to the colonies. Hawaii wasn't colonized, some people ended up there and they lived but they had no link to the places they came from anymore."
] |
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whats up with the dog in Paul Revere's famous engraving of the Boston massacre? why is he in the middle of all action?
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[
"Pretty sure it's a symbol for fidelity: Revere is saying they were loyal subjects gunned down in cold blood. Dogs had a history of symbolizing fidelity going back to classic works like the Venus of Urbino."
] |
[
"a better question would be who thinks it's a good idea to go to times square on NYE at this stage?"
] |
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What did people in medieval western europe do for fun?
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[
"One fun thing people did in that time and place was compose riddles. Most people here and now would have been exposed to these kinds of riddles in *The Hobbit*, but there are lots of examples of them - many of them are really as much poems or prayers as they are puzzles. Here's one a friend of mine recently posted elsewhere - see if you can guess it without peeking: *A shoemaker makes shoes without leather,* *With all the four elements together,* *Fire, Water, Earth, Air,* *And every customer takes two pair.* There's another, more poetic (and less guess-this-if-you-can) verse that's studied in depth across many different revisions [in Hilda Murray's *Erthe Upon Erthe, Printed from Twenty-Four Manuscripts*](_URL_14_). EDIT TO ADD: Oh, there's also a fun guide to making your own riddle poems [up here](_URL_13_)."
] |
[
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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Can answered questions have a TL;DR within the reply
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[
"Whether or not to include a \"TL;DR\" is entirely up to the author. Some users here do it, some don't. There are a variety of reasons for the choice. What I can say without reservation is that we would never implement a *requirement* for it as part of the subreddit rules."
] |
[
"I'm not sure what additional benefit we get out of such a signal for the style of the post when we can just read the post."
] |
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Were there any alternatives to the "Waste Land" tradition of representing WWI and its immediate aftermath? Was this representation inevitable?
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[
"I don't know too much about this, but Antoine Prost had some interesting ideas about representation after World War I if you are looking for something to help. Remembrance of atrocities or catastrophes is not immediate, it takes years. The Holocaust wasn't truly engaged with as a concept until the 1970s in most of Europe, even later for other countries. I think also that the emphasis on the geography of the Great War depends on country to country. In countries such as Great Britain and USA, there wasn't such a popular emphasis on the land, because no battles were fought on UK or USA soil. Remembrance days are very much focused on the lives that were lost; the men that sacrificed their lives. In France, say, the most noticeable immediate impact the war had was how it absolutely decimated the land, buildings, farms etc etc. For T.S. Eliot and other artists/poets etc, their emphasis would be more on the land as its more evocative than focusing on lives that were lost."
] |
[
"So, I realized belatedly that a major portion of my thesis is tackling a more or less unspoken assumption among many American military historians that centralization of power was both inevitable and desirable; it's one of the gross assumptions that much of the criticism of the militia comes from. Is there a name or historiographical category that expresses this view, or is it just good old fashioned Whiggishness?"
] |
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Was there any "kids these days" attitudes in Rome?
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[
"hi! more input is always welcome, but FYI, this question has come up a few times in this sub, so check these out for previous responses ~ * [Did people in ancient times also experience things like midlife-crisis, youth rebellion, and other \"modern\" social/personal problems?](_URL_0_) various cultures * [What is the earliest recorded case of people complaining about \"kids these days\"?](_URL_2_) * [We know how teenagers rebel in today's day and age but how do you think they rebelled against their parents/society in the Victorian age or during Roman time, etc?](_URL_3_) * [You sometimes hear,\"People on their cellphones all the time are ruining society.\" What other, older technologies were accused of ruining society, breaching ettiquette, or corrupting youth?](_URL_1_)"
] |
[
"are they though? Only mentions about this i'v heard are from american movies/sitcoms. Is it only an american thing?"
] |
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Nowadays we hand out cups, ribbons, and coins (among other things) as trophies for winning a competition. Is there any evidence that the ancient Greeks handed out anything for winning a competition (Olympics or otherwise)? If so, what kinds of objects would they award?
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[
"At the Olympics the winner of each event was given a palm branch to signify victory, and was draped in ribbons. At the ceremony to honour all winners they were crowned with a wreath made from an olive branch cut from Zues' sacred grove in Olympia. They also had the right to have a statue erected in Olympia. No monetary prizes were given, but often in their home towns they would receive huge benefits. Houses, free food, front row seats for the theatre and even special treatment in gyms. It would be a very easy life, despite the lack of monetary incentive."
] |
[
"Keep in mind that the Olympics was a ritual rather than a purely athletic event. Ancient Greeks did not generally record the distances, weights, or times of the races and competitors. All that mattered was beating everyone else - lifting more than all the previous people, finishing this race first. Doing better than people did four years ago was also not important. One of the few actual recorded results is Phayllos of Kroton's long jump. The long jump sand pit was 50 feet, and he jumped clear across it, some 50 plus feet. Considering the current record is still under 30 feet, this calls into question the accuracy of the recording, whether this is exaggeration and myth, or if it was a multi-jump event. We just don't know. I think you could safely speculate that Olympians are stronger today than they were in ancient Greek times due to training, nutrition, and dedication to events that just wasn't available at the time."
] |
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How old are the first toys? What did they look like?
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[
"I can't speak to the first toys *ever*, but there were toy boats found in a Predynastic child's grave in Egypt, and there's a long history there of other toys - balls, toy animals, etc. I don't have the time to elaborate just now but I could pull together more info for you later."
] |
[
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] |
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Any recommendations for a book that covers the British Empire?
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[
"The Rise and Fall of The British Empire by Lawrence James might be a good option. He gives a fairly unbiased opinion which I enjoyed. My one gripe is that it was a little too short (and it's over 600 pages lol)."
] |
[
"Just a follow-up question to the original question - what about the reverse. What was Napoleon's view of the United States?"
] |
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Before TV, was the news sensationalized like it is today?
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[
"Yes, absolutely! Unsubstantiated sensationalism can be a quick and dirty way for any media form to gain followers. One famous example would be the yellow journalism of the 1890's, which arose in part due to the rivalry between the big newspaper empires of Hearst and Pulitzer. Their newspapers frequently resorted to over-exaggeration and splashy headlines in a spiraling race to attract more readers. This culminated in their coverage of the run up to the Spanish-American War, which some claim misled public opinion towards hawkishness (particularly coverage of the sinking of the USS Maine, though the actual political impact of this coverage has been disputed)."
] |
[
"Reality television is what people were wanting so the network did what any smart business does, they gave the consumer what they wanted. Business is all about the money, and there was just more money and viewers available through reality television and such instead of music videos. If I want to watch a music video nowadays I will go to Youtube. However, I do remember when MTV was all about music videos, and I am sad that it has changed so drastically. The same is true for stations like The History Channel and Discovery Channel."
] |
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What are good peer-reviewed articles or books that can give me information on the influence of Indian people on Latin America?
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[
"That's a pretty big topic, so it'll be hard to get you good recommendations. Is there a particular region or aspect of Latin American culture you're interested in?"
] |
[
"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
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Why do so many men in paintings and pictures from the 19th century have their hands inside of their shirts?
