If you could go back to any moment in history, where would you go?

[Yomar]

Where would you go?

I should specify that I am asking about going back purely as a spectator...going back to attempt to alter the course of history is a paradox I'd rather not tie my brain into...

[panel]

I would go to ancient Roman times, to meet Jesus, watch a Gladiator fight, and enjoy the beauty of Rome at its peak.

[Die Hard]

Not to mention all the orgies eh Panel? :laugh:

I'd like to go back to the 80's when the Redskins were one of the NFL's elite teams

[cdanrun]

I'm not so concerned about the past as I am about the future. To travel anywhere period, would be there. Knowing that we'll never get to outerspace in our lifetime sucks.

[inmate running the asylum]

Yomar,

I think going back in time on some type of time machine would be great, provided you could get the hell out of there on a moments notice if you had too. But going back to some time period and having to live there or cope, could be a real b!tch. I mean suppose someone grabbed you and you were enslaved?

So the question should not only be going back in time I think, but going back as whom or in what lifestyle?

If I could go back on a time machine, there are many places I would like to go, but I would probably start with ancient Egypt -- to see if I could get answers to the many mysteries -- such as confirming how the pyramids were REALLY built, etc.

Panel,

mentioned Rome, but 90% of the million or so people there at the time of Christ, were unemployed and slavery was rampant.

Hey cdanrun,

if you purchase a ticket on an Air France flight, you can get up to 40,000 feet, which aint too far from outer space. :laugh: But seriously if you want to fly in outer space, I can arrange it in Russia. I flew a Mig jet fighter plane in Russia, where they also had the Mig 25 Foxbat which flies you up to 70,000 feet. That's where its black above and you are at least at the edge of space.

Just bring plenty of dinero's. :laugh:

[Terry]

Ancient Egypt, 3200 BC. I'd like to see the time when the land was first united under one ruler, and I'd like to see who that was. We believe it was a king named MarNer (the oldest human name we know).

Forward to the time of the beginng of the 3rd Dynasty in Egypt, I'd like to see the architect Imhotep at work on the step pyramid of king Djoser. He is the first genius that we recognize.

Forward to the 4th Dynasty. I'd like to see the funeral for the great king Khufu.

Forward to around 1600 BC, and the era of the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt. I'd especially like to see the battles where Ahmose fell, and where Kamose finally drove the Hyksos out for good.

Forward to ~1350 BC and the shoreline near the Dardanelles, where a town named Illios (Troy) is being sacked by a greek confederation led by a king Agamemnon.

Forward to 48 BC, Alexandria in Egypt, and the first meeting of Ceasar and Cleopatra

Forward to Bethlehem, and attempt to witness the birth of Jesus. Forward to 32 years later and attend the sermon on the mount, then 1 years later to Jerusalem and the crucifiction.

Forward to 1066, southern England, and the Battle Of Hastings.

Forward to 1485 and the Battle of Bosworth Field - the death of Richard III, the end of the Wars Of The Roses, and the end of the middle ages.

Forward to 1805, off the coast of Spain, and witness the Battle Of Tragalgar.

Forward to 1814, and witness the battle of Waterloo (Le Havre, Quatre Bas, and Waterloo itself).

I'd also like to stop and see Boadicca, The Black Prince at Crecy, Henry v at Agincourt, Elizabeth 1st as a young woman, the signing of the declaration of Independence, the Constitutional Convention, Gettysburg, Kitty Hawk 1903, Robert Johnson recording, and the Beatles at the The Cavern Club in Liverpool along the way.

[Om]

Love this thread. Time travel is one of my babies.

Love, for instance, the concept of the first guy solemnly strapping himself into a machine in some super-technological lab somewhere, cameras rolling and the world watching, setting the thing for, say, 1492, then materializing inside of some big-@ss 15th century tree. One way trip for that sorry sap.

For purposes of this thread, and leaving room for inmate's essays ( :angel: ), I'll limit my choice of visits to one ... but I'm going to have to think about it for a bit.

*

One of my favorite short stories ever deals with this concept. Try Vintage Season by CL Moore.

[Golgo-13]

I would go to Flint, Michigan in 1991 to enjoy that fine town and all there is to enjoy about it.

[dan454]

How to build a Time Machine (Wormhole). By Paul Davies.

This simple 4 step process seems very easy to achieve, I believe I have all the necessary components out in my garage.

Step1. Use a particle collider to heat a speck of matter to 10 trillion degrees.

