When Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, did the scientists and physicists know exactly what the results would be? Were they aware of the sonic boom it would create or if it would compromise the structural integrity of the aircraft in any way?

Like years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds? If so what was it? Did it vary by tribe? And is it still in use? Thanks for your help.

And if so, what were their reactions? Some sort of Paris-Syndrome-like reaction?

I have heard that the people that wrote the gospels lived a couple of decades after Jesus death. How would you deduce that kind of information? what would a reliable source would be in order to get that info?

I am not that worried about the specific question here (although I do find it interesting). This is more of a very broad question of how or where do historians get information from that long ago and how reliable is the source.

Edit: thanks for pointing out that I confused "authors of the gospels" with "apostles", which are different things.

This might be a part of a broader question about Chinese Communists and their view of Confucianism and other philosophical traditions so feel free to expand on the initial question.

What year did Kraft Foods come out with Easy Mac for the microwave?

I was wondering if anyone here knew why a green felt playing surface became standard for card tables, and when/where that might have first occurred. I was watching Downton Abbey and saw that it was like that at the turn of the century, and was just curious how far back it went.

Note: I did a cursory search for "gaming" and "green felt" and checked the Fun and Games section of the FAQs, but if I missed something I apologize in advance.

I was reading the thread about Missouri declaring a state of emergency and came across a post about the Tulsa race Riot. I had absolutely no idea about it. I never even heard it mentioned in school. What are some similar events in recent US history that the average person would probably not know about?

So I am a bit confused about the divisions within the nationalist forces during the spanish civil war. Obviously, a lot has been written about the divisions within the republican side but as far as I can see, not so much on the republican side. Can someone help me understand if all, some, or none of the nationalist forces during the spanish civil war were fascists?

Certainly we had a few, and a fair number of domestic political voices were pushing for it, and Truman came out and admitted that it was an option on the table. What were the considerations that turned the eventual decision towards not using them?