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[
"Not to discourage other answers, but you may be interested in /u/LadyVagrant's response in this thread: [Why was the 'hand tucked in the shirt' pose (think Napoleon) so popular in early photographs?](_URL_0_)"
] |
[
"they were called liripipes. Most people believe it was just a fashion trend at the time, one that was capitalized by modern artists/video games/what have you whenever they want to make something look \"medieval.\" There are a few manuscripts from around the fourteenth century in which people complain about how ridiculous the liripipes look, and speculating that soon people will be wearing hoods that hang down to their feet in back. It's kind of like old people complaining about saggy pants."
] |
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Museum or Private Collection work?
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[
"There are several different avenues for the type of work you're talking about. Working with museum collections is one way. Another is working with an auction house, which would deal with the private collections that you mentioned, although I don't know much about working with them. These days, nearly all new people in the museum field have to receive an Masters degree in either Museum Studies, or a closely related field (such as history, art history, and so forth), as well as complete several internships and jobs. It's not an area for the faint of heart to try and break into. If you'd like to learn more, I'd recommend volunteering at some of your local museums. Indicate your interests, and that may narrow your goals some. And just as /u/caffarelli said, /r/MuseumPros is an excellent resource."
] |
[
"The restaurant just rents out the area from the store. Source: Walmart Sales Associate"
] |
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So r/AskHistorians, need some guidance here about the profession
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[
"What exactly is your question? Meanwhile, some previous posts: _URL_6_ _URL_4_ _URL_7_ _URL_5_ _URL_1_ _URL_8_ _URL_2_ _URL_9_ _URL_0_ Bonus-Round: _URL_3_"
] |
[
"Hey r/askhistorians long time lurker here, just want to thank you for all the good reads i had in this sub and ask you if you could help me with a book on Indochina's war of independence. Thanks!"
] |
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Can any Islamic historian suggest books on Islam and environmentalism?
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[
"Huh, literally *just* was involved in a discussion about this topic with a history professor. Here's a list of some of the books he recommended: Ahmad, Anis. Global Ethics, Environmentally Applied: An Islamic View. 2009. Dien, Izzi. The Environmental Dimensions of Islam. The Lutterworth Press, 2000. Murad, Munjed M. Inner and Outer Nature: An Islamic Perspective. 2012. Richard C. Foltz. Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures. One World Publications, 2006. Quadir, Tarik.Traditional Islamic Environmentalism: The Vision of Seyyed Hossein Nasr. University Press of America, 2013. Speth, James Gustave. The Bridge At The End Of The World. 1st ed., [New Haven, Conn.], Yale University Press, 2008. Tlili, Sarra. Animals in the Quran. Cambridge University Press, 2012."
] |
[
"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
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Saturday Reading and Research | July 22, 2017
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[
"I'm broadly researching the African American experience in the Wilmington N.C. area. I am an intern at Fort Fisher State Historic Site, so my research anchors around Ft. Fisher and Federal Point, but extends to the local area. This project spans from (roughly) 1800 - 1950s. If anyone has books or article suggestions on African American history pertaining to North Carolina/Wilmington slavery, post-Civil War reconstruction of the area, or about race relations post-Civil War through the Jim Crow era, I would love to expand my background knowledge!"
] |
[
"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."
] |
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How did people get their hands on salt before it was mined?
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[
"There is a book on the history of [Salt](_URL_0_). My favorite story is of the Romans showing up in Britain and watching the people there make salt. It was too rainy and cold for evaporation to be efficient, so the Britons would pour saltwater on a fire. The logs would soak it in and the heat would evaporate the water. The Britons would then pick through the charcoal to find the salt crystals. The Romans thought they were idiots."
] |
[
"Because it used to be so incredibly rare to find in nature (it only occurs in small quantities in food) and we desperately need it to function. Even after we started mining salt, it was valuable until large scale industrialization in the late 1800s allowed for deeper deposits to be mined."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
History on Punk Rock of the 1970s; Social or Cultural Historians
|
[
"A fellow grad student with me did her dissertation on feminism and GenX and spent a lot of time at the zines archive at Duke University. Her dissertation is available through ohiolink ([Generation X and the Invention of a Third Feminist Wave [electronic resource] by Elizabeth Ann Bly](_URL_0_)). If nothing else you can farm her bibliography for some directions. I would also check the [library catalog at the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame](_URL_1_) in Cleveland. Their staff are avid collectors of rock history and you can search their catalog for histories or even browse their archives for primary documents that might be related to your topic. But that's only the music side. You will need to have a good background in labor history for this time period as well. Sounds like a fun topic."
] |
[
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
}
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What role did pragmatic factors play in the spread of "You" and in the loss of "Thou" in the English language?
|
[
"hi! this question might be a better job for /r/Linguistics, but related questions have been asked here before, so check these out for previous responses [During what period of time did the informal you form, of 'thou' start to and finally become archaic in English?](_URL_1_) [How did the English informal pronouns (\"thou/thee/thy\"...) become defunct?](_URL_0_)"
] |
[
"It is to determine the function of a word in a sentence. In the past, it was quite common in Germanic languages (including English). German is the only languages in which this tradition is used nowadays (except for some minor languages with many similarities to German)."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
}
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Saturday Reading and Research | June 28, 2014
|
[
"I'd like to recommend a book I've been reading alongside my archival research into the k.u.k. Armee of Austria-Hungary in World War I. It's titled *A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire* by Geoffrey Wawro. It just came out about a month or two ago and I find it fantastic. He gives a detailed account of how prepared the Austro-Hungarian military was for war in 1914, and also details the political factors for *why* they were prepared in such a manner. His book then goes on to detail the Galician and Serbian campaigns of 1914, again not only giving excellent strategic overviews of those campaigns, but also describing the tactics that were employed by the Austrians, Serbs and Russians. Also, I'm working in the Vienna War Archives right now and I'm having some trouble with the German handwriting, called Deutsche Schrift. It's coming along the more I read, but does anyone have some useful tips or funny stories about old handwriting or archives?"
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the post about News:",
"pos": "Represent the document about News:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
|
Who named the lion "King of the Jungle"?
|
[
"Lions have been associated with royalty for thousands of years, just consider the sphinx. The first record of Lion as king seems to be in Aesop's fables from about the sixth century B.C. King Lion is referred to in \"The Fox, The Cock, and The Dog\" Lion King of Beasts is referred to in \"The Lion in Love\" and in \"The Lion's Share\" Lion Lord of the Beasts is referred to in \"The Lion the Fox and The Beasts\". I'm probably forgetting some other references. So the Lion as a King of Animals has been around since at least the 6th century B.C. As for the reference to \"King of the Jungle\" this probably has it's roots in 17th and 18th century notions of Africa as a land of Jungles."
] |
[
"It doesn't mean anything. It's like \"Rama Lama Ding-Dong\" or \"Give Peace a Chance.\" --Homer Simpson"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
}
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How old is the popular "white people have no rhythm" stereotype?
|
[
"Also, as a follow-up question, how true is the explanation that this derives from the fact that dancers such as ballerinas dance to the melody, not the rhythm of the music?"
