Short Answers to Simple Questions | January 01, 2020

by AutoModerator

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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.

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  • 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.

dan_jeffers

This NYT article: Headless Body in Cave is Identified... includes an image of a wanted poster from 1916. The description seems very well detailed, and the bottom says to wire information to the Sheriff "at my expense." Was this typical of wanted posters from that period?

Dailey1234

What is the type of spear with a cross on the top and the spear at the bottom called?

In some Christian paintings there are people with spears, but the spear head is at the bottom of the spear, and the top of the spear is a cross. What is that type of spear called?

Reference image of St. George: HERE

grimgar_thuunbaq

I noticed recently that Wikipedia gives Maximilian I the dates 1508-1519 for his reign as Holy Roman Emperor.

Meanwhile his father and predecessor Frederick III died in 1493.

Yet I haven't found any explanation as to why Maximilian's reign dates as Emperor wouldn't be 1493-1519 (like his reign as Archduke of Austria).

It's even more puzzling since the article about for example the Battle of Dornach (1499) do call him the Emperor, or Frederick III's article clearly mentions Maximilian succeded him as Emperor in 1493.

Is there any reason for this discrepancy ?

AH_LA_questioner

Did Argentina attempt to recruit any allies against the British in the Falklands War?

AH_LA_questioner

What is the current longest-known time difference between the classification of a US Government document and its declassification?

0ri00n

Who ruled Bavaria before the German unification?

HitlerLikesMyTone

With Iran and the Middle East coming into the spotlight as of a few days ago, what are some good resources for understanding the Middle East geopolitics and history? I studied Iran and Israel in IB 20th Century but I don't remember much other than how confusing and complicated it was. I would like to become as educated as possible.

corruptrevolutionary

Why was the Imperial Germany crown never completed passed the wooden prototype?

ronniethelizard

When did the United Kingdom get the name United Kingdom? Was it when the English and Scottish Parliaments passed their Acts of Union or was it when the British and Irish Parliaments passed their Acts of Union? I have seen both answers.

AnduinTalonhawk

I'm reading the Odyssey and during Telemachus' trip he takes wine and barley mill for him and his crew. Was it common to take what might be considered by todays standard as poor nutrients on trips? Did they do this because they could rely on the tradition of Xenia?

xFaro

Is there a title for the Russian tradition of burning a wish on New Year’s Eve?

Tatem1961

As I understand it, medieval kingdoms of France and England were rivals for a very long time. The Kings of England, through political marriages, held a lot of land in the Kingdom of France. Did any French Kings hold land in the Kingdom of England?

SFepicure

Wow, the US presidents have had a wacky assortment of pets, but no cats until 1861.

  • When were cats considered "pets" in the USA?
  • Were cats thought of as pets outside the USA at other times?
  • Washington had eight horses. Were they really pets, living a life of leisure and maybe getting ridden occasionally? Or were they out plowing the field or pulling the cart or whatever 18th century work horses did?
  • How has the notion of "pet" evolved over time in the USA? How far back in time would we say some Human-animal relationships were recognizably owner and pet in the modern sense?
r4pt0r_SPQR

I recall watching a documentary talking about ancient bow construction, Egypt I think it was, and they used some sort of glue, laquer, or varnish that required months to cure. Any ancient weapons experts know what I am talking about and could maybe describe the process?

AH_LA_questioner

This is more a methods question, but maybe it can be answered here.

How are historians informed of newly declassified US Government information?

Is there a public notice made that explicitly lists new information that has been declassified? Or do historians just take a "shot in the dark" with FOIA requests and hope they get what they asked for?

Is there a scheduled release date known ahead of time? Or is it a more freeform kind of thing?

The_Faceless_Men

did the Y2k bug cause anything of note to actually crash?

Alec_Redmond

Hi there, I’ve got a few questions about how much it cost to play a coin-op Arcade Gaming during the 1980s (or the “golden age of arcade gaming” more generally).

