u/MordisF

I'm looking for any good novels or book series set in the 18th century (or later). I really enjoyed Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series, as well as Rebels and Traitors by Lindsay Davis. I'm also currently on book 2 of the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson and I'm absolutely loving it.

I just love reading about fictional characters living through profound historical events, often personally shaping them, especially when its things like battles and international diplomacy, philosophical and scientific innovations, political intrigue and revolutionary ideals.

Let me know if you have any suggestions in this vein, or just any good novels set in the 18th century.

I'm on a bit of an early modern history kick at the moment, and I love all of DJ Peach's history videos. Does anyone know of any similar YouTube channels that present history in such an in-depth and entertaining way?

In particular, anything from the 18th century onwards would be ideal. Also, it doesn't have to be entertaining as a rule, although this certainly helps.

Edit: Kraut is a very good channel for in-depth political history. Not super funny but still super interesting and engaging. Also, the Fall of Civilisations podcast (on YouTube) and Defragged History are really good. The latter's series on the Batavia shipwreck was one of the most fascinating documentaries I've ever seen!

I've been trying to find a band that I came across years ago but can't remember their name. All I remember for certain was that they were psych rock (and maybe a little bit electronic), and they had an album with a giant insect alien monster thing (sort of like a caterpillar) in the sky on the cover. Also, it was surrounded by balloons? Or I might be thinking of another one of their albums.

I also feel like their band name was in the form "[something] the [something]", and/or that it had the word "eat" in there somewhere, but I may just be confusing this with other bands I know. Again, the main thing I remember is the album with the giant bug on the cover.

Please tell me someone knows what I'm talking about. I've been scouring spotify to try and find this band and I'm starting to feel like I've imagined them.

>!EDIT: aha, sorry guys, I found the band like 30 seconds after posting this. It was Fever the Ghost.!<

Basically, I'm really fascinated by the history of Spanish colonisation of the Americas, not so much the actual conquests themselves, but in their aftermath and the society that came about as a result. I find it somewhat hard to visualise what New Spain was actually like during this period (1600s/1700s), and I think this is largely because it is so underrepresented in the public imagination.

Are there any good films/TV shows (or just anything that would help me visualise that time and place) set in Spanish America in the 1600s/1700s?

Also, what are the earliest westerns (in terms of when they are set, not when they were made IRL)? Are there any westerns you can think of that take place prior to the 19th century?

I just started a historical novel called Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, and in the first chapter a character (Enoch) arrives in Boston in 1713 and a boy asks him if he is from Europe. Enoch is taken aback by the use of this term, and remarks that "most people there say Christendom".

This in turn took me by surprise. I was aware of the use of the term "Christendom" throughout the Middle Ages to refer to the land occupied by christian civilisation, which was more-or-less co-extensive with Europe, but I wasn't aware that it was a more common term than "Europe" up until the 18th century.

So, I'm just wondering about the evolution of the term "Europe". I know it dates back to Ancient Greece, but when did it became the primary term used by Europeans to describe their geographical region? If you asked a European in any given year in history where their country was located, what would they have said? Christendom, Europe, or something else?

Most of the video games I have come across that are set during WW1 or WW2 are tactical first-person shooters or strategy games, both of which prioritise pure combat over other forms of gameplay and have very little (if any) narrative. Are there any good games set during either of the world wars that are more oriented towards single-player, story-rich gameplay?

I work in a shop, often on the tills, and I see so many people who try to pay with Apple Pay, only for it to reject the payment (either because they have used it too much and the transaction requires them to enter a PIN, which requires them to have a bank card, or because our internet isn't very good in the shop). If they don't have a bank card (which so many people don't), then they are stuck. They have no other way to pay for their shopping, or even get cash out from a cash point. They have wasted their own time, as well as the staff and other customers in the queue.

Why do people do this? It makes no sense to me. Why would you not just have your bank card on you, in case you are in a situation where you cannot pay with contactless. On top of this, there are some people who will have a bank card on them, but somehow don't know their own PIN! That is absurd. How can you go through life never using your own PIN number??

Please can someone explain this to me. And yes, I understand that the basic answer to this question is that people just expect to pay with Apple Pay wherever they go. But this is not always the case. Its just basic common sense to carry a bank card on you if you go shopping.

Also, do you carry a bank card on you? If not, why, and has my post convinced you to change this habit?