] |
[
"Because you spend all your time on Reddit which is full of men? The \"crazy cat lady\" stereotype and the \"desperate mid-30s spinster\" exist for a reason."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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Beds! 1600s-1700s beds. How were they made and what were they made of?
|
[
"I'm no expert, but will ask if you're thinking specifically of Europe of the 17th and 18th C? I suspect even within Europe you'll see different beds in different settings. Probably something quite grand in the court of like Louis XIV. I've seen peculiarly short beds (~5 ft in length) of this period at e.g. Falkland Palace (Fife, Scotland), and these were firm by my yardstick, and appeared to be stuffed with springy horse hair stuffing within a cotton ticking mattress cover. Note that the customary sleeping posture of the time seems to have been semi-upright _URL_0_. This as well as a shorter stature than in current times may go some way to explaining the shorter bed length."
] |
[
"It is originally called a double bed, as it was made for two people to sleep on before larger beds became common."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
}
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Saturday Reading and Research | July 11, 2015
|
[
"Been reviewing my research paper on Belgian-Congolese relations. Got a few professors doing the same, hopefully it'll get published!"
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
}
|
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Competitions?
|
[
"Older and slower planes, artillery spotting planes and trainer planes were often used as target tugs, towing a \"saucage\", often a cloth tube in a long line behind the target tug. Fighter pilots and AA gunner would fire on these targets to practice firing against moving and manouvering targets. Competitions in sharpshooting, from the lowliest infantryman to the most esteemed fighter wing commander were very common in ww2 armies, so your story sounds plausible to me."
] |
[
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
}
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Has there existed a civilization whose laws were not derived from religious scriptures?
|
[
"The Chinese civilization. The schools of [Legalism](_URL_3_) and [Confucianism](_URL_4_) on which most Chinese law was based weren't based on religious scriptures. The Athenian laws of [Draco](_URL_0_) and [Solon](_URL_1_) were also not based on religious scripture. [Ancient Irish law](_URL_2_), sometimes called Brehon law, of early medieval (pre-Christian/partly Christian) Ireland, is another example."
] |
[
"At the very least 380 BC since that this is one of the major topics discussed in the first parts of Plato's Republic. It is hard think of a Western period where it was not accepted. What else would be the point of rulership? Even when people believed in divine rights, they believed God told kings to rule the people well..."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
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Two unknown places in North Africa: Syla and Philet.
|
[
"I decided to look into this a bit. I can't speak with certainty but I would strongly suspect that \"Philet\" refers to [Tafilet](_URL_0_) and the \"Filali\" dynasty of Morocco _URL_1_"
] |
[
"X does make that sound in the word Xylophone. Also: Xavier Xander Xenophobia Xanthum Xanadu *Xenon thanks /u/bovfem"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
}
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It's a major element of the American Dream that in the US, anybody can 'make it big', start from nothing and make their fortune; how much class mobility was there really in the 19th and 20th centuries in the US? Did it stand out, in comparison to Europe over the same period?
|
[
"Follow up question (please don't delete) how influential were nobility titles on economic upward mobility in the Europe of that same time?"
] |
[
"It's also historical: in the 1800s in particular, immigration was unlimited, the West was wide open, and people from anywhere in the world were able to go to the USA and succeed or fail on their own merits. But the history glosses over the losers in that race: how free are you if you're dead?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Political Science:"
}
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What were the impacts of the Rule of St.Benedict on medieval society
|
[
"On lay society? Probably not very much. Most people couldn't read, and certainly didn't feel obligated to follow the Rule. On monastic society? It was hugely impactful. It was the most popular monastic rule for a long time, at least until the Franciscans, and for people who follow it, it governs every aspect of their life. For one example of how the Rule works in daily life, see the [Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds](_URL_0_). The monks refer to the Rule as what makes a monk, and talk about people who are careful in their observance of the rule as good monks and good people. They're very practical, so they know that other skills are also important for the abbey, such as having a good business sense or being good at reading people, but they still talk about the Rule as the measure of monasticism."
] |
[
"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 Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Literature:"
}
|
Was Manifest Destiny a form of colonialism/imperialism, or something else entirely?
|
[
"It was a form of colonialism. Colonialism is defined as \"the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.\" The USA took its Western territories by war or purchase and flooded them with settlers. In many ways, the colonialism of the American West was more pronounced than European colonialism in Africa. This is because in the American West the natives were displaced and killed, and forced onto reservations. However, in Africa, Europeans existed only in small communities (South Africa excepted) and governed through existing ruling elites."
] |
[
"Could the rebuilding of Japan after WWII be considered a partial colonization by the United States?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
}
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Saturday Reading and Research | April 12, 2014
|
[
"I asked this in yesterday's Free-for-All, but was a bit late to the game: Can anyone direct me toward a decent biography or any other detailed source on silent film comedian Max Linder? (Doesn't have to be in English.) I just started watching his stuff this past week (naturally, since I was supposed to be working on my dissertation) and would really like to learn more about his tragic life."
] |
[
"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 text about News:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
}
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What were Soviet-era Houses of Culture for?
|
[
"> Lectures on Marxism-Leninism No. Lectures on «Political Economy», the «history of the Communist Party», «Scientific Communism» and the «history of philosophy from Marx to Lenin» where given in the educational institutions along with other subjects. In the houses of culture you had culture. Artemy Troitsky describes how rock music, (first pop rock, then the rest of it,) got slowly [accepted enough to be performed](_URL_1_) in the houses and the palaces of culture in his «Back in the USSR». He mentions for instance that while, during the Beatles craze, you couldn't have Beatles there you could have Beatles \"parodies\". Officially they were mocking popular music in the rotting capitalist west but in practice they played Beatles, which everyone loved. Culture which wasn't accepted yet by the authorities was performed in private flats instead. \"kvartirnik\" was the term for flat concert and a \"kvartirnaya vystavka\" is a fine arts exhibition also held in a flat."
] |
[
"What do you want to know about them exactly?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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A question about the book 1177 B.C. The Year Civilisation Collapsed by Eric H Cline
|
[
"He did an [AMA a year ago](_URL_1_) if you're curious. 1. Yes insofar as theories about what happened 3000 years ago can be 'correct'. At some level it's still quite vague - the collapse happens due to a number of reasons- but that is significant in that earlier studies tended to singular causes for the collapse. 2. Joseph Tainter has a general book on the collapse of societies, Richard Drews has a couple around the LBA and collapse, and at the risk of suggesting Wikepedia's list of books, it's actually a reasonable [list of papers and books on the matter](_URL_0_), but you might want to wait for someone with a speciality in Mycenaean/Aegean matters, as I can only cover the Levant."
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
}
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Are there any historical examples of castles with "secret passages", as often seen in fiction?
|
[
"When I visited Versailles, one of the features that was pointed out in Marie Antoinette's rooms was a hidden door that she used to escape the palace when it was overrun by the Paris mob. The passage connected the Queen's apartments to the King's Apartments."
