Before modern nail clippers, how did people keep their nails short?

Was it done with a file or other device?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Was there truly a dark side to Winston Churchill like this article suggests?

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2002/nov/28/features11.g21

Have these quotes ever been refuted or proven true?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Where can I get a good, solid knowledge of history? For example, something that includes the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, the Prussian Empire, Angles, and Saxons.

I've just graduated high school and have still not been taught any of those aforementioned topics which kinda saddens me.

I'd prefer something online, but am open to all suggestions.

Edit - Oh yea, and I haven't even learned about the USSR.

Edit 2 - I'd also like to learn about the Mongol Empire and how it turned into Russia. And also Chinese kingdoms history.

1 Answers 2014-05-16

How has the volume of work differed throughout history?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Carbon dating of tree rings supposedly confirms the LBA high chronology. Can archaeologists/egyptologists comment?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

North and South American Native Cultures reactions to colonization?

How did native cultures in the Americas treat one another after some were pushed off of their land and into the land of the other?

Were they generally accepted, treated suspiciously, or refused?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Rome was the ideal of European civilizations. Were there similar ideals elsewhere?

It seems that every European kingdom considered itself to be the heir to Rome. The Holy Roman Empire considered itself a successor state, various Slavic rulers went by "Czar," the Ottomans termed themselves "Sultan of Rum," and even today Romania considers itself a successor.

Were there similar things going on elsewhere in the world?

2 Answers 2014-05-16

Why has Poland been invaded/conquered so many times throughout history? What's so appealing about it?

2 Answers 2014-05-16

Why didn't the US Civil War get as trench-y as WW1?

Why didn't the US civil war get as bogged down and stalemated as WW1? Was it for technological reasons, such as how good the rifles were or how well armed people were? Or due to the much bigger armies? Or that there was always a flank to turn in the US civil war? Or something else i'm not thinking of?

2 Answers 2014-05-16

I just had my last day of high school and had to say goodbye to my favorite class of all time (AP European History). I am now going to major in history with teacher certification. What advice do you have for studying history in college?

6 Answers 2014-05-16

The brothers of medieval French kings almost always ended up with the title of Duke of something or other. How did that work? Did they end up with dozens and dozens of hereditary ducal titles after a few hundred years?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Is there a historical reason that other cultures and societies seem to respond to tragedies with more violence and backlash towards their governments than Western Nations?

For instance, following the mining disaster in Turkey there appears to have been a massive backlash with violent protests. In Greece, there were violent protests that have extended longs periods of time. There are lots of examples of this in recent memory however it seems as though the United States has been exempt from much of this unrest. Is there a historical foundation to these issues today? What modern factors contribute to this? Is it simply a bias on my part?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Why did the use of Ironclads decline?

Fairly self explanatory. Wikipedia doesn't seem to be of much help.

1 Answers 2014-05-16

Does the ubiquity of Wikipedia threaten the accuracy of historical record in the long-term?

People constantly criticize Wikipedia for being an unreliable source of information. Despite this, many people trust it as a go-to knowledge base. Is there a genuine risk that widespread use of Wikipedia could dilute or skew our record of history?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

What were the world's intial reactions to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

3 Answers 2014-05-16

Is there any credible evidence to prove Hitler escaped after WWII and didn't actually kill himself?

Or is it all theory? Did any infamous Nazis never get hunted down and prosecuted?

1 Answers 2014-05-16

What were the naval capabilities of the Knights Templar (and also Hospitallers and Teutonics, if you can share)?

Stories of the infamous Templar navy are abound, we hear that they sailed away with fabulous treasure. However, I can't seem to find anything on their actual naval capability. Can someone please provide some information on the naval capabilities of the Templars (as much as you're willing to share, I realize they were around for centuries)? I can't seem to get beyond the white noise and conspiracy theories. I would also be interested in the naval capabilities of the medieval Knights Hospitaller and Teutonic Knights.

If you would be willing to provide some direction of further reading I would also be appreciative. This is not for a project, I am just interested in the history (not conspiracy).

