Comments by "" (@neutronalchemist3241) on "Biographics" channel.

  1. The position of the left arm across the chest is typical of corpses that had been turned face down right after the death. The killer did so to retrieve his arrow, but he didn't take any of Ötzi's possessions, the arrows, the bow, not even the precious copper axe. Because they likely were of the same community, and both the arrow on Ötzi's body, and his possession in the hands of the killer would have revealed the cuplrit. Like many murder victims, Ötzi knew his killer.
    96
  2. Hannibal refused to put his name among the three greatest, but said that who would have managed to beat him, would have been the greatest one.
    32
  3. It has to be said that the invasion of Africa manuver had been already tried during the first punic war, and ended in disaster, that's why the Senate was against it. Not only but, for the Romans, Scipio's character had much in common with that of Attilius Regulus, who led that expedition.
    30
  4. It's even more amazing if you notice how young he was. He became minister at 39, premier at 41, and died at 50. All he did, he did it in 9 years.
    10
  5.  @nicholasschoonbeck6866  Hiding pregnacy was a bit far-fetched.
    10
  6. To understand the popularity of Garibaldi among the lower classes (not that he wasn't popular among the elites) it has to be remembered that, in his age, there had been the transition between the "old way" to make military career (that consisted in buying the ranks. IE The Duke of Wellington was a staunch advocate of that practice) and the "new way" (to be formed in a military academy, that were however rather "new" institutions, whose teachings were often not that useful). Both ways were practically reserved to the upper classes. A sailor that became a certified sea-captain, a teacher (several times, when he didn't fought or sail, he earned a living by teaching math), and a general that could beat the "professionals" was bound to became a popular hero, even more if he was honest and brave too.
    9
  7. It has to be said that, until the Sertorian war, Pompey had always fought "Alexander style", as an horseman, charging at the head of his men. That was part of his charm, also because he was known to be a very skilled fighter, but that's also the reason why an experienced and unconventional general like Sertorius could easily entrap him the first time. Leading from the front, a commander has not a real awareness of the general situation. The sertorian war had been an useful experience for Pompey. There, he had been trained by the best.
    8
  8. When the first stroke of the illness that would have killed him showed up, Vespasian is recalled to have said "Damn! It seems I'm going to become a god..."
    7
  9. He was influenced by Saint-Simonianism socialism since his youth and was an advocate of the necessity to fight for good causes, that he identified with emancipation (from foreign powers, the church, slavery, patriarchy...) , republicanism, self-determination and internationalism. However, and for that he was despised by Karl Marx, he was not a revolutionary, arguing that the first victims of revolutions were the lower classes and that much more could be obtained with social reformism.
    7
  10.  @NoName-hg6cc  For the time, he was quite educated. Not in classical studies, but more than the average infantry officer that came out of the military academies of the time (the first ones had just been estabilished), not to say the ones that simply bought their rank (a practice the Duke of Wellington was a big advocate of). He knew at least five languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English. Some source report he knew German too). He had a sea Captain's patent, and, during his years in South America, when he wasn't fighting or trading, he earned his living by teaching maths.
    6
  11. Garibaldi was a rather intelligent and educated man. Other than sailing, when he didn't fought he gained a living in South America by teaching math, he knew 5 languages, read Byron and Shakespeare and could recite Foscolo by heart. He was acnowledged to be a brilliant military leader by military observers since his years in South America. He easily won vs. Austrians and Prussians in numerical and material inferiority and leading undiciplined volunteers, and was even more famous in the United Kingdom than he was in Italy.
    5
  12.  @amacrad  The Kingdom of Two Sicilies was a backward underdeveloped country. It's scholarship rates were the lowest among the pre-unitarian states and the industrialization was inexistent. At the moment of unification, Piedmont had 850 km of railroads, Lombardy 607 km, Tuscany 323 km, Papal State 132 km. The entire Neapolitan kingdom had 99km of railroads, as much as the minuscule Duchy of Parma.
    5
  13. Southern Italy was a shithole country with 75% illiteracy rate and inexistent services, infrastructure and industrialization. Several third-world countries have a balanced budget. It's easy to have a balanced budget when you are piss-poor. It's enough to not spend and let the population starve. Unfortunately modernization needs investments. IE, at the moment of unification, Piedmont had 850 km of railroads, Lombardy 607 km, Tuscany 323 km, Papal State 132 km. The entire Neapolitan kingdom had 99km of railroads, as much as the minuscule Duchy of Parma.
    4
  14. A lot actually.
    4
  15. "The shield of Rome" His strategy prevented the fall of the city and, for this, his contribution had been invaluable, but was not enough to win. Not only Scipio's expedition, but even the Battle of Metaurus, the real decisive battle of the Second Punic War, in the end, was won by ignoring the ordes of the Senate.
    4
  16. It has to be said that, after 19 years of war, those men were better trained than professionals. Not by chance, after the end of the Punic war, they steamrolled over Greece and middle east with ridicolous ease.
    3
  17. No document states him being born in Croatia. One commentator, about a century after his death, wrote that his family was originary of Dalmatia, but the documents certify that already his grandfather did born in Venice.
    3
  18. Battuta is probably the greatest known traveler, but he mostly traveled into islamic world, with very few and limited journeys out of it. So most of his voyages were not really "explorations", because he moved into a generally well known setting. Like a Christian traveling western and eastern Europe.
    3
  19. Actually the armies of the western front are a lot more "guilty" than Cadorna. WWI Battles on the Italian front tended to be brief and furious affairs that ended as soon as some gain was achieved, or was clear that no gain could be achieved. They had NEVER been intended to be attrition battles, and Cadorna was, in a certain sense, "justified" in thinking, "if next time I'll manage to use more men and materials, I'll break through". This excuse can't work on the western front, where battles lasted with the same intensity for months, and generals couldn't realistically think , using the same tactics and number of men, day after day, to conquer the same trench, to have different results than the day before. Every week of the battle of the Somme, or Verdoun, count as an entire Battle of the Isonzo. Garibaldi was modern in refusing frontal assault tactics (those that were popular in his time, and will be even more popular in WWI), favouring surprise and flanking.
    2
  20. The kids had no parents that could object. There were a lot of orphans in public and private institutions then, often not so happy to attend them.
    2
  21. Not really that tragic. He died as a wealty man, surrounded by his family. Yeah, many didn't believe him, but many others did.
    2
  22. Two on two arrows, one on the dagger, one (on four different locations) on the coat.
    2
  23. Nero was the offspring of two very ancient, noble and incredibly rich families (gens Julia and gens Claudia). He grew completely detached by the common people. Didn't know them and didn't understand them. He "loved" a version of them that didn't exist in reality. We, as modern people, can appreciate his effort to promote poetry, singing, or other form of sport, as an alternative to gladiatorial games, that he didn't like, or his appreciation for Greek culture in general. But the common people disliked what Nero liked, and they disliked the fact that a good chunk of the city of Rome was Nero's personal property, and ostensibly so. Not by chance Vespasian (an equites, so a rich plebeian, that even worked as a livestock merchant), razed Nero's "domus aurea" and built the Coliseum on the site of Nero's private lake. He knew what common people wanted.
    2
  24. It took Hannibal 6 months of siege to take the small city of Saguntum in the best conditions possible for him (near to his bases and with almost unlimited supply of men and materials). Rome was simply too big to chew. With the Carthaginian forces placed around the city, any section of them woud have been vulnerable and unable to help each other.
    2
  25. Ilipa had ben Scipio's masterpiece. It's often said he copied Hannibal, but that was not what happened. He took advantage of the fact that Hasdrubal and Mago KNEW Hannibal's "trick" to hypnotise them, making so that they didin't do anything, waiting for the Roman center to approach, terrorised to push forward, while their army was cut to pieces. Scipio played mentally with his enemies at a different level than Hannibal. In this regard had to be seen the episode when he allowed Hannibal's spies to visit his camp and take note of everything they wanted. It was AFTER the annihilation of the Numidian and Chartaginian armies at Utica and it meant "what I've done, you'll not be able to redo, even if i help you".