] |
[
"The same way they have movies set in the Middle Ages even though there were no recording devices capable of filming it at the time. They're either drawings, computer simulations, pictures of other galaxies that are believed to look like ours, etc."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about astronomy:"
}
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I need help making my thesis statement more specific, as well as finding proper resources.
|
[
"What year/grade/class are you? Was the question you posed the prompt you were given? For most of the history of Europe, 'countries' and 'nations' were seen entirely differently. For example, some of 'england' was in France. Brittany was controlled by the King of England. It's better to talk of Kingdoms than countries for that reason."
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
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Depiction of American Revolution battles in the movie The Patriot.
|
[
"Firstly The Patriot IIRC portrays every soldier wearing the exact same uniform, they didn't. Each regiment had a slightly different uniform and regimental banner. Too many American soldiers had a uniform. Most would have turned up to a battle in civilian clothes. They were also far too disciplined compared to the professional British Army. A common British tactic was march well within range, open fire with one volley or fire by rank, then bayonet charge. Because most American militia didn't have bayonets, they'd usually think 'fuck this shit' and run, rightfully. And finally, the famous 'cannonball to the head' scene wouldn't have happened, most of the man's upper torso would be taken off. Mel Gibson and his classical American Hero stunt? Give me a break he would have been slaughtered by a couple of bayonets going in his direction, the flag carriers were prime targets, no flag = no rallying point. The Patriot is an epic film indeed but it's so innaccurate in almost every respect and is painful to watch."
] |
[
"British Empire -- > Post-WW2 / Cold War America -- > British and American pop culture -- > Silicon Valley."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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During the Great War I've been told the KKK stood in the back of my Great-Grandparents' Lutheran Church to make sure the service was done in English. Was this a common occurrence across the US at that time?
|
[
"Yes, this was a common occurrence, This was played out in many areas with german/czech heritage. More often than not (according to my great grandmother---she lived to be 102 and was born in 1896) they would send letters to the pastor. Sometimes a few would come in occasionally. But mostly it was a scare tactic. I think that most people never saw this side of the KKK. They always just assumed it was just for hatred of blacks. I have included a letter sent to a local church. _URL_0_"
] |
[
"Noble Savage type of thing. He was a member of the Rune Society (sp?). They believed in the restoration of the ancient Germanic way. If memory serves me, he was president of the group at one time. Some of his initial support for becoming Chancellor may have come from this association."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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Saturday Reading and Research | July 23, 2016
|
[
"I've crossed the halfway point in Peter Wilson's *The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy*! Wooo! 425 pages read and we've just about reached 1629, so less than 20 years of war to go! It's still really good, and really intense. It covers so much stuff, it's kind of jaw dropping. I'm probably going to take a break from it soon, though. I'm going on Holiday at the start of August and I'm not willing to travel with a 1,000 page book, no matter how interesting. I'll just pick it up when I get back."
] |
[
"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 question about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
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Australia's importance in the british empire
|
[
"Colonialism was about more than pounds and shillings. In the case of Australian settlement there was a desire to establish a new large scale settler colony after the loss of those in America. There was also a desire to make use of convicts. Contrary to our modern conception of criminals most of those convicts who were transported committed petty crimes like theft, poaching, or involvement in radical political acts like machine breaking. Transportation was an alternative to the death penalty, which was in unreformed British law a much more common sentence applied to many crimes, even those that we think of as very minor. Then in the 1850s significant amounts of gold are discovered in Australia and there is a gold rush. Mineral extraction became and remains one of the most important components of the Australian economy. Finally, in the first and second world wars the contributions of the Australian and New Zealand troops were very noteworthy."
] |
[
"It's worthwile to note that the British Empire had a particulalry horrible time in Afghanistan as well"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
}
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Other than its touted face-melting properties, what other ways did the Nazis weaponize the Ark of the Covenant?
|
[
"The Nazi's never had a chance to uncover additional applications. I'm told it's still being worked on in the US by top men. Who? Top. Men. Source: _URL_0_"
] |
[
"The actual reason for this phenomenon is roughly understood. One of the leading theories for this behavior is that it imitates their spaceships. The ones they used over 2000 years ago to make contact with the ancient Egyptians and enslaved them to create beautiful statues."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
}
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A student brought in a helmet his family had. They don't know what war it was from or anything about it. Any information is greatly appreciated!
|
[
"Hi there! This looks like a \"doughboy helmet\" from the First World War, while the red keystone is the symbol of the United States 28th Infantry Division. A quick search on [Google Images](_URL_0_) turns up similar examples. :)"
] |
[
"Do you have any more info that could be helpful? Where did you find it? Is it a family heirloom, and if so, where-ish do you think your ancestors were 100ish years ago? Anything that could help steer people in the right direction would be great."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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Imperial Japan invaded southwards to SE Asia to gain important resources (oil, tin, rubber). Did they consider moving their Navy closer to where the resources are?
|
[
"For most of the Pacific War, the Japanese Navy had a major presence at Truk (or Chuuk as it's known now). Truk is (very) roughly about 1000 miles north of Australia, and a similar amount east of the Philippines. Essentially, the bases at Truk were Japan's version of Pearl Harbor. It wasn't until Feb 1944's \"Operation Hailstone\" smashed the base that Japan stopped using it for its Navy. Even then, however, it remained a formidable military base; it was isolated and left to wither by an island-hopping US military strategy. The problem wasn't where the IJN was located, but what ships the IJN consisted of. It wasn't until quite late in the war that escort ships designed to hunt submarines started to come into service, and they weren't particularly good. Destroyers in the IJN were traditionally used to whittle down the opposing battleline with heavy torpedo salvos, not kill subs. Anti-Submarine Warfare was Japan's Achillies' Heel."
] |
[
"Well they sort of bombed Pearl Harbor... Before Japan had been actively engaged in an imperialist, expansionist foreign policy which included annexing Korea and invading China. The US was ... unhappy about this and cut off trade relations with Japan. Japan, under a lot of strain from the lack of trade for critical resources like oil, had to make a choice. They chose to attack the UK and France (which had significant presence in SE Asia) as well as the US in order to acquire the resources and supplies they needed to maintain their new empire."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about history:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about history:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
}
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Was the Frankfurt School as influential in creating concepts of "political correctness" and changing social views as is sometimes claimed by those politically on the right?
|
[
"An answer to this will most likely reach far into current politics, which is to be avoided by the subreddit's rules (rightly so). So you may want to take your question to r/AskSocialScience. Otherwise you could further specify your question. Are you interested in the influence of Frankfurt School thought on West German politics? Perhaps I can help you there. (I'm German and I am coincidentally also studying Philosophy.)"
] |
[
"While there is some usage of the term to describe applying Marxist principles or criticisms to the arts and social sciences like history, anthropology, etc, it's mostly used as a criticism of progressive movements by reactionary conservatives. This second use has a long pedigree. For example the nazis accused the Jews of \"cultural Bolshevism\" and sexual Marxism. While you can definitely can use a Marxist lens to understand trends in culture the term \"cultural Marxism\" is now really just a slur used by the right. If you want to find \"real\" academic use of the term you need to dig back into the 70s. Nowadays the ideas of cultural Marxism are mostly picked up by post modernism or \"post post modernism\"."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
}
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How did the viking's form of government differ from the other countries at the time?
|
[
"I know bits & bobs about one of the Norse governments (Iceland's *Alþingi*) & how it was run however I don't feel confident enough to give you a sufficient answer, so I'm going to ping /u/EyeStache & /u/textandtrowel who should be able to answer your question. :)"
] |
[
"Follow up question (please don't delete) how influential were nobility titles on economic upward mobility in the Europe of that same time?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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What's our "best guess" as to what really happened to the Roanoke colony?
|
[
"Read [an article](_URL_0_) about this yesterday, clears it up pretty well."
