Have medieval European castles ever been invaded through the cesspit?

In his Congo: The Epic History of a People David van Reybrouck claims to have met a congolese person, Etienne Nkasi, who apparently was around 128 years old when he died and around 126 years old when van Reybrouck first met him. Apparently Nkasi lived from around 1882 to 2010.

Van Reybrouck seems to think that this is somewhat plausible, given Nkasi could recollect specific historical events (e.g. the building of a railroad in the 19th century) or could tell story about missionaries that van Reybrouck dates to the late 19th century.

However, Nkasi doesn't appear in the wikipedia list of supercentenarians and, if the story is accurate, he must have been one of the oldest people to ever live. Needless to say, this would be absolutely amazing if true. But is there any truth to this? Did anyone else ever investigate this?

Did any American Marines see action in both Italy and Okinawa during WWII?

I ask this because I seen the play 'Girl from the North Country' in theatre last week and (SPOILERS) at the end the narrator claims that a character went on to join the Marines when the United States joined the war in 1941. The narrator claims said character seen action in both Italy and Okinawa. This immediately struck me as inaccurate. I've never heard of such a thing happening, I've also never heard of American Marines serving in mainland European operations.

Is there any instances of Marines (individuals or entire units) service in an action role in both Italy and Okinawa?

How did typesetters choose when to use the "long s" vs the "s" shape we use today?

Hi, I've fallen into the Three Kingdoms period thanks to RotK, the Total War game and Serious Trivia's lore series. However, all of those naturally gravitate toward the "big names" and "big men" of the period. Do you recommend any books (in English) for someone who would like to learn more about the period, but with less emphasis on the leaders?

Apologies if that is not very specific. I suppose if anything, I'd like to learn more about the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and what exactly they were promising (and that Han society was not providing) that drove so many people to rise up against the Eastern Han and begin the series of events that would lead to its collapse.

Wikipedia has the budget for Bondarchuk's War and Peace (1966) as $9.2M USD, however Roger Ebert's review from 1969 mentions it being $100M. Which figure is closest to reality?

Modern Australian population is concentrated around South East coastal areas. Did Native population concentration also follow the same pattern? (Due to climate?)

Who was the first person to be called "The Great"? The oldest one I can think of is Cyrus II

I was reading a passage which was about certain gifts where ‘humble’ Roman citizens would gift to each other on certain events such as feasts etc.

Among the gifts the author, by referring to Martialis, wrote that one could gift the ‘mosquito poem’ of Virgil. Did such a poem exist?

What was the world population at the height of the Bronze Age? Or if that is too broad, what was the population of the Mediterranean region at that time?

After the fall of Napoleon III, the Bourbon Pretender, Henri, Count of Chambord, was invited to return to head France as its constitutional monarch. However, Henri apparently refused unless the French tricolor was replaced by the Bourbon flag. This feels like a large opportunity to miss over something relatively symbolic. What was going on?

Was Jesus circumcised?

Quick one for research for a DnD campaign I'm writing. How much did early naval cannons weigh? Theoretically could a group of four dismantle and carry one?

Who was Roman emperor around 250BC? I can not find an answer on google. They all start at 27BC but i know Rome has existed since 753 if I’m not mistaken.

If the statement that during renaissance "the Catholic church had made the dissection of corpses illegal unless you were a physician" is true, how did Leonardo da Vinci aquire corpses which he dissected, analysed and drew?

How much did it cost to ship a motorcar from New Orleans, US to Plymouth, England in 1926? I'm on a research project and just discovered that my subject shipped a motorcar from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Plymouth England in May, 1926 so that he could tour the UK for three months. How expensive would this have been?

How did the double empire of the HRE and the Austrian Empire function in the short period between Francis II imperial proclamation of Austrian empire in 1804 in response to the French Empire, and the dissolution of the HRE in 1806?

Is there a version of this sub with shorter, simpler explanations?

Did any of the Founding Father's immediate family members have abortions?

(Reposted from months ago) Whom did the Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty trade with throughout their histories? Surprisingly I can't find much free information about this online. In a similar vein, whom did Ancient Japan (pre-Yayoi) trade with, if they did?

What's a good book on USA Supreme Court history or the judicial cases that shaped history?

I'm very interested in how the Supreme Court evolved and which are its most notable landmark decisions and how they affected America's history. Whats the best book about that subject?

If you wanna throw in recommendations about good USA history books as well, you're welcome, since they will be nice for my quest for knowledge.

Thanks!

In contemporary English speaking countries it's not uncommon to hear 'fuck' in everyday conversations. How far would you have to go back to hear an F bomb in public without any kind of commotion?

Historically, did the every day citizen of an empire know that their government was the leader of and empire? Or does life usually just continue as normal

European Colonizers in the Indian Ocean had one word for Indian and East African sailors that worked for them as hand and mercenaries. What was that name?.

