When did restaurants start popping up? I dunno. That question is just interesting.

Did it go by other names? Has our definition/idea of the Renaissance changed since then? Did people of the time realize the historical significance of what they were doing?

Just a few (somewhat unrelated) questions. Any answers or other information on the topic is greatly appreciated.

I live in NC and in every country there seems to be four or five places at least with names like Devil's Playground, Devils Peak, Devil's what ever. And i was just wondering why a bunch of superstitious settlers would name a place after the devil. Was it just a devil to get there (we could weaponize the briars around here), was it because they saw something they couldn't explain (most places do have their spooky myths to go with the names) or what was it that they would name it after the prince of darkness instead of basically anything else.

Not specific gender roles such as pink for girls and blue for boys, but more general gender roles such as that men are dominating and leader of the family while women are nurturing and caretakers.

Did they even farm or did they have other occupations? Where did they live? How many were there opposed to the rich plantation owners? Thank you!

I have been wondering about this, ever since I picked up the book "Plato".

I've always wondered what defines a world war as opposed to a normal war, is there a specific guideline for this or was it just decided when naming the war?

How and why did the Japanese come to the conclusion that America was a nation of cowards? Unable to fight?

This question came up after one of my professors mentioned last semester that most PhD (or even master level) trained historians would reject a consulting offer from the History Channel (or any of the Discovery Channels etc.) as it would be career suicide. (I know that this is probably a contentious statement, but beyond the scope of this post)

I began googling some of the "historians" that are interviewed on some of the History Channel programs and found that most of them are not PhD trained, and many don't have any grad school experience. One of the sources which they cited as a "medieval weaponry historian" (or something along those lines) was very involved in renaissance fairs, a competitive archer, and a IRS manager. Is he an historian?

What level of training/practice do you think is necessary to call yourself a "historian"? In my mind I've always thought of historians as graduate level trained and currently researching/contributing to the field. Is this unrealistic?

A common theme in WWII film is the Germans driving lots of motorcycles, and many of them with sidecars. Did the Germans really do this more than other countries, and if so why?

Gov. Hayes and the Republicans won the election, but Gov. Tilden and the Democrats claimed fraud. Is there any proof?

Mary Magdeline, ok, that's one....

I've been watching The Tudors (yes, I know, widely inaccurate) and they showed the King writing Greensleeves for Anne Boleyn. What evidence do we have that this is written by him?

I just want some info about what this war was all about, why did it start, how did it end and what were the consequences of it all?

My understanding is that we have revisionist history at its finest.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but the first Crusade was a response to Muslim conquest of what was considered the Christian Holy Land.

It wasn't about Christian conquest of all of Northern Africa and the Middle East and spreading a Christian empire.

Conversely, Islam did attempt to that, just look at their advances into Spain and into current Turkey, Albania, Chechnya, etc.

I understand that this topic is very volatile, but I'd just like an answer on my initial question:

who started it?

Was it the fall of Jerusalem?

and, be honest. I know most academics, which includes this subreddit, have liberal leanings

For the post-WW1 era they are certainly contemporary.

I've been reading/listening to a lot of history, which I love! But I don't know how I can evaluate how much weight or authority to assign a source. My understanding is that professional historians cross-reference with other sources, but I don't have that background or really the interest to investigate most of the time.

So how should I evaluate the veracity of sources?