Like pretty much all anthropologists, I was an ancient Egypt maniac when I was younger. I'm getting back into learning about the civilization, but I realized I've never really heard much about the Ptolemaic period, to say nothing of later innovations like the spread of Christianity or Islam in the Region. Can anyone outline what this HUGE chunk of time looks like, and, even better, tell me what books and or accessible articles I can read about this?

I just finally chased down my grandfather's discharge papers and learned he was a Technician, 5th grade, 507th quartermaster car company. I'm not turning up much on historical sites or veteran groups on the companies, and I have a few questions. Forgive my army ignorance in advance, I've found the information online to be quite overwhelming.

1. Did the quartermaster company accompany the units that shared the same name? for example, did the 507th follow/supply/shadow the 507th airborne?

2. how many were in the quartermaster companies?

3. I know very little about my beloved grandfather's military history, as he usually was reluctant to speak of it. I do know that the last six months he served as an MP, and that he was working in POW camps and was a "hangman's assistant." Was this a normal jump for a mechanic to end up as an MP?

4. He did reveal that at one point he was in some pretty hairy situations with snipers in france, taking fire and many in his unit were killed. He described them running, one by one, across a makeshift bridge to get to safety. Was it typical for quartermasters to be in combat situations?

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I would absolutely love to find out anything I can. I've requested his records but am aware there is a slim chance of anything surviving the fires in the 70s, so I'm hoping his unit will give me some background.

From Ancient Rome to the industrial revolution and everything in between, oral sex seemed to be popular. How did they manage it when they bathed only a few times a year?

Hey guys, we all know about the prohibition in the 20's and 30's, but how was it in Canada? Pros, Cons, how it started, why it failed.

Why was it so different than the States?

why does A come before B, why is Z all the way at the end, why aren't the vowels grouped up, etc.

Playing some Shogun 2, was wondering if my own forces are deployed accurately. Currently I'm probably running at 5 or 6 ashigaru for every samurai.

My parents and doctors say he is not especially long for this world. My grandfather is the quiet, reserved type. (Not uncommon for a German) I have a few burning questions, but I feel it would be awkward asking delving questions out of the blue, because I have never brought up his war history in conversation before.

What are some starter questions I can open with without making him feel too uncomfortable, and what would you guys like to know?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've always had a dignified respect for him without ever questioning why.

(I tried posting in askreddit but it got removed for being too specific, Can you guys help me out?)

In the Declaration of independence, "the thirteen united States of America" is written with an under-case "united" implying that at the time, that was not seen as a name of a country, but as a descriptor of 13 "states" (which is often synonymous with "countries") working together in union, similar to the EU. Was it not until the Constitution in 1791 and the end of the articles that the US saw itself as one nation?

Like people were alive under the ocean trapped... Alive? They die of lack of air or something while down under the water in a submarine that is whole and experiencing technical issues or something.

Stereotype? or am I just basing it of the best Jazz players - Louie Armstrong, Ray Charles etc. ?

I work for a Scandinavian company in the US, (durr I wonder who it could be) its a great company and it has really sparked my interest in the subject, thanks ahead guys!

Specifically in the early period when it was still the Eastern Roman Empire. Were the people who settled the East, Latin settlers from Italy, or indigenous Greeks? Which group was in the majority? Did the average early Byzantine consider himself to be a Greek or a continuation of the Roman line?

Secondly how did this effect the lingua franca of early Byzantine emperors? For example I know Justinian I was a Latin speaker.

My understanding is that Nazis were the political party, Wehrmacht was the army, and SS was the secret police. Is this correct?

Thanks.

It seems to be an article of common knowledge that samurai from the Nara period up until the 1700s or so were very into Zen Buddhism. Many practices from Zen, like meditation, are useful to warriors in combat.

However, Buddhism in general (to the best of my knowledge at least), doesn't exactly have a high view of feudal clan violence. Were samurai aware of this contradiction? Did they just take the practice and reject the teachings? Are there records of samurai who got too into religion and stopped being samurai?

As the title. I was wandering around Dunfermline Abbey this afternoon, and it struck me that I've never seen a copy of anything like Medieval blueprints. Now, there must have been architects, or some equivalent building designer. And these buildings are vast enough to have required an awful lot of very detailed planning. So, did they have blueprints? How detailed were they? Did the architect (or whatever he was referred to as) know exactly how the end building would look?

Thanks!

European nations had been fighting each on and off for the past century (Napoleonic and Franco-Prussian Wars), so why did WWI escalate into a world war instead of just staying a war between Germany/France/Great Britain?

Hi there. I have never really heard anything about what Spain did during ww2, and since they are a pretty big country, i wonder if they took a side, or did they just stay neutral and suffer no losses?

I am currently reading a book ("The Mortal Sea" by W. Bolster) which discusses the fishing conditions in Europe and North America. Bolster claims that in the 1500s and 1600s there were no standard units of measurements, and that as a result people often resorted to analogies. Specifically he is discussing a quote by John Mason about Newfoundland- "the most admirable is the Sea, so diversified with several sorts of Fishes abounding therein, the consideration whereof is readie to swallow up and drown my senses not being able to comprehend the riches thereof." Bolster states that perhaps this was not a hyperbole, as the abundance of sea-life in Newfoundland exceeded Mason's ability to think of an ample comparison. This is followed by the assertion that the exact number and weight of fish caught was not measured as it was not considered useful at the time. How true are these statements?

I am a sailor in, say, the Napoleonic wars or a similar period, and the ship I am on has been sunk by the enemy. Assuming my side's forces had been completely destroyed, what are my chances of the enemy ships showing mercy on me?