You're the one who said percentages matter more...

Because everything is relative.WTF is wrong with you. How many should have died in Timor to make it worth your consideration? Or by your logic how big should the country have been to care about it?

No, I said its not more interesting than other atrocities of history with higher death rates. You are the one who thinks absolute numbers are important and belittled atrocities because the countries were smaller.

I didn't say that, stop putting words in my mouth. I was just pointing out that 100.000.000 deaths are a little more important than 500.000 because of sheer numbers. If you had a choice to save 100.000.000 lives or 500.000, which one would you choose ?

I would chose the 100 million, is that some sort of trick question?

I did not put anything in your mouth, you said what happened in East Timor is boring because it is a small country. I say 30% death rate is among the worst that was ever done to any country.

C'mon people, back on topic please.

Isn't it great the Romans discovered how to create concrete? What an amazing substance.

This coming from someone who just said "Its a big country, so the numbers will obviously be higher." What you said was a horrible inhumane thing to say.

Thats ridiculous. Total deaths will always be higher in bigger countries no matter what caused them.

Ah a voice of reason, and how about that cave dude that discovered fire? Kudos to you Og!
twas a great dexters laboratory episode as well - especially when he tried to cook a robot. Time Squad i think was the title of another great show. Was funny as hell as well, finding Einstein in Texas selling cars and Edgar Allan Poe relishing the life of a housewife. Oh and Blackbeard terrorising the seven seas, boarding ships and handing out save-the-whales pamphlets. Its sad to see what has happened to Cartoon network :(

Irrelevant, what you said gives you no damn right to respond in such a way.

Licurgs response to you was no more "horrible and inhumane" than what you said initially.

Speaking of which, have you seen The Croods? It's about cavemen that survive the breakup of Pangaea, and discover fire. I thought that was hilarious with all the weird creatures. Only drawback is Nic Cage voicing the father.

Anyway, God yes fire is amazing. That honestly was the fist step towards civilization I believe.

It is totally relevant, 5 to 10% of a population dieing due to the likes of Mao happened so often so often you cant even count it. But killing 30% of the population of a country is noteworthy, even if the country is small.

For example, murders in china are not more interesting than murders in France, just because the total number is much higher. It would only be interesting if the murder RATE was much higher in one of the countries.

You are just trying to save your idiotic statement now, saying that deaths are higher in bigger countries is not "inhumane and horrible".

Can't you both agree that murder is evil and shake hands? C'mon there are better things to discuss.

Like how Roman women invented the bra by using a leather strap.

All of history is fascinating. But the period that interests me most are the crusades. Especially the 3rd crusade, I.e. the time of Barbarossa, Richard Lionheart and Sultan Saladin. You get several dominant historical figures at once and the events of that period have a deep impact on everything that follows after.
My second pet-period is the 1920-es. A very interesting period torn between hope and fear. Everything was changing, science, art and society. Everything was new. But also the political scenery was changing daily and dangerously so. So it's a very vivid period with lots of things to study.
Apart from these two I am also very interested in early-historic cultures like Babylon and Sumer. First appearance of script, fist recorded mathematics and astronomy and one of the first transitions from a rural to an urban society.