Tuesday Trivia returns from hiatus to talk about SLEEP!

Next week: Dealing with Failure

People make it sound like it's some sort of timeless taboo, but I'm having trouble finding any reference to it older than the Bridezillas television series, with most twentieth century sources encouraging white weddings and the wearing of white dinner jackets in summer.

Quick Edit: I'm not sure how or why this became labeled as Games, or how to change it.

I participate in a combat sport that requires (at least psudo-)historical clothing,and I am currently working on creating some new costume for myself. I am interested in the clothing of late pre-history and early history, from the peoples the Athenians would have called barbarians in the 6th century BC and lands north and west. I am currently focused on those who were described as clad in furs and skins, but I am interested in whatever information is available.

I realize this is a large area, both in time and geography. My investigation so far has yielded either brief articles with references but only vague descriptions, or illustrations with no supporting evidence mentioned (apart from the Egtved girl, but that doesn't help with men's clothing). Or academic articles behind paywalls. As such, my scope has increased with the hopes of finding something with enough detail that I can start from a solid historical grounding.

Just visited England for the first time and I can't wrap my mind around it. Westminster, Bolton Abbey, Windsor Castle, etc. I mean, most of these places were built in the 10th, 11th, and 12th century. (bonus points for explaining how all the rock walls, particularly in Yorkshire, were placed and how they stay in place)

Apologies if this is not the right forum but I'm interested in learning more about the interaction between humans and animals in the early twentieth-century.

In particular I'm interested in efforts in both the popular and scientific sphere to pit humans and animals' respective strengths. So Eugen Sandow wrestling a lion, John Bauman measuring the strength of chimpanzees relative to humans etc.

Is there an academic sub discipline in history dealing with humans interactions with animals as pets or performers? I'm thinking histories of the circus but would like something a bit more concrete and preferably theory driven.

Currently doing a PhD in gender and health so this is more of a pet project then anything else (pun intended...)

Today letter X is associated with something erotic. How and when did it happened? Why X and not any other letter?

The way I read it, 'unification' was a big deal after WWII in creating a more streamlined armed forces. Did some of the plans call for Marines to be folded into other services? If so, why was this a thing given how much love there must have been for the military after the war and with Communism spreading?

Spears and pikes are often depicted as being used in multiple ranks, but how often was this actually done? How often would the spears/pikes in the second (or third, forth, or even fifth) rank actually be used? I see two problems with trying to use spears/pikes in multiple ranks. First, if the enemy has a spear/pike of equal length, they would have no reason to advance beyond the reach of just the first rank of spears/pikes. They would have to advance just far enough to be able to hit the first rank of soldiers, so only the first rank would be able to hit them back, leaving the rest of the ranks useless. Fighting in multiple ranks should only happen if the enemy has shorter weapons. Second, how would you avoid hitting people in front of you with your spear/pike shaft, or hitting the people behind you with the butt of your spear or your arm? Or even worse, how would you avoid hitting other people's spears/pikes and preventing them from fighting properly? Sure, this can be solved by having enough space between the soldiers, but if there is a tree or a rock or uneven terrain in the way, soldiers could be bunched up together and start hitting each other with their spears/pikes. How would you solve these two problems?

I'm aware that JFK's sister, Rosemary, was rendered intellectually disabled after a lobotomy. Did JFK ever visit her at the nunnery in Wisconsin? Did he ever take Jackie with him, or remark on his relationship with his sister?

Hey guys, this is a qustion that l posted to ProtectAndServe but was suggested to post it here instead. So here goes!

l'm currently writing a book about a detective set in Los Angeles in the 60s (yes l know, very original), and l'd like to tell his story through other members of the police department, such as the police chief and beat cops. Another character l'd like to add, though, would be a dispatcher.

Problem is, while l have a fairly good idea of how these people work in the modern world, l'm not sure how they did so back then. l tried researching about it, but didn't find anything useful. According to wikipedia, the centralized 911 national emergency number was only created in 1968 and did not become widely known until the 1970s, and since my story is set in the early 60s, l'm specifically asking about local police department dispatchers.

Did they sit in an office with a phone, waiting for it to ring, and then contacted the officers on patrol through a radio? How would they know which officers were closer to the scene of the reported crime to contact them? How many would work in a single police station? Etc.

Basically, any information that you could tell me about this topic would be very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

I saw an article today that claims:

"The rate of teen pregnancy in the United States reached a historic low in 2015 due to higher contraceptive use, according to a study published last month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."

However, it made me wonder if this is really the case. Perhaps in earlier years significantly more married couples were "teens". Though, for a lack of a better way to explain it, I think when most people think of "teen pregnancy" we think of a kid with a kid of their own. If we define "teens" as people who are still dependent on their own parents, how do the teen pregnancy rates of today compare to different eras/decades?

I've been reading Mary Beard's SPQR recently after seeing it recommended on this sub. It's a fantastic read so far, but I have a few questions.

At one point she mentions that the siege of Veii was the first time Roman soldiers were paid. Before this, what led people to join armies if they weren't being paid? Was it just the promise of plunder? Also, how would plunder have been divided inside the army?