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If you could travel back in time where would you go and why?


jenn-
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I would just be able to visit and not have to stay in the past, right? Because I like living in the 21st century. :D

 

Anyway, if I can just visit, I'd like a time machine or something like the Tardis so I can go back to numerous times and places. I'd especially like to listen in on the U.S.'s founding fathers when they hashed out the government they were planning. I'd also like to go to both Italy and Ireland before my ancestors came here, to find out what their lives were like there and how they decided/planned to come here. 

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If I could change something, then I would go back to 1998, Senegal. I would have 3 little kids move from in front of a particular wall...

 

To just observe/join in the fun, without effecting anything, I wouldn't be able to decide, but if I could only follow one strand of time, I'd go back to my own childhood.

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Kathy gets the TARDIS, you get the Delorean.

 

:(

 

But the TARDIS can go forwards, why can't I go in the TARDIS too?

 

I am just not sure I want to go around visiting some places as a woman. I wouldn't visit some of those time periods unless I had some guns. I would be concerned about being burned as a witch because I told someone off, someone trying to enslave me, or getting into trouble for being improperly attired. 

 

I would get into too much trouble in the past and some of the things I might want to see are too sad. 

 

I would tell the Indians to burn Columbus' ships, not to feed those pilgrims, or something similarly bad.

 

I could never go there.

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I would love to see some of the ocean explorers present journeys and get money from the Kings/Queens for ships and travel to new worlds.   I am convinced that explorers like Columbus must have been incredibly dynamic people to convince Kings to give them so much money, people, supplies and support to complete journeys that were all in their own imaginations.  

 

 

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If I could change something, then I would go back to 1998, Senegal. I would have 3 little kids move from in front of a particular wall...

 

To just observe/join in the fun, without effecting anything, I wouldn't be able to decide, but if I could only follow one strand of time, I'd go back to my own childhood.

 

Mom2bee, what happened in Senegal to the children?  I should probably know...

 

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Thanks everyone for the replies so far.  Keep them coming.  I am gathering info/ideas for my NaNo story for next month.  I have a time traveling family and trying to get ideas of where to send them.

 

I would just be able to visit and not have to stay in the past, right? Because I like living in the 21st century. :D

 

Anyway, if I can just visit, I'd like a time machine or something like the Tardis so I can go back to numerous times and places. I'd especially like to listen in on the U.S.'s founding fathers when they hashed out the government they were planning. I'd also like to go to both Italy and Ireland before my ancestors came here, to find out what their lives were like there and how they decided/planned to come here. 

 

You can come back to the 21st century.  You can even take a few creature comforts if you would like since nothing you do will effect the 21st century when you come back.

 

I would rather go to the future than the past. 

 

Anything in particular you think you would like to see there?

 

:(

 

But the TARDIS can go forwards, why can't I go in the TARDIS too?

 

I am just not sure I want to go around visiting some places as a woman. I wouldn't visit some of those time periods unless I had some guns. I would be concerned about being burned as a witch because I told someone off, someone trying to enslave me, or getting into trouble for being improperly attired. 

 

I would get into too much trouble in the past and some of the things I might want to see are too sad. 

 

I would tell the Indians to burn Columbus' ships, not to feed those pilgrims, or something similarly bad.

 

I could never go there.

 

Very good point.   I need to keep it in mind.

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I agree with Floridamom, I would like to go back and see why my ancestor decided to come to America. It was my however many greats grandfather. He was a young man and came from Scotland by himself around 1870. The story in our family is that there was some kind of trouble he got into in Scotland such that he felt that he had to leave and come here. He married a Native American woman and then they settled in Texas which is where I was born and I still have family there. Plus I would like to see Scotland, especially in the past.

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Kathy gets the TARDIS, you get the Delorean.

 

I am also in the market for cool time traveling machines.  Bill and Ted's phone booth, The Doctor's police box, and the Delorean have tainted my general ideas.  Right now I am leaning towards a band worn on the wrist, but it seems lame.

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Anything in particular you think you would like to see there?

 

 

 

I would want to see what sort of accomplishments we would make,  goals we would reach, and things we would learn.

 

I want to see us solve some of the issues plaguing the world in our century.

 

We debate and argue about what is the best way, it would be nice to see some of  that come to fruition, to *know* that it turned out alright.

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:(

 

But the TARDIS can go forwards, why can't I go in the TARDIS too?

 

 

 

Well, there are potentially more out there though not all would be stuck in the shape of an old British police box. I think we can find enough - TARDISES? - what's the plural? - for all who want one. After all, if we can make up time travel, we can make up the method of travel. The Delorean can go in both directions too, but the TARDIS is much cooler (or geekier, which actually makes it cooler).

 

I would like to know what happened at Roanoke, 

 

Ooh, good choice. A mystery to solve.

 

I am also in the market for cool time traveling machines.  Bill and Ted's phone booth, The Doctor's police box, and the Delorean have tainted my general ideas.  Right now I am leaning towards a band worn on the wrist, but it seems lame.

