I do this, too. I usually don’t have anyone famous in mind, just a woman about my age from whatever time period I happen to have on my mind that day (usually a book or movie is to blame). The Middle Ages and Colonial Times are frequent.
I love the idea of showing someone from the past how easy everything is now. I’d take them to a supermarket and be like, “Oh, sure, I afford a couple pounds of beef for the week. No problem,” or “We have fresh fruit year-round.”
I also imagine showing her the bathroom. With hot water, just like that! No need for an outhouse; just flush everything away!
For me, despite not being one of the “aliens among us” folk at ALL, it’s often an alien. Often an early hominid. Often an animal, and usually either my chihuahua or a coyote. Usually on mechanics, psychology, genetics, anthropology, and evolution. Usually me explaining what various objects/theories are, why they were made in that fashion based on our historical/evolutionary needs, what can be done to make them better.
It arranges my knowledge of various topics, so I can review what I know versus what I do not know, making me feel smarter and making the knowledge more accessible by re-remembering it in better patterns. It also makes me theorize what I can do with the knowledge, pulling together various factoids from different fields and seeing what could be done with both together, which also makes me feel smarter. Which is probably why the topics are always things I am well-versed in.
When I use my chihuahua, I speak out loud, which helps me with my enunciation/stuttering problems, too.
I know exactly how she would react. She’d clap her hands and giggle, like a little kid who just got a pony for Christmas.
I always think about bringing back Jesus or Mohammed, and have them set some of their disciples straight.
And Van Gogh. Tell him what his work is going for these days.
And yeah, Mozart.
And for some strange reason, Lincoln. Most things would be way too advanced for him to comprehend, but he’d be impressed with things he would have lived to see. Like electric lights and an early telephone.
Sometimes I think about that African woman who was supposedly the ancestor of every living human. Show her what her kids have been up to. I think just the fact that she’s had billions of descendents would be mind-blowing enough.
Jeez, I thought I was the only person who did this. It’s a great mental diversion when you’re bored, lonely, or both. Queen Elizabeth loved “The Last Unicorn,” by the way. We found it difficult to find anything on the car radio that wouldn’t baffle and upset her, though.
In a Similar vein, Les Visiteurs, a French comedy starring Jean Reno playing a 11th century knight transported to the present day, along with his squire. He liked the hot water in the bathroom.
I’ve done this with George Washington, but mostly with Old Testament characters like Abraham, Solomon, Cain and Seth. Not so much for religious reasons, but because they’re famous names from thousands of years ago. There are things I’d like to see their reactions to, but also things I’d like to ask them. Of course language might be a problem.
When I do this, it’s usually Sherlock Holmes. Just think of what he could accomplish with computers and the Internet, and with genetic evidence and other modern forensic techniques! But I always have to warn him to set aside his usual habit of keeping his thoughts to himself until the grand denoument, since so many of the things he takes for granted are no longer the case, and there’s no way I could possibly explain all of them in less than a year’s time. Easier if I know what his axioms are, so I can correct any which are mistaken.
For nonfictional characters, it’s often Archimedes, or sometimes Jules Verne (and never mind the language barriers). Both of them were sufficiently ahead of their time that they might even understand a lot of our modern marvels. And once or twice I’ve fantasized this way about Euclid, but that’s mostly just praising him for correctly recognizing his Fifth Postulate as unprovable, and criticizing him for all of the other hidden postulates (some of which are even false) which he snuck into his work.
I also sometimes fantasize about myself travelling to the past, but when I do, it’s never to London or Paris, and almost never Syracuse. Nor do I interact with anyone famous (unless I’m brought to trial for witchcraft or something). My past fantasies are almost always set in eternal Roma, where I interact mostly with the nameless educated middle class. I figure I could make an easy living as a calculator, since I’d be able to multiply and divide any numbers at all, and without even needing any tables (though I might need a sandbox or equivalent, if my TI-36 stopped working).
Well, I would like to resurrect Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma bomber) and make him read about 9/11. I am still pissed that when he was executed on 6/11/2001, he died thinking he was some big time terrorist. 9/11 would prove to him that, in the world of terrorism, he was chicken shit.
Other people do this?! I often like to imagine myself talking to ancient scholars or priests, explaining (my rudimentary knowledge of) modern astronomy.
Living near Booneborough as I do, this thought has occurred to me numerous times. What I’d most like to show him is Lulbegrud Creek, reputed to be named by Boone and his explorers after a river or creek in Gulliver’s Travels. It’s still called that today. Of course there’s a Boone’s Creek, too. On the subject of highways, he might be interested to know that the Cumberland Gap has been restored (as much as we are able) to much like it was in Boone’s time: instead of a highway running through it, there’s a tunnel. The tunnel, of course, isn’t like Boone’s time, but the Gap itself is. They’ve even tried to eradicate the non-native plants, but kudzu is proving a major problem.
How many of you are teachers? I’m not (but I sleep with a lot of them ::shrug:: ). How many of you have younger siblings? Only child here. How many of you had an invisible friend as a child? Nope.
Like others, I play host to a regular people, not anyone historically significant. I tell them about the new technology, but sometimes my guest is very interested in the social advances of society. I end up thinking "see, random oppressed guy from the past, We’re all living together in [relative] harmony, and great opportunities are available to everyone.
For the new questions:
No
Yes, but there’s a large age gap, so we’re basically both only children.
Indirectly, there’s the short story “A Message From Charity” by William M. Lee. And don’t forget Who’s Afraid of Beowulf? by Tom Holt.
It’s really interesting to see how many people have thought about the same thing! Oddly, I used to imagine Laura Ingalls Wilder too, probably because I watched the TV show a lot when I was a kid.
In response to wonderlust’s questions: No, I’m not a teacher; no younger siblings; never had an imaginary friend.