I've been doing a lot of reading online and it seems like at the time it happened, people were of a different mindset than today in that if the government tells them something happened a certain way, they 100% believed it. So after doing a little reading, the impression I get is that when the "UFO crash" happened in 47, nobody really cared. The government issued their explanation that it was nothing and it wasn't a big deal.

Not until decades later when UFO researchers came along asking leading questions about crashed spaceships and alien bodies. And then this story became part of culture. Can someone enlighten me a bit better? Google searches only take me to sites hosted by UFO lunatics!

I have the name and date of death of a US Service Member that I believe died in the early days of the Vietnam Conflict. However, I cannot verify if he died in Congo, Panama, or some other theater instead. The date on his grave marker is September 27, 1964.

How do I go about getting his Military records and an explanation of his death?

I notice that Athens became a Democracy in 510, and Rome is noted for becoming a Republic in the following year. Surely this can't be coincidence.

I am currently doing research for my budgeted screen play script I am currently writing, and am curious as to what the social, economic, drug, and technological boundaries I am to write in the confines of when writing a film which the story line of takes place in the 70s. What were the drugs of the time? What were the trends? What were colleges like? Any important facts I should be aware of? Suggestions?

I'm reading Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America by Evan Carton and he mentions these swords. He says they were surplus swords purchased by the Browns for use in their raids. There are so many myths around swords that this seemed like it could be one of those. So I put it to you, was filling hollow swords with mercury a common practice by government armories and did the US ever use them, or anyone else for that matter? I had only heard of them mentioned in Sci-Fi/Fantasy before this.

Is it likely that something like an ancient egyptian pendant could have been melted down at some point in history and added to some nation's collection of bars?

The United States is the first nation to create what we know of as "national parks", but I'm interested in finding out if other nations before the U.S. had areas of land that were for preservation purposes only, such as an area where logging, hunting, or other disruptive industry was forbidden. Thanks!

The ruling government in Thailand is called a junta. Where does the term come from and are there other examples in history?

Memphis, TN obviously springs to mind, as does Alexandria, TN, but there's Cairo, Lebanon, Karnak, Teheran (sic) and Thebes in Illinois, too. And a number of towns in Mississippi, as well, including Egypt, MS. Why are these all so (relatively) near each other. Was there a huge surge in Egyptian/Middle-Eastern interest at the time these towns were founded?

When did people begin going by the new calender system.

I find my lack of knowledge of pre-Columbian civilizations disturbing. No idea why, but it seems that European schools keep that topic at a minimum in the syllabus. Apart from Aztecs, Mayans and Incas I have a hard time coming up with any pre-Columbian civilizations...Olmec, Toltec...Chimu...Nazca? That's where the extent of my knowledge ends. :S

Therefore, I'd be grateful, if someone could recommend me any good books on the topic, preferably all-encompassing and along introductory lines? Thanks in advance! :D

Is there any hope of ever understanding Etruscan and Indus Valley text, without the discovery of new texts? What could be done?