 

I forgot about their phone booth. Good choice. Of course, we'd have to find one, and a closed one at that. Superman probably has trouble finding them these days too. 

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I would like to go back to our area 100, 150, 200 years ago and see what it looked like----our current township park was a bustling lumber town 150 years ago and now all that is left is 1 house foundation and the railroad grade. I would love to have seen what our neighbor's 80 acres looked like when they built the original hour in 1876 and then added on in 1900. I would love to see and interact with dh's Native American relatives to see how they really lived and the lands they had.

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I would make a list if the great mysteries of history and events some try to deny today -

 

What really happened to Amelia Earhart?

How did those Nazca lines get there?

The holocaust, moon landings, Roanoke, the Trojan War, some of those other things that posters have mentioned above.

 

Personally, I'd like to be Indiana Jones' sidekick, late 1930's, early to mid 1940's.

 

Lots would depend on WHY your protagonists are time traveling. Is it purposeful or accidental, kwim?

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WW2 to see what my grandfather actually did. The only person he told was my uncle who was drunk at the time and can't remember. And we only have the bare bones of his service records as the others were destroyed in a fire.

 

I'd like to go back and spend time with my grandmother.

 

I would also like to stop into a great house like the one on Downton

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I'd go back to 1975 and spend more time with my dying grandfather. I was 10 when he died and a lot about him was kept from me. I miss him still. 

 

Then, I'd go back to 1990 and spend time with my grandmother. There's so much now that I want to ask her that didn't occur to me years ago. 

 

Then, I'd go back to 1910 or so and see my other grandfather while he was in the orphanage in Indiana. I'd get as much info about him as possible and try to figure out who he really was. All records of his life at the orphanage were burned when the orphanage burned down. 

 

I'd not go back to see my other grandmother. According to my father, my mother is her carbon copy, so I know what she's like, even though she died years before I was born. 

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I would make a list if the great mysteries of history and events some try to deny today -

 

What really happened to Amelia Earhart?

How did those Nazca lines get there?

The holocaust, moon landings, Roanoke, the Trojan War, some of those other things that posters have mentioned above.

 

Personally, I'd like to be Indiana Jones' sidekick, late 1930's, early to mid 1940's.

 

Lots would depend on WHY your protagonists are time traveling. Is it purposeful or accidental, kwim?

 

Good question.  It is purposeful to begin with.  Then they are going to be jumping timelines I think trying to get back home.

 

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Oh so many times and places. I wouldn't want to interact, though. I'd just like to be an (invisible) observer. Except maybe in the near past, say 20-25 years ago. Then, I'd like to interact with my now deceased grandparents and watch my Grandma cook (while I make notes) because she didn't use recipes and we can't seem to recreate her wonderful food.

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I am also in the market for cool time traveling machines. Bill and Ted's phone booth, The Doctor's police box, and the Delorean have tainted my general ideas. Right now I am leaning towards a band worn on the wrist, but it seems lame.

Actually, it sounds rather Susan-Cooperish.

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If I had to stay in the past from then on and have the same relative wealth as I do now (say half have more than me, and half have less than me).  Then I would say "No Thank You".  Life sucked until not that long ago unless you were in the tippy-top class, and even then it often sucked for different reasons. 

 

But, if I could come back to the future any time I felt like it?  No question.  Ancient Rome.  The question would be which part of that history.  Before Caesar's death, definately.  Octavius was such a piss-ant.  Maybe during the time of Marius, I've always had a little crush on him.  Although I am a red-head, so that would cause complications.  Or maybe the Republic.  Maybe the extreme early years...Actually I'd probably be happy with anytime before Octavius when a Civil War wasn't going on.  Even meeting Cato would be cool, although no crush there. 

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I'm not sure that I'd exactly want to be present there (because of political unrest and lack of modern day amenities :D), but I've always been fascinated with the events surrounding Elizabeth I's ascension to the throne. It's really miraculous to me that she survived to win the crown and then ruled as a sole female monarch for 45 years.

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:(

 

But the TARDIS can go forwards, why can't I go in the TARDIS too?

 

I am just not sure I want to go around visiting some places as a woman. I wouldn't visit some of those time periods unless I had some guns. I would be concerned about being burned as a witch because I told someone off, someone trying to enslave me, or getting into trouble for being improperly attired. 

 

I would get into too much trouble in the past and some of the things I might want to see are too sad. 

 

I would tell the Indians to burn Columbus' ships, not to feed those pilgrims, or something similarly bad.

 

I could never go there.

 

 

River Song managed to make it work. I'm sure you can too. :)

 

 

I am also in the market for cool time traveling machines.  Bill and Ted's phone booth, The Doctor's police box, and the Delorean have tainted my general ideas.  Right now I am leaning towards a band worn on the wrist, but it seems lame.

