In WWII, the Americans referred to German soldiers, derisively, as 'Krauts,' or 'Jerries.' What derisive nickname did the German soldiers have for the American soldiers?

5 Answers 2015-02-21

How, when, and why did sounds like uh-uh/mm-mm, and uh-huh/mmhm, come to mean yes and no?

They seem to just be simplistic sounds that don't relate to any particular words.

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Assyrian Question?

They were called Arab Christian or Nestorians pre-19th century and in this century the Assyrian Nationalism spur as many others did? My question I'm very interested on how many times were they mentioned in Islamic Historiography? Also how can they be connected to the ancient Assyria, that is the same thing with Albanians and Illyrian connection or Pakistani and Indus Valley, or Lebanese and Phoenician, My mind can't wrap behind that? How is it possible there is no Assyrian Jewish, or Assyrian Muslim , is Assyrian an ethno-religious group affiliated solely with Syriac Christianity for over Millennia???

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Two questions about traditional Hindu caste system

Would be very grateful for information, I've heard this is one of the better subs.

Historically (eg 18th and 19th century before equality laws) which of the four main varnas (Brahmin, Warrior, Artisan, Labourer) would a cook in a wealthy Brahmin household have been in? Brahmins, I heard, would not want to eat food prepared by a lower caste person, but would a Brahmin be a servant?

Also what caste would a house cleaner and a gardener be? What about a doctor?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

Why did the Scandinavian Norsemen write runes?

I live in the Swedish area called Roslagen which carries a good amount of viking history. A local runestone says: "Inga had a runestone raised for Ragnfast, her husband, who inherited the village after Sigfast, his dad. May God help their spirits."

Why did they write runestones for what appears to be trivial matters? I have understood that there only were a few specialists who could create runestones, what were gained from their spending?

This requires some generalizations of course, some runes tells about journeys overseas, which I suppose can tell prosperity about the heroic deeds of the person the stone was raised for. And others, like the Hillersjö Stone, could serves as a legal document.

But I can't get my head around the reasons for writing down what appears to be trivial happenings, is there some academic theory which could explain this?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Book suggestions for learning about PT (Patrol Torpedo) boats during WW2.

My grandfather fought on a PT boat during WW2. He served first in the Aleutians and then in the Pacific, fighting the Japanese. Unfortunately he died when I was young, and was largely unwilling to discuss his experiences while he was alive. I want to learn more about what that was like.

Does anyone have suggestions for good books that deal either specifically with the topic of PT boats, or that have a section that covers them? Thanks in advance.

1 Answers 2015-02-21

When did a tradition of making cars in a variety of colours start?

There's the old adage that Model T's all came in black. I'm curious if it's true and, if so, when did car manufacturers decide to start offering cars in a variety of colours? What prompted the change? Did people paint cars before there were different colours offered, or was black just seen as the way cars were meant to be?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

How did they keep track of criminal is Ancient Rome/Greece?

This came to mind when i was reading about Sexuality in Rome and it stated that you cannot enlist in the military if you committed adultery. How would the recruiter know if I committed a crime? Was there a "library" of criminal records and they would look for the name of the person in question? What if I had the same name as a convicted criminal, how do I prove I am not him?

3 Answers 2015-02-21

When did World War 2 start?

This is not as easy a question as it seems. Common theory says it starts on September 1st, 1939 with the invasion of Poland. But what if you were in living in China? Wouldnt WWII's actual start date be July 7th, 1937?

I had a history teacher once say that WWII actually started December 11th, 1941 when Germany declared war on the US, and it turned what were a series of distinct regional conflicts in Europe and Asia into one global war.

Thoughts?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Did slave soldiers try to use their position to gain political power over their masters?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

can you classify this dutch ship and the castle in he picture?

http://m.imgur.com/IbqFVVI

1 Answers 2015-02-21

In your opinion, which culture in history was least superficial, in terms of judging people by their physical attractiveness?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Are there any good historical documentaries on Carlo Tresca?

If this is the wrong place to ask, I apologize!

1 Answers 2015-02-21

What was the analog of police in medieval England?

