History
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The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day dispute between Cuba and the Soviet Union on one side and the United States on the other. The event is regarded as the closest these world powers came to nuclear attacks during the Cold War. During this period, Fidel Castro was the leader of Cuba, Nikita Kruschev led the Soviet Union, and John F. Kennedy was president of the United States.
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Q: Who was the first person to discover America?
A: The discovery of America is most commonly attributed to Christopher Columbus, as it was he who revealed the Americas to early-modern Europe. Scholars entertain many alternative answers to who discovered America depending on the specific parameters of what constitutes "discovery." -
Q: What was the first bank in the world?
A: The world's first bank on record was the Taula de la Ciutat, which opened in Barcelona in 1401. Banking practices can be traced back to the Roman Empire. -
Q: What country colonized China?
A: Great Britain took Hong Kong from China after winning the First Opium War and took southern Kowloon after winning the Second Opium War. Portugal claimed the Macau region and kept it until 1999. France took over the region that is now northern Vietnam from China by winning the Sino-French War. -
Q: What was ancient Hebrew civilization like?
A: Little is known about the oldest eras of ancient Hebrew civilization because the culture was nomadic. The most distinct and long-lasting elements of ancient Hebrew civilization lay not in its architectural, artistic or diplomatic contributions but in the focus of the people on a monotheistic God who was radically different from the gods worshipped by most ancient peoples. -
Q: Why was the wheel so important to Mesopotamia?
A: The wheel allowed Mesopotamians to create a number of novel transportation methods. It was also used in a variety of mechanical devices. Creating wheels may have also spawned new methods of making items that need precision. -
Q: What was the role of women in ancient China?
A: Women in ancient China lived oppressed lives, and their roles centered around caring for their husbands, cleaning, cooking and looking after their kids. The women of ancient China were expected to bear many children, and most of them felt pressure from their husbands to bear a son despite its being beyond their control. - See More Ancient History Questions
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Q: Who invented the camera?
A: The first camera was invented by Alhazen in around 1000 A.D. Alhazen, who was widely known as an authority on optics during the Middle Ages, invented the pinhole camera. -
Q: When were watches invented?
A: Wristwatches were first officially invented in 1868 when a watch was created for the Countess of Hungary. Prior to the first official wristwatch, pocket watches were adapted to be worn on the wrist as early as 1570. -
Q: Who invented the fluorescent light?
A: Peter Cooper Hewitt became the inventor of the first fluorescent lamp when he was awarded a patent in 1901 for his low-pressure mercury vapor lamp. The first high-pressure mercury vapor lamp, invented by German-born Edmund Germer, Friedrich Meyer and Hans Spanner, was patented in 1927. -
Q: What is the oldest bridge in the world?
A: The Arkadiko Bridge in Mycenae, an archaeological site in Greece, is the oldest surviving bridge that can still be used; it dates to between 1300 and 1200 B.C. Remnants of bridges dating back to 1600 B.C. also exist around Mycenae. -
Q: When were paper plates invented?
A: Paper plates were invented by Martin Keyes in the early 20th century. The inventor began to market his paper plate molding machine in 1903 after founding the Keyes Fibre Company. His first paper plate molding machine was capable of manufacturing 50,000 paper plates per day. -
Q: Who invented the toy car?
A: In 1953, Jack Odell created the first matchbox car in London, England. The first car was a steamroller made of brass and painted red and green. In an assembly-line style production line, Odell and his partners worked from a London pub called The Rifleman. - See More Inventions Questions
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Q: What was the longest ruling Chinese dynasty?
A: The Zhou Dynasty, also spelled "Chou," was the longest dynasty in the history of China. Though exact dates are unknown, scholars and archaeologists place the Zhou Dynasty reign from about 1046 B.C. to 256 B.C. -
Q: What years were the Middle Ages?
A: The Middle Ages began in the year 476 A.D. and ended around 1300 with the beginning of the Renaissance. The Middle Ages, also called the Medieval Period, began just after the fall of Rome and it dominated the European continent through the early 14th century. The Middle Ages filled a time period between the ending of a great reign and the beginning of a new era characterized by revitalization and cultural growth. -
Q: What did the Vikings invent?
