Easy/Brief/Foolish Historical past Questions Saturday!
Welcome to our Easy/Brief/Foolish historical past questions Saturday thread!
This thread is for all these historical past associated questions which can be too easy, quick or a bit too foolish to warrant their very own put up.
So, do you’ve gotten a query about historical past and have all the time been afraid to ask? Nicely, right this moment is your fortunate day. Ask away!
After all all our common guidelines and pointers nonetheless apply and to be simply that bit further clear:
Questions have to be historic in nature. Foolish doesn’t imply that your query needs to be a joke. [r/history](https://www.reddit.com/r/historical past/) additionally has a discord server the place you may talk about historical past with different fanatics and specialists
Comments ( 27 )
I’m writing an assignment in school and would like some explanations on STASI along with relevant sources as my teacher expects me to cite where i found my information from.
Explain 3 key differences between STASI and SÄPO (Swedish intelligence agency, this is what the assignment says but the comparison can be made to any modern intelligence agency) I believe the teacher is talking about persecution and murder conducted by STASI
How was it possible for STASI to deploy so many agents to various countries around Europe? How can an organisation get such a large influence in a country? Why did so many cooperate with them?
What are some good books about mediaval Denmark and Norway?
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Need a good introductory book on the history/theology of the Russian Orthodox Church. Any suggestions?
did an atom bomb once explode during construction? or has that never happened
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What research methods did Herodotus use?
Where can I find primary and secondary sources on Catherine the 2 of Russia, I have a project where I put on a wig and do an ad campaign as to why they should vote for me(her) but I need to do a bibliography with 5 primary and 5 second sources and I have no idea where to look for info on her. The assignment says no textbooks, encyclopedias, videos or websites. Only writings from the time. I don’t know about you but I sure don’t know a lot of Russian literature from the 1700s
How did they weigh things in the Middle Ages? And what measuring system did they use?
Did the subjects just have to 1) take their word for it, 2) have no choice in the matter, or 3) not care because they couldn’t do anything about it when some claimant to a throne declared the previous kind dead with no proof of said death when that king was away at war or somewhere?
Did peasants or countrymen knew they were called peasants or countrymen? Would they refer to their areas (villages, neighbourhoods etc.) and the people living in them as something? Doing research for my fiction novel, trying to be as historically accurate as possible.
There are the following reports about two kings of antiquity raping their female subjects:
**The Epic of Gilgamesh**
Tablet I, column ii, lines 14 – 17
*[Yet Gilga]mesh [is the shepherd] of Uruk, the enc[losure].*
*He is [our shepherd], [strong, handsome, and wise].*
*[Gilgamesh] leaves no [virgin to her lover],*
*The daughter of a war[rior, the chosen of a noble]!*
**Text in the pyramid of Unas**
Utterance 317 §510cd
*Unas is the lord of semen.*
*He takes women away from their husbands to the location*
*of his preference whenever he wishes to.*
How much historical truth is here?
Does anybody know if *Holger Eckhertz’s book, D-Day Through German Eyes* has ever been properly vetted? Has the Bundesarchiv acknowledged either Eckhertz or his father? I know that some folks at r/AskHistory have commented about this book, but has anything been resolved?
Help with US history.
What is the best book to go from the first European man put a foot into America to 2000?
I understand that maybe there isn’t one book for all. So maybe suggest me a title and the relative period.
I prefer there also is the audiobook.
Also some documentaries.
I am not a student, I am just a European wanting to know more.
What are the differences between a 16th Century Galleon, and an 18th Century Ship of the Line?
What was the average monthly salary in Austria (more specifically Vienna) in Mid 1938?
Where can I find free primary sources related to Latinx and/or Chicano history?
Aside from Alexander’s successor states, did Macedonian phalanx catch on in other Greek colonies or just somewhere else in general? Or did many attempt it and fail for some reason, preferring the traditional Hoplite or their older ways instead?
What color primer did Germany use before painting the Stahlhelm during WW2?
I’m trying to paint a scale model of a WW2 German soldier and want to give the helmet a weathered look by chipping the helmet so it shows the primer underneath the top layer of paint.
Google tells me that German vehicles were primed using Red Oxide primer. Was this also the case with Stahlhelms? If not, are there any records of the color of the primer they used?
How did the colonies react to the English Civil War?
Describe a time period in history that you wish you could visit. Why did you chose that era?
WWII Question: I’m writing a historical-fiction story and I’m trying to set it in a town during WW2. I’m looking for a town or area in France that was under occupation from Germany, liberated by the Allies for at least a short time, then retaken by Germany (even if only briefly).
If I can’t find a setting like that I’ll have to place the story in Luxembourg or Belgium during the battle of the bulge or something :/
Hey all, is there an updated version of the Histomap? Or any other huge infographic like it?
I really like the idea of more or less exhaustive infographics spanning lots of history (like the evolution one) and I’m thinking about buying one or trying to commit some of it to memory.
But I’m not really a fan of the fact that it’s damn near 100 years old and has an accordingly narrow scope
Does science just come in and out of fashion in history? How can great ideas just get scrapped?
Historically we had some seriously cool discoveries that just kinda got washed over.
We had batteries and understanding of electric we had sewage and baths with Romans. We has things like early aviation theories and Chinese lanterns gun powder fireworks . I know c sections supposedly go back further than the 1200s and antibiotics.Traces of antibiotics were found in human skeletons from ancient times dating back to 350 – 550 CE and I’ve seen science articles claim cavemen did amputations and their subjects survived. Using milk of poppy for pain relief
Obviously outstanding engineering feats meant there was outstanding understanding of maths and architecture.
and space. And yet it was all ignored for a long time
But there’s just this huge period recently (or relatively recently 1700s onwards where all these old things were brought back and rediscovered. Eg sourcing plants for antibiotic properties. Or reinventing batteries bringing back plumbing as opposed to passing in a bucket etc
Even modern times sort of did this. The first ever invented car was electric. Then they got scrapped for unleaded and diesel engines and now its back to electric cars.
What were some 50 bmg sniper rifles made in/before 1932, I have to do this for a school project, thanks.
Who cleaned up after WW1 and WWII? Especially the immediate aftermath. Was it left to the locals or did governments?
in ancient or feudal societies, were people on the bottom of the class structure able to move up naturally or socially or were they confined to whatever they were?