134
votes
Why do American gas stations' bathrooms apparently use these huge keys?
So that people don't forget them in their pocket and leave the gas station with the key.
- 14.7k
106
votes
Accepted
Identifying a church by a lake and a railway line, claimed to be in the Canton of Lucerne
Alte Kirche St. Georg und Nikolaus, Flüelen, Canton of Uri, Switzerland
(from Wikimedia Commons)
Found by noting the time & direction of shadows, inferring that the view was facing north, looking ...
- 19k
100
votes
Accepted
Why does Paris have two large train stations next to each other? (Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est)
The Gare du Nord was originally the Paris terminus of the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord (see Wikipedia). The Gare de l'Est was originally the Paris terminus of the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer ...
- 1,341
95
votes
Accepted
Where is this tower, likely photographed in Belgium about 100 years ago?
This is not in Belgium, but in Béthune, France, although not far from the Belgian border.
The belfry (the tower) is originally from 1346, but was destroyed during the first world war and rebuilt ...
- 56.5k
69
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of the swastikas at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen, Denmark?
Regarding the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek:
The collection is built around the personal collection of Carl
Jacobsen (1842–1914), the son of the founder of the Carlsberg
Breweries.
According to the same ...
- 15k
56
votes
Accepted
Did something happen in 1987 that caused a lot of travel complaints?
The answer appears to be a combination of unrealistic scheduling and a flurry of mergers.
A Travel Weekly article from 2003 (the record low year at that time) gives some clues:
The 2003 decline is ...
- 19k
47
votes
What is the meaning of the swastikas at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen, Denmark?
The Carlsberg brewery started using the swastika as their logo in 1881. After the nazis adopted the swastika as their most prominent symbol, Carlsberg stopped using it some time in the 1930ies, but it ...
- 56.5k
45
votes
Accepted
Identifying a Romanesque church in France from a 1900s photo
This is the Église Saint-Nazaire-et-Saint-Celse de Brissac, Herault, Occitanie (Google StreetView). The front has changed, the two rectangular windows seem to be bricked up; their former location is ...
- 5,816
43
votes
Accepted
Need help identifying/translating a plaque in Tangier, Morocco
This is written in Classic Arabic (MSA), using the Maghrebi script, the translation is:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of Allah, most merciful and gracious.
فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَن ...
- 97.6k
38
votes
Denied US Entry in 2012. Is this on my PERMANENT record?
You can use the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program to help clear up issues like being delayed at the border every time.
After you file your application, you will have 30 days to submit any ...
- 62.4k
38
votes
In-Transit Waiting Area in USA Airports?
International sterile transit used to exist about 20 years ago in quite a few US airports. You'll find a few references to it in this thread from 2001 on Flyertalk, though even at the time, it was ...
- 78k
37
votes
Accepted
Where is this chained man statue, photographed a century ago?
This is the Sculpture "Nègres marrons surpris par des chiens" by Louis Samain. In the context of Slavery, the term "marron"French Wikipedia refers to fugitive slaves (cf. the ...
- 5,816
29
votes
Accepted
Where, specifically, was the statue of King George III in Manhattan? Can I visit there today?
This turned out to be hard to find, but not impossible...
The Teach US History web page you linked to contained an interesting footnote:
(4) Marks, Arthur S. “The Statue of King George III in New ...
- 62.4k
28
votes
Are there any retrocomputing museums in the former Eastern Bloc countries?
Since most (all?) computer museums can qualify as retrocomputing museums, you might find this list of computer museums useful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_museums
You could also ...
- 57.6k
27
votes
Why do American gas stations' bathrooms apparently use these huge keys?
These are very common in the US, I've usually seen them as a large wooden block, roughly 1"x3"x12". Note, the one in the Beavis & Butthead clip posted looks like an old muffler, ...
- 371
26
votes
Identify location of old paintings - WWII soldier
This might be the "White Tower" of Thessaloniki, Greece:
Anonymous photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Destinygreece, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- 5,816
24
votes
Why does Paris have two large train stations next to each other? (Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est)
The simple answer is that the reasons are exactly the same as in London, where, in the Victorian age, different parts of the railway network were built and owned by different private companies.
In ...
- 544
24
votes
Accepted
Where can I eat medieval food?
It's not a restaurant, but you may have luck with the Society for Creative Anachronism (the SCA), and Renaissance Festivals, which SCA members frequent or work at.
The SCA is a group that keeps the ...
- 703
21
votes
Are there any retrocomputing museums in the former Eastern Bloc countries?
Yandex Museum, in the headquarters of Yandex -- Moscow, Timura Frunze st., 11 str. 13.
Not a very large one, but has a few dozens or so of old computers, from around the world, not only from Soviet ...
- 5,196
21
votes
Are there any retrocomputing museums in the former Eastern Bloc countries?
There is a computer museum in Halle, Germany, formerly in the GDR. They have a lot of old computers and other devices on display from that time and place : http://rechenwerk-halle.de/usr/digital-ag/...
- 2,172
21
votes
Accepted
Where in the world can you see WWII U-boats or U-boat pens?
Preserved U-boats [1]:
1) Maritime Museum, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany
U-2540 / Wilhelm Bauer, Type XXI scuttled near Flensburg 1945, salvaged 1957, relaunched 1960 as 'Wilhelm Bauer', became museum ...
- 1,883
20
votes
Accepted
Why isn't there a direct train from JFK to Manhattan?
By the time air travel became economically accessible to the masses, such that high-classed public transportation to airports was on the political radar at all, New York City was already one of the ...
18
votes
Where can I eat medieval food?
Yes, in many German cities you will be able to find restaurants that serve medieval food. I know some of the places as I am actively taking part on some medieval groups and we sometimes meet in such ...
- 952
15
votes
Accepted
How did adding new pages to a US passport use to work?
Around 20 years ago they were taped in with a
wide strip of fairly thick transparent plastic adhesive tape. The page linked in the other answer misinterprets this slightly. The additional pages are ...
- 134k
14
votes
Did TGVs have restaurant-style dining?
I travelled on TGV from Paris to Nimes in 1999. I was only eighteen but I travelled first class because my french pen friend's dad was the train manager! I wasn't expecting to be fed, but then one of ...
- 249
14
votes
Accepted
Hastings Battlefield and the 'Right to Roam'
There is no general "Right to Roam" in England and Wales, in contrast to Scotland.
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 only allows public access that can be recognised and "Right to Roam" on "...
- 13k
14
votes
Normandy, France: Where to see the WW2 landing craft?
There is a LCVP based at the harbour of Carentan-les-Marais, about 50 km from Bayeux (more details in French). I don't think there is one on a beach anywhere, there might be one at the museum at Utah ...
- 107k
13
votes
Accepted
Where in Germany was this photo taken?
A quick google image search brought up a Wikipedia page for Uslar, Germany, which includes a picture of a building that looks to be the same as in your photo.
- 11.2k
13
votes
How did adding new pages to a US passport use to work?
This site (archive) (not mine) has pictures of the page addition
More photos in the website
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible