A student asked me this question during class on the Civil War. I think it's interesting because I was not at all prepared to talk about zoological history in the United States during the Civil War. I know Scott didn't use the term; instead, it was nicknamed in newspapers. But other, more straightforward, names could have been used.

How familiar would the average American have been with this exotic animal? I know the Philadelphia Zoo was the first European modeled Zoological Garden, but the war delayed its opening until 1874. Were there travel narratives that described the Anaconda? Were these snakes brought back to the US at all? If so, by whom and when? Are there any other references to the anaconda from the period? Or, is there any evidence that the "anaconda plan" sparked interest in the animal?

I’ve looked at the r/askhistorians book list and all of the listed books on Russia seem to cover the USSR, the Russian Federation, or the very end of the Russian Empire - and then pretty much exclusively the lead-up to revolution. What are the best English-language books on the empire itself - its expansion from Muscovy, figures like Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and so on and so forth?

(I know this sounds a lot like the example in the rules; that’s just a coincidence.) I’m writing a story where a character time travels back to then (by accident), and tries to make breakfast for the family hosting them. Would someone be able to make pancakes with ingredients readily available then? Would some ingredients be possible, but harder to find? For this, I’m assuming pancakes consist of milk, eggs, flour, a sweetener (honey, dates, sugar), and an oil (butter, other oils).

If this is impossible, is there another breakfast that is common today that would be possible then? Thanks!

From my understanding, several Shermans were fitted with flotation screens for D-Day. After the Allies had landed and could transport more traditional tanks, what happened with these Shermans fitted with flotation screens?

So here goes nothing. I have never made a post like this but I would like some help from the community here. My great grandfather was a S/Sgt in WWII and he passed before I knew him he received a purple heart (which unfortunately was stolen and melted when I was in elementary school). But I would like to know more about him and his military career. If you guys know any resources or places I could look to start venturing through this rabbit hole of records please drop them in the comments

Edit:for those who want to know more of the story turns out we was awarded not one but two purple hearts in combat.

I’m thinking about pre video era. Let’s say writings were discovered from the Middle Ages by a person who claimed to have experienced events. Then another text is found which contradicts what that person wrote, how would people who study those writing know which is accurate? How can things like that be corroborated?

*Was it related to any Abrahamic religions?

There's a decent 3 month period in which europe stopped being a theater of war and the entire world was in a wartime alliance against japan. What were the Soviet Union, France, and Britain doing during this time?

In grade school we were taught people used music to make work more tolerable and as a form of subversive communication. But how would that have gone down? Why not just talk to each other? Would all of the enslaved people know the context of the resistance songs or just a few people?

Please cite sources!

And how did contemporary Native Americans conceptualise the same differences?

I'm using the word "inferior" very loosely because I can't think of a way to objectively measure technological sophistication, so value judgements such as 'superior' or 'inferior' must be at least partly cultural, hence the question.

I don't find the conventional explanation that it was because he kept them out of battle convincing. Sherman and Lee were both hard fighters and popular with their men.

Who’s telling the story of Beowulf?

So there’s several questions wrapped up in this one really, so bear with me. The earliest dates I see for the composition of Beowulf are in the 7th or 8th century, largely due to the Christian influence throughout the poem. Yet the historical characters and events referenced, the setting in Scandinavia, and the traditional Germanic heroic structure of the poem all suggest to me older roots.

How much support is there for the idea that the core of the poem is from an earlier continental oral tradition, and was brought to Britain during the migrations, with a Christian element grafted on after the fact post conversion? I’m also curious about this idea of grafting more broadly in the poem. For example it seems possible to me that the last third of the poem or so, involving Beowulf’s fight with the dragon, is an extra story line that was added to an older story. I again wonder the same about the first part of the story giving a history of the Danes. What I’m really curious about here is whether we have any evidence of other stories that roughly follow the outline of a monster and his mother terrorizing a people, and a hero doing battle in their watery lair, possibly including finding some magical sword in the process that he uses to slay them. This is totally speculative on my part, but this feels to me like an older mythological core of the story the rest may have been added on to.

Finally, who do we think may have brought this story to Britain? For the most famous example of Anglo-Saxon literature we get almost no mentions of either Angles or Saxons. I’ve seen it suggested that the East Anglian Wuffingas are associated with the Geatish Wulfings, so this seems like a plausible connection. While the Wulfings do make their way into Beowulf, they are merely a third party one of whom Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow has slain, with Hrothgar subsequently paying the weregild. This is an important part of the story, establishing Beowulf’s relationship to Hrothgar, but hardly seems like the inclusion you would give a lords family if you’re composing a poem to bring them glory.

Anyway, I realize there are probably no hard and fast answers here, and anything is bound to be speculative, but I’m interested in whatever thoughts anyone might have on all this. Thanks for reading!

I understand the answer may vary depending on the place/time. If I'd have to narrow it down, I am most interested in Dutch trade, mid 17th century

The Middle Ages are made to seem like a time where everyone was extremely religious and “sin” was hugely stigmatized by the church and community. To what extent did people really feel this way? To what extent did they actually behave in accordance with church proscriptions? Was it common to have a sincere as unwavering belief in the Catholic Church and the afterlife or did people have doubts and question teachings? Was piety societally enforced or was it one of those things where everyone agreed that church was good but if you skipped it or didn’t pay much attention at service it wasn’t that big of a deal?

Not particularly interested in WW2 itself, but rather the actions that the US took from the latter part of WW2 onwards in order to cement itself as the global superpower. Would like it if the book went into a bit about how the same dynamic has changed over the years following the height of U.S hegemony.

I’m curious how monks lived with shared property vs how Marx touted sharing property.

I’m writing a fantasy book, and want it to be as relatable as possible to real history. In this setting, the main character grows up on an island where a religious fanatic convinces some people to create a new society free of magic and fae creatures. I want there to be a peace and equality on his island, and not the squalor of typical 14th century Europe. Thanks for your help.

Hi everyone, over the past couple of days I've been doing some research searching through US Army and Air Force enlistment records searching for a man whose name appears to have been some spelling variation of Kim Noonien Singh, a Chinese or Indian pilot who was a friend of Gene Roddenberry's from the Second World War. Roddenberry went on to name legendary Star Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh and another character, Noonien Soong, after this friend in an attempt to get in contact with him, without success.

Unfortunately, trying to find a match for this gentleman in the enlistment records in the National Archives has proven just as unsuccessful. I've searched through different variations of "Kim Noonien Singh" or "Kim Noonien Wong" and even split his middle name into two, or used the Vietnamese variant "Nguyen" or Chinese "Yuen", and it has come to nothing. It doesn't help that there seems to be little confirmation of what his name really was, or even whether he was Chinese or Indian!

I had a few questions to ask based on my search so far -

1. Would it have been possible for Chinese-Americans to become pilots in the USAAF during the Second World War? I notice that there appear to be few or no Chinese-American air cadets in the enlistment data.
2. Gene Roddenberry was serving in the 394th bomb squadron, 5th bombardment group, 13th air force. Is there any record of who the personnel were for the 394th during early to mid 1943 that's available online? Would any historian or existing historical research project have any record of any Chinese-American pilots serving with this unit, or with any of the other units serving at Guadalcanal in 1943?
3. I also notice that the RNZAF 1st and 3rd squadrons appear to have been based out of Guadalcanal in early 1943. If the gentleman's last name was "Singh" and he had Indian descent, it strikes me as far more likely that he'd be flying a British commonwealth air force. Again, does anyone have any idea where such information may be found online? It appears that the archives in New Zealand no longer provide services due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and even otherwise send their replies through post (which is in a bit of a mess now)

I would be very grateful for any assistance anyone could give me. Is there data available out there that would help me find this gentleman? Am I simply going about my research the wrong way? As esoteric a search as this may seem, this unknown gentleman, whether he be Chinese or Indian, inspired one of the greatest pop-culture villains of them all and I would be very thankful to have help bringing this little story to a close.