During the Vedic period in India, before the Upanishads, were the Brahmans the only ones who could conduct rituals and sacrifices to the gods?
posted by comfortinsound
on Oct 11, 2011 -
5 answers
Can you recommend books/articles on the history of the visual representation of sexuality in popular culture?
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posted by abirdinthehand
on Oct 8, 2011 -
6 answers
How do you write about religion historically? I'm writing my history honors thesis on evangelical Christians, but all of my drafts sound theological and not historical. When I try to fix the problem, I end up just reciting facts.
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posted by kingfishers catch fire
on Oct 8, 2011 -
15 answers
Is there a good popular/not-too-academic history of productivity, time management, etc.? I'd love to read an in-depth account of Ben Franklin, Peter Drucker, and everything in between. Something like
this slideshow, but, well, a book. Any ideas?
posted by staboo
on Oct 8, 2011 -
3 answers
Anyone know where I can listen to the Steve Jobs audio clip from the default NeXT welcome email?
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posted by zamboni
on Oct 7, 2011 -
2 answers
Family legend states that my grandparents had their 1950's, smalltown Ohio house built from (adapted) blueprints they obtained by writing in to a television show. Is this possible? If so, which tv show, and is there any way I can get a copy of the blueprints?
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posted by unknowncommand
on Oct 4, 2011 -
4 answers
If I had never seen the internet before, where would you direct me in 2011? What are the best news, film, music, art, fashion, history, technology, gossip, sports websites and blogs out there?
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posted by maca
on Oct 3, 2011 -
14 answers
Looking for an online resource which will make me into an instant Archivist/Librarian... Ha ha... not really but close. I am setting up an online archive of old records, photos, and other documents. I would like to do this right so that the average Joe can use it but also so that librarians and archivists won't look down their noses at me. Are there any sites out there which have basic information on this sort of thing?
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posted by brownrd
on Sep 30, 2011 -
3 answers
I have an interest in reading about / discussing the California Gold Rush. Are there any good communities devoted to discussing/researching this on the web? Mailing lists, websites, it doesn't matter.
posted by entropicamericana
on Sep 30, 2011 -
9 answers
What approximate percentage of the human population that has ever existed has lived a life free from violence on a mass scale?
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posted by jlowen
on Sep 29, 2011 -
10 answers
I'm looking for reporting/stories dealing with Russia right when the Soviet Union collapsed.
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posted by JonesVery
on Sep 27, 2011 -
9 answers
Does anyone know of any books or articles that discuss the legality of America's Declaration of Independence?
posted by raynax
on Sep 25, 2011 -
11 answers
I've read that in the past, the family of an executed prisoner in China later received a bill for the cost of the bullet used in the execution. Is this true?
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posted by EnormousTalkingOnion
on Sep 22, 2011 -
7 answers
Why are the majority of forested trees in Brandenburg firs and upon crossing the Polish border into Lubusz Voivodeship they are all Birch?
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posted by metsauce
on Sep 20, 2011 -
8 answers
My company got lucky and we're working on a web site for an amazing historical society, showcasing a ton of documents from their collection.
Do you have any examples of how historical documents are being showcased online? Do you have any suggestions for what they
don't do that you wish they would?
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posted by o2b
on Sep 8, 2011 -
19 answers
I'm looking for a certain book written in the sixties or seventies about the sociological aspect of the training of airline hostesses/stewardesses. Don't remember if it was entirely about this topic, or just a notable part of it. Some part of it may have been about how stewardesses had to curb the outward expression of their personalities to match stringent requirements of communication with passengers that rendered them almost carbon copies of one another. It was somewhat famous. Suggestions?
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posted by jackfruit
on Sep 6, 2011 -
3 answers
How can I make the most of my time in Northwest London to understand Indian culture, cuisine, customs?
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posted by dougrayrankin
on Sep 5, 2011 -
5 answers
Any recommendations for books (fiction or non-fiction), maps or websites on the events of the year 1900 in or around Paris. English only, I'm afraid. Many thanks!
posted by korej
on Sep 5, 2011 -
6 answers
HistoryFilter: Help my friend figure out which famous pre-1800s, European historical figure this riddle refers to.
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posted by lovedbymarylane
on Aug 29, 2011 -
8 answers
What are some materials about the history of punishment in Europe and America that really get across just what it would have been like to be a prisoner?
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posted by meese
on Aug 21, 2011 -
12 answers
IN which work does the Roman historian Livy state that the Roman empire started to decay when cooks acquired celebrity status?
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posted by cheez-it
on Aug 14, 2011 -
7 answers
What's the nicest and most tactful way to contact a long-lost relative to tell her about possible family/inherited health issues without seeming like I'm popping up to drop a bomb?
