/u/bigmapblog's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Is there any historical precedent for a pre-modern culture constructing elaborate mechanical traps (as seen in many films such as "Goonies" or in various "Indiana Jones" films) that are disarmable by an artifact or by a sequence of actions? Where does this common film trope come from?

1344 upvotes

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Why did the Soviet military maintain the Officer/Enlisted class binary rather than instituting some other hierarchichal structure? How did they ideologically justify maintaining two distinct and separate classes, one privileged over the other, in an army putatively fighting for a classless society?

369 upvotes

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When did the population of the city of Rome reach its lowest level (post-fall)? How many people lived there, who were they, and what were they doing? What was life in Rome like when it had hit the absolute bottom?

113 upvotes

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How has U.S.'s method of (and promptness/accuracy in) notifying the family of a killed-in-action soldier changed over time? Telegram? In-person? Postal mail? Has the procedure changed in times where the volume of those KIA is high?

6 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Is there any historical precedent for a pre-modern culture constructing elaborate mechanical traps (as seen in many films such as "Goonies" or in various "Indiana Jones" films) that are disarmable by an artifact or by a sequence of actions? Where does this common film trope come from?	1344
Why did the Soviet military maintain the Officer/Enlisted class binary rather than instituting some other hierarchichal structure? How did they ideologically justify maintaining two distinct and separate classes, one privileged over the other, in an army putatively fighting for a classless society?	369
When did the population of the city of Rome reach its lowest level (post-fall)? How many people lived there, who were they, and what were they doing? What was life in Rome like when it had hit the absolute bottom?	113
How has U.S.'s method of (and promptness/accuracy in) notifying the family of a killed-in-action soldier changed over time? Telegram? In-person? Postal mail? Has the procedure changed in times where the volume of those KIA is high?	6