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In 1954 the Soviet nuclear reactor at Obninsk became the first to supply power to an external grid, but for about a decade afterwards there was relatively little activity while the United Kingdom, France, and the United States built several dual-purpose (the British Magnox and French UNGG...

In the 1960s both Roman Catholic candidate John F. Kennedy and Mormon candidate George W. Romney ran for President of the United States, doing well (and in Kennedy's case winning) while overcoming some public concerns and discrimination. How would an Eastern Catholic or Eastern Orthodox...

What if the General Motors Rotary Engine option Chevrolet Vega had been produced as originally planned, entering the market in October 1973, right as the Energy Crisis hit?

During the KAL-007 shoot down incident a United States Air Force RC-135 happened to be operating in the area in order to monitor a Soviet missile test. Soviet command and control was complicated due to radar in the area being knocked out, and in the haste to make an interception the commander of...

Brass instruments were still common in popular music in the late 1950s and early 1960s, even in some music that might be considered proto-rock, but they haven't really been part of the mainstream since. How could brass instruments have remained part of popular music?

In the early 1950s the West embargoed petroleum from Iran without causing any major issues with supply or pricing. Under the Consortium for Iran the petroleum was brought back to market around 1955. During the lead-up to the Suez Crisis Saudi Arabia was growing closer to Egypt out of mutual...

The Alaska class battlecruisers possessed greater firepower than a heavy cruiser while having comparable crew complement and horsepower output (and thus likely fuel consumption). They were also completed before the Des Moines class heavy cruisers, with two of the ships seeing combat service...

How well would modern equipment handle the conditions of trench warfare?

Ferdinand Mannlicher developed several innovations in firearms design, including a straight-pull rifle action, en-bloc firearm clip, and a rotary magazine for the bolt-action Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle, which also fired the intermediate 6.5 mm × 54 mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge. Mannlicher...

When the now canceled Black Fox Nuclear Power Plant was first proposed Oklahoma was one of the least seismically active areas of the United States. Since 2009 the frequency of earthquakes has increased nearly 200 times, to the extent that the United States Geological Service has declared the...

Vehicles sold for salvage and surplus tend to have their armaments and other military equipment stripped from them, but was this always the case? Could a foreign country or even a private group have purchased World War I, World War II, or Cold War surplus in operable condition or a condition...

California disproportionately benefits from water and power projects in the American West. California receives more water draw rights from the Colorado River than any other state under the Colorado River Compact (more than Nevada and Arizona combined), and it also receives more power from Hoover...

The first .50 caliber sniper rifles were actually M2 Browning machine guns equipped with a telescopic sight. How would larger anti-tank rifles such as the Mauser Tankgewehr M1918, Boys anti-tank rifle, PTRD-41, and PTRS-41 have fared in the role?

Between 1930 and 1994 the Republicans only controlled the House twice - 1946 and 1952. The Republicans were more successful in the Senate, losing control in 1932, regaining it in 1946 and 1952, and then controlling it once more between 1980 and 1986. Could they have gone on to have gained...

USS Missouri was the only battleship of the United States Navy not to be placed in reserve status prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. In fact, President Truman personally intervened to keep the battleship in commission due to a fondness for the ship (it was christened by his daughter, he...

What could Germany have accomplished in terms of rearmament while remaining within the limits of the Treaty of Versailles?

What if the .50 caliber version of the Desert Eagle had never been developed? What firearm would take its place in movies and popular culture? Would big frame revolvers continue to dominate, or would another powerful semi-automatic pistol take its place?

What if Al Gore had lost the popular vote while trailing Bush by a narrow margin in Florida? Would he still have pushed for a recount? How would such a request be perceived?

What might the military and political career of Curtis LeMay have looked like if Richard Nixon had won the 1960 Presidential election? Apart from the B-70 Valkyrie program, are there any other major initiatives that LeMay might push for under a Nixon Administration?

What if Richard Nixon had decided to wait things out following his loss to build support for a return to the Senate in 1964 (information on 1964 Senate race here) instead of running for Governor of California?