I saw some silly tea party facebook page about one of the superbowl ads tonight in which the star spangled banner is sung in diffrent languages. As you might guess the comments on that page were straight xenophobic and ignorant; "muh english".

Why do some of these people cling so hard to English? Wouldn't spanish have some claim as an American language as well because of all the Mexican territory acquired after the Mex-Am war? Also weren't Italian and polish majority languages at some point as well?

I've read conflicting accounts that his pyre went out of control, his ashes were held in a font, they were held in his temple, they were in the gilt ball in the obelisk in St Peters square, the Visigoths scattered them when they sacked Rome etc.

I'm sure it's partially from the old equipment and the recording tapes aging, degrading quality and giving them a tinny and accelerated sound, but how much of this is driven by the culture of radio at the time, such as inflection, pacing/cadence, etc? When did this begin to change and how?

Edit: I'm major American zoos.

When did people start shaving? Were there other methods than a metal razor?

Assuming metal was fairly valuable, wouldn't nearly every male have a beard?

The book is a memoir of her time as Secretary of State. It's either a really stupid idea or an election tool. I don't think she's a stupid lady, so I'd guess it's a tool carefully planned to help her win the election. It perhaps tells her side of Benghazi so she won't have to tell the story over and over and over in 2016. Has any other presidential candidate or hopeful written a book so close to an election particularly to help them get elected?

Im watching "Ran" and i notice it, and I have seen many paintings depicting this.

If two Roman legions fought against each other how did they tell who is a friend and who is a foe in the heat of battle? Did they use different designs on armor or shields? Just re-visited the rome series and wondered.

Im writing a research paper on mixed families in Native American society and their influence on native society, but finding sources on Native American intermarriage are becoming "scarce"

I listened to the In Our Time episode about the Berlin Conference and it peaked my interest quite a bit. I want more and figured if anyone knew where to look, it would be the people here in /r/AskHistorians.

Was Columbus the first of the east side of the world to come to America?

I have a very limited knowledge on the subject and admit I don't know enough about the virtues themselves, but to give an example courage being seen as an ideal mid ground between cowardice and foolhardiness.

I have to write an essay (3500 words) on how the economic situation of France from the time of Louis XIV to 1789 contributed to the subsequent revolution. I have my notes on what happened in general during this time period but I'm not sure how I would structure an essay on the economic causes of the revolution. Can anyone help me out with some talking points or some books to consider? I've already been made aware of William Doyle and T.C.W Blanning etc and am trying to make my way through their work.

Mostly I just want an overview of the primary things at work here, to help with structuring the piece. Once I have my general sections I'll find it a lot easier to research, I think.

Thanks in advance.

The blog also suggests that Jesus, his mother, and some Celtic Catholic saints may have been African. How plausible is this?

The US influenced the politics of many countries in Latin America. Did the Soviet Union likewise attempt to affect Latin American Politics, or did they view it as out of their sphere of influence? If so, why are the US examples so much more infamous/well known?