Short Answers to Simple Questions | February 23, 2022

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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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Kuollut_marsu

I tried asking this before, an have seen a cople of posts asking something similar, so here I go:

Do we know if people named their (music) bands during medieval or ancient times? Do we have any sources that mention something like "The Minotaurs performing at Marcus' inn next Friday"?

ArmandoAlvarezWF

The song Hemorrhage (In My Hands) from 2000 is the band Fuel's biggest hit. Its has a chorus which includes the lyrics, "Leave love bleedin' in my hands, in my hands again/Leave love bleedin' in my hands, in my hands/Love lies bleedin'..."

The opening track for Elton John's album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," which has a chorus that includes the lyric "Love lies bleeding in my hands." I had heard the Fuel song years before the Elton John song, so when I heard the Elton John song, I checked to see if there was any copyright dispute between Elton John and Fuel, or to see if Fuel had credited Bernie Taupin as co-writer, but I don't see anything about that. Was there any dispute about the lyrics? Maybe they're distinct enough that it's not a problem?

Tatem1961

Why did Greek nationalism seemingly draw from classical Greece more than the Byzantine Empire?

esobar

In US history - was it common for immigrants to lose their last name, or at least its original spelling? My family always claims to be German yet all our last names are English.

Kalle_022

Videogames do really like making characters that use scythe as a weapon. Is there an instance where scythes are used as weapons in war?

ProfVerstrooid

On the 9th of August, 833 AD, Al-Ma'mun died after suffering illness and declining health since the 9th of July. On that day, he, his brother Al-Mu'tasim and a Quran reciter summoned by Al-Ma'mun had eaten 'fresh sweet, green grapes of the azadh variety' and fallen very ill. Why would these dates have caused such illness?

flying_shadow

I have a question for historians who are neurodivergent or have mental illnesses: do you ever find yourself suspecting that a historical figure may have had the same condition as you? Right now I'm reading a book where someone is described in a way that is eerily relatable to me, but I wonder if I'm looking too far into it and latching onto traits that aren't related to ASD? Of course autistic people have always existed, but before the condition was described and well-known, someone on the higher-functioning end of things would have been considered simply somewhat odd (as many undiagnosed people still are), and many of the more indicative traits that such a person would have suppressed or found an adaptation for by adolescence would end up going unnoticed by later observers or biographers. Like, with the book I'm reading right now, when reading about the person's childhood, I wanted to scream at the book 'but did he avoid looking people in the eyes???' because that would have been a major indicator.

Oof_11

What is the earliest date in history that we can identify a specific event having occurred on it? Within a reasonable degree of certainty or just having at least some credible evidence.

war_duck

I saw this bust at an Irish pub in New Milford, Connecticut. Can anyone identify who this is?

Bust of historical figure

UnderwaterDialect

Did medieval monks think that all non-monks were going to hell? I’ve read that they believed their extreme lifestyle would earn them a place in heaven. So did this mean that they thought everyone not living like that would go to hell?

Enjiru

Are there any accessible books on Japanese monastic life or Shinto/Buddhist beliefs in the late 16th or early 17th century?

fyndr

In the movie "The Fall" (2006) after the main character unmasks himself, the narrator describes him as being French, and then he makes this gesture to his traveling companions: https://i.imgur.com/T99o2pQ.jpg . Does anyone know if this is a real hand sign/salute of French origin?
For context, The Fall takes place in 1915 in the real world, but uses a frame narrative to tell a fantasy story which is more in line with the early 19th century (the main character, for example, uses a brace of flintlock pistols a la Zorro) which is similar to the pulp adventures that were popular during this period. I am guessing that this is some sort of French military salute or something associated with the Foreign Legion, but I haven't been able to find anything substantive to back that up from searching online.

tooMuchSauceeee

About 2 weeks ago i came across a link in reddit that had a few pages of comic depicting the Atrocities of the imperial japanese regime.

I read the comic and I have never read something so horrific yet, it really opened my eyes as to how horrific the japanese were, heck they even made me feel like the nazi germans were good in comparison. I really want to find that piece of comic story again but for the life of me, I just cant find it no matter how much I go through my history.

I hope that this is the right place to ask this and really hope you guys can help.

Thank you so much!!

DeliverDaLiver

What are some historical examples of worst military campaign backfires ?

huzurarayan

I'd like to read the travelogue of Xuanzang, what is the best modern edition? When I see it cited it's usually to 19th-century versions. English is preferred but I'd be interested to hear about any modern editions in other languages as well.

hidaney

Were there any Army Air Force personnel on the ground in the Battle of the Bulge? If so, which units were they from?

LeonidusLofi

who invented chess?

SunflowerAges

When was the last time a countries leader was on the battlefield?

ReElectNixon

When was the last foreign invasions of a democracy?

