Subject: So what were the main weapons?
Author:
Posted on: 2018-05-11 13:43:00 UTC
And what context are we talking about? Do you mean 'people didn't go everywhere in swords just in case they needed them', or 'in battle, swords were not used as primary weapons, in favour of [something?]'?
hS
So, I was on Discord the other day, and I made a reference to Who's On First. And the person I was talking to didn't know what that was. (If you also don't know: https://youtu.be/kTcRRaXV-fg)
So that set me wondering: What else do I assume "everyone knows" that they don't? What do I not know about? So that's what this thread is about. Post a fact or a piece of content or something that you take for granted. Maybe we all know about it, but maybe we don't. And then we will.
And I'll start with the concept of the Lucky Ten Thousand itself, in case anyone here is in the dark on it:
A couple years back, I interviewed a married couple my parents knew who had once worked at Industrial Light and Magic (that's the special effects company for a lot of movies).
They had worked on multiple Harry Potter films, and they told me that in order to get the Dementors' robes to flow in the exact way that was wanted, they had to animate it like it was cheesecloth under water.
Yes, cheesecloth under water. That's exactly what they said. I find that to be the greatest bit of trivia I have ever found out.
-Twistey
The black and orange color genes in cats are linked to the X-chromosome. In each cell, one of each matching pair of chromosomes is inactivated, so in calicos and tortoiseshells, you get patches of a different color depending on which X is active. This pattern is only possible in cats with two X-chromosomes, ergo, almost all girls. {= D
It doesn't actually surprise me that most people don't know this, but it DID surprise me when an episode of Star Trek: TNG insisted a tortie was male. It CAN happen, if you get an XXY cat for instance, but it's very rare. I kinda ranted about it. Phobos was not impressed. >.>;
Further reading: X-inactivation.
~Neshomeh
This came up with the first cloned cat - the cat that cloned from was, Raibow, was calico, but the clone CC (or Copy Cat) was not, because her cells all had the same X chromosome inactivated.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CC_(cat)
Coca-Cola gets its name from two ingredients it no longer contains: cocaine and kola nuts. It began as Pemberton's French Wine Coca, a wine fortified with cocaine, which was legal at the time. When prohibition came about John Pemberton created a new recipe which did not contain alcohol, and called it Coca-Cola. This version did still have cocaine, considered temperance advocates a safer alternative to alcohol. With the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, cocaine was removed from the Coca-Cola formula.
Vin Mariani, another brand of coca wine, was endorsed by such notables as Queen Victoria, Pope Leo XIII, Pope Saint Pius X, Ulysses S. Grant, and Thomas Edison, who claimed it helped him stay awake longer.
A pangram is a sentence which contains every letter of the alphabet. The best-known one in English is of course The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, but there are others, and many of them are glorious.
For instance, some time ago I ran into a perfect pangram (ie, a sentence containing every letter exactly once; Wikipedia charmingly uses the term 'an anagram of the alphabet'):
Fjord-bank cwm glyphs vext quiz.
... or 'the runes in the valley beside the fjord irritated the professor'. Assuming you accept 'cwm' as an English word (it's Welsh originally), the archaic spelling of 'vexed', and the use of 'quiz' to mean a professor, it's perfect!
Meanwhile, on the more intelligible side, Kaitlyn recently came across this marvel:
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow!
At only 29 letters, it only duplicates a, o, and u, and is of course amazing.
I would be remiss not to mention here the book Ella Minnow Pea, which is pretty much an exploration of 'what if pangrams got out of hand'. I bought it for Kaitlyn a few years back and it's hilarious. ^_^
hS
I want to read it.
...around 1900, though they'd apparently existed in Britain as early as 1875. The design hasn't changed much since.
Before that, there were the metal bedwarmers with coals in them (had to be taken out before going to bed, as they could cause burns; if you've seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the maid puts one at the foot of Elizabeth's bed in...I think it's the night scene after she meets Jack Sparrow). However, in between these two, which I didn't know, there were earthenware ones (hardened clay). They were oblong, with a stopper at one end, and would frequently shatter if dropped.