I (think I) understand that there were nobles with estates and fealty-swearing knights that became part of an army in times of war, but what was the structure of law enforcement within the country? Was there an equivalent to the modern police force, or was it something entirely different?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

It seems impossible to bring up Douglas Haig without being called a revisionist. Both in his case and in similar ones, how can one cut to the truth, and how valuable are the perspectives of his contemporaries (the ones without ulterior motives)?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

What influenced Hitler to become "Hitler"?

What were the global events that influenced him, and what are the lesser known direct influences? Did his parents play a large role in changing his ideas?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

If the Battle of Manzikert was not a bloodbath, as previously believed, why was it still a disaster for the Byzantines?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Black History Month AMA Panel

February is Black History Month in the United States, created in 1976 to recognize the important, and far too often ignored, role that African-Americans have played in the country since its colonial beginnings. In recognition of this celebration, we've assembled a fantastic panel for you today of experts in the field, who are happy to answer your questions pertaining to these vital contributions.

So without further ado, our panel includes:

  • /u/Shartastic African American Sports | Baseball and Horse Racing studies African-American athletes from the 19th Century into the early 20th Century. His focus is on African-American jockeys and the modernization of sport, but he's happy to talk about other sports too.

  • /u/sowser Slavery in the U.S. and British Caribbean specializes in the comparative history of unfree labour, with an emphasis on the social and economic experiences of the victims of racially-based systems of coercive or forced labour. His focus here is the experience of slavery in the United States (and its precursor colonies) and the British Caribbean, from its inception in the 16th century to abolition and its aftermath in the 19th.

  • /u/dubstripsquads American Christianity is working on his MA in African-American studies with a focus on desegregation across the South. In addition he has an interest in the role of the church (white and black) during the Civil Rights Movement, and he happy to answer anything on Georgia and South Carolina's Civil Rights and anti-Civil Rights movements as well as anything on the Black Church in general.

  • /u/LordhussyPants Racial History | New Zealandis headed into postgraduate studies where he'll be looking at the role education and grassroots organizing played in the Civil Rights movement. He's also also studied wider American history, ranging from the early days of the colonies and the emergence of racism, to the 70s and the Black Power movement.

  • /u/falafel1066 Pre-Civil Rights Era African American Radicalism is in her last year of a PhD program in American Studies, working on her dissertation titled "A Bible in One Hand, a Brick in the Other: African American Working Women and Midwestern Black Radicalism During the Depression, 1929-1935." She specializes in Black radicalism, but can answer most questions on 20th Century African American history through the Black Power movement. She also studies labor history and American Communism as it relates to African American workers.

  • /u/FatherAzerun Colonial & Revolutionary America | American Slavery is a Professor of History at a 2 year college and History Advisor. His specialties are in colonial history and slavery / the Antebellum South. While he can talk about some areas of the Antebellum period, he is focused on late colonial and Revolutionary slavery.

  • /u/origamitiger Jazz

Please do keep in mind that our panel comes from a number of timezones, with differing times that they can be around, so while I can assure you they will do their best to get to everyone's question, I do ask that you have a little patience if an answer isn't immediately forthcoming!

29 Answers 2015-02-21

What is a recent (last 20 years) example of a singular battle where one side was vastly outnumbered but won due to modern technology?

2 Answers 2015-02-21

Why didn't tank destroyers in the style of the Stug III and Su-100 stay popular after wwii?

3 Answers 2015-02-21

What did the people of the earlier half of the 1900s call the decade between 1900 & 1910?

So you had the "nineteen twenties", "nineteen thirties", "nineteen forties" etc., what was 1900 - 1910 called?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

In 15th century England, how easy would it have been for a man to be accused of being a witch?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

During the second world war, was the USSR secretly developing any new weapons technology like Germany or the USA?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

What impact did the Chinese intervention in the Korean War have on the strategic decisions made in the Vietnam War?

1 Answers 2015-02-21

Why is the colonization of Africa by the British, Dutch, etc. (The Scramble for Africa) generally considered a bad thing?

What happened that gave it its bad reputation? Thank you in advance.

3 Answers 2015-02-21

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