History!!

[5stringedbandit]

Willam Shakepeare was born and died on the same day. How he wrote all them sonnets and plays in one day is a complete mystery.

 

[boholikeu]

Haha, the first was a pretty stupid anwer. But is it Mr. Can? Mr. Lavatory? Are his initials W.C. perhaps?

W.C. stands for water closet, but keep naming words and you'll eventually hit it. =)

 

[Vision of Division]

Haha, the first was a pretty stupid anwer. But is it Mr. Can? Mr. Lavatory? Are his initials W.C. perhaps?

W.C. stands for water closet, but keep naming words and you'll eventually hit it. =)

Hmm, his couldn't be crapper... or could it?

 

[boholikeu]

Hmm, his couldn't be crapper... or could it?

Ooooh you hit the "trick" answer of my hint. There was an inventor named Thomas Crapper who helped improve upon the original design, but the actual inventor preceded him by a few hundred years.

 

[Vision of Division]

Hmm, his couldn't be crapper... or could it?

Ooooh you hit the "trick" answer of my hint. There was an inventor named Thomas Crapper who helped improve upon the original design, but the actual inventor preceded him by a few hundred years.

I don't think I can guess anymore. But please people, more stories!

 

[HerrBobo]

Haha, the first was a pretty stupid anwer. But is it Mr. Can? Mr. Lavatory? Are his initials W.C. perhaps?

W.C. stands for water closet, but keep naming words and you'll eventually hit it. =)

Hmm, his couldn't be crapper... or could it?

No, there is an urban myth that a "Mr. Crapper" invented the , its not true.
The flushing toilet has been around since B.C. times. The modern system was invented by John Harington. QI FTW!

Edit; Just saw the reply. Crapper did not invent the modern toilet he just improved certain aspects, such as the ballcock.

Who invented concrete?

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

Why wasn't the Vatican tried for warcrimes during World War II?

Because they didn't actually do anything, they just stood there and watched as the slaughter happened, which some people might think is an even worse crime, but hey, whatcha gonig to do...Actually, the Vatican and the catholic church were some of the first to resist mussolini, playing BBC radio broadcasts and giving aid to partisans.

Hmm, not too sure about that, the Vatican did sign the Lateran treaties with Mussolini.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

Hmm, not too sure about that, the Vatican did sign the Lateran treaties with Mussolini.[/quote]

That was out of self interest, not because they supported Mussolini. It allowed them to keep their influence in education and protected them from any kind of persecution. They even worked at diluting the influence of mussolini and fascism in education

 

[Vision of Division]

OK, let's try to bring some life back to this thread! How come the Assyrians ruled even though they were a relatively tiny nation?

 

[Wadders]

Here's another one for ya: What was one of the major causes of the Scottish unification with the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707?

The fact that they shared the same king?

Hmm, I was actually looking for something more along the lines of the Darien Scheme.

Not 100% sure what the Darien Scheme is, but I've learned a lot about the Stuarts recently. One of the main factors of the Union was the Aliens Act in 1705 (maybe?) It came about when the Scots, who were pissed off at not being consulted about the Act of Settlement (which detailed the succession) decided they would choose their own monarch upon the death of Queen Anne.

Anne didn't like this, so the Scots were threatened with the Aliens Act, which would result in all ties (trade, alliances, land reclaimed etc.) between us and Scotland being broken. This would not be good for Scotland, so Anne told them that they could either withdraw their act about choosing their own monarch and join with england, or be cut off from us. They chose the former.

It was kind of a bluff though in a way, 'cos I think at that time we were afraid that if the Scots became more independant, they would ally with France against us, which woulda been a *****...

EDIT: someone explain the Night of the Long Knifes to me. Why it happened, who it concerned, what were its effects etc.

Best answer gets a sweetie

 

[Wadders]

Dogs with mines on their back. But the dogs had been trained using Russian tanks, so they kept blowing up their own troops

Excellent!
Now, can you tell me how Hitler tested his Luftwaffe prior to WWII?

Each pilot had to fly around with Goering strapped to the plane for a few hours. If they could do that, they could do anything!

I honestly have no idea though please tell

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

-Long ass post-

Hmm, interesting.

Anyway, since you asked, the Darien scheme was the failed attempt by Scotland to establish itself as a colonial power. They started out by forming a colony in Central America, along what is now the Panama canal. However, the land was not very fertile, and the humid temperature, indifferent nature of the natives, and hostile attitudes by the surrounding English and Spanish colonies made it so that the scheme became a complete disaster. Lot's of money was lost, and Scotland had to face the fact that, on their own, they would never become a world power.

It is cited as one of the numerous motivations for the 1707 Actsof the Union.

