time machine

[macele]

Ann Curry has this question on twitter: if TIME MACHINE were real, when and where would you go? someone replied Anne Frank, to rescue her. ...

that touched my heart.

so, if TIME MACHINE were real, when and where would you go?

[Kobi]

There are two I can think of off the top of my head.

I would love to be part of the drafting of the Constitution and hear the arguments of the founding fathers as it progressed. It would be fascinating to hear their thoughts as they sorted through all the potentials to consider.

My whimsical side would want to redo the 9th inning of the 1986 world series so Bill Buckner could catch the ball that went right thru his legs, costing the Red Sox the series.

[princessbelle]

Originally Posted by macele

Ann Curry has this question on twitter: if TIME MACHINE were real, when and where would you go? someone replied Anne Frank, to rescue her. ...

that touched my heart.

so, if TIME MACHINE were real, when and where would you go?

Wow what an excellent idea/thread!!!!!

I would have many. First one that comes to mind is go back when Bill Gates was just starting out and invest every cent i could find to buy into Microsoft stock.


Second idea....I would love to go back to the Henry VIII era. IF i would be excluded from being hanged, beheaded, drug through the streets, etc. Those clothes were magnificent and i would love to dance around the ball room with a fan.

*swoon.

[Gráinne]

On a personal note, I would go back to Sparta, Ontario ca. 1853 to find out what happened to my gg-grandfather and his wife, and why their children (including my g-grandfather) were "taken in" by their aunt and uncle. I would find out much more about this uncle, Samuel Haight, not on the direct line of ancestry but apparently a fascinating and prominent citizen anyway.

On the big picture, I would solve all the big mysteries, i.e. who was Jack the Ripper-was he Eddy, son of the future Edward VI? What happened to Jimmy Hoffa? What happened to Dorothy Arnold? And what happened to Amelia Earheart? (ok, that's more than two, even )

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Kobi

I would love to be part of the drafting of the Constitution and hear the arguments of the founding fathers as it progressed. It would be fascinating to hear their thoughts as they sorted through all the potentials to consider.

Having worked on the show, 1776, I feel like I already did this! lol


Me, I'd want to go to the future and see what happens to mankind - do we collapse into world war(s) and then rebuild, a la Star Trek TNG? Do we continue on as we are now, just expanding our technology, like in Back to the Future? Does the shit hit the fan, like in Revolution? Do we fall back into a caveman-like existence, like in Time Machine?

Of course, I am kind of a check-the-next-chapter-&/or-the-end-of-the-book kind of gal, so while revisiting important things in the past seems cool, I would just love to see: what happens next?!

[Electrocell]

Back to the beginning of time and to knock that fruit out of Eve's hand before she had even taken the 1st bite.

[gaea]

I would visit my young self, give me a hug and tell me that no matter what Im going to be all right....and to keep moving forward.

I would go back to the last time i spoke with my dad on the phone, i would keep him on the phone longer and perhaps get in my car and go see him.

I would visit my native ancestors and learn their traditions....

Id tell my younger self, follow that dream, feel the fear and do it anyway.

...and don't be a numpty.


If I could affect anything in history I'd stop the assassination of Kennedy, even if just to prevent all the endless conspiracy theories.

Also would love to ensure that Myra Hindley and Ian Brady never met.

[Glenn]

This was always my favorite movie. In the 60 version he could'nt take the machine with him anywhere. I was'nt living in this house seven years ago and people would freak. I would immediately play the biggest powerball numbers in the near future, and move the machine (I'll tell customs it's an art project or something)to somewhere secluded in the mountains near Israel. I will bring a tarp with me, food, some weapons, and wear a helmut and bulletproof clothes, and stuff to barter. There, I will have fun, going all the way back as far as I can without hurting the machine. Stopping to look around at intervals. I want to be at all the places where the great miracles happened. Spend time with Jesus and Mohammed. Then, I will FF into the future to find out what is happening in the middle east, if the Bible is true, especially Revelations. First, of course, I will have to get a petsitter for the furkids, and make out a will for them with a trust fund, in case I don't make it back home.

[jac]

If I could time travel I would want to go forward... I would want to see my children and grandchildren after my time here on earth has gone. I would want to see how they are growing, learning, being and the world that they live in, the futuristic world... like on Back to the Future II.

If I were to go back in time I would want to travel through about 7 generations of my family's geneology, which would mean going back to Guatemala, Cuba, Spain and Hungary and invisibly just observe how my family got to where they are now.

[Gemme]

Oh, boy.

I'm going to be selfish here and go back to the day before my mother met a particular person and make sure that they never meet. Both my life and hers would have been so much better for it.

[pajama]

What a fabulous thread!!!!!

