How the Inca used mandatory labor to build huge armies

Large numbers helped Inca armies win

Able-bodied men across the Inca Empire had to perform public service, including fighting in wars. This allowed the state to build huge armies. Because Inca weapons were not clearly better than their enemies’ weapons, sheer numbers often helped them win or persuaded enemies to surrender.

Apollo and Dionysus became modern opposites

Classical sources did not set the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus against each other as reason versus chaos. Thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Johann Joachim Winckelmann helped shape that later contrast, which went on to influence Western culture and the study of ancient Greece.

The internet crosses oceans mainly through cables, not satellites

~99%

Almost all intercontinental data traffic travels through fiber-optic cables laid across the seabed. These cables transmit enormous amounts of information using pulses of light, while satellites serve routes and locations where cables are impractical. A message sent between continents may travel thousands of kilometers along the ocean floor, even though the internet often feels entirely wireless.

Like this? There’s a whole feed of it. Replace empty scrolling with things worth knowing.

Download Hence for free

How the Inca used mandatory labor to build huge armies

Large numbers helped Inca armies win

Keep exploring