Step2. Simply compress the resulting hot spot by a factor of a billion billion, making a wormhole(smaller than a subatomic particle) that connects two different regions of space.

Step3. Blast the opening of the hole with a million oneterawatt laser beams until it's large enough for at least one passenger.

Step4. Whip one end of the wormhole around like a lasso at nearly the speed of light to create a time differential between the entrance and the exit. NOW HOP IN AND YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY!!

[Skins24]

If I was going back purely as a spectator, I would go back to December of 999. Should be pretty funny watching the chaos, superstitions, etc. of the coming of the new millennium.

-If I could go back and change history, I would go back to when Columbus first set sail. I would stop him from doing so. I wonder how long it would have been before the west was discovered had he not came when he did.....Or I would give lot's of guns, jets, aircraft carriers, etc. and maybe a couple of nukes to the Native Americans and see how long the Europeans would have lasted.

[dan454]

If I was going back purely as a spectator, I would go back to December of 999. Should be pretty funny watching the chaos, superstitions, etc. of the coming of the new millennium.

Actually, the new millenium didn't start until Jan 1 1001.

Just as the recent new millenium started on Jan 1 2001.

Just an FYI.

[Skins24]

but I would probably start with ancient Egypt -- to see if I could get answers to the many mysteries -- such as confirming how the pyramids were REALLY built, etc.

Don't you know anything maaan. It's was them aliens, man. THEY don't want you to believe it maan, but it was them man. I saw it in a vision once man, I'm tellin you, they're coming back for us man. :peace1: peace out man.

or it could have been a few million or so Hebrew slaves, but...according to Inmate the Bible is full of falsehoods and nontruths so there probably were never any Hebrews period.

[Skins24]

Actually, the new millenium didn't start until Jan 1 1001.

Yes, I'm aware of that. But the fun started in 999. Most people didn't (and still don't) realize that the millenia actually start on the '01.

[Romo]

I get asked this question alot whenever people find out im studying history (im done now...graduation on june 6th).

When asked what time period i would want to live in i go with the 1960s. Drugs, Sex, Rock N Roll, Woodstock. And I still have the modern things like toilets, showers and tv. Plus i am Canadian so i woudlnt get drafted to Vietnam. I couldnt live in the middle ages or anything crazy like that. no medicine, sanitation, hamburgers, potato chips. You get my drift.

Where would i like to visit as a spectator? I guess I would like to see alot of cool military battles. The Mongols would have been fascinating to watch. Battle of Marathon. Alexander the Great at Issus, Gaugamela etc... Some Napoleonic battles would be good to watch. Intellectual things I would like to see Thomas Jefferson when he was drafting the declaration of independence. Abraham Lincoln at the brink of the civil war. Churchill during WW2. Socrates, Aristotle.

Oh Terry, Ive been to Hastings and been to the town Battle, yes its called Battle, where the battle of Hastings was fought. The battlefield is a huge historical attraction. Its very well done and id suggest if you are in England you head out there for a day.

[RyansRangers]

Romo sits to pee- congrats on graduating... That was the best day of my life gettin the hell outta acadamia..........

If I had to go back in history as a spectator I would go back to when Kennedy was assasinated and sit on the grassy nole with binoculars and see what really happend

[OrangeSkin]

If I was a spectator, I would probably choose the crucifixion of Christ...If I was able to participate, It'd probably be the last supper.

[Terry]

or it could have been a few million or so Hebrew slaves, but...according to Inmate the Bible is full of falsehoods and nontruths so there probably were never any Hebrews period.

There weren't any Hebrews when the Pyramids were built. There weren't even any Caananites for the later Hebrews to 'borrow' their exodus story from. There might have been some activity up along the coast at Byblos, that cedar wood in Khufu's pyramid came from somewhere.

But you're at least a millenium before the time of the Hebrews.

Anyway, it's unlikely that slaves built the pyramids. It's more likely that the manpower was supplied as corvee labor in lieu of taxes during the annual inundation.

[Darth Tater]

Originally posted by rskin24

-If I could go back and change history, I would go back to when Columbus first set sail. I would stop him from doing so. I wonder how long it would have been before the west was discovered had he not came when he did.....Or I would give lot's of guns, jets, aircraft carriers, etc. and maybe a couple of nukes to the Native Americans and see how long the Europeans would have lasted.

Why do you want to kill me? You know that may really create a paradox. Actually, the Native Americans might have just killed each other.

[Terry]

No gas either, no roads or runways, no service technicians, no training.

