I've recently become incredibly interested in the Prague Spring but, despite the fact that it is an event in what many consider to be modern times (1960s to present day), I'm having issues with finding certain questions I have with it:

1. What inspired Alexander Dubcek and the rest of the reformists to begin the reforms? Was there any particular event that drove them to do so in early 1968?

2. What happened to the reformists post-invasion? I know Dubcek was put in charge of forestry (was that just to get him out of politics?) but what happened to the others? Were any arrested for their actions?

3. What was the general mood/atmosphere post-Invasion? Were there any ideas or plans of large scale protest or rebellion?

4. How did people react to Jan Palach's public suicide? What was his intended effect?

Thank-you for any/all answers you can give me.

Also are there any cool stories involving the flag that would make an ohioian like myself proud?

Was everybody in the Highlands bilingual?

Unlike Beria who knew his time was coming, who poisoned the Boss before the Boss purged him?

I guess I could rephrase by asking how our calendar became adopted, and when/how did it become a global standard and not one of just the west.

Is there actual proof of this? And how do we know that they weren't written by more than one person?

I'm researching a quote Benjamin Franklin said, "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle." I've looked online and I haven't found any source telling me the context of the quote. Any idea to where he may have said it?

I'm assuming that the arrow weight was the key, but I'm curious if it was that or the fps of the projectile.

The second question is just to make this question be more applicable or interesting to a wider group.

So I just recently watched Platoon, and a large portion of the movie shows the American soldiers burning villages, killing innocent people, and almost raping children. So my question really is how often did occurrences like these take place in the war, and as part two, how did drug use among soldiers influence these events?

My Great Uncle (My grandfathers brother) was a marine who fought in the Pacific Theatre (Saipan, Tinian and Iwa Jima). Before he passed away, he talked a great deal about his time during WWII. He had quite a few friends who ended up fighting (most dying) during this famous invasion on the beaches of Normandy. I asked him this question as well and he was equally upset that there wasn't much in the way of defensive tools provided to those soldiers who stormed the beaches.

Watching the beginning of Saving Private Ryan a few minutes ago reminded me of this thought I had a while ago: We had access to, even back then, material that was impenetrable to 50 caliber rounds. Would it have been absurd to have each dropship equipped with a plate of this material, with handles attached so the soldiers in the very front could hold onto it and move the group up the beach?

I understand fully that a lot of soldiers never made it close enough to the actual beach and were forced to jump overboard into water that was far deeper than a standing adult, but there were still a very large number of dropships that made it close enough to disembark onto "dry" land, but the moment those dropship doors went down, so many soldiers were just mowed down by machine gun fire.

It just seemed absurd to me that the masterminds behind this attack didn't think of any type of defense for this type of charge, even though they knew the casualties would be so immense.

I apologize if this comes off as naive or crazy, but it's been something that's bothered me for a while and watching this movie again brought back this thought.

By today's standards wouldn't that be highly dangerous? It would be like purposely spreading huge amounts of invasive species.

Does this refer to Alfred's father Aethelwulf? If so, why is he described as "King of the Saxons" as opposed to "King of the West Saxons" or "King of Wessex"?

Or was this "King of the Saxons" a different person altogether?

Was this a title bestowed upon this Aethelwulf to fend of the Norsemen, or is Asser exaggerating the power of Alfred's father to please the West Saxons?

I know this is a complicated question, but I've been pretty curious about this and I wanted to see if anyone here would be so kind as provide an answer.

Any input is appreciated.

The other day I forgot my sunscreen and acquired quite the nasty sunburn after only forty-five minutes of working my garden. How did fair-skinned people deal with this before sunscreen was invented? Just get burned over and over until they were tan?

I don't know if this violates the 20 year rule, but given the recent news what are the chances that he was actually the one behind the murders?