Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. That is staggering to think about. Ben Franklin was 70 when he signed, which I add only because I always thought of the Founding Fathers as a uniform group. It's interesting to think how far apart Jefferson and Franklin were in age, and how most people envision them in the same way.
Have you seen the play or movie, "1776"? That put it in perspective for me, quite well. John Adams speaking about Jefferson: "Good G**...you don't mean...they're not going to...? In the middle of the afternoon?" Franklin: "Not everyone's from Boston, John!"
The most amazing thing about that movie/play is how much of it was taken directly from the writings of the people involved. The writers had to leave out Adams saying "if we don't deal with slavery now, we'll leave a bigger mess for our descendants to deal with a hundred years from now" because they figured no one would believe Adams actually said that.
Thomas Jefferson was an amazing person, an Enlightenment philosopher equal to any who was able to put his philosophies into practice, not shying away from writing a document that constituted treason, punishable by death. It's such a revolutionary document. He was considered a genius, was extremely well-read (amassing a huge library he sold to the govt after the Library of Congress was burned by the British), and was 6'2" tall, very handsome and imposing for the times--yet he'd talk to people as equals, quizzing them about their opinions, and only later would they discover who that friendly man was! It's hard to believe the quality of men who came together at that place and time in history to create this country.
It's worth recognizing the rare accomplishments of such "great men" for the tremendous value of what they did AND acknowledging how awful they could be in other ways at the same time. Everyone who has ever lived has been only a single flawed human. No one deserves either uncritical praise or absolute condemnation. It doesn't matter what they've done, good or bad - if you can't find a counter example of something else they've done, you're not equipped to make an assessment.
Interesting to see the question about syphilis going the "other direction" for a change. It's worth noting whenever critics rag on about what sickness(-es) came from Europe to the New World; it was a two-way street.
It wasn't really a two-way street. Europeans got syphilis. Americans got smallpox, measles, and many other illnesses, which killed a large percentage of the population.
This is such a silly thing to be critical about from any perspective. The populations of the two separate continental landmasses were eventually going to meet. And when they did these various contagions were bound to find new, undefended hosts. The conquest on the part of Europeans is worth criticizing. Acting as an unwitting disease vector is not. It's incredibly sad and tragic that it happened, but it was sort of inevitable, evolutionarily speaking.
The 38th parallel north is a geographical line of latitude which divided North and South Korea, and is now used as a colloquial term for their border, which still roughly follows the line.
Protestors were protesting in Tiananmen Square. Later they were massacred. Did the massacre happen inside the square or just outside of it? Who knows. Also, people within the CCP have tried to use this language to confuse people into thinking the massacre didn't happen. It did.
Nitpick: Edward VIII was not King of England, just like Elizabeth II is not titled "Queen of England"; there has been no King/Queen of England since the Act of Union in 1707; he was King of the United Kingdom of GB and Northern Ireland etc...as I said, nitpick lol.
Maybe the SS question should clarify because I tried both eagle and swastika which are correct but I understand why they're not the "right answer" because they are not unique to SS caps.
Not that it matter much still did horrible on this one, I only got two right. On most knowledge quizes I only get two wrong.
There was no one "massacred" inside the square.
https://archives.cjr.org/behind_the_news/the_myth_of_tiananmen.php
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8555142/Wikileaks-no-bloodshed-inside-Tiananmen-Square-cables-claim.html
And yes, it was.