Simple question here.

When writing, how did people keep their sentences straight before lined paper was invented?

I see so many documents from the past (with beautiful penmanship btw), and their lines are never crooked.

On the other hand, if I try to write something on printer paper, I find it tough to not let my sentences sag.

Did they use a ruler (or some other straight object), or was it probably just practice?

Thanks

When Europeans entered the New World, did the size of elk blow their minds?

I mean that's a big ass deer with an ungodly sized herd compared to regular stag hunting.

Did Ancient Greeks have lunch boxes? If so, what were they made of?

This maaaaay be more literature than history per se, but any recommendations for a good reference guide to Arthurian legend? I'm more interested in like the development of the legend and story (e.g. where it originated, how it evolved over the years, how real people received it, etc) than a literary analysis.

I found 2 and was wondering if either were any good or if there were better ones to look at: The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend (sadly no digital edition and my libraries don't have it) and The Arthurian Handbook: Second Edition (which at least is on Kindle)

What profession are "teamskinners" in the context of the 1920s Oklahoma Oil Boom?

When someone went to a major movie theater in 1930 in the United States, what would they see? One feature film? Two feature films? A newsreel? A cartoon? Short documentaries? Some combination? Could they watch as long as they liked, or were people cleared out periodically?

How common were firearms in 17-19th century Europe for the common man? And compared to the American colonies and later United States?

Would a French peasant in Southern France... say around Gévaudan... have kept a musket for wolves?

How about a Bavarian in the Black Forest? Would a rifle hanged over the fireplace?

Were the restrictions to firearms by law or by cost if they didn't have them commonly?

Were Englishmen with their "English liberties" more, less, or equal likely to have firearms compared to Germans, Frenchman or other continental Europeans?

What size were cans of beer made by Molson Canadian in 1981?

There's a famous photo of Andre the Giant holding a "12-ounce beer can" in 1981, but it's a Molson Canadian and Wikipedia suggests that Canadian drinks weren't sold in the 12-ounce size until the mid-1980s, without offering citations to help me out.

How were Varangian's recruited? Could any Norseman, or later Anglo-Saxon, just show up at the court in Constantinople and join up? Or did they have to join as part of a group raised by a local chief who sailed down with a company of men to join up all together?

Related, does anyone have any good book recommendations on the Varangian Guard?

I'm wondering, do we know what the first picture that used forced perspective to make it look like someone was either toppling or holding up the tower of Piza? It's such a cliche but I'm curious is anyone has researched how long people have been doing that.

Did the migrations out of Africa and into the Levant about 100k ybp leave any descendants?

Was illiteracy not wiped out in the 15th century Korea? Or did the change of script not do much? Did illiteracy return after one point? I'm mostly just interested to know the illiteracy rate during the 19th century.

I am writing a paper on the Chinese language.

One of my articles, "Evolution of Gender Bias Reflected in Chinese character", describes the evolution of Chinese script. It mentions the Chinese script "Jinwen" from the Western Zhou dynasty.

It says "...Jinwen carved on copper at the time of the Western Zhou dynasty (11th century BC - 771M)"

11th century to BC to "771M" ???

M?

What is 771M??? I googled it and I am completely lost.

This "M" is used again in the paper, saying "220M"

Can anyone help me figure this out? My paper is due next week.

Article: http://repository.petra.ac.id/16309/1/Evolusion_and_Gender_Bias_Reflected_in_Chinese_Characters.pdf

Author: Ong Mia Farao Karsono

If I were to read, understand, & memorize the Oxford History of the United States in its entirety, how well educated on US History would you say I was?

Is the history related National Geographic content on Disney+ generally trustworthy, or would I be feeding myself misinformation by watching those programmes?

I remember reading an open letter published in the New York Times (1940s?) written by the King of Transjordan regarding the state of Israel. Who was the King who wrote this? I can't for the life of me find it on Google.

Also, separate question. I remember when I was in school learning about one of the first telegrams ever sent. If memory serves it was sent from a solider to his fiance, or wife, although it might have just been a normal couple in non-war time. As I remember the story he wrote the message to read something like, "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you."

When he went to send it they informed him that he could add a few more words so he added, "PS, I love you."

No luck Googling that one either.

How effective were chemical weapons (gas) in WW1, compared to conventional weapons?

