AskHistorians

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At age 18, Edgar Allan Poe joined the US Army in 1827 as a Private, and left in 1829 as a Sergeant Major of Artillery. How did he attain the highest enlisted rank in just two years?	5186
Chiang Kai-shek studied at a Japanese Army Academy school for Chinese students, then briefly served in the Japanese Army. Why did Japan set up a school to train officers for their most immediate enemy? While serving, how was the experience for both Chinese Officers and Japanese subordinate soldiers?	1732
What was Senator Barry Goldwater's deal? He founded the Arizona NAACP and National Guard (which he personally desegregated 2 years before the rest of the military), but was publicly against desegregation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What gives for these conflicting actions and attitudes?	637
The WW2 German Air Force raised over 20 Infantry Field Divisions from nearly 250k excess airmen to help the Army fight the ground war. Why did the Luftwaffe have so many spare personnel?	378
The US conducted around 1,032 nuclear tests between 1945-1992, and the USSR about 727 tests between 1949-1990. But it seems like the US only had around 115 unique nuclear devices, while the USSR had about 40. Why did they need to conduct so many tests for, what kind of data were they trying to get?	270
Did Judaism exist during the time of the Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc)? What did the Greeks think of Judaism and the Jewish community? What did the Jews think of the Greeks and their philosophy?	136
How did people throughout history wipe their buttocks?	109
Although the Falkland Wars were out of NATO's treaty obligations, did Argentina have any fears that any other country would directly join the war in support of the UK? And was there any controversy regarding the US and France's clandestine support to the British?	105
Did the US really not invade North Vietnam during the Vietnam War? I understand the fear of provoking China, but how did the US plan to "win" by just staying in the South? Was the strategy to just let the North keep attacking until they gave up?	93
When Elvis Presley was in the Army, did his fame and popularity create any conflicts of interest in his unit?	89

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