1 Answers 2014-05-15

Were the boundaries of Iraq and other nations drawn after WWI (and WWII) exclusively for "colonial" purposes, or was there other motivations.

I've often heard that so much of the conflict in the middle east and Africa is due to the way the boundaries were drawn after WWI and WWII, with a "colonial" focus, (ie the the oil companies only wanted to negotiate with one country rather than several "groups"). Is this correct? Were there other reasons at the time for drawing the boundaries the way they did? Did any corporations or individuals have any say in this? Should people have known how badly this would turn out?

1 Answers 2014-05-15

Are there any first-hand accounts by Jews or Palestinians that were published before 1948, that would give me some insight in how the population of Israel-Palestine viewed the events of that time?

Most literature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is written within the paradigm of the wider conflict that stretches to the present-day, but they often don't really focus on how Jews and Palestinians lived together in the Land of Israel/Land of Palestine before the major troubles of 1936-1948 (Palestinian Intifada to the Arab-Israeli War).

So I was wondering if any of you know any first-hand accounts by Jews or Palestinians, chronicling the events as they were unfolding themselves. Because I'm sure those would describe daily interactions between Jews and Palestinians. Biographies published before 1948 would also be interesting. Do these exist? I don't speak Arabic or Hebrew so that's a bit of a language barrier there, but English, French or Dutch would be okay. Thank you!

1 Answers 2014-05-15

Is this "source" even accurate at all?

http://www.eelkat.com/MedievalServants.html

I came across this somehow, and it has.... assertions such as:

"Male servants were often well paid. A female servant was usually nothing more than a lesser wife who was set charge over taking care of the favorite wives. The princess was likely a favorite wife of the king, even though the king was also her father, otherwise she would be a servant in the house and not a princess. The job of the queen and princesses were to have as many babies as possible in hopes that a male heir would survive to adulthood. (Keeping in mind that 9 out of every 10 babies died before they reached the age of 3 and babies were not named until after they had reached their 3rd birthday and proved they were hardy stock.) The primary job of a princess’ personal servant was to hold her down while the king raped her. Most princess’ died in childbirth before they reached the age of 14, most would have had 4 or 5 pregnancies by the time they reached 14. This is the way it was done in actual Medieval times."

Or another:

"In Medieval times no one washed floors. Of course most people did not have floors to wash, either. Not even a king's castle is going to have boards covering the dirt, though they might lay down hay and put tapestries and carpets over the hay, but this would likely only be done in bed chambers. Do not confuse Medieval with Renaissance. Most so called “Medieval” movie settings are actually Renaissance settings. Most “Medieval” castles and manor houses seen in movies are actually Renaissance castles and manor houses."

This is given in the context of being advice for Medieval Fantasy writers. At best being a reader of Amateur history books for the game Ars Magica, this doesn't seem true, but really, what do I know? I was hoping for some discussion on this article, if it's full of crap or not. There's no period/region specific citing in this source, so these are generic assertions at best.

Apologies if this breaks a particular rule.

2 Answers 2014-05-15

Will the Occupy movement be recorded in American history books taught in schools?

2 Answers 2014-05-15

Why do some historians think the Aztecs and/or Mayans had connections with the ancient Egyptians, and how did that theory emerge?

I first heard of this theory from a Cracked article that mentioned cocaine and tobacco (which are New World plants) found in a pharaoh's tomb. Apparently there's lots of connections between the Aztecs and Egyptians, including that they both made pyramids, used hieroglyphics, and had similar religious beliefs. Now, I don't believe that Egyptians actually sailed to the New World (there's no records of it anywhere in Egypt, or in Mexico), but I was wondering why some historians believe that, or why that theory emerged.

1 Answers 2014-05-15

Are there any historical accounts of genius savants like in Rain Man or is this a relatively modern phenomenon?

1 Answers 2014-05-15

How did lenin lay the foundations for a socialist dictatorship and stalin

1 Answers 2014-05-15

How did vanilla go from being a relatively unusual and complex spice/flavorant to the representation of bland and boring?

1 Answers 2014-05-15

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