How did France and the UK justify declaring war in Germany for invading Poland and ignore Russia’s involvement?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
Reddit is one of the largest sites on the internet, and with all the great things that come from that, it also means that it is continually targeted by attempts to spam.
A popular method for this is to make a new account, and repost submissions that were previously well upvoted to a subreddit, either with the exact same title, or with minimal modifications. We are a decently large subreddit, so are occasionally targets for this. Although we don't always catch it, when we do, we remove these submissions, ban the account, and report is to the Admins for spam, where the account is usually suspended.
We generally don't bother making mention of this, but as most regulars are aware, with META threads we don't usually remove them. As long as the post is decently polite, we allow it to stand and what happens with it happens. As such for those who noticed the highly upvoted META thread from today being removed, you might be curious as to why.
In this case it was brought to our attention that it was a repost of a two year old thread. Unfortunately we caught that late, and the spammer was able to net a decent bit of Karma off of it, but we have now removed the thread and banned them for violating the sitewide rules of Reddit, and we hope that the Admins will handle the rest of the matter in due course and suspend the account entirely.
Given that it was a META thread and thus generally allowed by the rules, we wanted to make sure everyone was aware of why it was removed, and we do want to thank the users who chimed in in the thread. Not all of the ideas suggested there were actionable, but there was also some real food for thought, and we hope that users will continue to come to us with their suggestions on how to improve the subreddit experience.
Thank you!
The Mod Team
4 Answers 2019-08-02
1 Answers 2019-08-02
For the life of me I can’t find anything that explains it.
1 Answers 2019-08-02
1 Answers 2019-08-02
During a discussion about his book Midnight in Chernobyl, Adam Higginbotham mentioned the digital archives of the Wilson Center as especially helpful during his research. What are some other good digital archives that are accessible to those who might want to view primary source materials about a particular topic?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
Obviously for many periods it’s main effect was removing the food. However I’m more interested in
to what extent was medieval Irish food different to medieval British food (or later periods) - that is to say, what were the indigenous differences, if any? If I was a medieval Irish monk travelling to England or Wales for example, would I notice a particular difference in the food?
to what extent were traditional meals, ingredients, cooking techniques or other aspects of Irish cuisine lost or suppressed as a result of colonialism, directly or indirectly?
what has British colonialism ‘added’/what aspects of Irish cuisine that I think are Irish actually were a result of colonisation? Obviously there’s potatoes and tea!
what were British views on Irish food and cooking? And on Irish eating habits? For example I read somewhere that many brits thought poor Irish people made tea that they brewed all day and that this was disgusting, - and that tea encourages laziness among Irish people.
1 Answers 2019-08-02
A trope that stands out to me in Ming-Qing Chinese fiction are scenes wherein a character dies instantly during intercourse due to depletion or overexertion (usually it's a male, but I can think of at least one female case). Sometimes (or often?) it involves religious techniques.
My question to AskHistorians is how seriously do we think the average reader/writer of these stories would have taken these scenes in terms of adherence to the laws of science? Would they have been considered a completely fictitious storytelling trope or something that reflects actual fears about the dangers of improper sex? My hunch is that these scenes may be poking fun at the views of other social classes or perhaps religious extremists, but, even if that's the case, I'm still curious to know what would have been considered the orthodox view of a well-educated and well-informed literatus during the Ming and Qing dynasty.
Thanks in advance!
1 Answers 2019-08-02
In most Indian schools, students are taught Indian history (and world history to a certain degree) as a compulsory subject until the 8th grade. In the 5th grade I remember being taught about the Vedic period in India brought on by the Aryan tribe who had begun settling in the subcontinent after the Indus Valley Civilisation met its end.
About 10 years later I stumbled across a YouTube comment that said that the Indo - Aryan migration was a myth and that it was British propaganda. I was very surprised after reading that because the only thing I had read about my culture until that point was that I am Indo-Aryan and that my Hindu roots come from the teachings during the Vedic period.
So my question is: Was the migration a myth? If so, why would that be British propaganda and how would it have helped them remain in control over the subcontinent?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
Hi guys!
Any historian I could possibly ask a few questions about Medieval Times?
Me and my team are creating an action RPG set in this timescale, so it would be great to consult with a person, who actually studied it, rather than us going in blindly.
I would be more than happy to DM any, who would love to help.
2 Answers 2019-08-02
Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
7 Answers 2019-08-02
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1 Answers 2019-08-02
Upvote what you enjoyed most, submit ones you think are missing!
11 Answers 2019-08-02
I am currently reading Churchill's memoirs of WWII and he spends a lot of time discussing the dangers (and failures) of supply convoys to North Western Russia (Archangel). Was there ever shipping sent to eastern Russia directly from the USA/Canada? Would this have been practical/impractical?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
With the rise of electronics in the latter half of the century, we now have hearing aids and cochlear implants to aid those who are hard of hearing. But what existed prior to those devices, if anything? How did hearing aids/cochlear implants come to be developed? Were there any alternatives that were developed that didn't catch on?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
I've been listening to a lot of folk music by a guy called Damh the Bard, and he often makes mention of the famous bard Taliesin. Was Taliesin a real person? Or are we talking about an Arthurian style myth?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
1 Answers 2019-08-02
I've long been aware that nomadic societies such as the Mongols had access to heavy armor, though perhaps rarer then sedentary civilizations. But though I'm aware they possessed and could make complex armor, I've long wondered how exactly they did it. Did they use mobile forges? Were there stationary forges built? Please answer, I'm dying to know!
1 Answers 2019-08-02
2 Answers 2019-08-02
I've been reading a lot of fiction derived from Appalachian folklore lately - specifically, the works of Manly Wade Wellman and his tales of Silver John, and also the Hillbilly comic (please forgive me for linking to Wikipedia and tvtropes, respectively) - and I am quite frankly fascinated by them. Obviously, both these sources are fictionalised, so there's a fair amount of author-intended bias in the work, but underneath that I can see clear Old World influences in the work (and Wellman is outright explicit about how European culture "invaded" North America). In Hillbilly, there are witches that wouldn't be out of place in Macbeth over every hill; animals talk, magic is real, and silver burns any evil creature to the touch.
So what makes Appalachian folklore distinct - not just from the Old World, but from surrounding regions?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
1 Answers 2019-08-02
With the 50 year anniversary of the lunar landing there is one thing that has always bugged me - why were the astronauts put into quarantine when they returned?
If there truly were xenobacteria the quarantine was laughable. The exterior of the capsule was exposed to the air and sea. The inside was opened to the air. The crew climbed into the dinghy before donning isolation suits. Meanwhile the antiseptic cloth used to wipe them down was tossed into the ocean.
Even a first year medical student could tell you everything wrong with that.
So what was the real reason behind the quarantine? Some germophobe bureaucrat's pet project? An attempt to prevent the astronauts outshining other people e.g. Nixon? Was it a chance to give the astronauts a rest?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
It always seems to be rome always stopped at the Persian border and usually defended the border rather pushing it? Were they not able to defeat persia? Or did they not want to? If they weren't able to defeat Persia, why is that? Or am I just missing an important piece of history here?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
If so, how much support did it have within the Red Army? Is there any info on Stalin's thoughts on such a plan?
1 Answers 2019-08-02
