How accurate is Taxi driver in it's representation of 1970s New York? In terms of crime, squalor, and decadence? Was New York truly that troubled and filthy?

The Mayans abandoned their cities around 800 C.E. From my perspective, there does not seem to be a lot of evidence why. Some theories include Environmental degradation and overuse of land, political dissension and social unrest, natural disaster, and outside invaders. However, these theories remain a source of debate.

What were the factor(s) and underlying reasons that primarily caused the Mayans to abandon their cities?

I am almost certain that I have heard about Allies dropping propaganda posters on enemies' soil. However, I do not know how to find them. Now that we are on the topic, what propaganda poster do you think had the most impact during WWII?

I have a friend who often makes outlandish claims. Among other things she has claimed that George HW Bush never actually served in the military and that her IQ was once tested as 193 putting her in the 1 in 1.5 billion range. Today she told me that she had worked with Bill Clinton in 1991 when she was 8. While this seems like a pretty obvious case of a pathological liar in action it did get me wondering. Is there any historical evidence of past administrations EVER having enlisted the help of children in any sort of high level business?

Washington famously advised against a two party system in his last address as president, yet within his lifetime the U.S. government split itself into the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Did he ever comment on this? Was he even active politically after his presidency?

It seems that Stalin (convinced by either the Red Army's sheer size or his cronies in the Part) felt that victory against Finland in the winter war was going to be won in short order. Had this been the case and Finland not put up such a resistance, did he plan to launch assaults on Sweden or Denmark after Finland fell? Or would have have accomplished everything he wanted to in the Scandinavian peninsula?

Hi there,

I am in the midst of a wild goose chase in terms of ancestry. There has been a story floating around my family about an Uncle Rumon Henik (sp?). The stroy goes that he saved an American general in some capactiy from a gas attack in France during WW1 and, because of that, was "invited" to be a naturalized citizen along with the rest of his immediate family. This is the story I was told as to how the Henik family came over from Poland.

Is this something that is even feasible? Was this type of warfare happening in France at the time?

I am not 100% sure this individual was serving as an American Soldier but I am assuming he was. My grandfather is adamant that his Uncle was a war hero of some sort and remembers meeting him.

Also, any help finding past soldiers apart from Ancestry.com or any knowlegde of the Henik/Hennick surname would be a really great bonus. I keep coming up as largely Polish as the stories suggest but am not finding any info tying the Hennick name (or its variations) to Poland.

Thank you guys for all you do!

We have at least rough estimates on the wealth of far more ancient people, like Augustus Ceaser, but why is it so hard to pin down the wealth of Mansa Musa? Adjusted for inflation was he worth trillions? More?

Thank you, I hope I followed the rules when asking this question.

Recently, I've been looking for a 1800 map of Japan for a school project on it's politics. I have not however, been able to find one that includes the territorial claims of Daimyos or the land they control.

As title says.

Sup with that?

I’ve always believed it to have been his 56th birthday, April 20, 1945, but I’ve been finding a lot of other sources that say March 20th instead. Which was it for sure?

I red that the Swastika is a “ancient religious icon used in the Indian subcontinent, East and Southeast Asia, where it remains a sacred symbol of spiritual principles in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In the Western world, it was historically a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck” But why use it as a symbol of the “Arian race”? Does it had a different meaning for the Nazis than the Buddhists?

Given that the frictions of the immediate run up was caused by mercantile policy (in the standard telling, at least), what caused the agricultural towns to unite with urban merchants?

The man who crossed the alps with elephants and successfully walked in Rome to them travel around the peninsula for years and Gail, was he black?

It says he was from Carthage but was he?

Further, as more nations began recognizing the PRC diplomatically did any not immediately sever official diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in Taiwan?

It is often seen in fiction Romans wearing leopard, wolf, etc. pelts over their armor. Firstly, was this true? If so, were they worn somewhat like campaign medals, for instance a leopard pelt showing you had been in North Africa; or, were they a symbol of wealth?

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Peter Gordon defines intellectual history as 'the study of intellectuals, ideas, and intellectual patterns over time'. He also defines the history of ideas as the study of 'large-scale concepts as they appear and transform over the course of history'. However I am very aware that such definitions may be rather subjective and was looking to see what others thoughts were on the matter, and if they had any nuances they may add to such definitions.

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