(As reported by Orwell.)

The full quote is in Momigliano's Alien Wisdom: The Limits of Hellenization (1975):

"Gaetano Salvemini used to maintain that Mussolini ended in disaster because he always said ja to Hitler at the wrong moment. Being vain, Mussolini did not want to admit that his German was insufficient for a diplomatic conversation."

The context is quite interesting - he's wondering whether Roman knowledge of Greek but Greek ignorance of Latin hindered Greek negotiation with Rome during the delicate third and second centuries BC.

But is there any truth to the claim that Mussolini was hindered by an inability to admit his German was poor?

Seeing as they changed Frankfurters to Hot Dogs, did they do anything similar with German sounding products such as Budweiser?

Our current rate of technological advancements has far outpaced the average for of all human history. What events made this possible?

I've often wondered why, of all the countries that have those colours on their flags, America seems to be the only one that has such zeal about them. How, and why did America get the association, and why didn't France and Britain for example?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm very curious about this. Nowadays I hear about there often being an understanding in wartime that journalists and photographers are not to be killed. I don't have a source for this but I have certainly heard of it before and could try to find one if need be. I'm wondering if this was in place or at all respected during WWII?

Also, were war photographers part of the army? Were they armed with anything other than a camera? How did they get to go to war to take photographs, were they commissioned by the government, or did they volunteer but only to take photographs? I can see some government officials wanting to place a rifle in the hands of every able-bodied man, not a camera. Any information on this?

Thank you, your informative and intelligent answers are always so much appreciated by this avid AskHistorians reader :)

Marines by definition are naval infantry. In the militaries of many nations marines are members of the navy. With this ancestry in mind why did the USMC decide to use a system of ranks similar to that of the British Army?

For example, did the Spanish government ever ship a group of Peruvian natives across the sea to built infrastructure in the Philippines?

I am researching the death of a Bomb Disposal Tech from the 41st Ordnance Bomb Disposal Squad; T/SGT Louis Brovetto. He died on 30 July 1944. I have been in contact with his Commander, CPT Harvey Morgan, who turns 96 in a few months, who gave me some information as to how he died. According to Mr. Morgan, T/SGT Brovetto was investigating either a German or U.S. Tank on the morning of 30 July that was potentially stuck in a minefield; one of the tracks was apparently blown off. Mr. Morgan stated that their mission was to clear the tank of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) so it could be returned into service. Which leads me to believe it was an allied tank.

If anyone could help point me to a database or where to look for a second account of events that happened pertaining to this event, I would be very appreciative.

I'm thinking of when a ship is considered too badly damaged and is sunk by its own side but the ones giving the order to scuttle are not of the nation. An example would be after the Battle of Savo Island when the US commander ordered the scuttling of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra.

I.e. Are we, the naked apes, getting even more naked?

Now, I'm more talking age-related (genetic?) baldness, rather than caused by external factors.

Are these coming from one source or from many? When do we know we lost the later books of Livys or some of Plutarchs biographies? How do we know they even existed?