] |
[
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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How long was the United States the world's largest economy? How does that record compare to other historical world #1 economic powers?
|
[
"Well first i'd like to point out that the post on r/worldnews which you are referencing is misleading. The U.S. is still the world's largest economy. China now has the largest Purchasing Power Parity. This by no means says that China has a larger economy than the U.S. In terms of GDP (which is the accepted common form of measurement for economies) the U.S. still vastly overshadows China. It even says so at the end of the article. So in essence OP's question doesn't work out since the basis of it is false."
] |
[
"Related: how did the annual GDP growth rate compare for Eastern bloc and Western European countries throughout the Cold War? Did Eastern Bloc countries end up being poorer because they had slower growth, or because they started out poorer?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about economics:"
}
|
Were ancient Asian cultures aware of the existence of North America, because of the Bering Straight?
|
[
"There was more or less continual contact between Siberia and what's now Alaska in pre-Columbian times. Here are a few older answers that address this: _URL_2_ _URL_1_ _URL_0_ and also check out this roundup of older threads: _URL_3_"
] |
[
"They were descendents from a group of humans that crossed from what is now Russia over to what is now Alaska. This happened 16k to 11k years ago. Eventually as the ice age ended sea levels rose leading to the land they crossed to end up under water. This meant the humans being able to populate the New World without interacting with the humans elsewhere. Columbus also wasn't the first European to come across the New World. Edit - It wasn't an ice bridge."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
}
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What was the US strategy for the defense of Europe in the event of a Soviet invasion?
|
[
"When and how are we talking? As with all plans in warfare, it shifted depending on times and enemy aims. If you want something to read while you wait for more specific answers, believe it or not, *Red Storm Rising* by Tom Clancy is a generally well-regarded projection of late Cold War probabilities in the event of non-nuclear warfare."
] |
[
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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What does the epithet 'young' mean in the context of certain groups in the middle east in the early 20th century
|
[
"Besides reflecting a generally (but not exclusively) younger generation than those in charge, it signifies advocacy of renewal or change, hence against \"old\": Mazzini's 1830s Young Italy seems the model, followed by Young Germany and Young Ireland. The Young Turks themselves followed in the wake of the Young Ottomans, an earlier reformist group involved in the first constitutionalist movement in the 1870s. All of them combined both national and internal aspirations - independence or unification, and some measure of internal political progress, in the Ottoman case the introduction of some measure of representative government (the same can't be said of the dreadfully reactionary Young England)."
] |
[
"Follow up question (please don't delete) how influential were nobility titles on economic upward mobility in the Europe of that same time?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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Why didn't Imperial Japan just stop at Korea?
|
[
"Seems like a very strange question, from the Japanese point of view (at the time) they were on par with the power of Western nations and were surrounded by 3rd world, much weaker nations abundant in resources, so from their perspective, why not?"
] |
[
"> why didn't they land troops to control and defend Pearl Harbor? This would cause a breach in supply to more Western Pacific territories like Midway, The US wasn't a combatant at the time. The Japanese were launching a surprise attack to cripple the US military capabilities and discourage the US from joining the war. Conceptually they expected the display and military impact to scare the US into staying out of the fight and continuing our policy of neutrality. They... didn't really understand US culture."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
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World War II generals on both sides frequently got sacked, it seems. What happened to a general who got the sack?
|
[
"The two commanders at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, Lieutenant General Walter Short and Admiral Husband Kimmel, were both blamed (perhaps unfairly, but that's for another day) for the results of the bombing. Short was removed from command of the Hawaiian Department and ordered back to Washington. He was also reduced back to his permanent grade of Major General. He retired from the Army a few months later. Admiral Kimmel was found to be derelict in his duties, relieved of command 10 days after the attack and reduced to Rear Admiral. He, too, retired in early 1942."
] |
[
"I think if we're looking for a Japanese version of Rommel then it has to go out to Tomoyuku Yamshita also known as \"The Tiger of Malay.\" He executed a masterful campaign reaching down the Malay peninsula towards Singapore and then inflicted Britain's greatest defeat arguably in history while being outnumbered almost three to one. He would later be held culpable for war crimes that he allegedly failed to stop. He did execute some of those responsible in Singapore and apologized personally for the actions (an action unprecedented in the Far Eastern theater) but was out of control of Japanese troops during the last weeks of the Philippines campaign. His trial reads very much like a scapegoat action and it was protested against by several justices such as Frank Murphy. *Sixty Years On: The Fall of Singapore Revisited* by Brian Farrell"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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After world war two were European empires still profitable for their home nations?
|
[
"I disagree with discipletr slightly. I'd say after WW2 the importance of the European empires actually increased. With internal European trade basically destroyed, their own economies exhausted and heavily indebt to the Americans, the empires provided a steady supply of raw materials (and labour force) an a market for goods. Such a system would allow the European nations to prime the pump of their economies. The colonies who have been unable to import during the war going on a spending spree buying goods from home, this provides work for domestic workers who buy goods at home. But as discipletr at this specific point the anti-colonial movement boils over and really starts making gains, though it takes Africa until the 1960s mainly for independence to actually happen."
] |
[
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Basically Japan wanted raw materials like rubber to continue the war in China these materials were held by European colonies or being embargoed by the USA."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
}
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What is the earliest recorded hostage situation?
|
[
"Do you mean the stereotypical hostage-holdout situation, with multiple random people inside and the building surrounded? Or do you mean any hostage-taking at all? Because if it's the latter the answer is probably going to be whatever the oldest war is that we have good records for. Prior to the modern age hostage-taking was politics 101. If you wanted a vassal to be loyal, you took hostages. If you wanted to secure an agreement, you exchanged hostages. The earliest *specific* incident I can point to is the Third Punic War, 149 BC when the Romans demanded 300 noble Carthaginians hostages as terms of peace (they didn't honour it, but that's neither here nor there). You get the feeling from records of the city's reaction that this is an unusually large number, but it's clear that by this time hostage-taking is well-established tradition. I'm also certain that my more learned colleagues can provide many, many earlier instances."
] |
[
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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Monday Methods|Alternative Historical Narratives and Identity
|
[
"It would depend, though in general I don't think there should be much allowance for personal sensitivities. One shouldn't be rude, but alternative narratives such as the Lost Cause Myth and Black Athena Hypothesis are distortions of history. And yes, I think these discussions should include how these narratives come up in political discussions, because it is important. Distorted history being used to decide politics is quite frankly worrisome especially with alternative historical narratives such as the Lost Cause Myth. It's romanticism at its finest that does not take into account the realities of the South before and during the Civil War."