~Z
PS: all that comes from an article on the history of hot water bottles, which I could probably find again. I got curious two days ago and looked this up.
(Actually, it took me a while to think of something I figured might be suitable to post. Hopefully this is alright...)
Our fingernails and hair are both made out of keratin—the same substance that forms a rhino's horn.
My entire family, on my mom's side, who are well over 40, learned this Christmas that Red Velvet, is not in fact, a new flavor, but simply chocolate with red food coloring.
IIRC, regular chocolate uses Dutch-processed cocoa, whereas the chocolate in red velvet does not. Unless it's the other way around. But, one method results in cocoa that is lighter and more reddish than the other. This is then heightened with food coloring.
Whether or not this makes much of a difference to the flavor, I don't know.
~Neshomeh doesn't have time to look up the details right now, sorry.
... Because the nature of the Lucky 10,000 is that you don't think it's noteworthy until you encounter someone who doesn't know it. Following the idea of the Lucky 10,000 will just lead to a thread full of common facts like how swords were mostly a sidearm and not a main weapon historically.
So, here's an uncommon fun fact in case people want to talk about those instead: Water doesn't conduct electricity. The stuff dissolved in water does; if you have a circuit to power a light bulb, cut one of the wires into two pieces, and dip both pieces in distilled water, the light bulb won't turn on. Try it with tap water and it will light up.
And what context are we talking about? Do you mean 'people didn't go everywhere in swords just in case they needed them', or 'in battle, swords were not used as primary weapons, in favour of [something?]'?
hS
Time period, location, role, wealth, culture, all kinds of stuff. If you're looking for the most common, though, you need look no further than the spear. They're cheap, simple, easy to make, easy to use, easy to train with, and they work especially well for groups in formation. With a long enough spear one soldier can help out the next three or four down the line. They were basically the standard for centuries and dozens of cultures, from the Greeks to the Japanese. At least for infantry, which is all I'm really qualified to talk about. I believe Akrinor, Ekyl, and Maslab are more knowledgeable than I, but don't quote me on that.
Of course, as I mentioned, there are variations. A particularly notable example being the Romans. While they essentially copied the Greek Hoplite style of warfare in their early days, they later transitioned to shock infantry, charging into battle, throwing their pila, then stabbing with the gladius.
In general, though, the sword was more popular for self defense than warfare, somewhat akin to modern handguns.
There are other people in the PPC who know a lot more about historical European martial arts than I do, so take this with a grain of salt...
From what I understand, polearms were the main weapon in a battle. They offer a lot of reach and power; a sword (especially a one-handed sword) just can't compete most of the time. There are a few videos on YouTube of people going into more detail about this, and some really cool demonstrations by weapon enthusiasts and instructors.
Main weapons changed based on how much money you had.
Farmers were often pressed into service, and brought their farm implements to bear in battle. It's easy to train someone who uses a pitchfork all day to use a spear or polearm. They made up the bulk of the forces, so long handled weapons were very common. They also worked great against mounted foes, so that's good.
The richer you were, the more metal could be incorporated into a weapon. Swords were the mark of nobility because they could afford them. However, these were people more likely to be on a horse during combat, so they used weapons more suited to mounted combat. Flails and maces, both of which can best be described as a lot of metal on a stick, are great from horseback. Just hold your arm out and dome some peasants as you ride by. Try that with a sword (scimitars and other curved blades excepted) and you're likely to lose it on the first hit.
Swords were more used in settings like duels and tournaments, where the artistry of sword work could shine. Little artistry to be found in the mud of an actual battlefield.
-Phobos, war hammer enthusiast
>swords were mostly a sidearm and not a main weapon historically.
I didn't know that. So it looks like my number's up.
Anycase, yeah. If you've got uncommon and weird facts, share those too! Who am I to complain about cool stuff?
Longswords, hand-and-a-half swords, and bastard swords are the same thing. A sword with a handle meant for a one-handed grip is more properly called an arming sword.