A: The Vikings invented the longboat during the Vikings Age from 800 to 1100 A.D. This type of ship helped them travel the oceans to reach France, England, Scotland, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Vinland and the Middle East. Thus, they became a dominant force in European medieval trade, politics and warfare. -
Q: What were the effects of the Crusades?
A: Two major effects of the Crusades were that the kings' authority increased and the Europeans learned about new things from the Muslims they encountered. During the Crusades, the kings increased taxes to fund the cause. Many peasants also left their land to fight, and when they died, the land went to the king. With large amounts of money and land coming in, the kings gained power. -
Q: Why did Henry VIII create the Church of England?
A: King Henry VIII created the Church of England in 1536 as a result of a dispute with the pope, who would not permit Henry to get a divorce from his wife and marry his long-time mistress. Henry's marital history started under a cloud of suspicion, as his marriage to Catherine of Aragon meant he was forming a union with his brother's widow. Whether his series of divorces was actually the result of his failure to produce a male heir or some other form of instability is a matter of some dispute, but the reason for forming the Anglican Church was to give Henry the right to act as the head of his own church and marry as he pleased. -
Q: What was the role of a medieval king?
A: The roles of a king during Medieval Europe included land ownership, warfare leadership and lawmaker. A king allowed knights, barons and lords to live on his land, as long as they provided armies of men to fight wars. When kings fought neighboring kingdoms, he led his men into battle. Kings were supreme rulers of their lands, and they meted out justice as they saw fit. - See More Middle Ages Questions
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Q: Who were the original members of the Rat Pack?
A: Many people know the Rat Pack as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. However, the origins of the Rat Pack go back to actor Humphrey Bogart, and Bogart’s wife, the actress Lauren Bacall, and a few of their Hollywood friends. -
Q: What were some types of transportation in the 1800s?
A: Transportation in the early 1800s was primarily by horse and sail, but the development and refinement of the steam engine spurred the development of rail and river transportation. Horses and horse-drawn conveyances remained the primary method of transportation through most of the century, at least for local travel. Toward the end of the 1800s, the automobile came into existence, although most 19th-century designs saw very limited adoption. -
Q: How many years was Nelson Mandela imprisoned?
A: Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, 18 of which were spent at the infamously cruel Robben Island Prison in South Africa, where he was held from 1964 - 1982. Mandela was released from imprisonment in 1990 despite having initially been handed a life sentence. At the time of his imprisonment, South Africa was ruled by the white supremacist system of apartheid, in which native black Africans were officially considered inferior in every way to colonial European citizens, also known as Afrikaners. Mandela was an anti-apartheid revolutionary who eventually became the first president of South Africa, and he was initially imprisoned on charges of incitement before being charged with conspiracy to overthrow the state in what is known as the Rivonia Trial. -
Q: Why was Nelson Mandela in prison for 27 years?
A: Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years as a result of his efforts to bring racial harmony and equality to South Africa. He began his efforts as soon as he graduated from law school and founded the first black law firm in the country in 1952. As unrest spread in the 1950s and 1960s, Mandela found himself the target of law enforcement efforts, and after he secretly left South Africa to gain aid and training for the struggle, he was picked up and jailed until Feb. 11, 1990. -
Q: How long has the Internet been around?
A: Generally speaking, the DARPA research project known as ARPANET has been defined as the "beginning" of the Internet, as it was the first instance of resources shared over a wide area network. It first came to life in Sept. 1969, when the IMP server at UCLA came online. -
Q: Why did apartheid happen in South Africa?
A: Apartheid was created as a means of cementing economic and social control over South Africa and its resources. The country was colonized by the English and the Dutch in the 17th century. Yet, when gold was discovered in the 1900s, the British seized control, and war broke out. Eventually, peace negotiations were reached and the two shared power over South Africa until the Reunited National Party won the 1948 election. - See More Modern History Questions
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