I was just watching a movie that took place in the 1800's and the train was travelling long distance in the winter. It got me wondering what would happen if the engine broke down, and they were left in the cold?

What would the procedures have been?

How prepared were the railroads for something like this, as far as finding ways to keep the passengers warm, safe, fed, with water, etc?

Did they send out parties to get help, if possible?

Are there any cases of it happening, and if so, did it ever turn into disaster? Were people ever stranded for days/weeks/longer at a time?

Alsace-Lorraine was in German hands from 1871 with the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War until 1918 when France regained control of it after WWI. How German was Alsace-Lorraine? Did the populace prefer rule under Germany or France? After all, France did use up quite a tremendous amount of effort to regain Alsace-Lorraine during the opening of the First World War. Was it worth it for the inhabitants?

Thanks to anyone who can provide me with the answers.

EDIT: Thank you all for your answers! Nearly 200 points? I've never had a post hit 10, lest say 200 :)

The South Koreans learn about the history of Korea, very well aware that it's a myth. There's something about a bear becoming a woman, right?

On Wikipedia it says: "Korean history begins with the founding of Chosun (often known as "Gojoseon" to prevent confusion with another dynasty founded in the 13th century; the prefix Go- means 'older,' 'before,' or 'earlier') in 2333 BC by Dangun, according to Korean foundation mythology."

And then the said mythology goes on.

What's the real story behind it, and how do we know when all records are filled with animals becoming humans?

For example, Akhenaten means "Effective for Aten." There's no shortening that so that it doesn't sound strange.

Akhen? You're calling your husband "Effective."

(Would that I could get my wife to call me that).

Aten? It was the sun god's name, so maybe, I guess. People name their kids Jesus and Thor...

Or maybe close friends/relatives had some different name for their Pharaoh entirely, one that wasn't inscribed anywhere.

I've got a whole bookshelf full of Egypt books and after perusing a number of them, I can't find a reference to a Pharaoh's "familiar" name.

Edit: Pharaoh's wife really might have called him "brother." So maybe change the question. The Pharaoh Merneptah was an old man before he took the crown. When he was a kid, what might his best friend have called him?

Is their taboo a remnant of some pre Islamic belief?

The puzzle is below.

BU CYLLXYBK! SUXOBYVU QESSOLD UWW NYM FXFYZ FU PYMSYF HOGYQZU QYFI DAMF ROQETAMO FNOI FUSHL NYH FNO QUBTAYMFELUEXM JOXO OGFYBQWF!

And the clues are as follows:

1. Spaces are true
2. There were 10 extra letters added throughout the entire puzzle to keep decoding programs from working.
3. All vowels are switched with other vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y).
4. All vowels remain as vowels and consonants remain as consonants.

Must decipher the message itself. Please respond with the finished product and how you got to it.

I'm sure we all have seen a map of the Holy Roman Empire, and how confusing and disordered it looks, A ridiculous array of exclaves and enclaves etc. My question is how did Germany under the HRE get to be like that. How did the region become so divided and how did the HRE survive for so long?

I was wondering since this is a about critical historical place where questions are answered with good sources I though if anyone knew or can find good history podcast sites with good sources and notes .

What sort of drugs were used by the Vikings, How did that affect them in their society & what was public opinion of drug use? Is there anything you would recommend I read to get more of an insight into this topic? Thank you :)

Like Latin. How did the language become completely, 100% unspoken? Does this happen to other languages?

Is there an analogy between cold war style surrogate warfare applied to a pre-capitalist colonial economy?

edit: 16 through 18th centuries is what i meant.

I know that Persia was mostly Zoroastrian but what about the Middle East and Northern Africa?

All that is left of the once thriving China Town is a single building and mural in a parking garage. Growing up I head lots a different stories of why/how the Chinese population was driven from their homes and their property destroyed. One of the most outlandish stated that the son of prominent Chinese businessman was secretly dating the White Mayor's daughter, and when their relationship was discovered it led to a race-riot. I was also told the sheriff led personally led a team of tractors to extra-judicially destroy China Town and drive the Chinese population out. Finally, a few maintain that the Chinese population simply migrated away and left a host of dilapidated buildings the city was forced to demolish. If anyone has information in this specific topic, I'd love to know more.

I'm reading General Sherman's letter to the citizens of Atlanta before he burned the city, and I'm struck by the beauty and eloquence of his words. Today, anyone speaking or writing that way would be considered to be putting on airs, but at the time it seems like that was the accepted way to write a letter. But did they speak like that in everyday conversations as well?

Obviously they didn't speak in unbroken paragraphs, when he says things like "I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success," was something that someone might say out loud to someone else?

Marx also had an uncle (Benjamin Philips) who was a business magnate of that time. What did Marx think of his family and his wife's family in relation to his political and economic thought? How was his relationship with them?

i was just told by someone that the reason women arent able to become priests is because they cant perform the eucharist. jesus was male so the leader of that ceremony must be male. when the reformation was going on and beliefs on the eucharist differed from sect to sect, was there any fear of female priests emerging from the changes reformers wanted to make?

A poster on Slashdot claimed "Did you know that two thousand years ago a Roman citizen could walk across the face of the known world free of the fear of molestation? He could walk across the Earth unharmed, cloaked only in the protection of the words civis Romanus -- I am a Roman citizen. So great was the retribution of Rome, universally understood as certain, should any harm befall even one of its citizens."

This clearly seems like hyperbole, but is there any kind of interesting related truth?

The books I have found on google and amazon seem to have a strong bias towards idolizing Scipio Africanus, like the book "Scipio Africanus: Greater than Napoleon." What would be a read that presents a more balanced analysis of both his private life and military accomplishments?

Did they see it as prosperous, like Europe, or something completely different?

Did ancient Romans have crucible steel, or techniques to enhance carbon content of iron to the point of being near steel? (such as repeated case hardening and folding the high carbon exterior in to expose fresh iron to the reducing atmosphere of a bed of coals)

If they had steel, would a common soldier's blade be steel, or would it be something officers purchased for themselves? Of course the Republic and Empire were large and covered a long span of time, do we know if ironmaking changed over time, or was better in some areas? Finally, how good are our written or archaeological sources?