The exact quote goes as follows: “Apparently it’s a river dolphin, which among other strange characteristics, has genitals similar to those of a woman. So, the Indians use it as a substitute, but they must kill the animal once they’ve finished coitus because the genital area contracts and the penis cannot come out.”

This will be a much more personal question to AskHistorians, I am looking for advice from those especially who might also have Anxiety/ADHD and found that affected how they approach their studies.

I am a recent college graduate currently searching for a grad school in the DC area to continue my studies. Despite the many excellent professors and classes I took I feel very unprepared, especially when compared with many of my friends and peers who are quite skilled with research and writing. Much like here on AskHistorians they could easily write long essay like responses to any inquiry on their subject.

For myself however, I find it's hard for me to specify exactly what I'm interested in history especially as I have a tendency to bounce around from subject to subject. I have not even sat down and thoroughly researched my family history, something most of my former classmates had already done.

What should I be doing if I hope to one day become a full fledged historian, or more specifically, what did you find helped you grow in your career and research when you were starting out in the history field? What helped you find what you would like to focus in?

I want to preface this by saying saying that I know very little about the Spanish Civil War or Francoist Spain or really Spain in the early 20th Century. But from what I have heard about the brutality of Franco’s regime, what would have made a person choose to follow such a man?

I wonder why wouldn't anybody hire a man and pay him a monthly salary when you could just buy a slave. How did free people find a job and live in Ancient Rome, the Spanish or British Empire or the United States while slavery was legal?

Hi, All! So, here are my questions:

1. When the United States developed their nuclear program and finalized it, were the Soviets completely caught off guard? Or were they aware that the United States was working on nuclear weapons?

2. I believe that when the United States finalized it's program, the Soviets were quick to follow with it's own. Does this mean they were already actively working on nuclear weapons, or did they have to quickly scramble together their own program?

3. I think I remember watching a military documentary that said Soviets were actively trying to steal nuclear secrets via spies. How much of their program relied on stolen secrets, or was most of it their own research?

Thanks!!

What I mean is, when did it become common to refer to the war between 1939-1945 as 'World War II'?

It’s a pretty complex tool. Was it invented once and migrated throughout the world, or multiple times in multiple places (esp. the Western Hemisphere which had bow tech before the arrival of [sometimes also bow-wielding] Europeans)?

What I am curious about is how the first troops landed in Japan? How did they go about arresting any elements of the military? How did the people who were on duty at that time respond, did they just lay down their arms, go home, and enjoy some tea waiting for the invaders to come over? How did the Japanese government function?

Glastobury Tor came up in my current module and they mentioned that it was something of an island before drainage really spread there. I was wondering if someone could tell me about and recommend some sources on places in Britain like the fens or wherever Edgar the Aethling hid out. How drainage came about in general. Or more maps. Anything remotely relavant would make me happy.

Mostly what the title says. Thanks in advance!

I’m not generally too fluent when it comes to World History, as I feel that modern history is more fascinating to me, but one thing I do remember is an Austro-Hungarian house of the Habsburgs. From what I understand, they ruled up until the end of WWI, and I know how Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands, but what happened to the Habsburgs?

Pardon me for the weird phrasing, it’s quite late right now.

Correct me if I’m wrong. Thank you in advance.

Since he assisted in organizing Gallipoli in WW1, was he afraid that the allied forces would be forced to dig in and face a stalemate in Normanday similarly in WW2?

Obviously the Soviets annexed several formerly Tsarist territories during WW2, namely the Baltic’s, and territory from Finland. With victory and complete domination over Eastern Europe, why didn’t the Soviets just annex Poland directly into the USSR like they did the aforementioned territory?

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In Philippines history, it's often said that circumcision practices were originally brought by Muslim converts and just "refined" by Spanish colonizers. Is there a similat trend elsewhere? Or was there circumcision among the indigenous peoples?

I think this question fits this subreddit, but if it doesn't can someone suggest a better fit?

I am looking for a gift for a child who is fascinated with what the political borders of the world were at different times and how they evolved into what they are today.

I have looked a various listing of books, but it is often unclear exactly what maps are in the books or what the quality is (full page? Color?). I am hoping someone here can vouch for a book they think would be a good fit from personal experience.

A specific request from the kid is a world map predating the formation of the USSR. I tried to find a globe of that, but they all seem so expensive. It seems the best bang for the buck would be a book. (although I would rather have a globe to avoid issues arising from projections).

Any help is appreciated.