 

[HentMas]

How did Catherine the Great die? Iz can't remember.

EDIT: Oh, and I'd always wondered. Which was the first country or culture (In recorded history) to have a female leader?

I suspect it may be the Egyptians. When they had rulers they made no distinction between male and female, the word Pharaoh was used on both. Admittedly some of the women Pharoah (Hatepshut at least) wore a false beard though...

Who was America named after? (This is a seriously tricky question, just so your forewarned)

Americo Bespucio?? or however he is called... i think

 

[boholikeu]

No, there is an urban myth that a "Mr. Crapper" invented the , its not true.
The flushing toilet has been around since B.C. times. The modern system was invented by John Harington. QI FTW!

Edit; Just saw the reply. Crapper did not invent the modern toilet he just improved certain aspects, such as the ballcock.

Ding Ding Ding! John (as in "I need to use the John) Harington is correct. Also, I didn't mean to imply that Crapper invented the modern toilet, but after re-reading my post I guess it kind of sounds like that.

Now, as a reward for the correct answer, here's an interesting story about the true inventor of the toilet:

He was also a poet, and he wrote a story about how he invented the toilet which was actually a scathing political allegory. I haven't read it, but apparently he also compared God's creation of the world to his creation of the toilet. Unfortunately this didn't make Queen Elizabeth too happy so he was ousted from her court as punishment.

Anyone else want to venture a guess on my other two questions? I'll give some hints if no one has any clue.

1) What was the world's first novel?

2) Who was Emperor Norton I?

Who invented concrete?

Don't remember the name, but wasn't it a Roman?

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

2) Who was Emperor Norton I?

Self-proclaimed "Emperor of the United States" and "Protector of Mexico".

Also, he was English, and batshit crazy.

 

[Vision of Division]

Dogs with mines on their back. But the dogs had been trained using Russian tanks, so they kept blowing up their own troops

Excellent!
Now, can you tell me how Hitler tested his Luftwaffe prior to WWII?

Each pilot had to fly around with Goering strapped to the plane for a few hours. If they could do that, they could do anything!

I honestly have no idea though please tell

Nazi Germany backed up the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, so when Franco(leader of the nationalists) had some trouble capturing the north op spain he got good old Adolf to help him. The only thing between Franco and the capture of Bilbao, and the capture of northern spain, was the town of Guernica. So Franco asked Hitler to take care of Guernica, which he did, by bombing it. This way he could test his spanking new Luftwaffe, while maintaining his relationship with Franco. Civilians and soldiers alike were killed and Franco won the war.
Beautiful ain't it?

 

[Wadders]

-Long ass post-

Hmm, interesting.

Anyway, since you asked, the Darien scheme was the failed attempt by Scotland to establish itself as a colonial power. They started out by forming a colony in Central America, along what is now the Panama canal. However, the land was not very fertile, and the humid temperature, indifferent nature of the natives, and hostile attitudes by the surrounding English and Spanish colonies made it so that the scheme became a complete disaster. Lot's of money was lost, and Scotland had to face the fact that, on their own, they would never become a world power.

It is cited as one of the numerous motivations for the 1707 Actsof the Union.

Ahh very interesting, seems like the motivation for Union came from both sides of the border then, with their failed attempts at true independence, and our bullying...

Of course, being an British student, I only ever got told about how it was us who made the Scots want to unify, rather than them kinda realizing it was a better idea in the long run...

 

[Wadders]

Dogs with mines on their back. But the dogs had been trained using Russian tanks, so they kept blowing up their own troops

Excellent!
Now, can you tell me how Hitler tested his Luftwaffe prior to WWII?

Each pilot had to fly around with Goering strapped to the plane for a few hours. If they could do that, they could do anything!

I honestly have no idea though please tell

Nazi Germany backed up the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, so when Franco(leader of the nationalists) had some trouble capturing the north op spain he got good old Adolf to help him. The only thing between Franco and the capture of Bilbao, and the capture of northern spain, was the town of Guernica. So Franco asked Hitler to take care of Guernica, which he did, by bombing it. This way he could test his spanking new Luftwaffe, while maintaining his relationship with Franco. Civilians and soldiers alike were killed and Franco won the war.
Beautiful ain't it?

Ahh, crafty old Hitler, he gained something he wanted to do, with no cost to himself. He did that an awful lot, when he could. Clever bastard Just a shame he had to be such a fucking crazy...

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

Which English King was declared a werewolf?

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

Ahh very interesting, seems like the motivation for Union came from both sides of the border then, with their failed attempts at true independence, and our bullying...

Of course, being an British student, I only ever got told about how it was us who made the Scots want to unify, rather than them kinda realizing it was a better idea in the long run...

It's interesting stuff, you should check it out. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_scheme]