And the assumption that the Indians would have behaved as you might hope should those problems be resolved. It would be interesting to see whether those 'noble savages, at one with nature and the great spirit' wouldn't have been just as nasty as the euros if they'd had the technological edge.

[inmate running the asylum]

Posted by OrangeSkin

If I was able to participate, It'd probably be the last supper.

Orangeskin,

If you tried to attend the Last Supper they wouldn't let you in. They didn't have fast food then, and besides you eat too much. :laugh:

[Brave]

Great question. Tough question.

I'm quite into military history so some of the obvious come to mind:

- Thermopylae (Just started "Gates of Fire;" very good so far; thanks for the tip Om; Polynikes is one tough hombre)

- Waterloo

- Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg

- Omaha Beach at Normandy

- Dallas for Kennedy's assassination

It dawns on me that everything I want to go back and see is violent, sad and horrible. Wonder why that is. So, to ease my own mind let me also throw in:

- Las Vegas before Super Bowl XXII. Bet everything on the underdog Redskins. Clean up on all the side bets as well. Take the loot to the bank, open an account with investments in the stock market (Microsoft anyone?) ... come back and put it my 2-week notice.

Oh great ... first I'm violent and now I'm greedy! OK ... I'd also like to hear Churchill's great speech.

[Pete]

If I was only a spectator, I would say the battle of Stony Point, July 1779. I grew up in Rockland County, which had it’s fare share of Revolutionary War battles. I’ve always had a special interest in the history of the area. I found a musket ball as a kid camping out, and I was hooked. The Boy Scout camp was in the area of Stony Point in Tompkins Cove. We use to camp in places like Doodle Town, and cannon ball trail. There’s actually a "clan" that lives in the mountains outside the town of Sloatsberg called "Jackson Whites". Don’t know how they got the name, but there the descendent offspring of Hessian mercenaries, and Haitian slaves. For the most part, we’re talking 1930’s Appalachia, to this day.

"Issue the orders Sir, and I will lay siege to Hell.'"

General Anthony Wayne

http://www.bbc.net.uk/h2g2/guide/A587289

If I could take part in the goings on. San Fran, April 1969. I want to party with Jerry on my birthday

:high: :high: :high: :high:

[Tommy-the-Greek]

This is a great topic. I would like to go back to the Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. To marvel at all the lifeforms from dinosaurs to plantlife. I want to see first hand what killed off most of the life forms at 3 different time periods. Watching a doomsday meteor plummet from the sky towards earth.

As many have stated going back to see every human conflict, and not just the battles. To see and feel the causes prior to the battles, as well as how the outcomes affected the people.

I would like to unravel some of the mysteries of history. Was there really an Atlantis and where was it. To meet and converse with the people prior to and during it's distruction.

I would like to see the Ancient wonders of the world. To see the glorious cities of the old world between 1000bc to 100 ad. See the great greek citystates. See the glory of Rome. To walk with Jesus and listen to his word.

I would like to meet all the great leaders of the world, not just the warriors and military leaders. But the religious and political leaders and hear there thoughts on a wide array of topics.

I would like answers to many questions that we can only guess about now. Like what really happened at Roswell in the summer of 47? How where the pyramids built? How did tobacco and cocaine get to egypt and into there mummies? Who made the nasca lines and why? So many questions have I and no answers.

This would be my quest, a quest for knowledge.

[cdanrun]

Originally posted by inmate running the asylum

Yomar,

Hey cdanrun,

if you purchase a ticket on an Air France flight, you can get up to 40,000 feet, which aint too far from outer space. :laugh: But seriously if you want to fly in outer space, I can arrange it in Russia. I flew a Mig jet fighter plane in Russia, where they also had the Mig 25 Foxbat which flies you up to 70,000 feet. That's where its black above and you are at least at the edge of space.

Just bring plenty of dinero's. :laugh:

Thanks for the info, inmate. Oh well, gotta throw another dream out the door. :laugh:

[Ian]

I would go back to circa 1826 and the death of William Huskisson, the MP for Liverpool and previous President of the Board of Trade.

Huskisson was relatively famous in Life and may have become Prime Minister or Tory Party Leader if he had successfully got out of the way of Stephenson's Rocket.

Yes, Huskisson was the first ever railway death. He was hit by the Rocket and died later of his injuries. Now obviously people still die from being hit by trains but surely he could have moved away from the rails and lived.

I just would like to see how this incident happened. Was it general chaos? Were people so caught out by a non horse driven vechile? or was Huskisson just very unlucky?