I have this idea that conventional artillery was responsible for the lion's share of casualties, and that chemical warfare was more of a morale hit than an outright statistical 'body stacker', but I'm not sure if that's my own misconception.

Also is there any truth to the idea that sour cream / creme fraiche was invented by Asiatic nomads (Turks or Mongols)? Or where they invented by French, Slavic and Germanic peoples?

Which British monarch was the last one to write or have a say regarding policy in their Speech when opening Parliament?

Why did the original Greek olympians were doing the sports naked? What was the reason?

And was the ancient Olympic a male exclusive competition?

Does anybody know the origin of this Thomas Jefferson quote: "A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny" ?

How prevalent was celebrity worship in the olden days (pre-19th century)?

What is this kind of spiral writing called? Like, what would I search to find more examples like that?

In The Hateful 8, one of the characters is a Hang Man. (Lincoln era) He was dressed real fancy like he was wealthy. Do people who execute others get paid a high salary? I assumed it was a dirty low class job, equivalent to cleaning up trash in roads or dumping sewage.

What's the difference between occupation and colonisation? Is it just the duration, or does each term imply different activities?

How does one keep up to date to the latest archeological/historical finds, while not being part of the academia?

I'm thinking particularly about SPQR, where Beard states throughout how there is debate on this or that, or how some recent archeological finds refute this or that idea. However, she does not really specify what exactly.

Howdy. I want a book to read about the Boshin War. Does anyone have any recommendations? Many thanks.

Why does the 24-hour day start at midnight instead of sunrise? Why isn't sunrise the 00h mark?

Hello everyone, I want to restore and colorize an image of my german great-grandfather and his cousins and need some help.
https://i.imgur.com/9nM3U2L.png this is the picture in question.
We assume it was taken between 1910-1920 and that they were living in the general area of Hamburg.
The things I would like to know are: what colors are the uniform and suits (my guess is blueish) and what medals they are wearing or what color they and the pins may have.

Why was command transferred to the CIA during Operation Neptune Spear? Has there been historical precedence of this?

Two somewhat related questions on language:

What did the Byzantines call the language they spoke? Was it "Roman", "Greek", or "Hellene"?

Prior to Atatürk's reforms, were there two forms of Turkish, namely a vulgar form spoken by the average peasant and an elevated form spoken by high society? Or was there even a third form used only in writing, similar to Classical Chinese or Katharevousa? I've heard very conflicting accounts of whether Ottoman Turkish is comprehensible to modern Turks.

Why do Spanish speak a language that came from Latin. Moors, Visigoths and Romans were in Spain for long periods. Why does Spanish mainly derive from Latin, and not from germanic or Arabic language?

I understand the sentiment behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier signifies that the unknown soldier could be any missing soldier and it was to honor those who did not return.

But since it's 2020, couldn't we analyze the DNA of the soldier and find out who he is?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/18/c8/6a/18c86a63a9796e6713e7b9b84d99daa8.jpg
I was wondering what kind of armor is this based on? It's a 3d render by Takahiko Mori.
Material, function, year, design, anything about this costume :)

During the time of the African slave trade in the United States, What was the return on investment or average profit margin for a ship bringing over slaves?

Was there a formal or structured system to teach newly arrived slaves english?

At what point in history did we create the first map that had all 7 continents on it?

Can anyone recommend a text on Algonquin culture that covers spiritual beliefs with a bit of depth? In particular, I am interested in the peoples who inhabited the New England area.

For historians of Malta:

Can anyone identify the buildings/location name of the buildings behind the British Ships in this photo? The small building on the far right I've indentified from another photo as "M. Turner Engineer Blacksmith". There's various images of Royal Navy ships moored in front, and I'm trying to get images of different eras.

My general guess on its former location is around Dock no. 6/Elli's Giraffe in Valletta.

Can anyone recommend a few books on Andrew Jackson and/or the Jacksonian Era?

Where can I find the image of Martin Luther King Jr in the bath talking to Bayard Rustin?

Is there any evidence that Jiyaguan calculated the exact brick count for The Great Wall of China +1?

What were the ten most followed (not widespread) religions in the 1500s and subsequent centuries.

In Goldfinger we see Goldfinger load his car into a plane. Now I know its a carvair but I would like to know what his ticket wouldve cost? He flew from england (presumably london) to geneva.

And how much would a normal ticket, without car, cost?

I couldnt find anything.