Short Answers to Simple Questions | March 27, 2019

by AutoModerator

Previous weeks!

Please Be Aware: We expect everyone to read the rules and guidelines of this thread. Mods will remove questions which we deem to be too involved for the theme in place here. We will remove answers which don't include a source. These removals will be without notice. Please follow the rules.

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.

Here are the ground rules:

  • Top Level Posts should be questions in their own right.

  • Questions should be clear and specific in the information that they are asking for.

  • Questions which ask about broader concepts may be removed at the discretion of the Mod Team and redirected to post as a standalone question.

  • We realize that in some cases, users may pose questions that they don't realize are more complicated than they think. In these cases, we will suggest reposting as a stand-alone question.

  • Answers MUST be properly sourced to respectable literature. Unlike regular questions in the sub where sources are only required upon request, the lack of a source will result in removal of the answer.

  • Academic secondary sources are prefered. Tertiary sources are acceptable if they are of academic rigor (such as a book from the 'Oxford Companion' series, or a reference work from an academic press).

  • The only rule being relaxed here is with regard to depth, insofar as the anticipated questions are ones which do not require it. All other rules of the subreddit are in force.

Butthole_Alamo

I was born in the late 1980s. Looking back on the aesthetic of the late 1990s, the ways people dressed and wore their hair, the car design, etc. it’s all starting to feel foreign and unfamiliar. Not just old, but “dated” in a sense. I’m sure my parents feel the same way looking back on to the 1980s and 1970s etc.

My question: is there a term for this? What do you call it when you start to perceive what you once considered the present as the past?

SureSureFightFight

Violins and cellos are shown as popular instruments for sailors (and soldiers) in fiction.

How did they maintain these specialty instruments? Where would they obtain extra strings or rosin? Were you simply out of luck if a string broke?

For that matter, how prevalent/accessible was a luthier in the 19th century?

EnigmaticRonin

Can anyone recommend any literature that demonstrates how wealth and status can be used to oppress and exploit people? I am looking for historic examples, both modern and in ancient times. I am looking for both macro and micro examples: societies as well as individuals. Like why is a monopoly bad? Are there examples in history and what happened?

theGreen_Chili

When did Belize first become a British colony? I'm researching the history of Belize for a project and multiple sources I have found to this state that Belize became a formal British colony in 1862 and a Crown colony in 1871 under the name 'British Honduras' . Other sources have stated that Belize became a British colony in 1840 and a Crown colony in 1862. The latter comes from what seems to me to be less trustworthy sources but this makes me question why multiple sources still state 1840. Even if the sources saying it became a colony in 1840 seem wrong there must be something that makes all those sources choose specifically 1840, so when did Belize really first become and official British colony and why are there two answers?

I hope this question is not too long for the 'short questions' thread, I tried to make a stand-alone post but that got removed for being too simple a question.

xEmptyPockets

Is there a word for a dead religion? Any catch-all term that could be used to describe the old Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, etc. religions that are no longer practiced?

waffleman258

After the Seven Kings of Rome, the Romans hated the idea of the monarchy and severely dealt woth anyone who dared proclaim himself King of Rome. Considering this, how did the "democratic" republic transition into an empire, ruled by a single emperor? How were Julius Caesar and after him Octavian and all the other emperors allowed to be absolute power? How were the emperors different from the seven kings?

just_the_mann

Was Dr. King and his father intentionally named after the German priest, Martin Luther?

Mariner11663

How did you guys find your specific area of study? What are some introductory texts for me to look at as I start looking at history as an area of a hobby? I want to get back into history, but I don't know what sounds most interesting to me, and I don't know where to focus my efforts.

copperrein

Heyo!

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I am looking for an old recipe for a type of 'plastic' made from sulfur which was commonly used in the making of knives to fill pommels and bolsters. It's a mix of sulfur powder and something else. I, for the life of me, cannot remember and I'm currently working on a reproduction pukko which really should have this gunk in the bolster for accuracy. I've googled up and down and none of those recipes are correct. I've checked my books of old crafts recipes....no luck.

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I know this is super obscure BUT you never know. I've met some pretty awesome 'random info' people on reddit.

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Thanks in advance!

Muted_Posthorn_Man

I originally asked this as an addendum of a post and didn't seem big enough for it's own thing.

I'm reading The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, and I'm finding it fascinating. He mentions that after hostages were taken by the Afghan forces during the Anglo-Afghan war, one white British woman, the wife of a captain, ran off with her captor and married him, refusing to return when the British rescued everyone else. Who was she? Does anyone know what that was about?

hi_this_is_squatcat

What is a more updated version of Paul Fussell's book Class?

FencePaling

Can anyone recommend a book on Smells in Victorian London? Or more generally in cities during the 18/19th Centuries?

VeryCoolPerson2

What are the primary sources on the Late-republic/roman Imperial Navy?

GravyBear8

What books should I use to research Thrace and Thracians, specifically around the Mithradates War? Really, want to know everything I can.

moaz_xx

Do you read more then one historical book at a time ?

EnclavedMicrostate

At the battle of Cynoscephalae against Macedon in 197 BC, Flamininus' Roman army was supported by around 8,000 Greek allies. Do we know how they would have been equipped?

lunaranus

Could I get a book recommendation on signals intelligence/codebreaking in WW2 from an Allied perspective?

rodiraskol

I have to research Woodstock for a group project, I'm specifically responsible for talking about the aftermath. Could someone point me to a good scholarly source?

Immorty

I would love to get a book recommendation on the era of South American dictators.

BackgroundAge

I was looking for some good book recommendations for the following subjects.

-A general history of the Turkish Republic covering a period of time from around 1923-Present

and

-The Arab Cold War of 1956-70 (which is not the one written by Malcolm Kerr).

RIngan

Can anyone recommend a good secondary source on the 1967-1974 Junta in Greece?

MahGoddessWarAHoe

The Emperor Julian refers to Christian churches as “charnel houses” in his writing. Do we have any explicit evidence that Jesus was referred to as a “corpse god” or corpse king by similar writers?

3466Fennekin

When and why did we decide to stab a hole though our earlobe and then hang a decoration from said hole

nursebeast

I'm having trouble finding out which pronunciation is correct for the term "Carolingian."

Does "ling" rhyme with "king" or "hinge"?

Mortalpuncher

Has there been any other writings other than Sappho which have referenced lesbianism?

Atook

In Durant's 'Lesson of History', they talk about the US Government following Solon's methods of wealth distribution in 1933-1952 and 1960-1965. What government programs or actions are they referring to?

tigerofblindjustice

I'd like to learn more about the Chichimeca, specifically their religion/myths and their history from pre-Columbian times through the colonial period. What are some good sources that I should start looking at?

rustythesmith

My question is about medieval armor. What is a "crested halfhelm"? How is a halfhelm different from a helm? What characteristics of a helm would cause a person of the era to refer to it as a halfhelm? Is it possible for a helm to have a visor and still be considered a halfhelm?

Raxiuscore

How did the confederacy manage to hold a slave population of 39% of its population? Especially considering America was a country built on rebelling against oppressors?