On December 10, 1906 the president of the United States was awarded the Nobel Prize prize for peace. It was a controversial award. The award represents the unique time in history, the complex legacy of the nations twenty-sixth president, and the persistent disagreement over an award for peace given in a world where reality makes peace uncommon at best.
To the western mind the crossbow is probably most associated with the middle ages, but its invention predates that era by about 1000 years.