What ships were used for trading in the classical period of Ancient Greece? I've found things about the Kyrenia, but the articles don't specify what kind of ship it was, other than a merchantman and that it only had one sail.

Thank you!

What movie did John Reed see on November 3rd, 1917 in Petrograd?

In his book Ten Days That Shook The World, John Reed is describing the atmosphere in Petrograd prior to the November Revolution. On November 3rd, 1917, he says, "The city was nervous, starting at every sound. But still no sign from the Bolsheviki; the soldiers stayed in the barracks, the workmen in the factories ..We went to a moving picture show near the Kazan Cathedral- a bloody Italian film of passion and intrigue. Down front were some soldiers and sailors, staring at the screen in childlike wonder, totally unable to comprehend why there should be so much violent running about, and so much homicide..."

What film would he have been talking about?

How many countries have celebrations for independence from England? Has there ever been an attempt to have a multinational celebration amongst these countries?

In the American Civil War, what was the lowest rank that carried a revolver?

This is for both sides by the way.

The first-ever album released simultaneously worldwide (1973, 1982 or some other year) and what was the name of the album?

Does anyone know the difference between freedom of trade and freedom of commerce? From Winkler, The Long Road West, vol. 1: "Freedom of trade, proclaimed through edicts in 1810 and 1811, was introduced in Austria only in 1859, in the other larger German states not until the 1860s. Freedom of commerce, the economic counterpart of freedom of trade, was cultivated earlier and more actively in Prussia than in any other German state with the exception of Baden."

I’m looking for the name of a paper that was supposedly destroyed in the Library of Alexandria.

It recounted a trader’s experience with travelling to vastly different locations and taking notice of these giant pillars that would reflect differing shadows at various times of the day.

Supposedly, the paper included enough information that a philosophical thinker of the time – with even the slightest improvement for understanding basic geometry – could’ve deduced that the world was actually round, a few centuries before modern humans made the discovery.

Thank you!

RE: Black box device from the ancient world that could predict the alignments of stars in the sky on any given day (based on mathematical patterns, of course).

I was reading about this device a while back about a device, that was suggested to be a black box of sorts, from the ancient world. We had to use X-rays (or some other form of non-evasive imaging) to figure out how it worked, without breaking the very fragile device as it were.

I believe the article also mentioned that it was recovered from a shipwreck and speculated to have been created by (and imported from) mathematicians from the ancient Arabian world.

You could set specific parameters that would imply a future date and, based on carefully crafted gears that were fine-tuned to the patterned alightment of the planetary configuration, would “predict” what stars were to be expected in the sky on that day.

Does anyone happen to know what I’m referring to? It’s a rather fascinating subject that popped back into my head earlier and I’d love to read more on it!

Would an English merchant have been able to dock in a Portuguese port peacefully in the early 17th century (to be exact, 1617)?

I saw a list of FDR’s kids and I found it interesting that there was Franklin Jr, James II, and John II. Franklin is obvious and I saw that James was named after FDR’s father. Does anyone know who John was named after and/or how he got to be “the second”?

Why did Nixon nominate L Patrick Gray to be head of the FBI and let him have free reign to reveal everything about Watergate?

What was king Richard's plan for Château Gaillard?

It was his pride and joy and strategically sat north of Paris on the Seine.

Was it going to be his chief residence and court? Or just a really powerful fortress that he collected revenue from while in Aquitaine?

What are the primary sources recording William Smith's discovery of the remains of the San Telmo crew on Livingston Island?

I've heard that the average literacy rate during the time of the Roman republic higher compared to the later Empire, but is this also the case outside of the Italian peninsula?

I’ve read the Gulag Study and was wondering if anyone knows about it. For those who don’t, I suggest you read it if you like the Cold War. It talks about how the USSR held American POW’s after WW1, and the entire Cold War, with numbers of American POW’s peaking during the Korean and Vietnam War. It was done by Michael E Allen. Anyone have any knowledge of this and is it reliable?

gulag 5th edition

Which is the most rigorous English research/book on Northern Zhou dynasty period?

I have a question about the Salem witch trials and other witch trials from Europe. We can find plenty of information about them however I've yet been able to find any account or information of acquittals save for Elizabeth Johnson Jr. although she was acquitted over 300 years after her conviction.

Has there been any aquittals recorded from any witch trials during the time it was happening?

Thank you so much!

Has there been a politician that has willingly walked away at the height of their power?

Does someone know a book of Roman Catholic Church history written by a skeptical or a no-catholic scholar?

In cultures where alcohol was a staple drink due to lack of clean water, did people tend to suffer from chronic dehydration?

Could Knights or Men-at-arms that used cavalry use lances as pikes/spears if they dismounted, is it possible to use Lances dismounted?

Where can I look for info on limited wars in feudal society? I legitimately have no idea how, why, or what the outcome would be of, say, one county in the HRE going "to war" with a neighboring county.

How did Old wooden ship captains navigate unknown shallow waters without radar?