I was reading Bombshell and they talked about how Ted Hall figured out how cross products worked before his brother who had 2 engineering degrees. The cross product was one the the first "engineering concepts" I learned in college and pretty essential to understanding engineering in general.

When people were taught about that event, would they have been taught to have visualized all of them on the same side of the table, that big of a room, etc? Or was it painted with specific details that were requested?

Edit: Also, what would the customs of been for eating at a meal like that one when it was originally held?

I know Latvia anf Lithuania had SS legions during World War II, but did they ever see real combat, as Germans didn't really trust foreign divisons.

At what point did such a discernable divide happen between individuals in a group of people?

Yes, I know this is a sensitive topic, with feelings running high on both sides, but I'm not interested in anyone's agendas. I would like to know if the different groups of Palestinians were treated differently by the Israelis or the Arab states.

Specific questions of interest:

• Was either group more permitted to stay in what became Israeli territory?

• Were the Arab states more likely to accept Christian or Muslim refugees?

• In the refugee camps did either group get preferential treatment?

I am actually interested in this topic. I am not, however, interested in your grandparents' stories, unless you have an additional, reputable source. While anecdotes are interesting. They are not a source for these purposes. I am also not interested in your politics; please keep that to yourself.

The modern ranking system being pvt-gen. What was the purpose of it? How was it created? When was it implemented? Who implemented it first? What were the organisation of armies like prior to this ranking system?

I'm looking for detailed information about my grandfathers deployment during WW2. Any info or resources that I can use would be much appreciated.

Here's the info I found.

His name was James Daniel Mullen. He served in the Army Air Corps as an engineer. 1902-d Engineer Aviation Battalion to be exact. His service was from July of 43 (drafted)/ August 43 (active) to Feb 46 (discharged). I know that he was deployed to the Pacific and mentioned Okinawa as one of the places he was stationed. I don't know much more about what he did during the war. He passed some 15 years ago so I can't ask him, nor would I be terribly comfortable even if I could.

Thanks for your help.

How hard was it for Italians, who were mostly Catholic, to agree to take the papal state, was there a large resistance within Italy? I know that many States in Europe were not Catholic at the time and that the governments were more secular, but surely there must have been a sizable part of the population of Europe and abroad (like the Americas) that was upset at the Italians.

When I was a kid, I read a book about the Wright Brothers that included a scene in which, dining at a friend's house, Wilbur found the host's gravy unsatisfactory and was allowed to go into the kitchen and make his own, because it was understood that he was very particular about gravy. Was this completely made up or is there evidence that Wilbur Wright was a man of very strong gravy preferences?

Thanks.

I've heard that American soldiers used AK-47s they pulled from dead or captured VC soldiers in Vietnam (though I'm not sure how true that is, may make it a different post). Did any of the forces involved in World War ever do that?

My university is sorely lacking an historical society, so I've decided to start one. Does anyone have any past experience in running a historical society with tips to share?

So far I have the following ideas-

-Talks from members or guests.

-Debates on historical questions.

-Trips to museums, castles, etc.

-Maybe run a strategy board/video game for 5 minutes at the end where we could split into opposing nations' parliaments or something.

-Drinking alcohol.

Is there anything I could add to this to make it a worthwhile endeavour? Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask!