Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
Hello all-
I recently posted my latest video in the "Questions about Ancient Greece and Rome (you were afraid to ask in school)" series: Were ancient war elephants effective in battle?
This video (which was a lot of fun to make) explores the training and tactics of war elephants in the ancient Mediterranean world, and explains why these unpredictable killing machines weren’t always helpful allies.
Enjoy - and as always, questions and comments are welcome.
Hi Mods,
Recently, I came across The Database for the History of Contemporary Chinese Political Movements from CUHK, which compiled an enormous amount of primary sources regarding Cultural Revolution, Anti-Rightist Campaign, Great Leap Forward etc.
According to the preface of Database of Chinese Political Campaigns: From Land Reform to
State-Private Joint Ownership, 1949‒1956
| Database Title | Publication Dates | Current Edition | No. of Original Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Chinese Cultural Revolution Database: 1966‒1976 | 2002 (first edition)‒2014 | Third | 6,748 |
| The Chinese Anti-Rightist Campaign Database, 1957 | 2010 (first edition)‒2013 | Second | 10,101 |
| The Chinese Great Leap Forward Great Famine Database, 1958‒1962 | 2013 (first edition)‒2014 | Second | 6,024 |
| Database of Chinese Political Campaigns: From Land Reform to**State-Private Joint Ownership, 1949‒1956 | December 2014 | First | 9,072 |
According to the description, the databases are
Fully searchable: in both Chinese and English by author, subject, title, date, and keyword. • New functions: “print,” “keyword highlighting” and “toggle between Chinese and English.”
It can be assessed either through subscription or buying CD-ROM.
I am not sure if that meets the requirement of being enlisted, but I simply can't see this database go into oblivion.
Hope it helps. Please let me know whether you will enlist it in the booklist :)
Yours sincerely,
Amok
PS: I have messaged you but as I refreshed the browser, a new Friday free-for-all came up! So I guess it may be appropriate to post it here again. After all, it is okay to share "a great new book, documentary, article or blog" , so I guess databases count as well? ;)
Your Weekly /r/askhistorians Recap
Friday, October 25 - Thursday, October 31
| Top 10 Posts | score | link to comments |
|---|---|---|
| After playing Red Dead Redemption 2, I've just now realized they didn't have any way to dispose of garbage systematically. In the old West did everyone in every town really just throw their waste wherever they stood? | 4,007 | 73 comments |
| Smoking was prevalent in the 20th century. When NASA was first choosing astronauts for the space program, was this a consideration? Were any of the astronauts smokers? Did NASA reject smokers, or deliberately hire non-smokers as astronauts? | 3,378 | 113 comments |
| Humans were around for ~ 300,000 years before advent of modern civilization which then brought about the relatively drastic changes of the past 5,000 years. Was it a slow but steady march to this point, or did something trigger or catalyze this change? | 3,299 | 278 comments |
| In Othello, Brabantio accuses Othello of addicting his daughter to drugs, and in Macbeth, characters wonder if they've eaten "the insane root" after seeing the witches. How familiar were Elizabethan audiences with psychoactive substances and drug addiction? What were their conceptions of such? | 3,207 | 54 comments |
| When did music groups first start adopting names, such as The Beatles? Did Medieval musicians band together and adopt such names or is this some more modern development? | 3,123 | 39 comments |
| In the Bible, there are numerous occasions where Paul mentions finding someone or being found in a place like Rome or parts of the Middle East. How did people in that time locate each other when traveling from great distances away? | 2,616 | 51 comments |
| My mother and grandmother keep saying that living in the Soviet Union was way better than it is now because during then there was alot of food with cheap prices and i hardly believe that,was it actually true or am I getting brainwashed? | 2,564 | 133 comments |
| When the world changed from the Gros Michel to the Cavendish Banana in the 1960s, how did the public react to the smaller and less tasty new fruits? | 2,303 | 75 comments |
| During the 18th and 19th centuries, Japan was the most successful Asian country that industrialized/westernized. Why was Japan able to industrialize so quickly and successfully hold off western powers when other powerful Asian countries like China, India and Persia failed? | 1,301 | 61 comments |
| What do Historians think of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States? | 1,154 | 31 comments |
Please let me know if you have suggestions to make this roundup better for /r/askhistorians. I can search for posts based off keywords in the title, URL and flair. And I can also search for comments.
If you would like this roundup sent to your reddit inbox every day send me a message with the subject 'askhistorians'. Or if you only want a weekly roundup, use the subject 'askhistorians weekly'
However, I can do more.. you can have me search for any keywords you want on any subreddit you want. Send a message with the subject ['set askhistorians'](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=subredditsummarybot&subject=set%20askhistorians&message=200%0A25%2C%20united states%2C%20africa%2C%20europe) and in the message: specify a number of upvotes that must be reached, and then an optional list of keywords you want to search for, separated by commas. You can have as many lines as you'd like, as long as they follow this format:
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See my wiki to learn more: click here
history is cool.
I've been watching Townsends cooking videos on YouTube. As a kid I used to take field trips to a local living history museum (Old Sturbridge Village) where you could watch them prepare for meals. I found out that you can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal there and I'm intrigued!
Is anyone aware of any other living museums or restaurants in the United States that recreate historic recipes or menus, especially using period authentic equipment or techniques? Even if only as a monthly or annual event? I'm certain that they must exist in cities that bank on their colonial heritage like Boston or Williamsburg, but Google isn't really helping.
Does anyone know some nicknames for Lend-Lease trucks? Other than Katyusha? I want to name a truck I just bought
Hey, weird question, but I was taking history courses over the summer at my old university and heard a professor talk about the "25 year rule" in regards to telling history. I thought the 20 year rule was pretty universal, so I was wondering if that is even debated on what is allowed to be discussed history wise?
To anyone who went on to get a masters or PhD in History, what were the major differences between each of your programs: ie.-undergraduate, masters, and PhD programs? What did you like the most and why? Do you regret any of it? Would you change anything? How did you figure out your area of concentration and why? What things did/do you do that made/make you more successful in earning your degree(s) and in the field of History? What inspired you? And finally, what would your advice be to your younger self? Happy Friday Everyone!
Why were French people who immigrated or were born in Algeria referred to as pied noir?