] |
[
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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Should Charles XII’s lieutenants be held responsible for the destruction of the Swedish army at Poltava?
|
[
"Lets look at the diffrent armies and their conditions at the time before jumping to conclusions here. The Swedish army had marched far into south east Russia extending far beyond their supply lines. They were tired, hungry and demorolized. Alot of them had foot wounds and dehydration diseases. The russian army on the other hand had fortified their position and got to enjoy the advantage of defending from fortified positions. Aside from that the army was not only bigger but also well rested and well fed. (There was around 50 000 russians as opposed to 20 000 swedes) The swedish army was basically defeated before the battle of Poltava had even begun. The battle was doomed to fail no matter how you look at it. Mabye, just mabye the battle would have played out in favour of the swedish had Charles XII lead the swedes and not Rehnskiöld, it's highly unlikely though."
] |
[
"They were aware that something was happening, but they had much bigger concerns at the time. They were fighting wars on several borders, and constant bombings made them more worried about their own skins than whatever might have happened to their Jewish neighbors. Source: Grandmother who lived in Dresden during the firebombings."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
}
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Do we have any accounts of people in ancient Roman times collecting coins the way we do today?
|
[
"Yes! There certainly were ancient coin collectors. One of the best known was Augustus who kept coins as curios for himself and gave them out as gifts (what better gift than money right?). Coin collecting is known as the hobby of kings because so many had royal coin cabinets which displayed coins. One way that we are able to identify coin collections from just hoards are the wide variety of coins found."
] |
[
"Ancient coins are a big part of numismatism, and are commonly bought and sold in collector's markets. I'm not aware of any particular legal regulation regarding their purchase."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
}
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How peaceful is this era compared to other historical eras?
|
[
"You are very right. The relative number of people dying of violence is comparably low. Especially since the fall of the iron curtain did the number of wars decrease. According to Steven Pinker, the modern societies are extremely non-violent compared to less diversified societies, even in the 20th century."
] |
[
"Going back in time and preventing the Libyan Revolution is probably the only way to create peace within the next decade."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
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Myth or Fact: Did the U.S. political parties switch platforms?
|
[
"Not to discourage further discussion, but there is a whole section on the FAQ [here](_URL_2_) regarding this very topic"
] |
[
"What is the veracity of the claim that TR was included so there would be two Republicans on Mt. Rushmore?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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Is Hannah Arendt's portrayal of Adolf Eichmann historically accurate? Or was it biased to serve her thesis?
|
[
"Not to discourage further responses, but you might find [this post](_URL_0_) by /u/commiespaceinvader informative."
] |
[
"Some historians believe that their job is to be an impartial and objective narrator of the past, minimizing the impact of their personal biases- the 'modernist' position. Some believe that such objectivity is undesirable or impossible, and are deeply skeptical of any attempt to strive for it- the 'postmodernist' position. (I understand that the above is a rather drastic simplification.) What's your personal opinion on the manner? What's the overall tendency of your historical subfield/other historians you know?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
|
Resources concerning Bohemond I of Antioch
|
[
"This book, [The First Crusade: A New History by Thomas Asbridge](_URL_0_), gives pretty good, detailed information on Bohemond I of Antioch. We learn a lot about his leadership and how he managed to keep the First Crusade together from Constantinople to Antioch, even helping to capture the city himself. However, the book also follows the First Crusade in general all the way to Jerusalem, allowing us to more fully understand his role within the expedition, but also how it affected him. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did! :)"
] |
[
"Aragon's court language was castilian as well. At the time Aragon was a confederation of several Kingdoms ruled by a single king (Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples): Catalan was spoken in Valencia and Catalonia only."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
}
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in 1800 america if a black slave slept with or raped a white women (I expect in terms of his fate it makes little difference) and she got pregnant, would the child be born legally free?
|
[
"If the woman is free, then the child is free. Same happens if a freed female slave had a child. Since the mother has no owner, neither does the child. The only thing I am not sure of, is if hypothetically the mother is evil or crazy, and wanted to sell her child into slavery. I don't know would would be the legality of that (although I doubt the government would try to prevent it.)"
] |
[
"It was pretty common for the owner of a plantation to take a trip down to the slave quarters. Some wealthy slave owners even bought \"Fancy Girls\" -- Mixed race (mulatto was the term in the day) young women who were auctioned off for the specific purpose of sex. They fetched a price way higher than the average slave, so only the wealthiest slave owners could afford them. One disturbing aspect of this is that the children of a master - slave sexual encounter were not born free, but born slaves. This gives a slave owner a financial incentive to rape his slave women. The wives of the masters were often in complete denial about who fathered the children, but they had no problem talking about who fathered the mulatto children on the neighboring plantation."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
}
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What were the factors that led to winning the Korean War?
|
[
"The question is rather misleading. Nobody won the Korean war."
] |
[
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query about history:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about history:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
}
|
What would France and England have looked if England had achieved it's goals?
|
[
"This would be an excellent candidate for /r/historicalwhatif."
] |
[
"You do realise that France and Britain were for centuries at the level of power that the USA currently has?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about World Affairs:"
}
|
Help me verify a Stalin quote, please?
|
[
"“The German invaders want a war of extermination against the peoples of the U.S.S.R. Well, if the Germans want a war of extermination, they will, get it. (Loud and prolonged applause)\" [J. Stalin: On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (Moscow 1946), p. 31](_URL_0_) The identical quote also appears in the German translation from the same year: [\"Nun wohl, wenn die Deutschen einen Vernichtungskrieg wollen, so werden sie ihn bekommen. (Stürmischer, lang anhaltender Beifall.)](_URL_1_) Edit: more reliable source. Edit 2: second source."
] |
[
"Can someone please answer this question? This is such an interesting question."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
Can anyone give me some information on the Eleusinian Mysteries?
|
[
"It never ceases to amaze me how bad Reddit's search function is: a search for the term \"Eleusinian\" completely fails to turn up [this thread from a few months ago](_URL_0_). So I'm linking to it. Hope it helps."
] |
[
"Does anyone know of any good texts on Sassanid Persian culture?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Literature:"
}
|
Was the Aeneid an old legend put to paper like the Iliad or was it a pure fiction from the mind of Virgil?
|
[
"Aeneas was actually a character in the Illiad, although minor, he was a part of common legend. There was a multitude of loosely connected legends involving Aeneas but they were ill defined and not given true substance until Virgil. Aeneas also appeared in \"Historical\" works by roman authors in the founding of the city"
] |
[
"Greek writers like Homer took existing legends and dramatized them, in much the same way that Shakespeare took real life figures like Caesar and Richard III and make them into plays. They served as a backdrop for those author's creativity."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
}
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How do I critically read a historical source without hundreds of hours of background research?
|
[
"Having just written a primary source analysis as part of my coursework for a history unit at university, this helped me critically analyse a primary source. (link to 'How to read a primary source' on the side bar) _URL_0_"
] |
[
"In my view, as a teacher, and former professor, the purpose of an interview requirement is to use primary sources: asking people who were there. Otherwise, you can efficiently read a historian's account. Did the teacher approve your topic already?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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Thursday Reading & Recommendations | July 25, 2019
|
[
"I'm currently reading the *Dead Zone* by Stephen King, which is pretty good, but I'm planning on reading something more historical soon. For the past couple of years I've made a habit of reading one long presidential biography a year, and this year my in-laws gave me a crap ton of them, so I have to choose which one I want to read this year. I'm being very indecisive, though, so I thought I'd put it to a vote. The options are: 1. *Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power* by John Meacham 2. *James Monroe: the quest for national identity* by Harry Ammon 3. *Woodrow Wilson: A Biography* by John Milton Cooper 4. *Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman* by Alonzo Hamby 5. Presidents are boring, read *The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages* by J.F. Verbruggen instead."