 

Two of my favorite series use standing stones (like Stonehenge) and ancient cave paintings.  You could also go for something like the timer they used to open a portal in the TV show Sliders.

 

If I wasn't going to be impacting anything, I'd love to go back to Scotland before the Rising in 1745 and find out where my family line originated from. I'd also love to visit Ancient Greece and explore the culture first hand.

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Not to be a complete killjoy, but there was a great article (somewhere) that listed the things no one ever talks about with time travel.

Three I remember are:

 

1.  No one will understand you, even in an English speaking country -- I can attest to this, having had to learn to pronounce Middle English and read Canterbury Tales aloud (sadistic professor, that one). 

2.  You can't eat or drink -- modern guts can't handle the parasites and other assorted nasties of old.

3.  You age faster -- if you spend, say 6 months in ancient Rome, you don't get those 6 months back when you return, so you're six months older than everyone around you who didn't make the trip.  Not bad, but if you go hopping around like Doc & Marty McFly, you'll suddenly pop into the present again possibly decades older (but I guess you couldn't really tell with the Doc). 

 

Of course, Time Lords prob figured work-arounds for all of this.

 

 

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River Song managed to make it work. I'm sure you can too. :)

 

 

 

Two of my favorite series use standing stones (like Stonehenge) and ancient cave paintings.  You could also go for something like the timer they used to open a portal in the TV show Sliders.

 

If I wasn't going to be impacting anything, I'd love to go back to Scotland before the Rising in 1745 and find out where my family line originated from. I'd also love to visit Ancient Greece and explore the culture first hand.

 

I loved Sliders.  I think I have watched so many different time traveling shows/episodes of shows that it might hinder my need to feel like I am having an original idea.  As I just write for myself, I think I am going to have to get over that and not worry about how close it sounds like to XYZ show.

 

In the Ruby Red trilogy by Kerstin Gier a genetic anomaly that is triggered on your 16th birthday allows people to time travel. 

 

I was going to go with something like this but they will be able to travel with a guide (their mom) at 18 and alone at 21.  Mom is gonna have to die while they are in the past though because the kids are going to be traveling alone trying to figure out how to get to their right timeline (ala Sliders).

 

Not to be a complete killjoy, but there was a great article (somewhere) that listed the things no one ever talks about with time travel.

Three I remember are:

 

1.  No one will understand you, even in an English speaking country -- I can attest to this, having had to learn to pronounce Middle English and read Canterbury Tales aloud (sadistic professor, that one). 

2.  You can't eat or drink -- modern guts can't handle the parasites and other assorted nasties of old.

3.  You age faster -- if you spend, say 6 months in ancient Rome, you don't get those 6 months back when you return, so you're six months older than everyone around you who didn't make the trip.  Not bad, but if you go hopping around like Doc & Marty McFly, you'll suddenly pop into the present again possibly decades older (but I guess you couldn't really tell with the Doc). 

 

Of course, Time Lords prob figured work-arounds for all of this.

 

Eh, in fiction writing you just get to make up your own rules for time travel.  Think about The Chronicles of Narnia.  They age into adulthood and then come back the same age in body as they left.  I'm going to go that route I think.  And like all aliens in space speak impeccable English, so will the characters they will meet.  I guess I need to write in a universal translator into the story as well to explain for that, so thanks for making me think about it.

 

The more I think about this story, the more I think I will have to avoid going somewhere big and important.  I won't have access to look up historical facts while floating on a big boat (going cruising the first week of the writing month) and honestly I won't want to care that much.  I write for myself and no one else ever sees what I have written.  I will just make it up as I go.

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Eh, in fiction writing you just get to make up your own rules for time travel.  Think about The Chronicles of Narnia.  They age into adulthood and then come back the same age in body as they left.  I'm going to go that route I think.  And like all aliens in space speak impeccable English, so will the characters they will meet.  I guess I need to write in a universal translator into the story as well to explain for that, so thanks for making me think about it.

 

 

True about Narnia, but I can't imagine the PTSD of going back to 1940's British boarding school after being a sword-wielding king two decades older.  

 

Remember, there's always the Babelfish.

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I was going to suggest a Babelfish too.  GMTA.  :laugh:

 

 

If they're bouncing around in time, then you could pick a couple locations that are big and important and do your research on them now before you leave so you have notes you can refer too when you need them.  The rest of the places can be generic cities or points in time so you don't have to worry about it as much.

 

Kristin Hannah uses good time travel devices in some of her books: lightening storms, power outages, old portraits, unexpected train stops, etc.

 

One of my favorite Sliders episodes was when they got home, and didn't realize they'd gotten home b/c the squeaky gate had finally been oiled.

 

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I would like to know what happened at Roanoke, but I would, also, like to visit Ancient Egypt and England during Elizabethan times.  There's, also, the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The possibilities are endless! :-)

 

I want to know what happened at Roanoke too! Every time we hear that story in SOTW, I keep thinking how sad it is that we'll never figure out that mystery!

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