Amaleq13

Any answer is ultimately subjective but, for me, "reliable" means "accepted as likely true".

The reliability of the evidence is used to determine the reliability of any conclusion based on the evidence.

Unsupported eyewitness testimony should be considered unreliable because of the evidence from various relevant studies of memory, observation, etc. which indicate humans are quite prone to errors of perception and recall as well as the numerous examples of legal convictions based on eyewitness testimony that were subsequently shown to be in error given more reliable DNA evidence. Secondhand testimony is even more unreliable because of the extra potential source of error.

RED DAVE

Just a possible relevent fact about dating. Or jjust an interesting tidbit. Back in the early 1950s, I recall watching a favorite TV show, "You Asked For It" (no, not an early reality-tv sex show), where viewers wrote in to see interesting or odd people (e.g. Elmo Lincoln, the first actor to play Tarzan).

On one episode, they featured two very old men who were, reputedly, the last two survivors of the Civil War, one Union and one Confederate. They had both been drummer boys during the War. Both men were over 100 and looked it.

A little googling shows that what I saw might well have been true.

Last Civil War (and other war) Veterans

RED DAVE