# Are we modern-day wimps compared to our brother's and sister's of 1845? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839 "2003-06-05T15:08:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/21 "2003-06-05T17:53:51Z")
50 years ago would be a cakewalk. I’d love to have the opportunity to do a 1940s or 1950s House style thing. **Gunslinger** and I would be all over that like white on rice. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/22 "2003-06-05T19:21:31Z")
so what would this thread look like in the year 2545? "How did those primitive people survive back in the 21st century? -no robots to do the vital, life-sustaining work like cooking .They probably died from food poisoning-- they had to touch their food to prepare it! -no genetic engineering to fix defects:–they actually put glass lenses in frames hooked over their ears to improve their vision!! -they actually died from minor problems like cancer. If their liver or kidney failed, they couldn’t grow a new one!! –they couldn’t control the weather–they lived in constant fear that a hurricane or flood could destroy a whole city Boy am I glad I dont live back then!" My point is that whatever we are used to seems “normal”, and anything else is “impossible”. I would die of starvation in 1845 conditions.(or in the jungles of Borneo today) But if I had a local citizen to teach me, I could learn within a year how to hunt,etc. A jungle tribesman would also die today if you put him in Manhattan with no money. But give him a local teacher, and within a year he does okay. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/23 "2003-06-05T19:31:31Z")
so what would this thread look like in the year 2545? "How did those primitive people survive back in the 21st century? -no robots to do the vital, life-sustaining work like cooking .They probably died from food poisoning-- they had to touch their food to prepare it! -no genetic engineering to fix defects:–they actually put glass lenses in frames hooked over their ears to improve their vision!! -they actually died from minor problems like cancer. If their liver or kidney failed, they couldn’t grow a new one!! –they couldn’t control the weather–they lived in constant fear that a hurricane or flood could destroy a whole city Boy am I glad I dont live back then!" ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/24 "2003-06-05T19:43:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*At least in 1366 I can stab most of my problems away with a broadsword. \*\* Bwahaha! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/25 "2003-06-05T19:45:45Z")
You know what we need now: _ **The 1900 House Theme Park and Travel Service!** Visit the lifestyle of your ancestors! See how they laboured to do even the simplest things! Envy their wide-open landscape! Gawk at their clothing and language!_ In the advanced tour packages to 900 AD, you’d have to learn the language… Old English anyone? ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/26 "2003-06-05T20:19:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*But God help you if you got sick. God help you because no one else can. \*\* I not sure this would necessarily be true. While those people did not have the knowledge to create antibiotics and such, some of us might. At the very least, most people in America who’ve had a decent education are aware of the bread mold from which came penicillin. I imagine the average person is also aware of nutritional advantages, such as benefits from vitamin c, and the value of fruits and vegetables. Sterilization practices are familiar to most in our society now. Finally, the increased profile of homeopathic and herbal treatment might allow a person to compliment the remedies used in those days. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/27 "2003-06-05T21:45:02Z")
You know, I’m set in my ways and I like my comforts. I would not willingly leave my lifestyle unless I was dragged, kicking and screaming. But humans are very adaptable. I’m sure that I would adapt as quickly as I had to and I’m sure that everyone on this board would also. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/28 "2003-06-05T22:46:19Z")
Are we wimps? Hell, yes! I blame all the superfluous apostrophes for it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/29 "2003-06-05T23:28:22Z")
> [@](#): > > eating lot’s of red meat and potatoes. _minor nitpick_ Potatoes? In the Medieval period? And it should be “lots”, not “lot’s”. Please don’t kill me. The abovementioned superfluous apostrophes bother me. Sorry. I really like sewing, but the idea of making _all_ my clothes by hand is less than appealing. So is wearing 1845-style clothes in the summer. I don’t like 1845-style dresses. Very dowdy. Too many frills. And bloody hot. Plus I’d have to wear an hourglass corset. (pulls out Nancy Bradfield’s _Costume In Detail_ to check) Yup. Looks like curtains- very _Gone With The Wind_- well, just before. I’m also fond of lots of refrigeration and good sewage treatment. Count me out. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/30 "2003-06-06T00:26:29Z")
Thanks for the mention of the superflous apostrophe(’)s. It was driving me crazy, along with “fairing” istead of “faring”. Yes, I am obsessive compulsive. As for the OP, I’m sure that I would figure it out - medicine wouldn’t normally be an issue - I’ve been more than 30 years since I’ve had an antibiotic. I feel that most folks would have a greater resistance because their bodies have had a lifetime of fighting off germs. Sure, there was a higher mortality from accidents and illness, but obviously not enough to kill off our species. If we could bring our 21st century knowledge with us, I’m sure many would do okay. I think you never know how much you can do until you’re forced to do it. StG ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/31 "2003-06-06T00:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vlad Dracul \* > \*\* > The three grown women, however, absolutely hated every second of it! They were still complaining when interviewed six months later. \*\* Well duh! Did you ever try to live without tampax or a bra? No kleenex, Cue-tips, no tp. Did you ever have to think about going to bed with a man who was out dirty and sweating in the fields all day, and there was not enough water on the spread to take baths more than once every 2 months? No woman in her right mind would go back in time. I can see where children or men, might like the adventure, but women are more realists. I didnt see many women giving orders to men on that show either. Although women are still not equal, we have obtained some rights under legislation as to employment, child support, etc. Not understanding why a woman would not want to go back to when physically “dirty” men ordered women around, is like not understanding why wouldnt a black person want to go back to slavery days. Just what part of how women were treated a hundred years ago do you not understand? Just what did women have to put up with, would you be willingly eager to do if the roles were somehow “switched”? Would you really be eager to go back in time if it meant that you had to live as a woman? ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/32 "2003-06-06T00:47:59Z")
