Here's a little bit of a different question for our resident historians: I want to learn as much as I possibly can about history over the next month, but I'm looking for a way that the average layman can soak up as much knowledge as humanly possible. I do enjoy the way CGP Grey explains greater concepts so that they're entertaining and easy to learn. Is there a decent series like this for history?

My buddy and I were wondering if Hiroshima + Nagasaki were the last nukes ever used with the intent to actually end life.

I've been reading up on swiss mercs and they seem pretty insane. Kings supposedly got into bidding wars over these guys because they were that damn good. The battle of Näfels had 400 pikemen fight 5,600 Hapsburg troops and win. Were these guys as good as they sound, or is most of it just embellishment?

(That place, btw, still has old posters and flags with "moving towards a socialist britain and a socialist world" and similar stuff posted around, alongside all the "what was it like to be a black miner in the Big Pit" type displays, which is what got me thinking.)

I have 1945 - 1980(ish) as something of an era in my mind, and that after that, things changed (China stopped being quite so communist, the USSR started failing, Thatcher and service economy happened, etc). But for that period, I know almost nothing of where Canada stood.

I know something of socialist Europe (east and west) and the British Labour party during the cold war, and how it compares to the US. I also know there was something that happened in Japan around the 60s/70s, with youth or student riots.... I think. I'm aware of the US, USSR or neutral alignment choice faced by much of the 3rd world for much of this period.

Someone made a comical comment and it made me think of this. I think the question is pretty self explanatory. If a slave murdered or stole from another person, could I then sue the slaves owner?

In beginning to read John Dickie's definitive history on the Sicilian Mafia and its connection to the American version, I couldn't help but ask myself why it wasn't as prevalent in Latin American countries with a heavy influx of Italian immigrants leaving the "old country" at approximately the same time. I recognize that there is a fair amount of the Calabrian counterpart "'Ndrangheta", but why not the more infamous of Italian organized crime?

Sure he helped GER, but at the end GER is ruined because of him. Did hitler done any good things in his rise/power?

Obviously the Romans didn't have a global economy, but in terms of how it functioned (i.e. trade, profit, gaining capital, etc.) how did trade for the Romans differ from what westerner's do today?

Wikipedia says that it is unknown whether the Mexica people migrated. What's the current consensus in the academic community. Did such a place exist? Where was it? Did the Mexica originate there? When was the migration and how long did it take?

Specifically with scissors or clippers, info on filing would be neat too.

I'm doing a paper on the god Adad and his iconography and I have searched online for some info, but so far I have only come across information about the stories concerning him and other Mesopotamian gods, not anything regarding actual archaeological findings relating to him. If anyone could direct me to such resources, I'd be more than grateful. Thanks In advance.

As the title says, did any such battle take place or was it only ships vs U-boats?

I've heard/read various conflicting reports concerning the legitimacy of William I's claim to England and am looking for some clarification.

I've seen cavalry swords from the 1640s (English civil war) that were straight, but just about every cavalry sword I've seen from the 1700s onwards has been curved (with the exception of the Patton sabre).

When and why did this change occur? Were there any nations/units that retained straight swords? What were the advantages and disadvantages of each design?

I was watching The Railway Man where the protagonist helps make a simple radio in a Japanese POW camp. How can I replicate that? What is the best and easiest way to do it?

Also, how are those simple radios able to listen to the BBC stations when I cannot tune in with my ordinary radio in Canada?

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As far as I can tell, the western allies didn't have highly mobile armored or mechanized formations above the division level. In contrast, the Germans had large armored formations called Panzergruppe and Panzer Armies, lead by such noted commanders like Heinz Guderian and Edwald von Kleist. The Soviets, too, had Tank Corps and Armies which spearheaded their counter-offensives at Stalingrad and Kursk. Was this a reflection of different doctrines in use by the belligerents or is there a different reason?

Basically, I'm asking about the history of gaskets. What were they used for and what were they made of. Also, when did rubber see its rise in terms of the gasket?