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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2680 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 22, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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If a genius on St Helena (nothing else to do) couldn't do it, why would a vaped-out TikTokker in grade 10 be able to do it?

If Napoleon's English was that bad, how did he communicate with his best friend? Was this a teenager who randomly knew French, or did she struggle through his pidgin?

Betsy Balcombe was able to befriend Napoleon because she was the only member of the family to speak fluent French, so she acted as his unofficial interpreter while he stayed with the family before relocating to Longwood House.

As the daughter of a successful English merchant during the regency period whose parents presumably had designs to marry her up the status ladder, it is likely her education focused heavily on French, since it was seen as the language of high culture.

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