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the query about Literature:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Literature:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
}
|
What are some must read memoirs of the American Civil War?
|
[
"Grant's memoirs are just fantastic -honest, candid, clear. Not really a common soldier's perspective, but valuable nonetheless."
] |
[
"I'm looking for recommendations for books to read if I want an overview of the history of the LGBT+ movement in the United States but don't have any previous background knowledge in the subject."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Literature:"
}
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Announcing the Best of August Winners!
|
[
"Whaaaat. Thanks that's awesome. Now I feel way more okay that I spent literally all day fielding follow ups. Thanks!"
] |
[
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the post about Announcements:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Announcements:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
}
|
Henry VIII of England had a bizarre looking horned helmet with a demonic face. As a religious man in a religious world, why would he want to be associated with the Devil?
|
[
"The Royal Armouries, where it is displayed, has an [informational page](_URL_0_) on the piece. Short answer is it probably wasn't intended to be Devil-ish at all, but rather a foolish, or jester-like, pageant piece rathern than field armour. I think most people nowadays would probably agree that \"Yep that looks terrifying,\" but that may not have been the case at all at the time. Without knowing what the rest of the harness looked like we're just looking at and judging the helmet in isolation and through a modern lense."
] |
[
"The only example that comes to mind could be Gilles de Rais. He self identified as evil, a Satanist in the medieval France, and possibly a serial killer of children. This 15th century French knight accompanied Joan of Arc and was allegedly shaken when she was accused of witchcraft and executed. This could make a deeply believing man to reject God. However, his sanity could be questioned, and it's also possible that he killed all of these children because he believed he made a deal with the devil and the demons required sacrifices."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
}
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Why didn't the United States of America try and capture colonies and push for imperialisation like the European countries?
|
[
"It should be noted too that the USA's taking of the former Spanish territories of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico was very much in the vein of European geopolitical horsetrading. Germany in particular was less than pleased about the new permanent US presence in East Asia and there was a standoff in Manila Bay between each nations fleets. The Royal Navy siding with the USN and helping pressure the Germans to stand down was a major event on the repairing of the US-UK relationship. Germany had also had a contentious relationship with the US over Samoa. In fact at one point 3 ships of each nation had been in a months long standoff until a storm wrecked all 6 ships. The US also went from respecting the native monarchy of Hawaii to supporting the white planter backed coup, to just seizing the islands for their strategic worth."
] |
[
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Basically Japan wanted raw materials like rubber to continue the war in China these materials were held by European colonies or being embargoed by the USA."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
If I were to write an as-historically-accurate-as-possible American Western, what literature would I seek for help?
|
[
"A good classic to start with would be The Prairie Traveler, a guidebook written in the 1850s to advise pioneers, adventurers and wagon trains planning to head westward. _URL_0_ Full of tons of good information and first hand accounts about how traveling and expeditions were done at the start of the Old West. For many years it served as one of if not the most popular guidebooks in that area."
] |
[
"Haha, this is a fun and difficult question. There are thousands to choose from. Let me ask a few follow up questions: What time period (medieval, modern, etc.)? What type of history? Do you simply want a political history that discusses how the structure of the kingdom changed form monarch to monarch, or do you want something about how the monarchy was perceived by the people, etc.? Do you want one that's fun to read, provides exacting citations and research, or both? Do you want one with comprised of primary source material or an academic monograph? Do you want a recently published book or does the publication date not matter?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
}
|
Chinese diplomat: "U.S. ships took Chinese troops to reclaim the Spratlys after they were occupied by Japan during World War Two. Other countries only started occupying what he said was Chinese territory from the 1960s after oil was discovered." Is this true?
|
[
"It's mostly true but not all of it. China did reclaim the Spratlys and Japan renounced their own claims to them after WW2 but also France has a claim on the islands that it has never officially renounced. The difference is that China has also continuously occupied the islands since then and the French attempted to but failed. The USA also warned the Philippines in the 50s not press their claims on the islands as it's owned by China. This is just to establish that China has a legitimate claim that is internationally recognized but are not the only country that intended to occupy it. There are a few other countries that also have claims to the area which I didn't list. The point is even if there wasn't oil in the area there would still be a territorial dispute but oil without a doubt contributes to this dispute. edited for source: [The De-escalation of the Spratly Dispute in Sino-Southeast Asian Relations](_URL_0_) by Ralph Emmers and also: The Spratly Islands dispute: who's on first? by Daniel Duzrek"
] |
[
"Taiwan used to be a small native-held island, in China's sphere of influence but not considered very important. In the 17th century or so, Chinese colonists started showing up. When Japan gained control over the island in 1895, a majority of its inhabitants were (Han) Chinese. After World War II, Japan gave the island to the Republic of China. The Republic of China was the Chinese government formed in about 1912. They lost a war against the People's Republic of China (the current government of mainland China), and now rule only the island of Taiwan. Both governments claim that they *should* own both Taiwan and mainland China. This used to be a huge diplomatic issue, but it has mostly calmed down; both sides have made it clear they don't want to attack the other. There's still some tension, especially since China has prevented Taiwan from being recognized as a country in most international affairs."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
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Have there ever been "Here come the cavalry!" moments in history?
|
[
"Battle of Waterloo comes to mind. To my understanding, the Prussians sudden appearance had a pretty important role in the outcome of the battle"
] |
[
"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
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Literature:"
}
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Many cultures today around the world consider fair-skin as a symbol of beauty. What were the causes of this standard?
|
[
"A side question related to this, when did it also go in the reverse in western culture (or at least in most English speaking parts of the world) and tanned skin become more the desired look."
] |
[
"For a variety of reasons, through history, due to biological, cultural, economic and other factors, beauty and sexuality became of larger emphasis for women than for men and so products were made to supposedly enhance one's beauty. Men however do wear makeup. Not as much but many men do."
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
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World War 2: Why the foxholes?
|
[
"If a shell bursts at ground level being in a foxhole puts the soldier below the level shrapnel is flying around at. Those flying bits of metal are the main killers so putting yourself out of reach is very desirable. Soldiers in a foxhole are only vulnerable to a direct hit or near miss if the shells are using impact fuses. Obviously foxholes are much less effective against air burst rounds, but air burst fuses were only in limited use on land during WWII."