    2
  26. As the video clearly stated, many religions, and many Christian churches (Baptists and Pentecostals among them), admits the possibility of possessions. Tought the rituals to free people from them may vary.
    2
  27. The position of the left arm across the chest is typical of corpses that had been turned face down right after the death. The killer did so to recover his arrow, but he didn't take any of Ötzi's possessions, the arrows, the bow, not even the precious copper axe. Because they likely were of the same community, and both the arrow on Ötzi's body, and his possession in the hands of the killer would have revealed the cuplrit. Like many murder victims, Ötzi knew his killer.
    2
  28. Scipio had never been defeated, nor had never been close to be defeated. Hannibal took 6 months to conquer the small city of Saguntum in the best conditions possible for him. Scipio conquered Nova Carthago in 2 days while being far from his supplies. What Hannibal had been unable to do in 19 years of campaign in Italy, Scipio did in two years of campaign in Africa with a second-rate army. Ilipa had ben Scipio's masterpiece. It's often said he copied Hannibal, but that was not what happened. He took advantage of the fact that Hasdrubal and Mago KNEW Hannibal's "trick" to hypnotise them, making so that they didn't do anything, waiting for the Roman center to approach, terrorised to push forward, while their army was cut to pieces. Scipio played mentally with his enemies at a different level than Hannibal. In this regard had to be seen the episode when he allowed Hannibal's spies to visit his camp and take note of everything they wanted. It was AFTER the annihilation of the Numidian and Chartaginian armies at Utica and it meant "what I've done, you'll not be able to redo, even if i help you".
    2
  29. Maybe an ancestor. He was beaten so bad that he started growing vines.
    2
  30. Battuta is probably the greatest known traveler, but he mostly traveled into islamic world, with very few and limited journeys out of it. So most of his voyages were not really "explorations", because he moved into a generally well known setting. Like a Christian traveling western and eastern Europe.
    2
  31. Like much of murder victims, Ötzi knew his killer. The position of the left arm across the chest is typical of corpses that had been turned face down right after the death. The killer did so to retrieve his arrow, but he didn't take any of Ötzi's possessions, the arrows, the bow, not even the precious copper axe. Because they likely were of the same community, and both the arrow on Ötzi's body, and his possession in the hands of the killer would have revealed the cuplrit.
    2
  32. He was born in Venice. MAYBE (there is actually no evidence on this claim) his family was of dalmatian origin, but they lived in Venice at least since Marco's grandfather.
    2
  33. Marco Polo described chinese banknotes. However European merchants of the time used promissory notes and letters of credit, that were paper money. (very little exchange of acutal metal was involved in long distance commerce in those days). Even pilgrims often traveled carrying only paper with them.
    1
  34. He never said to have seen dragons, but described an animal that could be seen in the province of Carajan, like someone could describe a bigfoot from the accounts he heard in Oregon. His description of the animal is very similar to that of a giant salamander. According to Polo, the biggest samples could reach 10m lenght. The biggest giant salamanders are 2m lenght (and is not impossible that Polo described a now extinct bigger subspecies, since the same Polo said those animals were relentlessly hunted). We have seen far greater exagerations in other explorers' accounts.
    1
  35. It had been seen that cavities are really rare on hunter-gatherers, while become common with the transition to agriculture and grain-heavy diets. Ötzi's teeth indicates a high carb diet. As said, he didn't have arteriosclerosys for that, but because he was genetically disposed to that. His last meals were probably not his normal meals, but calories-dense meals used for trips.
    1
  36. You own your ancestors' bones?
    1
  37. He believed he was in islands east of Japan because that's exactly where the islands he find would have been in Toscanelli's map. The irony is that, the same moment he put his foot in the South American continent, he wrote that was a new unexplored continent.