Watching the current invasion of Ukraine, and the bombing of Kyiv, I was trying to think of the last time something like this happened. Specifically, when was the last time a democratic country’s capital city (or just any major population center) was invaded by a foreign army. I’m not looking for minor territorial skirmishes, just genuine invasions.

As for defining democracy- for our purposes, let’s define it as an pluralistic political system with genuinely competitive elections (direct or indirect) for the heads of government&state, and some semblances of the rule of law. Edge cases should be included.

_Goldenhand_

Did any European country ever ban males 18-60 from leaving the country and forced them to fight in a war after the 1900's?

n0noTAGAinnxw4Yn3wp7

who are the indigenous peoples of northeastern minnesota? i usually see the Dakota & the Ojibwe named as the indigenous peoples of the whole state. but iwould like to know more about the specific history of the northeast, close to north Dakota & manitoba - i'm curious if there is some overlap there hidden by the present borders.

(reposting as instructed from standalone post)

VRichardsen

How do you debase currency? More specifically, in the Eastern Roman Empire.

GareebAadami

What are the names of the white people in the North Vietnamese delegates in Paris Peace Talks, January 1969? https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/hanoidelegates1969-300x188.png

jezzakanezza

In light of modern evidence, do we still view pre-colonial ancient Indigenous Australian culture as not being considered as a Civilisation?

nicbentulan

The countries who inflicted most casualties to Nazi Germany | Do you think this chart is a little misleading? Can they really just say 'soviets'? i think this is pretty big compared to, say, just russia?

(Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/t24mp4/the_countries_who_inflicted_most_casualties_to/)

In r russia, there's a image of a chart that shows 'The countries who inflicted most casualties to Nazi Germany'. See here or here. Do you think this chart is a little misleading? Can they really just say 'soviets'? i think this is pretty big compared to, say, just russia?

I think of 2 cases.

Case 1: Their 74.6% Soviets is like 70% Russia + 4.6% other Soviets. In that case why not just 70% Russia?

Case 2: Their 74.6% Soviets is like 35% Russia + 39.6% other Soviets. Then I think it's an unfair comparison for like the entire Soviet Union vs the other choices like say the US?

Yulugulugu

when was the concept of adolescence created?

Two_Winters

Did the U.S. occupy France and Germany during the Cold War? I remember hearing a pro-Russian news outlet blaming U.S. rhetoric regarding Russia’s “inevitable invasion of Ukraine” on their desire to restore “Cold War order” by occupying France and Germany under the guise of a “security concern”. Now obviously, Russia had the intention all along to invade Ukraine and the argument was disinformation, but I am curious if the U.S. ever did occupy France and Germany during the Cold War.

Noverran

How did indigenous people initially react to the Arrival of Europeans. I.E. What did they do upon the arrival of Columbus or in Greenland/Vinland when the Vikings arrived. I know what Europeans did (enslavement and genocide), but did the indigenous people themselves react with hostility, caution, or friendliness when they first made land fall?

crucif0rmed

Were the Giza pyramids built before or after the Great Deluge and how strong is the evidence for either side?

For reference, the Great Deluge is thought to have happened 10k - 11k BCE. One of the proposers of this is actually Plato, who said he (or his mentor who told him) heard it from Egyptian priests (don't know if they were Egyptian polytheistic priests or Hermetic priests). He actually gave a concrete date of it as well, unlike the other Great Deluge stories from Judaism / Mesopotamian polytheism (including Gilgamesh) / and I'm sure other examples of it. I heard some time ago that modern science dates it pretty much the same date that Plato said it happened in, don't remember the strength of this though.

RuinEleint

Is there a recent, comprehensive history of the US during the 1790s? I am reading Chernow's biography of Hamilton right now and Jefferson comes off very very negatively in the book. I am wondering how much of it is Chernow's bias as Hamilton's biographer and would like an impartial history to compare against.

AdventureGamer1999

Did Germany stop advancing in night time during the blitzkrieg of France in WW2 or did they keep pushing through? If so was it harder or easier?

Themanwithapencil

Who is the first historical figure to argue for racial equality in history?

Grellakai

What did compass rose really look like in the golden age of buccaneering? (From 1650 to 1680) Hello everyone, I would like to create a tattoo representing a compass rose, dating from this famous period. I'm passionate about anything that touches our past, and it's important to me that this representation is historically accurate. There are a lot of designs on Google (some of them are very nice I don't deny it) but I doubt their real origin. Could someone tell me what a compass rose might have looked like (between 1650 and 1680)? Or direct me to a safe article that shows it? Thanks a lot!

No1ofIntrst

I’m reading a book about the fur trade right now, and I’m interested to learn more about the Pemmican Proclamation. Particularly, I’m not entirely certain if this was because there was a genuine lack of Bison by this point, or if it was mostly just because they wanted the meat.

Also, any recommendations for books on this topic would be appreciated lol