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posted by Rosie M. Banks
on Aug 12, 2011 -
16 answers
Do you know any examples of evocative food writing that is focused on how specific foods awaken the writer's memory or otherwise serve to connect time and history with what we eat? Think Proust's famous
madeleine, or Nigel Slater's Toast: the Story of a Boy's Hunger. I am especially interested in accounts from non-white, non-American or non-European, and female authors.
posted by liketitanic
on Aug 11, 2011 -
25 answers
What is a good series / assorted collection of history books covering influential pre-modern European/North African/Asian empires and organisations?
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posted by kithrater
on Aug 5, 2011 -
10 answers
Will a suspended driver's license with extenuating circumstances disqualify my fiance for a position that requires him to drive a company car?
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posted by powerbumpkin
on Aug 3, 2011 -
8 answers
If I was to read one book about the Wars of the Roses, what book should it be?
posted by shothotbot
on Aug 1, 2011 -
7 answers
Are there any comic book versions of History that you know of which could give High School students a good background in the subject? In particular, my colleague is interested in American History 1840-1968 but any period of American History would be most welcome.
posted by Tarn
on Aug 1, 2011 -
13 answers
I'm trying to find a reference to a story I heard of, possibly here but maybe not. It was about a society of pigeon owners that had a voting scheme that worked along the lines of PageRank, where the value of your vote was based on the number of other members voting for you, calculated recursively. It was an old system, possibly around the French Revolution. My Google-Fu is completely failing me. Does any of this ring any bells?
posted by scalefree
on Jul 26, 2011 -
4 answers
What politically neutral book(s) should I read on multiculturalism and Islam, immigration/integration politics and/or ethnic/religious tensions in Europe?
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posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Jul 25, 2011 -
11 answers
"Fly me" : I'm looking for more information on the early restrictions on flight attendants- that they be single, slim, attractive, etc. Who pioneered these policies? How much did they vary across the globe? Did other industries at the time have formalized policies with similar biases?
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posted by abirdinthehand
on Jul 24, 2011 -
19 answers
Has there ever been a case of real-life hyperdeflation, where prices race downwards?
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posted by curuinor
on Jul 23, 2011 -
8 answers
What fictional male characters are confirmed bachelors with many female friends and few male friends? I'm especially interested in stories set before 1950.
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posted by Sticherbeast
on Jul 18, 2011 -
6 answers
When did bands start using arbitrary non-descriptive names, e.g., "The Hollies" instead of descriptive names like "John Phillip Sousa and His Orchestra" or "The Fisherville Cornet Band"?
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posted by fings
on Jul 14, 2011 -
7 answers
Help me find a quote about how people are reluctant to notice the effects of historical and/or social forces on their lives.
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posted by toomuchkatherine
on Jul 13, 2011 -
9 answers
Can anyone explain to me the reason why the pay for members of the United States Congress is paid by the federal government and not their respective states? Was such a system ever considered and rejected and, if so, why? I recognize that the offices are federal, but their ties to their state is the very reason they are there. Wouldn't state legislatures want that control or were they happy to dump the costs onto the federal government? This seems like something that would have been debated very early in our history yet I can't find any info on it.
Thanks.
posted by Jamesonian
on Jul 7, 2011 -
7 answers
Trying to track down the location of a quotation by the French/Uruguayan poet Jules Laforgue, mentioned by Johan Huizinga.
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posted by hydatius
on Jul 5, 2011 -
2 answers
Computer and/or military history nerds -- please lend your speculations. Was Joe doing mundane data entry or something secret and spy-like?
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posted by amanda
on Jul 2, 2011 -
13 answers
148 years ago today, 37 yr old Union Gen John Buford took the 1st calvary division into Gettysburg, got the lay of the land fast, grabbed the high ground, setting the stage for Union victory after the next three horrific days of battle. What books and/or websites have you read which have given you a better understanding of this battle and the people who fought it?
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posted by dancestoblue
on Jun 30, 2011 -
14 answers
Where can I find statistics about the incidence of syphilis in the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century? Bonus points for evidence of changing virulence...
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posted by pyotrstolypin
on Jun 30, 2011 -
5 answers
Blogger Steerforth of The Age of Uncertainty found an
old picture which intrigued him, especially the
figure in the center. He wonders in his blogpost if it might be Queen Victoria. Some commenters dissent. I'm curious about it myself. Can anyone shed further light on the image?
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posted by Kattullus
on Jun 29, 2011 -
12 answers
I'm looking for the origin of Howard St. in Waltham, Mass. I'd like to know who it was named after, when it was created, early inhabitants and ultimately - it would be great to find some early photos of the street.
posted by joshuamcginnis
on Jun 28, 2011 -
18 answers
Book suggestion filter! I need to catch up on all the 20th century history I missed because of childhood.....
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posted by motsque
on Jun 28, 2011 -
14 answers
