Cool medieval fact I learned yesterday

[Mark_C]

In castles, the important folk usually had rooms in the towers, and the royalty lived in the towers in the castle's keep.
The circular stairways in all medieval castle towers were built clockwise.
Why? Because most swordsmen were right handed.
This put the attacker's sword arm to a steeply curving wall, limiting the sword swing and tactics.
The right handed soldiers coming down in defense had the open hallway on their right for a huge advantage in attack.

 

[MadReefer]

In castles, the important folk usually had rooms in the towers, and the royalty lived in the towers in the castle's keep.
The circular stairways in all medieval castle towers were built clockwise.
Why? Because most swordsmen were right handed.
This put the attacker's sword arm to a steeply curving wall, limiting the sword swing and tactics.
The right handed soldiers coming down in defense had the open hallway on their right for a huge advantage in attack.

Playing D&D again.

 

[radiata]

Hmmm... Ever been to Bolonga? (I've only been once, and the restaurant I chose to have a meal of Rigatoni Bolognese was closed on the day I was there!) All the sidewalks in old Bologna are covered by their building extensions. Because?

 

[Mark_C]

?

 

[mrehfeld]

Sounds like a bunch of Bologna to me

 

[Subliminal]

That is interesting. I learned some new stuff, too. For whatever reason, Facebook has decided I'm big into aviation...and i'm going with it. I've been really enjoying the SR71 facts it's given me. Fastest manned aircraft....they would take off with little fuel (fuel tanks would often leak because the plane had to be made for the pieces to expand due to the heat and pressure at mach3 speeds. They would stage upwards of 4 refueling tankers across the flight path to refill...and of course the aircraft wasn't designed for good visability or tight manuevering....so that was apparently an endeavor where they'd have to put one engine into afterburner to maintain speed due to the higher weight as they moved up It holds the record for fastest coast/coast, from LA to DC in 64 mins (average of 2300 mph). It often flew at up to 85,000 feet (26 miles).

Unrelated, but super cool.

 

[Mark_C]

Sub,
A number of years ago I flew for the military. I was on an HU-25 Falcon coming into Miami (I was radar and comms guy).
Over the radio to Miami control someone comes on a requests an altitude clearance of 60,000 feet.
I look at my pilot and we smirk at the mistake, figure its a rookie pilot.
The guy in Miami control sort of scoffs and says, 'Roger that buddy, if you can make it to 60,000 feet you can have it.'
The reply to Miami was, "Roger, descending to 60,000 feet".
She was an SR-71.

 

[Subliminal]

Hehe. That’s awesome.

 

[radiata]

?

Back when the hey were built there was no indoor plumbing, and people just tossed their waste products out of the window.