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Some questions people have just don't require depth. This thread is a recurring feature intended to provide a space for those simple, straight forward questions that are otherwise unsuited for the format of the subreddit.
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Was the US (or at least, any of its intelligence or academic communities) aware that the USSR was aware of the existence of the Manhattan Project? When was the earliest the US realized?
What made Smith the most common occupational surname in the English-speaking world? Why not something like Farmer?
Where can I find sources for sub-Saharan Africans in the Roman empire? Preferably archeological evidence. I know that Mary Beard discusses a skeleton found in Pompeii in one of her TV programs, but I would like to have something I can easily link to. (For rhetorical fireworks, something from 1900 or thereabouts could make a nice punchline.)
Hello, reposting from last week, I hope this is allowed:
When was depression first recognized as a real medical condition? What were first attempts to treat it like?
I got a great answer from /u/oob1x talking about the Chukchi people from Siberia. (Thanks again!) However, I would still be interested in an answer from the point of view of Western medicine.
Has anyone actually used the "right to overthrow tyrannical governments" part of the 2nd amendment as a valid legal defense for intent to overthrow the government, assassinate a president, etc.?
What was the extent of use of midget submarines during WW2? What were the pros and cons of the concept?
What are the best modern accounts for English medieval warfare? Specifically looking for items on Hastings (1066) and Bosworth (1485). I've read R. A. Brown's essay and sections of Bates' William the Conqueror for Hastings. I have Haigh, Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses and Keen, Medieval Warfare on my reading list.
Reposting because I think I asked just as the thread was ending:
Is there a good or standard critical collection of Lenin's writings? I am not looking for a complete collection (which would go tens of volumes), but something like the Tucker's Marx-Engels Reader with ideally an introduction similar to Hobsbawm's one for Verso's Communist Manifesto.
[Rephrased and reposted,]
I got some wonderful answers to my last version of this.. but I realized my post last week made it sound like I was hoping to find one or two books which would give me a sufficient grounding in "HISTORY."
I guess what I really mean to ask is this:
What's the best way to get a basic grounding in history?
I would like to know understand the general history of 'the West.' A man should know what the Holy Roman Empire was, for crying out loud! And all I know is part of it was in modern day Germany. I mean what kind of country can you have if people are that stupid??
Should I take an online class or two, or a series, and if so, which ones? [Preferably nice free ones, like the HarvardX collection]
Is there something like a 'cannon' of books one should read, akin to the old 'five foot bookshelf?
Thanks again, noble Historians!
Is this narrative of the democratic and republican parties based in truth? I was under the impression that at some point the democrats and republicans sort of switched sides when it comes to racial issues, and this article states the opposite. I found it on r/conservative so I'm inclined to say that's it's false but I couldn't really find any information on the subject.
What was the ordeal of a US sailor who survived their ships sinking and was pulled from the water? What did they go through next? Back to the US? Discharge? Assigned to a new ship? Or did they man positions on the ship that pulled them?
My girlfriend has a poster for the film Casablanca in French.
It made me wonder: how soon after the liberation was Casablanca first screened in France?
It's well known that William Taft is America's fattest president. Who is its heaviest First Lady?
Would it be acceptable to have a comments section? Maybe something like what /r/writingprompts does. Sometimes we're not just interested in just the facts but also interested in what others think. Sorry if this has been brought up before.
Reposting here: who are the people in the intro for The World At War? For reference at 00:01:40 here
What do leading historians believe is the truth behind the ancient city of Troy? Was there really a greek invasion?