Given time to think I will come up with alot of answers. But the two that popped into my head right away are these: (warning:total sappy coming up)

I would go back to November 1967 the day my Grandmother died alone on the back steps. Although I wasn't even a year old when she died, I have a strong emotional connection to her. I have felt her presence at difficult times in my life. I would go back and be with her and hold her hand as she transitioned and tell her with my words how much I love her.

Second, I would go back to WWII to be with my Dad. He was a fascinating man and saw some fascinating stuff. He marched in while Musollini was still hanging, and was almost caught by the Desert Fox. Plus he was a crazy mofo.

I'll be back later when I think of cool times to go.

[weatherboi]

[Greyson]

I would like to go back to the childhood of both of my parents, become their friend and help them know just how much they are good enough and loved.

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by Gemme

Oh, boy.

I'm going to be selfish here and go back to the day before my mother met a particular person and make sure that they never meet. Both my life and hers would have been so much better for it.

ME TOO. I'd also liked to have taken a step on the moon.

[JustJo]

Hmmm.....interesting.

My first reaction is to try to go back and change my mother's upbringing, to prevent what came later for her and, by extension, her children. Since doing that would probably mean that I would never have been born though....

I think I would go back in time to the single worst mistake I ever made and change my decision. I would have stayed neutral and passive instead of working to bring my son's father into his life...and let him walk away as was his inclination.

At that point, I was 35 and had a new baby....and I could have found a partner that was truly a partner and actually wanted to be a family. I didn't have faith in my ability to do that then, so I took the "easy" way out....which turned out to be not easy at all.

[Ciaran]

I think that there's two aspects to this i.e. firstly, time travel to an era / place in history that interests us and, secondly, the ability of time travel to intervene and effectively change the course of events.


On the first, I'd like to go back to two thousand years ago and see what Jesus was really like i.e. whether he was THE son of God or one of many well-intended, holy men and women or, worst case scenario, another charlatan (I mean no offence in saying that, as I have a Christian faith, though it is regularly tested).


I'd also like to go back to the Ireland of the 1500s and 1600s. This period of Irish history appears particularly bloody, evil, unloving and dark to me. In simple terms, I don't like it. However, I'd like to understand what it was like to live through in practice rather than through the over-simplified lens of history centuries later.


Within a US context, I'd love to go back to 1920s NYC - roaring twenties, prohibition, corruption, all-too-easy money, flappers and, of course, the Yankee's Murderers' Row team of that era - the greatest baseball team that there ever was or will be.


In terms of changing the course of events? I've made more mistakes and bad choices in my life than most, and will continue to do so, but there isn't a single defining one so I wouldn't look to change anything I've done. However, if I could change a single event in history it would likely be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which led to the start of World War One. World War One and its immediate aftermath caused so many problems that still impact on the world today.

[Gráinne]

Originally Posted by Ciaran

I think that there's two aspects to this i.e. firstly, time travel to an era / place in history that interests us and, secondly, the ability of time travel to intervene and effectively change the course of events.


On the first, I'd like to go back to two thousand years ago and see what Jesus was really like i.e. whether he was THE son of God or one of many well-intended, holy men and women or, worst case scenario, another charlatan (I mean no offence in saying that, as I have a Christian faith, though it is regularly tested).


I'd also like to go back to the Ireland of the 1500s and 1600s. This period of Irish history appears particularly bloody, evil, unloving and dark to me. In simple terms, I don't like it. However, I'd like to understand what it was like to live through in practice rather than through the over-simplified lens of history centuries later.


Within a US context, I'd love to go back to 1920s NYC - roaring twenties, prohibition, corruption, all-too-easy money, flappers and, of course, the Yankee's Murderers' Row team of that era - the greatest baseball team that there ever was or will be.


In terms of changing the course of events? I've made more mistakes and bad choices in my life than most, and will continue to do so, but there isn't a single defining one so I wouldn't look to change anything I've done. However, if I could change a single event in history it would likely be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which led to the start of World War One. World War One and its immediate aftermath caused so many problems that still impact on the world today.

The assassination was the last straw that finally led to war, but the reasons for the assassination were fomented earlier on. MentalFloss is doing a WWI centennial, tracing the small and big events that ultimately added up to Franz's visit to Sarajevo that day in 1914, on the days they began, 100 years later: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/category/ww1. It's really interesting, and tragic. It's almost as if everyone knew there was going to be a big war, but when?

In America, the "Great War" has largely been pushed aside for Vietnam and WWII, which is incorrect as WWI contributed to the unrest today in the Middle East, the communist movements in Russia, China and Vietnam, and World War II itself. So many consequences.

[Ebon]

I would go back to see the building of the pyramids. I would also go back to see if Jesus was real. lol

[theoddz]

This is going to sound kinda hokey, but I'd love to go back to WWII era and be able to watch my mother's childhood (and her adult years, too) best friend, Irma, play in the All Girls Professional Baseball League. I can't remember which team she played with. I'll have to ask Mother again. I'd also love to know what my mother was like when she was young.

~Theo~