From Wikipedia: Mithridatism is the practice of protecting oneself against a poison by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus, who so feared being poisoned that he regularly ingested small doses, aiming to develop immunity.Wikipedia:Mithridatism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridatism) Regretfully there is not a lot ....
Why did the Spanish government award a decoration to Chiang Kai-Shek?
In 1936 the republican government granted Chiang the Order of Isabella the Catholic.1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Isabella_the_Catholic) Why did they do that? The Wikipedia article on Chiang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek) is where I got this from. ....
Why did the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact take 2 years to sign after the Battle of Khalkin Gol?
The Battle of Khalkin Gol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol) took place in 1939 May - Sep and was the last border battle between Japan and USSR. It was a major victory for the Soviets. But the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese_Neutrality_Pact) was not signed until 1941 Apr 13. What took so long? I would ....
Identification of a treacherous general of 17th century China
My aunt is part of an informal discussion group interested in the history of China. Apparently, during the Ming dynasty in the 1600s, there was a general whose treachery (I the charge was he was aiding the enemy, somehow. My aunt claims it was the Mongolians.) resulted in the ordered ....
What were the factors that caused the world to move away from the Gold Standard in the 20th century?
For most of the world's history for thousands of years, gold was used as the medium of exchange for money. The world gradually moved off the gold standard in the 20th century. What were the factors that caused the Gold Standard to be less workable in the 20th century than ....
How realistic were von Papen's plans to invade Canada using "German cowboys" during the Great War?
While reading biography of Franz von Papen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_von_Papen#cite_note-22), I've found this hilarious information: Apparently, in attempt to stop Canadian support for Britain, he planned to dress up German and Irish Americans as cowboys and conquer Canada: Starting in September 1914, Papen abused his diplomatic immunity (which he enjoyed as German ....
What proportion of US government revenue came from taxes on slaves, between 1790 and 1846?
What proportion of US government revenue (federal,state,local) came from taxes on slaves between 1790 and 1846? I chose 1846 as the breakpoint because of the Walker Tariff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_tariff); feel free to critique that choice. Background: Based on this paper (https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20060925_RL33665_4a8c6781ce519caa3e6b82f95c269f73021c5fdf.pdf) (h/t to Brian Z (https://history.stackexchange.com/users/3011/brian-z)), taxes on slaves did not ....
How did the email client industry develop?
I am too young to have used AOL but I did start with Hotmail. I believe there was email clients before AOL, available to anyone capable running the software and configuring their servers, but that is not what I'm interested in. I'm curious about the client that popularised it, why ....
From whom did Gandhi learn his protest technique of non-violence?
I know that Gandhi was involved in the civil rights movement in South Africa during he beginning of the 20th century, but was there a specific person, or group, that he learned how to protest through non-violent means? ....
At the start of the Second Punic War, why didn't Hannibal engage Publius Scipio in Hispania, but crossed the alps instead?
Sorry, I forgot exactly where I remember this from but as Hannibal moved towards the Alps with around 50,000 troops, he was pursued by Scipio with fewer troops (actually, if anyone can find a source with better details I would appreciate it). Since Hannibal's immediate goal wasn't to lay siege ....
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