I'm also pretty interested in abstract computer science and mathematics (stuff like type theory, category theory or linear logic even though that much later here), but I'd be satisfied with an answer about another field, or a more general answer.

There seem to be a lot of superstitions from the age of pirates. I'm running a tabletop game in a setting with pirates, cowboys, etc. I know society was quite a bit more advanced but I suspect superstitions were still a thing. But I don't know any. Things like how pirates had the black spot, the kraken, women on a boat being bad luck, etc.

They don't have to be grounded in reality and as I'm looking for inspiration I don't need the sources to be the absolute best as long as it's pointed out that it isn't the best source.

Thank you!

I've read about early societies shaving with flaked obsidian, which is remarkably sharp, but not everybody lives near an extinct volcano. Was there long-distance trade in obsidian for this purpose? What was shaving like before the advent of stainless steel? How long ago did people start to recognize the need to shave with boiled water?

Why were there no significant crusades launched by (western) European powers in the over 400 years between Isam's rise and takeover of Jerusalem from the Byzantine Christians in the 7th century until the First Crusade at the close of the 11th century? I suppose you could call a lot of the Byzantine efforts to fight back a crusade of sorts, as was the early Reconquista in Spain, but I'm talking about things on the scale of the main Crusades

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- Was it not a real problem for Christian pilgrims that the Umayyad Caliphate took over? Did they not actively cause issues for them until the age of the Seljuk Turks and such?

- Were there not powerful enough or sufficiently well-organized states capable of projecting the kind of power necessary at the time?

- Was there lack of unity among powers like the Franks, Visigoths, Lombards, Saxons, etc to do this?

- Was Christianity not even widespread enough until after the Viking age?

- I also take it the Popes in the first millennium were not as powerful, influential, and independent as they would later become around the time of Gregory VII and Urban II? During the "Byzantine Papacy" many were in effect subservient to Constantinople or appointed by it I think

- Either way, what were the reactions of central and western European peoples to the rapid Muslim capture of the Holy Land in the 7th century? Did they not see it as an immediate threat, and only came to do so later after the fall of Spain and subsequent battle of Tours with Charles Martel in 732?

- Was the launch of the actual Crusades more of an opportunistic power move by the Pope because the Byzantines needed or asked for help from the West against the Turks?

Wow, I did not expect this to blow up. Glad everyone enjoyed a little Tolkien history!

In the Andy Williams song “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” he sings the line “There'll be scary ghost stories….” Was this a thing or is it just sloppy song writing?

I've heard Jesus was actually suspected to be born in September, but it was celebrated in December to try and hijack a pagan holiday. Is this true, and regardless of whether it is or not, are there other instances of this happening in history where one religion tries to hijack another's special day?

The typical (American) school band is a wind ensemble instead of the symphonic one. What caused this development? It seems to restrict the repertoire quite a bit when compared to having a string section.

My son loves history. So far he's listened to the the Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer (great series for children, highly recommend), the entire set of Historical Tales by Charles Morris off librivox (meh, it was free) and a bunch of other random things. At this point he can handle material intended for adults, especially if it's engaging, entry level sort of material, but I'd rather keep it clean, in other words no cussing or sex jokes. Any time period would be fine but he does have more knowledge of medieval Europe. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I know Lieutenants and Captains were landing in the early waves on D-Day, but what about the Majors, Colonels, and Generals that were commanding the battalions, regiments, and divisions. We’re they landing in the later waves, once the beach had actually been secured, or were they in the vanguard of the assault.

I know General Theodore Roosevelt Jr landed with his division early at Utah Beach, but was this an anomaly?

From my understanding, humans barely scraped by for long time in the beginning. When did we get past the point of growing/hunting just to be able to be fed and get the point of offering to prepare a meal for someone else in exchange for something?

I’m listening on audiobook but the quote is “Scarcely had the corn been set alight by the soldiers…”

Furthermore, while researching, I've seen that critics seemed to call the work something less than ballet or simple as compared with the rest of the Russian performance cannon. What made this the case?

I was told throughout high school that during the Cuban missile crisis Fidel Castro wanted to completely destroy the US with the Soviet weapons stationed in Cuba, even at the risk of sacrificing Cuba. I was curious how true this is, since it seems like a very irrational position for a leader to have, even a hothead like Castro.

It's not uncommon to learn that some historic writer or poet or other creative was employed as a "clerk" and supported themselves, and their family, that way. Specific examples off the top of my head include Samuel Mathers, Franz Kafka, TS Eliot...

Surely they weren't working menial retail jobs—I'm fairly certain the concept of today's retail work wasn't even a thing until like the 1950s (though I could be wrong about that)!

So what were they doing, exactly? Did it actually pay well? Is there a modern day equivalent?

Came across this interesting "factoid" and I'm curious if there's any grain of truth to it -

King James (the one known for revising the Bible) liked to watch women give birth. That’s where the “tradition” of women laying on their backs to give birth comes from.

Searching for information on King James is a bit tricky as my search results are dominated by Bible stuff...

In 751, the Abbasid Caliphate defeated the Chinese Tang Dynasty at the Battle of Talas, near the Caspian Sea. In 756, the Abbasids sent 3,000 mercenaries to aid the Tang against the An Lushan Rebellion.

This military engagement, and in particular the reversal of Abbasid alignment (as well as involvement of the Uyghur Khaganate and the Tibetan Empire), suggests an eastward orientation of the Muslim world that seems very surprising to me as we normally only hear about Muslim conflicts with Europeans.

I have searched the subreddit for more information about the Battle of Talas but most are rather superficial and with very few replies.

Edit, quick correction: I realize the Abbasid Caliphate wasn’t founded until the 8th century, so the timeframe in the title question is inaccurate. Were the Abassids more eastward-facing than the Umayyads had been?