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.
During the First World War, were military leaders aware of who the opposing armies' leaders are?
e.g. During the Battle of the Marne, did d'Espérey know that he's fighting the German First Army, led by someone named Alexander von Kluck? (although the question isn't necessarily just for this specific engagement).
So I was dicking around on Wikipedia and came across the 'Rommel Myth' (Rommel was not as chill as we thought). Now, this page is wrought with bullshit starters, such as "According to some" or "Evidence suggests", which to me means 'we found one source.' How respected are either sides of the argument about Rommel's character and culpability in modern academic history?
Hi there, I asked this in the short answers thread a couple weeks back, but didn't get any response. Hope it's OK to ask this again!
I’ve got a few questions about how much it cost to play a coin-op Arcade Gaming during the late 1970s/early 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:
Was there a typical price that the player paid to play an arcade game?
How did the price vary by region? (USA, UK, Japan, etc.)
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?
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?
At the time, were there any legal limits on how much an arcade machine could charge (in any country)?
Thanks!
P.S. Is there any recommended reading on video games/video game culture during the late70s/early 80s?
In reading up on the Nigerian Civil War, I was surprised to see that the "western" powers and the Soviet Union both backed the same side. Was this an outlier, or did they find common ground in other conflicts during the Cold War?
Who is this guy?
This was taken in the Chicago Athletic Associations Cherry Circle Room. 2 other Busts in the room are Lincoln and JFK.
In what calendar are BC dates given in?
The Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1582, with some countries taking longer to adopt the Gregorian calendar. As a general rule we write the Gregorian date after 1582, or write both the Old Style and New Style dates when someone might be referencing them. To my knowledge, we write all dates from 325 AD to 1582 AD in the Julian calendar, because the Gregorian calendar adjusts day error as though leap years have been done "correctly" since 325 AD this doesn't cause substantial problems with far away dates, I believe however that we always treat New Years as being on Jan 1st rather than March 25th.
What calendar do we standardly use to describe dates before 325 AD, and before 1 AD? I'm guessing we just use the Julian from 1 AD to 325 AD since that would be most convenient for primary sources, but what about BC dates? Do we use converted ab urbe condita dates keeping with the Julian calendar, or do we go to the Gregorian Calendar and jump a few days at some point around Dec 31st 1 BC?
What is the best book you would recommend to learn about European history in Late Antiquity / Early Middle Ages?
I'm thinking of the end of the Western Roman Empire, but also how the kingdoms that followed operated, North Africa under the Vandals, the early Byzantines, the early Church, etc.
What exactly was Haiti trying to accomplish in the Biafra War?
Could someone please put ‘Vichy Syndrome’ in France during WW2 into layman’s terms? Thanks
What are the oldest non-surviving theater/drama/performance texts historians are aware of?
Aeschylus' The Persians (472 BCE) is the oldest surviving Greek play script, and I've seen references to a non-surviving play by Thespis which won first prize in the City of Dionysia festival in 534 BCE. I'm looking for other non-surviving plays, in the Greek tradition or any other.
Did Argentina attempt to recruit any allies against the British in the Falklands War?
How did Tammany hall react to the suffragette movement?
Wait, so it’s a myth that people in, say, the Middle Ages drank alcohol because the water was unsafe??
Anne applebaum in interviews and speeches about "Gulag: a history " mentions the that Stalin upto the final years of his life was increasingly obsessed with the statistics of how much the different Gulag camps were producing (how much coal and gold was being mined). What evidence do we have of this?
Is the Zweihänder the biggest practical weapon ever made? Where there use only by germans or are there similars weapons in other western countries? And not western countries?
We know now that many of Aristotle's theories in science are wrong. But, for long did people believe in all of Aristotle's theories?
What was the total megatonnage of munitions expended in all theatres during World War Two?
I've found estimates ranging from 2 to 5 but was curious if anyone had a source for a definitive number.
When Britain and France declared war on September 3, 1939, what time was it announced in Germany and what were people told?
what side arms were commonly issued to AAF (ARMY air force) bomber crews during ww2? My grandpa was a navigator in b-17 (among other planes). Would he most likely have had a 1911a1 or a revolver?
At what point in time was it first declared that all the worlds landmasses had been documented, and it was said correctly?
What is the difference between crofter and cottar in Scottish farmtouns of 16th century ?
How is Otto von Bismarck related to The theory of Sonderweg
Hey guys! What articles and journals can I read about wars after 1800? Trying to find sources other than books for my uni project :)
When was the last time a US Navy vessel fired a torpedo offensively?
And is it a different answer for submarines versus surface vessels?
I'm just trying my luck since I need some info about a type of train carriage: https://www.finna.fi/Record/muistaja_kerava.M011-81009
Does anyone have any sort of info on the make, model, year, anything that could help me to figure out info on that train cart.
Anything that helps me to track down anything technical about it is greatly appreciated, even a poke to a source would help.
Much appreciated.
I love Webers 'The Western Tradition', a book composed entirely of important primary sources which give you an overview of the large sweep of western history.
Is there an equivelent book for Asian history?
Thanks!