I have a few questions here, I’d be very interested to hear a reply to any of them:

  1. Was there a typical price that the player paid to play an arcade game?

  2. How did the price vary by region? (USA, UK, Japan, etc.)

  3. Was the price suggested by the publisher (e.g. Nintendo) or was it set by the establishments where the cabinets were set up for use?

  4. Who would install the coin-operation system within the arcade cabinet? Was this done at the factory where they were manufactured, or was this typically installed afterwards?

  5. At the time, were there any legal limits on how much an arcade machine could charge (in any country)?

Thanks!

Trewdub

Are there any ancient Roman texts discussing air travel?

yayayathecreator

What are some good books on the pre-WWI Serbian Nationalist movement?

trilloctopus_

What is this outfit called?

Can’t post pics so here is the link

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloak#/media/File%3AFashion_Plate_Manteau_1823.jpg

I know there is a cloak, but what about the black suit/red “shirt” underneath

WeAreABridge

Is it true that the decade won't start until next year? Is there a year 0?

SchighSchagh

I've got a 3 part question about the Christopher Columbus lunar eclipse story.

  1. How sure are we Columbus used some almanac or whatnot to predict a lunar eclipse and trick the natives?
  2. Columbus was drastically mistaken about the size of the earth on his first voyage, right?
  3. Wouldn't accurate knowledge of the Earth's size be needed to predict the eclipse even with the almanac? (That's perhaps a science question, sorry.) So did Columbus revise his understanding of the earth by the time of this particular voyage across the Atlantic? If so, when did that happen? If not, how did he pull off the prediction?
DrBakerCat

I am making a project about the munich conference/German invasion and occupation. I mostly found everything expect the casualities. Can anybody give me a rough estimate/source where i can find it, on how many troops both sides lost?

regalrecaller

Have other US officials had bounties put on their heads by foreign governments?

Grandma_puncher

In the Ric Burns documentary series on the history of New York, one of the commenters states that it is one of the three best natural ports in the entire Atlantic ocean. What are the other two? Halifax? Cadiz? Rio? Portsmouth?

Niob1um

What are some good books that cover the complete history of Spain and Portugal (not necessarily in the same book)?

Manofthedecade

I have a question about textual criticism. Taking for example ancient texts like Caesar's commentaries on the Gallic wars or civil wars, or Cicero, or Pliny Elder or Younger, etc., obviously the original texts didn't survive until modern times, so what are/were the oldest copies known to modern historians? And I guess a bit of a follow up - how sure can we be of their authenticity?

Is there any ancient historical text that historians have questions about? Like for example biblical textual criticism has tons of scholars who discuss who, where, and when different books of the Bible were written and how authentic some passages are, but I haven't heard anyone taking serious issues with say Pliny the Elder or Caesar's commentaries.

mountstuart

Can anyone recommend books about Russian history? I want something that is detailed but not too complex for a newbie to handle.

CantMatchTheThatch

How did Ancient Rome do War Games?

arachnophilia

from a recent discussion elsewhere.

the julian calendar began 46/45 BCE. due to the slight difference between the julian year and the tropical year, the equinoxes slowly precess, which led to something like a two week difference between the astronomical vernal equinox and the traditional date by 1582, when gregorian calendar was instituted to fix this.

the philocalian calendar of the chronograph of 354, the equinoxes and solstices appear to be approximately a (roman) week off. for instance, on march 16, it records "SOL·ARIETE" which is presumably indicating when the sun enters aries, ie: the vernal equinox. but the celebration of the equinox, hilaria, is still recorded on march 25.

by astronomical calculations, the difference between the julian and tropical years is approximately 0.007811 days per year. so if the vernal equinox was march 25, 46 BCE, then 400 years later in 354 it should be approximately 3 days earlier on march 22, not march 16.

why the discrepancy?

were these notations added later (like, say, 1100 CE)? is the tertullian link messing something up? am i missing something here?

TheKaiser666

Is there a breakdown of ww2 dead by year?