I understand that Italy was fractured for much of its post-Byzantine and Lombard history but even dialects from region right next to each other like Ligurian, Piedmontese and Lombard differ from each other a decent amount.

A search yielded several threads by folks asking the same or a similar question, but from what I can tell none of them garnered any accepted answers.

I'm not picky about culture or era - I'm just curious if lightning caused problems for people in metal armor (and/or wielding metal weaponry) at any point in history. Bonus points for any insights as to how such incidents were regarded (e.g., was it taken as some sort of omen from the gods?). Thanks in advance!

Listening to the Dan Carlin podcast episode it and just wondering if we’ve found any artifacts along their path

So I've been listening to the British History podcast and he's just talked about after Alfred lost chippenham he retreated into the Somerset marshes but why would he not retreat back to his own town instead?

Would be in my reach to pay for Latin lessons (or lesson in Science/Math ones?)? Would I buy him books or just pay for a tutor? Could I afford to send him to a university?

I promise this is not some thinly veiled pro-nazi question. I am genuinely curious.

In my relatively limited learning of history and religion, it seems like the jews, as a people, have been driven out of more places than almost any other one group. Hell, there's even a wikipedia page solely for "Expulsions and exoduses of Jews". Especially when long distance and/or international communication was much harder, it seems like there must be some reason for this? Is it just they are more blatant about practicing a different religion in a time where that was a one way ticket to "get out or die"?

Does anyone know if a list exists of the Assembly Center numbers? Specifically looking for the location of Center number 590. I've found references to UNRRA "Team Number" 590 but that was in the French zone. I'm pretty sure the Center number 590 I'm looking for was in the American zone because the DP-2 forms I have for relatives long gone are all written using English words. Plus these relatives emigrated to the US.

I've been having rather heated arguments over the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki recently. One idea that I see consistently is that the bombings were unnecessary and that other options should have been pursued. I'm asking what other options were available and why weren't they pursued?

From my understanding it was either the use of nuclear weapons, Operation Olympic (that no one really wanted), or waiting out the Japanese and letting a continued conventional air campaign or starvation take their toll.

Hello, I was recently curious about the Bush War, I've gathered bits and pieces of information, but especially on youtube there seems to be a lack of objectivity, with most videos being full of phrases such as "everything was fine when the whites ruled, and then the black communists ruined everything", now I can't believe that to be true, while modern-day Zimbabwe is an economic mess, it seems that Rhodesia is often glorified, now I am wondering if any of this has any actual roots in history, was Rhodesia actually a good state (i doubt this due to South Africa and Rhodesia being from my knowledge quite close and Rhodesia I would guess would also have a sort of apartheid regime). I would be really interested in hearing any information, that doesn't glorify a major war and colonial rule into good Rhodesians vs. bad communist Africans.

Thanks, sorry if I've gotten any information wrong, I haven't researched much into post-colonial conflicts.

I think it's interesting to compare the attitude of masks during the pandemic between eastern and western culture. I listen to stories on NPR about all the scientific research being done, which interests me. The west seems to be framing the narrative around evidence-based actions. Since the east is already onboard with masks, I'm curious how they came to make it a normal part of the culture. Did they adopt the practice through empirical evidence or the very scientific studies "trying" to prove mask wearing is effective (trying as in trying to convince the audience to follow guidelines). To me it seems like, if it's raining, use an umbrella. If it works I don't necessarily need to know why. Not the best analogy, but in many ways masks feel like common sense once you see it's effective.

So I'm helping a colleague with a project they're working on concerning the stories of slaves who helped build the White House, and other such buildings. Any advice on how I should go about this? The records are so limited, all I've been able to find are the names of some slaves really. This was only after a 45-minute preliminary search, however. But I honestly don't know where to go from here. I know there's stuff out there because I've read books that featured slaves and their real life stories. I guess I just don't know where to look? I'm usually a good researcher (did a lot of it in school for my major) but I'm stumped here...

So turns out Sterling Hayden had a super interesting life. Most famous for playing General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), he was a higly decorated soldier in WWII and was in the predecessor of the CIA for a short while, but the crazy thing is that he did all that under a fake identity!

Could someone just randomly make up a fake ID and join the military back in the 40s? Was it really that easy?

He returned to the US and tried to buy a half-interest in a schooner but could not raise the money. He joined the United States Marine Corps as a private, under the name John Hamilton, an alias he never used otherwise. While at Parris Island, he was recommended for Officer Candidate School.

After graduation from OCS, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and was transferred to service as an undercover agent with William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan's Office of the Coordinator of Information. He remained there after it became the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).[14][15][16]

As OSS agent John Hamilton, his World War II service included sailing with supplies from Italy to Yugoslav partisans and parachuting into fascist Croatia. Hayden, who also participated in the Naples–Foggia campaign and established air crew rescue teams in enemy-occupied territory, became a first lieutenant on September 13, 1944, and a captain on February 14, 1945.

He received the Silver Star for gallantry in action in the Balkans and Mediterranean (according to his citation, "Lt. Hamilton displayed great courage in making hazardous sea voyages in enemy-infested waters and reconnaissance through enemy-held areas"), a Bronze Arrowhead device for parachuting behind enemy lines, and a commendation from Yugoslavia's Josip Broz Tito. He left active duty on December 24, 1945.[16] Tito awarded him the Order of Merit.[17]

A commonly accepted idea among many is that much of the working class of the Middle Ages of Europe were mostly illiterate.

But is that true. Back during those times Latin was very big, and if you couldn’t speak or read Latin you were seen as basically illiterate in the eyes of the upper class.

So for instance if I’m a cobbler or a farmer in the HRE in the 1500s, if I can’t read Latin would I at least be able to read German?

I came across a post from some social media a while back that asserted that Cleopatra's enemies were so upset that an intelligent woman could be such a force to be reckoned with that they essentially started a smear campaign against her,stating that she was only a leader because she was beautiful and that that was the reason men could be convinced to follow a woman. Essentially painting her as some dumb bimbo who was just a face while the men did all the work. Is there any truth to this? It seems plausible but I can't find anybody talking about it outside of that post.

So, I know that in WWII the Japanese used to kill enemy medics and I was curious if for example other factions had the same practice. For example did the germans kill American medics? And what about the soviets?

The Nazis were born out of a trades union, opposed big business, had generally collectivist rhetoric, and used the name "Socialist". All of these seem pretty left wing.

On the other hand, they're the textbook definition of a racist ideology, and we tend to consider that to mean one is extremely right wing.

In what sense were the Nazis right wingers?

I am currently writing a book with a fantasy medieval setting corresponding to 12th and 13th century europe with flavours of imperial rome. For an army of a well off country in this world, what would be a feasible army make up regarding the size- the numbers of heavy infantry, light infantry(archers), heavy cavalry, light cavalry, skirmishers, civilian accompaniments and command structure in the army. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Was the distinction between wife and concubine even real in practical terms in the period?