My understanding is that the reason the US was slow to put something in orbit was the fragmentation of rocketry programs, not lack of know-how; that the reason the R-7 was so much more powerful than its US counterparts was that Soviet warheads were much heavier and that it still couldn't strike the US mainland; and that the reason the US was behind for much of the Space Race is that NASA was being relatively conservative with risks. And the Soviets never had a rocket suitable for a manned moon mission. Is that correct? Thanks.

I imagine that steel or even iron would be cheaper and more effective, and less prone to damage or wear.

Question is not bound to a certain time period.

The reason I ask is because people who oppose this idea in an argument mostly prove their point more with common sense (as in "swords are to long to be drawn from the back" for example) as with hard facts.

I too don't think it is very useful to carry a sword on the back (maybe for long marchs it could be), but I want to know if anybody did that in history or if it is solely limited to Hollywood and fantasy games.

It just seems strange that the Persians would trust Greek mercenaries to be elite, loyal troops when a "mercenary" can in theory be bought quite easily by someone wealthier, as Alexander eventually came to be. Yet according to Richard Freeman's biography, these Greek mercenaries fought for Persia until the end.

I can imagine there were learning books for languages close to the borders (eg. I'm Dutch, so I imagine there was plentiful material to learn French, English and German properly). I'm learning Japanese now, and I feel like without all the modern spaced repetition learning systems on the web I wouldn't have gotten so far (so quick).

How did the average scholar (I'm assuming only scholars would do this) go about learning a language that was not particularly close to their border? How long did it take to learn a language? Was this something someone ever did as hobby, even?

I'm not sure in what time frame to place my question, but definitely before electricity existed, I suppose.

Thanks!

How many dresses would queens and high-ranking duchesses have owned? Did kings and elite lords re-wear their best garments on state occasions, or was it uncouth to be seen in the same clothes? Were clothes worn until they wore out, or handed down? To whom? Was there competition to make e.g. the future queen's wedding dress?

tl;dr I know nothing and I am curious.

When did groups like the Templars, Hospitallers, and other holy military orders cease to exist and why?

Question is inspired by the Spartacus TV show, and yes, I do realize it's hardly something to go off from.

In it, the owner of the gladiator gym would sometimes have sex with slaves while the wife was just around him. She would get pleasured by another female slave or be involved in a threesome with her husband and a female friend.

Her affair with a gladiator was a secret though, and she knew that her husband wouldn't accept it.

So, did Romans think that a husband or a wife sleeping with other women was fine but sex with a man that wasn't your husband was wrong?

On more than one occasion I've heard the claim that Western European society was often apathetic (as opposed to actively hostile) towards expressions of male/male sexuality during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with such contact being viewed as 'boys will be boys,' - provided that contact was limited and the males involved went on to have 'straight' relationships. The same claims have said that this attitude disappeared around the early 30s, and was replaced with far greater hostility towards male/male sexual relationships.

Would anyone be able to elaborate on whether this was the case? If so, what factors lead to the changes in public perceptions of male/male sexuality in the 30s?

Sorry if the question is impossible to answer, I appreciate that tavern-keepers didn't leave extensive diaries, let alone ones that have survived for 2,000 years.

I'm less concerned with the exact example of tavern-keeper, that was just the example that I picked of a mid-ranking citizen in order to get a concrete picture of the concerns that a citizen might have had.

If it helps you could pretend that the tavern is near the docks, that I grew up in Ephesus (maybe my Dad owned the tavern before me?). I'm not a Roman citizen. I have no slaves, but a wife and two surviving young adult sons (praise Artemis after the four that we miscarried or died in infancy). My sons work in the tavern with me.

Perhaps the question is not verifiable enough? I'm trying to understand life as a citizen back then and that's fairly hard to fact-check!

Or heroines. I am curious which historical figures he had tremendous respect for. Thanks for your responses in advance!

[deleted]

[deleted]

Whenever I read about Darwin and his journeys and discoveries the first sentence always includes the reference to the HMS Beagle. While this is very interesting when studying the story of Darwin himself, but even in Biology textbooks the HMS Beagle is mentioned. What is the importance of which ship Darwin sailed to Biologists or to the overall story of Darwin? I understand that it is a historical detail so it should/could be noted, but it is noted in EVERY article on Darwin or evolution in EVERY discipline. Made me wonder whether something interesting was going on with it.

Not looking to bash religion, as I'm Catholic, but I've always wondered this.

I know that the Japanese eventually adopted the Chinese system of writing, but my professor mentioned that they were influenced by the Chinese in many different ways. I'd always thought the Japnese had a pretty distinct society compared to the Chinese. Can someone elaborate?

This is for my girlfriend's 5th grade class. They're currently learning about the subject. Does an online resource like this exist?

I remember another few more hadith saying about evil coming from Persia.

Sahih Bukhari and Sunah Ibn Majah, which both contain information about the dajjal, are compiled around 9th century. What was the historical context making this kind of narrative possible?

By that I mean they say in the opening lines of the Declaration Of Independence that all men are entitled to the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But what about slavery, lack of women's rights, and the fact you had to be a wealthy land owning male to vote? I don't expect them to have 21st century morals but I'd be interested to hear there logic for creating a system the said it was for freedom but kept telling door to citizen participation pretty tight.

Hi,

After listening to the wrath of the khans, I became interested in the mongols. Any podcasts that discuss the mongols in more detail? I'm mostly interested in the rise and fall of the mongol empire and it's successors (I will take successors of successors too).

My great uncle received the Légion d'Honneur during his service as an American soldier in WWII. However, he spoke very little about his time in the war, which I'm sure is the case for most veterans, so my family has no idea why he received this honor.

Where could one find this information? Other family members have traveled to France a tried without any luck.

Thanks in advance!