so what would this thread look like in the year 2545? American people actually “worked” at one time? Why was “any” labor not outsourced to cheap foreign workers? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/33 "2003-06-06T01:21:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Susanann \* > \*\*so what would this thread look like in the year 2545? > > American people actually “worked” at one time?\*\* Ah, yes… America. When did they dissolve that again? It’s hard to imagine they had separate countries all over the world… … and the Straight Dope Network (SDN) used to be a “message board” (SDMB) where people actually TYPED messages to each other instead of just linking their minds to the system! HA! What’s that? The SDN is down again? SHIT! I was about to respond to that “-gry” message! I’d pay them credits to upgrade that thing, BUT THEY REFUSE! WTF?? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/34 "2003-06-06T02:05:01Z")
I’ve often thought something must be wrong with us today when we complain about being tired so much, despite the fact (or maybe because of it?) that we do relatively little physical labor. Example: 2003: “Gawd I’m exhausted! It took me all day to prepare the report for tomorrow’s meeting. Then I had to come home, throw some laundry in the washer, and nuke something for dinner before driving my daughter to her soccer game. I just wanna veg out in front of the TV.” 1845: “Cleared some stumps from the back 40 and got another 5 acres plowed. Then I split some fence rails and drove posts. Decided I needed to chop another cord of kindling so I did that. Got enough fieldstone that I can start diggin the well tomorrow but I needed a new shovel. Hadda let the horse rest so I walked to town and back, mebbe fifteen mile all told”. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/35 "2003-06-06T02:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Did you ever have to think about going to bed with a man who was out dirty and sweating in the fields all day, and there was not enough water on the spread to take baths more than once every 2 months? Well, actually, I think men and women both tended to bathe a little more often than that. I suppose the men could make the same complaint about “having to” crawl in with a woman who hadn’t bathed in a week, wasn’t wearing deoderant, and had been helping to get the harvest in, but that would be saying something somewhat sympathetic about men, wouldn’t it? Also, corset provide pretty damn good bust support, and although I complained about them above, they’re reasonably comfortable as long as you don’t tight-lace, which most women didn’t- at least in the specified era. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/36 "2003-06-06T03:18:20Z")
The women most likely to tight-lace were the ladies of ease who lived in cities and had servants. It was unusual for the average woman to tight-lace, and no woman who had to actually work on a daily basis would wear her corset tight - the fashion didn’t dictate it, and even if it did fashion would take a back seat to comfort during farm work. The corsetry complaint is overemphasized in modern times. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/37 "2003-06-06T04:32:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*Are you kidding? > > 50 years ago… > > No computers > No real television > No microwaves > The draft > McCarthy > > ugh. \*\* The first commercial microwave oven came about in [1947](http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html), so we could at least be as bad of cooks 50 years ago as we are now. ---
**Author:** ![Snake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Snake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/38 "2003-06-06T05:11:07Z")
Mentality -wise ? Hell yes ! Our society, in general , is far too sensitive and weak . In 1845 you could call Bill a farmer . Now he’s a Land Resourse Accumulation Engineer . The way things are headed , even the police reports in the newspaper will feel the stranglehold of political correctness tighten . No longer will they be able to describe the house lived in by the freak with 237 cats , filled with rotting garbage and 3 foot tall mountains of shit , as a ‘pig sty’ . PETA will sue on behalf of pigs \< errr… Americans of Swineal Decent , sorry \> alleging that the aforementioned ASD’s cannot be held responsile for their living conditions and would suffer great mental distress and social embarrassment . In 1845 , these whiney people would be either ridiculed or ignored . This would cause them to set sail for a far away island to call their own so they could form their own soft , weak , scared , and disgustingly over polite country where it’d be considered a hate crime to tag somebody and say " you’re IT " for fear of the stigma attached to being an IT . Hey ! Can somebody invent a time machine , please ?? ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Dracul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/50afbb/32.png) [@Vlad\_Dracul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Dracul)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/39 "2003-06-06T05:25:33Z")
Personally, I find that mental work is more tiring than physical labor. I’m much more wiped out by a day of working thermodynamics problems than I was by a day at any of my physical labor summer jobs. I’d like to see Racinchikki’s “1950’s House”: ``` "Richie, did you ask that girl to the sock hop?" "I will later, when I see her at Arnold's." :) ``` ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839/40 "2003-06-06T05:51:04Z")
One week without SDMB makes one weak. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-modern-day-wimps-compared-to-our-brothers-and-sisters-of-1845/179839.md?page=3)