What period of history do you think that you would have better belonged in?
Some say that there is no better time than now, but what period of history would you have liked to live in? What about it appeals to you?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
61 Answers
The future! I want to know what happens next!
I have determined that I was supposed to have been born in 1863 and I should have died in 1959.
If you’re familiar with the “Clan of the Cave Bear” books – somewhere in there. Better food, more space to spread out, a way to live that is, to me, more ethical, plus I could do things all day that seem like fun to me, because I’m weird like that.
@KatetheGreat Everything in history that appeals to me most happened during those years. I would have been a young child during Reconstruction and in my 20s by the time the 1880’s rolled around when a lot of fascinating developments were being made in science, technology, and engineering. I would have been able to witness Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, both World Wars, and I would live out the last 12 or so years of my life watching the Cold War (and the 50s, which I love) begin to unfold.
I should’ve been born around the same time as my dad, in ‘59. That would have given me a nice childhood in the 60’s, allowed me to have a great time as a teenager in the mid-70’s, and watch the culture, music, and technology evolve.
@KatetheGreat I figured your choice would be similar to mine ;-D
I chose to be born around the Civil War because I’m interested in it, but not as interested as I am in the Spanish American War, the World Wars, and so on.
@HungryGuy I would personally love to live during the American Civil War (specifically in Sumter or Charleston, South Carolina) because that period of history is so rich. The United States was overcoming so many issues, expanding it’s horizons, and slowly emerging as a world power around this relative time. Also, the social life would have been a little more fun for me. I would have loved to live in Charleston, SC, wearing those beautiful dresses, drinking sweet tea on the front porch, and being courted by handsome young southern men and their sexy accents. Hahaha.
I wanna be a PIRATE! Arrrgh.
@Only138 I personally believe that you’d make a great pirate. Knowing me, I’d end up falling off of the ship!
@Joker94 I wish I could have lived during that time as well. I would have LOVED growing up with disco music and all of the other fun things of the 70’s.
Fuck it. I wish I could have just lived through all of history. There are too many things I wish I could have seen in my lifetime.
@KatetheGreat Man, I know the feeling :l Just to see it all would be amazing…I’d also love to live through both World Wars. That period in time fascinates me.
@Joker94 I specifically wish I could have been a man during both World Wars. I recently bought a luger from WWII and the story behind it really made me want to just jump back in time and live through it all.
Plus, wouldn’t it be kind of fun just to live as a grumpy old veteran that sits on his front porch with a gun and telling war stories over and over? Hahaha.
@KatetheGreat – ...and shoots at the cars of traveling salesmen who drive up your driveway?
@HungryGuy Yes. I’d also like a lion in my corn field.
@KatetheGreat The stories that come out of that war are just amazing. My grandpa fought in WWII, and served in the Army Corps of Engineers. He died when I was really young, so finding that out when I was older really made my admiration and curiosity for him grow.
@Joker94 Both of my grandfathers served in WWII for the Soviets. I’ve always been very interested in them. Their stories were phenomenal.
@KatetheGreat That would be incredible to hear about. The Soviet side of the war is incredible, and my knowledge of it is still very limited lol.
As a historian, this thread is starting to give me a big boner. Just sayin’.
@Joker94 Trust me, I used to sit there for HOURS and listen to their stories. One of my grandfathers actually had to chop his own hand off during the war. Shit is intense.
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard LOL. You’re such a nerd. ;P
@KatetheGreat JEEZ! That’s incredible!
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard For some reason you reminded me of this story…my one uncle came into the possession of a Nazi flag. I can’t remember how the hell he got it, but he got a legitimate flag from Nazi Germany that was never flown. You know what sucks about all that? My aunt made him get rid of it…she’s very religious and didn’t want anything that “evil” in her house…
Wow I just saw the new Woody Allen film, “Midnight in Paris” and this is just the perfect question after watching it.
I would love to be in New York City in the 1800’s. I can’t seem to take my eyes off old black and white photos from that era. Nostalgia for architecture, people and cultural awakenings stimulates me rather immensely.
@Joker94 Eeep. That really sucks. It may be one of the most universally known signs of hatred, but man, you can’t just trash history like that. My family actually has a full Nazi Germany Waffen SS uniform hanging around somewhere. Even if she didn’t want it, it could have been sold. I hate when people throw historical items away! :(
@KatetheGreat Ah, if you knew my aunt it’d make perfect sense XD Still, it’s a shame it had to go to waste. My uncle had to sell it for like, dirt cheap, to boot. It would’ve been nice to see it in a museum or something, you know? And wow, a full SS uniform?! That’d be nuts to see in person…
@Joker94 Yeah, I’m dead serious. I brought it to school once for one of my history classes and I actually got suspended for it!
@Joker94 Few things piss me off more than when people start ascribing mystical evil powers to rare and valuable historical objects as an excuse to throw them away because they are uncomfortable with them. I knew of someone who threw away a pristine artillery Luger her grandfather had brought back from WWI because it was an “evil Nazi gun.” ...except it was from World War fucking One and probably worth at least $7000 and that’s being conservative. I wish I knew this woman personally because I would have slapped the shit out of her and taken the pistol.
