My daughter and I are talking about wars, specifically WW2 and a handful of civil wars overseas from the last 20 years, and she is very interested in land mines. She asked me how soldiers would place them without them being set off and I can’t seem to find an answer. I keep finding information on how to retrieve them instead. Does anyone know the answer?

In the hymn of the USSR near the beginning this it says “Great Russia has welded forever to stand” in the lyrics, of why is Russia specifically mentioned if its a collection of states and not just Russian? Dose the Ukrainian version say Great Ukraine has welded forever to stand? This question has been bothering me a lot and I can’t find a answer

Upon reading the account of the deer park of Louis XV, I am curious to hear a historian's dry and informative reply to such a juicy and salacious idea in Europe of the same time period as the Ottomans and possibly who and why it came to be so widely spread. A Night in the Seraglio, anyone?

I apologize for myself, of course. Also, please follow the rules everyone, but dig as deep and wide as you would like. I enjoy context, as tangential as it may be. Thank you mods for running such a tight and interesting ship here.

A proud Russia was basically emasculated on an international scale. In historical study, is this seen as a major driver behind the rise of communist Russia and the motivations of Soviet Russia in the Cold War?

Where did the viking first hail from ? .

Did they colonize any places ? .

What pushed them to raiding ? .

What caused them to die out ? .

How accurate is the show Vikings at depicting viking ways/life style ? ( I'm assuming not very )

Though the notion of empiricism is quite old, it seems that modern science together with the modern scientific method (in the spirit of Bacon and Newton) arose in Europe in the 17th century leading to the scientific revolution? Why didn't China, which had a larger population and historically very innovative, invent the scientific method?

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After watching TheRevenant again, it just occurred to me: what made the colonists stop killing the indigenous people in Canada and USA? They obviously had all the means to keep on doing so, instead of making peace. This is a genuine question. No racism is intended at all.

Hey!

What are some of the coolest careers someone with a history degree (or a master's or doctorate) could pursue? I'm investigating to see if something cool catches my eye. Bonus points for any careers someone suggests with either a high income or a lot of cool experiences and/or traveling.

Thanks guys! :)

I was reading something the other day about the American Civil War. I know that swords were already falling out of use in the Civil War but there was still some sort of significance attached to them. I am thinking in particular about the scene of Lee and Grant at the Appomatox courthouse.

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I know Lee had a very beautiful sword that was crafted in Paris that was, upon its arrival to America, was smuggled through the Union line and into the Confederacy for delivery to Lee.

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There are conflicting views about what happened in the courthouse. Some believe that Lee attempted to turn his sword of to Grant as a symbol/gesture/tradition of surrender. Grant, in turn, refused to take the sword as it was so beautiful. Others say the Lee never offered the sword and Grant never asked for it.

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My question lies more in the significance of this transfer from the the surrendering party to the victor. I am having trouble finding some source material that speaks specifically to how this tradition came about and the significance surrounding it. Also how Lee and Grant might have been in some way aware of this tradition.

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In western society, it is normal to have a middle name. Why? How did it come about? Two names make sense, since they identify your family background and your own identity, but why have a middle name as well?

Israel has been in control of the Golan Heights for years, yet Syria claims they still own the land. Why didn't Israel just demand during surrender negotiations the annexation of the Golan Heights?

I feel like such an action, especially considering the deaths of 100 us active servicemen, would be a just cause for war, but no such thing happened until after Pearl Harbor, over a month later.

King Henry VII founder of the House of Tudor was born in Pembroke Castle and descended from the Welsh Tudors of Penmynydd, I'm curious as to whether he was able to speak Welsh or not as I'm aware Pembrokeshire was quite an English influenced county quite early on in the history of Wales, and his grandfather Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur/Owen Tudor was from Anglesey and his father Maredudd was part of the Glyndwr Rising, but I'm curious as to whether Henry VII could speak Welsh or not.

I've grown up in Ceredigion and Gwynedd and was taught he was the first Welsh king of England, but the teachers weren't able to answer whether he was a Welsh speaker in school or not; I guess it's one of those annoying questions I've had in the back of my head for 14 years I want to find the outcome to.

I am a 6th grade teacher who is about to dive into The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne and one of my students asked if Hitler spent any time himself at concentration camps to oversee operations or anything.

I doubt he did, but I’m interested myself. Did he spend any time at and camps? If he didn’t, was there a distinct reason behind this?

If so did they have their own “ghettos” as well or did they live among the African American population? How did the laws affect these individuals (i.e Did they have to seat at the back of the bus?)

I’ve been trying to research this question online but I little to no answers.