How important is it for a historian to know the languages of the primary sources they are concerned with? And how far do they generally go?
When in 1917 did the war board board issued the ask for steel in corsets?
TIL, the chainsaw was originally invented for use in childbirth, specifically for a procedure called symphysiotomy, which involved widening the pelvis to facilitate delivery
Why was Vietnam the only country in former French Indochina to give up its script and adopt the Latin alphabet?
Why are there manuscript copies of printed books in the 18th century?
In th movie Gangs Of Nee York; they depicted a theater with a very raucous crowd that yelled out and threw cabbage etc at the actors. Was that actually common in the 19th century?
Short Answers to Simple Questions | March 05, 2025
Lucie Aubrac, French Resistance fighter and leader, 1950
What did “riz” mean in this context?
TIL that a medieval hermit could voluntarily choose to live in a small sealed room attached to the church for the rest of their lives. Priests would give them funeral rites before they entered and they were treated like living saints.
Short Answers to Simple Questions | February 26, 2025
Cat Burning in Middle Ages? Propaganda or truth?
Does anyone have any biographic information on M. Oldfield Howey, author of The Encircled Serpent, The Horse in Magic and Myth, The Cat in Magic and Myth, etc.?
How are palace rooms and their preservations so perfect?
Rue de Rivoli, 15 août 1983
Why wasn't Voltaire simply killed?
Sourcing Frantz Fanon's 'germs of rot' quote?
Who actually painted the 'Hampden Portrait' of Elizabeth I?
How true is the statement that US Civil War soldiers would refrain from firing on an enemy if he was...well, pooping?
Did Napoleon really say "If I had 100 000 Croatian solidiers I would conquer the entire world?
Were Egyptian Mummies really being eaten by the British?
Friday Free-for-All | February 21, 2025
Short Answers to Simple Questions | February 19, 2025
How did France convince Haiti to pay reparations?
Where did the stereotypical image of a "Hollywood Genie" come from?