@KatetheGreat Suspended?! That’s ridiculous, I would’ve killed to see that! That’s the ultimate show and tell!
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard It’s a damn shame, man. Maybe more so in the case of the Luger. That’s just plain fuggin’ ignorant.
@Joker94 ‘Tis what happens when you live in the dead center of the bible belt.
@KatetheGreat dicks in my motherfucking mouth… I’m this close—> <—- to calling pics or it didn’t happen on you, because I’m not used to people my age having more impressive vintage gun collections than me >:-(
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard When I get back to the U.S., I’ll definitely post pics. It’s not one of the more impressive ones, but it’s still pretty nice. And I got it for dirt fucking cheap.
@KatetheGreat yesssss….. You need to take me shopping. You always seem to find the most killer deals. I want a Martini Enfield to go with my Francotte :-(
@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I actually have a guy that is willing to sell a 1917 DWM Luger to me for $600. And yes, I do get good deals. Partially because my brother owns a gun shop and I get a lot of guys coming in that give me great deals on antiques. If I find a good deal on a Martini Enfield, I’ll be sure to hit you up ASAP.
This isn’t nearly as cool, but seeing it in person is nuts. Anyways, I take an Intro. to Engineering Design course, and in that classroom, there’s a huge fucking technical drawing of a gun turret used on naval ships tacked to the wall, dated from like, ‘43. The whole thing was drawn by hand in painstaking detail, and my teacher apparently just found it in our school stashed away.
That’s gnarly as hell. I’d love to have that on my living room wall…
There’s two of them, and they’re massive…they’re in a pretty nice shape, too, for having been left folded for God knows how long…I’ll take a picture of it next time I see it and post it here soon..
I should’ve been born in either 1948 or 1923. On the one hand, I’d be a teenager in the late sixties, and a young man in the seventies, completely immersed in the Hippie crowd, even if a lot of them were assholes. And on the other hand, I would have served in WWII and either gone down the business road and lived with class trying to emulate Jimmy Stewart, or have been a beatnik, hitching rides and tramping around the US, writing poems and being a part of that scene. Though, if I were born in 1948, I’d probably wish I lived in class in the Forties. I’m just that type of guy…
I want to be a cowboy sooo fucking much. I don’t mean these modern day pussys who drive around in 4×4’s with Kenny Rogers blasting outta the CD, oh no. I’m talking about genuine frontier bullshit from way out west. Something about wearing a hip holster belt packing a couple of colt 45’s that, well…...gives me a hard on if truth be told. I’d want to be a mysterious stranger though, like Clint. I love spaghetti, which is another benefit I suppose.
Where I am now or in the future. I would have probably been in service or something in an earlier time and I do not take orders well and I hate housework. I would have been put in a mental institution for being an outspoken shrew or maybe have been made to wear a scold’s bridle… imagine that happening to you. If someone had put a big metal bridle round my head with a tongue depressor to shut me up… they had better run when they went to take the freakin’ thing off! It certainly wouldn’t have calmed me down and the dunking stool .. grrrr
Safer now or in the future for sure.
As a woman, I have to go with now. Though it would have been interesting being a suffragist during that time, I’d have been arrested at some point, I’m sure. I just don’t see myself taking any ‘women are less than’ shit, ever.
I was born 1 generation too late. I wish that I was born in the early 1920’s then I would not likely have to deal with these weird and disturbing times. People nowadays are consumed with texting and can’t seem to function without GPS or cell-phones and ipods stuck to their heads. I wish that I would have had a chance to pilot a B-24 Liberator Bomber during WWII so I could stick it to Hitler.
Around 6000 years ago, in the Stone Age.
10,000 years ago when human beings were just beginning to move into Scotland after the ice age. A brand new unspoilt world, what more could anyone want?
Same as @Joker94, so I could be a young woman during the ‘70’s. I have always preferred music and pop culture from that time. Also, judging from stories from my parents’ and friends’ parents, it was easier for a young person to get a start in life at that time. Costs for housing, cars, etc. were more commensurate with income. Jobs were more readily available. My parents and their peers could just walk right into a potential employer’s business and get hired on the spot, whereas today there is a lengthy application and interview process even for menial part time jobs. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was a simpler time.
@lonelydragon Yes, WAY simpler. And you prefer the music from that time because it was refreshing and original. That started in the 50’s and freight trained through the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s…and then was replaced by commercialism.
Something I always enjoy seeing is how the famous rock musicians go their start. They’ll show old footage of them doing their thing in basements and garages….any more, a person is picked to be a superstar. They don’t earn it.
Even though I live in this age, I lived in a few of the decades mentioned above: I was in elementary school during the 50’s; middle, high school, and uni during the 60’s; served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War in the early 70’s; and resumed my job with Pacific Bell (it was part of AT&T back then), and moved into my house later in that decade.
I’ve seen the Doors with Jim Morrison, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix in concert.
You go @Brian1946! I was too young for them, but I saw Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss!
@Dutchess_III
“I saw Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss!”
Then here’s some envy back at you, babe! I would love to have seen both of them back in the 70’s or the 80’s.
Well, I also saw the Osmond Brothers!...
I really, really enjoy the present day. Indoor plumbing and the internet really make it worth living in!
Answer this question 
