I understand the mathematics behind the statement, but don't understand how it's practical for descendants of Charlemagne to be everywhere in Europe and in all classes of society when social mobility and the ability to leave your local area were so proscribed throughout history. If my family has been consistently living in what is now Poland or Spain or Italy for millennia, how could we and all our neighbours have ancestors that breeder with the descendant of a Frankish noble? Did people travel around and change cultures more than I thought in the medieval period?

It's almost 2016, and the US still uses its customary units of weights and measure. Does anyone know why the US has not done full metrication yet? Is there some historical reason for this?

To clarify, she was saying not only that some third party, presumably the West German government, was actively recording phone conversations, but also that you could literally hear the recorder turn on. She also said that "when they ran out of tape, they just disconnected you" because whoever was listening didn't want to miss anything. Neither she nor any relations were dissidents or contentious individuals, as far as I'm aware. I asked this question a month ago but received no reply. Any answers are appreciated!

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Hi! I want to start off and apologize if this question was already answered. I checked the FAQ and couldn't see something that directly answered this.

Recently, I took a class about the history of war since Napoleon. I learned a great deal, but am forgetting some things. I learned about the revolutions in military affairs between wars, with the most focus on pre-WWI, where warfare had changed as a result of the railway systems and machine guns (to a point where it seemed as if WWI was a war fought with weapons that even the most experienced veterans didn't know how to properly utilize). I know that prior to WWII, the German Air Force was greatly supported compared to other nations in Europe. Was the effectiveness of the Nazi army in the West a big result of their air force capabilities, or was it due to other nations not knowing/correctly acting in regards to the Nazi advances? (If you have any input on Nazi military tactics, strategy, or any interesting tidbits about the Nazi military on all fronts I would love to hear them!)

The phrase seems to be well used but I can't find an origin story.

I would have asked in Academic biblical, but this seemed more like a historical question.

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Moreover, if it did not, how could it not?

So my family has a book about our ancestors. That dates all the way back to 1792 for America. I was wondering if anyone could tell me where to find more information on migrants from that time period. I believe my ancestor who's marriage license was issued in 1792 was the son of a Hessian mercenaries from Germany. I was wondering if there are any lists of German Hessian mercenaries names containing the last name England ( this is not my last name but I am directly related to that last name as it is my grandmothers maiden name) or if anyone could help me out with this it would be great. I think that my ancestor was the son of a German Hessian mercenaries who stayed here after the war was over.

I remember seeing somewhere that Hitler was caught under a surprise gas attack in WW1, but was unprepared due to not being able to put on his mask on properly becuase of his long mustache. He then shaved it shorter for the mask to fit properly. Is this the real reason why he started shaving his mustache short, or was it just a personal choice?

For example, if I had a kid born with blond hair when both parents have brown hair, I would be suspicious of the mother because neither of us have that trait. Has the concept of inheriting traits from parents been around as long as humans, or is it a (relatively) recent revelation?

I've heard it was, but I can't find anything concrete. Perhaps someone could clear it up?

My wife is trying to track her lineage on her mothers side, They were part of the Connells from Ireland that came over to Canada in and around the great depression.

At one point an author wrote about her family biography around the 1930s, he was given a room in Annie Connell Fergusons residence during this time.

We are trying to track down a copy of this book it was ridiculously large as the Connell family side was very prolific.

does anone have any ideas where I could search for this biography?

What happened to the French troops evacuated across the Channel at Dunkirk? Did they fight for England, go back to Vichy France, or something else?

EDIT: Wow, thanks everyone for all the great answer and discussion! This gives a great insight in what I wanted to know!

For the US the last huge war was the Civil War where most units seemed to be state based. Was WW1 the same? Or did units have soldiers from all over?

Also, any information of other nations unit compositions would be fascinating.

Did armies entirely abandon bows and crossbows all at once? Or did they phase out their use slowly while using some sort of combined-arms approach? What sorts of roles would each weapon serve during this phasing out period?