My freinds and I were talking about how the Catholic Church uses the palm fronds from the previous year's palm Sunday for the ashes on ash Wednesday and I began to wonder. What would they have used in medieval Scotland or Poland? Would they have just used any trees they had on hand or what?

I have heard it was just the Pope calling for war against other religions rather than Christians fighting among themselves. I have also heard it was a reaction, which is right?

I ask because I just learned today that supposedly the Belarusian and Ukrainian SSRs were founding members of the United Nations. It's not like Texas was a founding member (or a member at all).

Were the SSRs (IE Moldova, Latvia, Georgia, ect) independent (albeit puppet states) before the 90s?

The idea of island hopping seems to be twofold: 1) Avoid costly battles where the enemy is strongest, and 2) Take only the islands that are necessary/suitable for continued advance. I have a couple questions about this. First, doesn't this strategy hinge on some level of naval superiority? Otherwise, if we just have an array of alternating strongholds, it's not clear that we've accomplished anything. Our somewhat isolated victories could be just as susceptible to "withering on the vine" as theirs.

Second, what was the selection criteria for "necessary/suitable for continued advance"? I'm guessing that it's some combination of "can house people" and "can support airstrip(s)", but what other factors would go into determining which islands were necessary to take and which could be leapfrogged?

Related, what's the history of the white-washing of US eugenics? They seem to have done a pretty good job...

Concerning the Japanese drive toward Tulagi and Guadalcanal, I've read multiple secondary sources which say some variation of, "They wanted to cut off communications between America and Australia."

What did communications technology look like at the time, and why were these movements considered sufficient to cut them off?

Obviously you can't make a blanket statement about all artisans everywhere at all times. Just one piece of the puzzle will do nicely.

I don't even know if the word "Empire" applies. I was told by someone a very long time ago that the "Nubian Empire", at it's height, was larger and more advanced than the Roman empire. They said that Plato's ideas about democracy were in part formed after several visits to the area. Is any of this true?

I don't know if it's even worth an academic discussion, but I can't get it off my mind. What is the origin of the pillow?

When/Where: Did it start in one place and spread like the paper or rifle, or was it multipresent?

Why: What was the purpose of it? Health benefits? More comfortable sleep?

I'm talking a major media, such as newspapers, televisions, magazines, and even radio if it was that long ago.

Hey dudes/dudettes:

I recall reading somewhere that ambiguity regarding the trinity caused a rift within Christendom at some point in history. Some people wanted to regard the trinity as three separate gods--polytheism--others wanted to regard them as one god.

Is this right? Or is this something I misremember reading? If this did happen, could someone share a source or book that elaborates on this incident?

Thanks!

i heard that there were Africans and Turks , as well as moors and Europeans. Can you discuss both the history and conditions of this diversity.

Let's use the first 3 as burn cards and focus on Madison on.

The situation seems unreal. Poland was torn apart by the Wehrmacht and a few days later by the Red Army, yet the British, who were the guarantors of Poland, declared war solely on Nazi Germany.

What did the Poles and British think about that? (E.g, guilt, betrayal, incapacity to help, Poland not worth it?)

Did the British, at any point up to 1941, consider going to war against both, Russia and Germany, at the same time in order to save Poland?

After Barbarossa, was the restoration of Poland a condition brought forward by Britain before joining forces with Russia?

I'd like to learn more about the history of the Roman Republic, particularly its long and chaotic downfall. Right now, all I remember is that two guys named Marius and Sulla started fighting each other, then there was a long parade of similar rivalries (I've mostly forgotten the names) which ended in Octavian vs. Mark Anthony; Octavian won and crowned himself Emperor.

So, does anyone know a good book that covers this period in more detail? I'm particularly interested in the political aspects. Thanks in advance!