/u/Chicken_Spanker's posts
Watching the new Aladdin (which according to the Disney wiki is set during the Islamic Golden Age), there are scenes where the princess says she wants to rule the kingdom. I know we are not talking historical realism here but what would have been the reaction if a woman said such during the era?
Mark as read: Add to a list
When Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet what was the cause of this? ie. more accurate observations? a recalculation of its size? A change in the definitions of planetary size?
Mark as read: Add to a list
Rasputin held sway over the Romanov family for his reputed ability to heal the haemophiliac Alexei. Taking a sceptical position (ie. that Rasputin did not have faith healing abilities), how did he achieve this apparent medical miracle?
Mark as read: Add to a list
Is there any studies on how Covid has spread in North Korea? Has the country's isolation protected it? In what ways has it managed to spread?
Mark as read: Add to a list
The film The Favourite depicts Queen Anne engaged in lesbian relations with both Sarah Churchill and Abigail Hill. Does this have any basis in history or is it just a fanciful creation of the scriptwriter?
Mark as read: Add to a list
American and British films and literature of the Cold War era is filled with fears of Communist spies. Did Soviet films and tv of the same era have a corresponding fear of infiltration by American and British spies?
Mark as read: Add to a list
In World War II, when prisoners-of-war would receive letters from their loved ones back home, what exactly was the process whereby the mail service was able to transfer letters and parcels across enemy lines?
Mark as read: Add to a list
Presumably nobody involved in the First World War actually called it World War I. But at what point did people decide that the 1939-45 conflict was World War II and start referring to the two events as such?
Mark as read: Add to a list
When Richard Burton the explorer published his version of Arabian Nights, it attracted obscenity charges. These days the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba et al are regarded as children's stories. What was in Burton's version (or the original text) that accrued such an outraged response? NSFW
Mark as read: Add to a list