    1
  38. He never said to have seen dragons, but described an animal that could be seen in the province of Carajan, like someone could describe a bigfoot from the accounts he heard in Oregon. His description of the animal is very similar to that of a giant salamander. According to Polo, the biggest samples could reach 10m lenght. The biggest giant salamanders are 2m lenght (and is not impossible that Polo described a now extinct bigger subspecies, since the same Polo said those animals were relentlessly hunted). We have seen far greater exagerations in other explorers' accounts.
    1
  39. He was probably fleeing. He was near to the watershed, and the forensic estabilished he was shot in the back probably from about 100m distance.
    1
  40. He was born in Venice. MAYBE his family was of dalmatian origin, but they lived in Venice at least since Marco's grandfather.
    1
  41. Forensic estabilished he was shot from about 100m distance. Pretty elaborate for a ritual killing. More, other than the wound on the hand, that's a typical defensive wound, there was the blood of other four people on his items. Two on two arrows, one on the dagger and one (in four different stains) on the coat. Finally, the position of the left arm across the chest is typical of corpses that had been turned face down right after the death. The killer shot him in the back from a distance, but then reached the corpse and turned it face down, probably to recover his arrow.
    1
  42.  @jooprodederode9329  The wast majority of Garibaldi's army were volunteers form the south, so they "conquested" themself.
    1
  43. Actually organic material found into all the pyramids had been radiocarbon dated.
    1
  44.  @dcmango6840  As I said, organic material found into all the pyramids had been radiocarbon dated. Is not a question of "a mark in an interior chamber", nor of "some Egyptologists". Almost all the Egyptologists consider the Giza's pyramids tombs built during the 4th dinasty. Samples dated in the '80s didn't take into account the fluctuations of the concentration of C14 in the atmosphere. More recent datings took that into account, and narrowed the range. The other problem is the one of the "old wood". Once we find a piece of wood into a wall, we know that it can't be more recent than the construction of the wall, but the wood itself could have been a century old, or more, when it had been left there. The date you obtain is not that of the building of the wall, but that of the cutting of the wood.
    1
  45.  @dcmango6840  There is always someone that stated something that seems in accord with every opinion. Hawass simply doesn't consider radiocarbon dating to be precise enough to date Egyptian dinasties, because, for him, the margin of error is too wide. He wants a margin of error of a decade and not of a century. That's different than saying that the tecnique is outright useless or provides wrong results. The same Hawass never stated that the Giza pyramids had been built by someone else than Egyptians of the 4th dinasty.
    1
  46. One thing this clip didn't say is that, during the trips between Genoa and Constantinoples in his youth, he had to fight for his life four times, to repel the attacks of Greek pirates. It was a Darwinian fencing school.
    1
  47. Hiding her pregnacy was a little far fetched.
    1
  48. Ilipa had ben Scipio's masterpiece. It's often said he copied Hannibal, but that was not what happened. He took advantage of the fact that Hasdrubal and Mago KNEW Hannibal's "trick" to hypnotise them, making so that they didin't do anything, waiting for the Roman center to approach, terrorised to push forward, while their army was cut to pieces. Scipio played mentally with his enemies at a different level than Hannibal. In this regard had to be seen the episode when he allowed Hannibal's spies to visit his camp and take note of everything they wanted. It was AFTER the annihilation of the Numidian and Chartaginian armies at Utica and it meant "what I've done, you'll not be able to redo, even if i help you".
    1
  49. Like many murder victims, Ötzi knew his killer. The position of the left arm across the chest is typical of corpses that had been turned face down right after the death. The killer did so to retrieve his arrow, but he didn't take any of Ötzi's possessions, the arrows, the bow, not even the precious copper axe. Because they likely were of the same community, and both the arrow on Ötzi's body, and his possession in the hands of the killer would have revealed the cuplrit.
    1
  50. Yeah. He managed to shot an arrow in his back from 100m distance (that's what the forensic estabilised). He had to be an hell of a sprinter.
    1