Comments by "Snack Plissken" (@snackplissken8192) on "Extra History" channel.

  1. If the theories are true that Shuten Doji and many other famous Oni were actually ethnic and religious minorities who were demoted to monstrous subhumans in the retelling, it makes Minamoto no Raikō's inability to live with himself even more poignant.
    1000
  2. Considering that the Imperial Japanese labeled people who didn't worship the emperor as "dirt-spiders" and "woman-spiders" (from whom the Tsuchigumo and Jorogumo legends come) it would not be surprising if people in India referred to a disfavored group as "ants" confusing a hands-off historian like Herodotus.
    35
  3. WWII is another excellent example of the problem of apparent national strength. Not unlike two deer looking at each other's antlers before one backs down, nations look at their rival's military might to determine who would win in a fight before engaging in aggression. But when democracies have small military footprints relative to their industrial capacity and national willingness to fight, it gives nations with less capacity the idea that they could grab quick territorial concessions from said democracy. When quick initial victories lead to the other side gearing up for long term retaliation, casualties and costs mount up vastly higher than anybody would have predicted. Nobody wants to spend resources on war they don't intend to wage but just like any other animals, humans generally don't pick fights with rivals whose arsenals are equal to or larger than their own. The problem is looking like a genuinely unappealing target while trying to minimize the material costs and moral hazards involved with powerful militaries.
    5
  4. I remember your interest in la bete, it reminds me of you every time I see a story about it. I also remember your sea captain who knew everything about ships; “sometimes they float, sometimes they don’t.”
    2
  5. Boston Pee Tarty.
    1
  6. Holy crap, Robert Rath is on this channel! Woot!
    1
  7. Baby birds are the peanut butter of the animal world, EVERYTHING eats them. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
    1