] |
[
"1-The invasion of the Soviet Union sealed the fate of the European Axis Powers, there was no way that the Axis could defeat the Soviet Union 2- Bombing of Pearl Harbor- Same with Germany, Japan had no chance to defeating the United States, Germany's stupid decision to declare war on the United States made their victory even further unlikely."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
Did the Roman Senate vote on all laws twice? Once sober, and then again drunk?
|
[
"Another user has already correctly answered the question, but I think it's worth noting that the senate didn't vote on laws. Ever. The senate existed as an advisory body, offering its counsel to the magistrates of that year, who might follow or ignore their advice, although ignoring the advice of the senate would have political repercussions later on, as magistrates above the rank of quaestor would enter back into the senate at the end of their terms and we're no longer protected by the immunity to prosecution that their magistracies gave them. Laws were proposed by the magistrates and passed by the citizen assemblies, never by the senate. The senate only had a handful of official legal powers--they presided over the election of military tribunes (and therefore raising an army needed senatorial approval) and appointed extraordinary magistrates, but none of their powers involved actually passing legislation"
] |
[
"The lavish displays you speak of are a reference to the position of Curule Aedile. The Curule Aediles were responsible, among other things, for the Roman games. While there was a budget for the Roman games, Aediles were expected to also provide extra money to make the games as lavish as possible, or they would be looked at in a bad light. This was not the image you wanted to have if you wanted to run for higher positions. Also, the more money you spent also tended to put you in a very good light to the voters, so most who could did indeed spend the extra money. The debt you speak of for Julius Caesar needed Crassus to bail him out, however, was not from debts from the games. This was from Julius Caesars debts accrued from bribing the other electors in his bid to become Pontifex Maximus. This was a gamble to gain power by Julius Caesar that ended up paying off when he won the position. I'm on mobile, so I can't provide sources at the moment but I hope this helps!"
] |
eli5_question_answer
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{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
Historical inaccuracy seems like a given in entertainment- but have there been successful games, shows, or movies that have been a historically and factually accurate representation of history?
|
[
"I'm a big fan of the film 'Thirteen Days' starring Bruce Greenwood as JFK. It is specifically about the Cuban missile crisis, and so far as I know on my admittedly outside-the-field understanding of the matter, it does a damn fine job balancing historical accuracy with good, top-notch drama. And just as a PSA, I know it has come up on this sub before, but while a damn fine mini-series entertainment wise, with decent history scattered throughout here and there, HBO's 'John Adams' is NOT good history as a whole. (Further reading here: _URL_0_ )"
] |
[
"Drama is more important than accuracy. As writer Harlan Ellison said, accuracy isn't necessary when verisimilitude (the mere appearance of being true) is good enough for the majority of viewers who are not specialists in the field depicted in the show. If a dramatic plot turn is better served by details that are not entirely accurate (or even entirely inaccurate), then absolute accuracy can be considered a hinderance to telling a good story."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
}
|
How important was the American contribution to the Allied stopping of the Ludendorff Offensive?
|
[
"American government-to-government loans had been crucial to maintaining the Allied war effort from February 1917 onwards, the British and French having used up most of their credit with their American creditors. However, in terms of actual military contributions to the defeat of the Spring Offensives, the answer is no. *Michael*, *Georgette*, *Gneisenau* and *Mars* were seen off by British and French forces. American forces were involved considerably in the defense against the *Friedenstum* and in the subsequent Second Battle of the Marne, but by that point (July 1918) the Germans had already shot their bolt. Even in those two cases I mentioned, French and colonial troops outnumbered Americans."
] |
[
"Was any Asian country capable of helping the United States during the revolutionary war?"
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
|
When horses were the main form of transportation, how did cities deal with all the waste?
|
[
"hi! you may be interested in these earlier posts * [why did medieval people put up with so much filth in their city streets? IF they didn't have the resources for modern plumbing, couldn't they at least hire armies of people to cart away waste?](_URL_2_) * [If I were to wake up in 1880 New York City, how bad would it smell compared to the modern version?](_URL_1_) * [It is 1890 in New York City, cars are not yet widespread. How do horses fit into the life of the city?](_URL_0_) * [Looking for primary sources on The Great Horse-Manure Crisis of 1894, or other historical horse-related events](_URL_3_)"
] |
[
"Because for most of human history, it wasn't necessary. When you live in a village of fifty people, you can throw your trash in a pile out back, because there isn't that much of it. Especially if you are nomads who are going to pack it in a few months later. For most of human history, that was much more common than streets or operations. Only when we started living in cities did sanitation become a concern. But even then, when you are struggling to feed everyone, sewers become a luxury."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
}
|
Historical perceptions of time that differ from the Western linear 24-hr day
|
[
"Not sure if this is exactly what you want, but [a tribe in the Andes perceives the future behind them and the past in front of them.](_URL_0_)"
] |
[
"time is a measure of change in the universe."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
}
|
Are There Any Surviving Sources of Chinese Military Tactics or Formations?
|
[
"Yes! In fact, a whole body of Chinese military literature still exists today that it's not very useful to ask for specific sources - you will be much better off asking for monographs that study the many aspects of the Chinese military. The one covering the oldest period of Chinese warfare is Ralph Sawyer's *Ancient Chinese Warfare*, which spans from prehistory (the Xia) through to the Shang dynasty. Sawyer gets into specific archaelogical evidence about Shang era fortifications, tactics, and weapons (think chariot battles). He also has a volume on Western Zhou warfare that follows the Shang, but that is forthcoming. To answer your original question, one of the most important Chinese military manual that covers everything from tactics to equipment is the Song dynasty *Wujing Zongyao* (武經總要), written for scholar-officials in case they are sent off to lead armies. It is also a valuable catalogue for the world's first gunpowder weapons."
] |
[
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
}
|
The Cold War was a time of incredible technological achievement. How did that directly impact ideas of national defense for both NATO and the Warsaw Pact?
|
[
"I've forwarded your question to a colleague who is a specialist in this area. I too am very interested to know more."
] |
[
"The United Nations is an international intergovernmental organization, that was originally designed to prevent another large-scale war like World War Two. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a military alliance made up of several European and North American nations, that was originally designed to be a united force against the rapidly rising threat of the Soviet Union. Most countries that are in the UN are not in NATO, but all NATO nations are also in the UN."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
}
|
I am researching piracy during the 18th century for a story I want to write. What resources and books would you guys recommend?
|
[
"Check out Marcus Rediker's [_Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in The Golden Age_](_URL_0_), or any of his work on piracy, for that matter."
] |
[
"Hi guys. I hope this is the right place to post this, I'll move it if it isn't. I'm currently writing an essay on the working class in the British Empire and wondered if anyone could give me any good sources relating to the development of the working class and the impact of the Empire on the working class 1870 and 1914. Apart from the recommended reading I haven't really found anything else of much use and would appreciate the help. Thanks."
] |
eli5_question_answer
|
{
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about News:"
}
|
If it were the year 1500AD and I wanted to go visit the biggest collection of publicly accessible books in Europe, where would I go?
|
[
"I am afraid there are no publically accessible books at this time. Libraries are the private property of monastaries, churches, states, royals, scholars, noblemen or universities. You can probably gain access to many of them, by getting permission from the owner or institution that keeps them. The Kalendaries in Bristol was supposedly open for the public in the late 15th century - \"all that entered for instruction\" might mean those that came for religious instruction though. One of your best bets might be to go to Rome and try to get access to the papal libraries, or to the University of Paris. Towards the end of the 16th century, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II amassed a large library in Prague."
] |
[
"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 paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
}
|
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