World History
A Fascinating Look at World War-Era Military Uniforms
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Article
Vehicles and weaponry attract much wartime attention, but failing to give proper consideration to uniform design can spell disaster. Take, for instance, World War I, when the French army ignored war minister Adolphe Messimy’s warning about the country’s insistence on retaining the conspicuous red coloring of its historic pantalon rouge uniforms, despite his pointed admonishment: “This stupid blind attachment to the most visible of colors will have cruel consequences.” The French went on to suffer heavy casualties at the outset of the war, and switched to issuing horizon blue uniforms in 1915. The importance of ...Read More
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World HistoryArticle05 Gladiators Who Deserve Their Own Movie
The first known gladiator competition in ancient Rome occurred in 264 BCE at the funeral of Brutus (the Roman politician famous for killing Julius Caesar), where three sets of combatants…
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World HistoryFact0Humans have been wrapping gifts since the second century.
Decorative wrapping has long been an integral part of gift-giving. Over the years, studies have shown that gift wrap can even positively influence the perception of a gift — a fact…
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World HistoryFact0Roman ships used flamethrowers as far back as the seventh century.
Modern flamethrowers emerged at the turn of the 20th century, but the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was far ahead of the curve. The empire’s most…
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World HistoryFact0Medieval scholars say 536 CE was the worst year to be alive.
If you’re ever despairing about the state of the world, you can — at least, according to some scholars — be thankful it’s not the year 536 CE. To be…
