"Greatest Events in History" Game

Thread Games
21

My votes…

  1. Creation of Pottery
  2. Emergence of Mayan Civilization
  3. Rise of Persian Empire
  4. Death of Caesar
  5. Kievan Rus’ Founded
  6. Hundred Years War Begins
  7. Peak of Ottoman Empire/Siege of Vienna won by Austrians
  8. French Dominance of Europe
  9. British Empire
  10. Apollo Moon Landing

Thoughts…

Voting for the Apollo Moon Landing was difficult, and had we had a greater presence in space I would have kept it (and, who knows, but in 100-500 years it might be the biggest item on this list.) But as things stand today, the AML was a great symbolic event, but it is hard to argue (well, for me it is) that our current utilization of outer space required the AML.

The Pre-History list is already getting tough. Not a lot of low-hanging fruit on that one, and pottery is probably the last one where the choice isn’t extremely difficult.

I changed my vote for #2, btw, from “Egyptian Empires” to “Emergence of Mayan Civilization.”

22
  1. Invention of the Plow
  2. Minoan Civilization
  3. Battle of Marathon
  4. Split of Roman Empire into E/W by Diocletian
  5. Kievan Rus’ Founded
  6. Prince Henry the Navigator
  7. Thirty Years War
  8. French Dominance of Europe
  9. French Revolution and Napoleon
  10. End of the European Age and Rise of Asia
23

Bump

24

  1. Creation of Pottery

  2. Minoan Civilization

  3. Confucianism

  4. Life of Jesus

  5. Battle of Tours

  6. Fall of Constantinople

  7. Thirty Years War

  8. Slave Trade

  9. French Revolution and Napoleon

  10. Apollo Moon Landing

25

[ol]
[li] Creation of Pottery[/li][li]Emergence of Mayan Civilization[/li][li]Babylonian Captivity of Jewish People[/li][li]Three Kingdoms Period in China[/li][li]University of Bologna (first university) founded[/li][li]Double-Entry Accounting[/li][li]Copernican Revolution[/li][li]French Dominance of Europe[/li][li]Pasteurization[/li][li]Apollo Moon Landing[/li][/ol]

26

post-weekend bump.

27

  1. Pre-History, Pre 3500 BCE
    Invention of Alphabet
    Many cultures used syllabates or ideograms. I assume you did not mean these alternative formes

  2. Bronze and Iron Ages, 3500 BCE-1000 BCE
    Emergence of Mayan Civilization

  3. Early Classical Antiquity, 1000 BCE - 200 BCE
    Confucianism

  4. Late Classical Antiquity, 200 BCE - 476 AD
    Constantine Promulgates Edict of Milan

  5. Early Middle Ages, 477 AD - 1250 AD
    Magna Carta

  6. Late Middle Ages, 1251 AD - 1453 AD
    Double-Entry Accounting

  7. Early Modern Era, 1454 AD - 1648 AD
    Copernican Revolution

  8. Middle Modern Era, 1649 AD - 1788 AD
    Publication of “Wealth of Nations”

  9. 19th Century, 1789 AD - 1900 AD
    British Empire

  10. 20th Century and Beyond, 1901 AD - 2014 AD
    Apollo Moon Landing

28

Well, given the sweep of this thread, my intent was to keep things as broad as possible - for example, "Publishing ‘Wealth of Nations’ " was, in my mind, more of “the development of capitalism”. However, the development of capitalism is a multi-century affair which would be difficult to pin down in any one of the eras, therefore “Wealth of Nations” is more of a shorthand way of expressing this idea.

No big deal - I’m not expecting anybody to read my mind, and the categories are as they are. :slight_smile:

My intent with this one (Alphabet) was probably better expressed as “invention of writing”, which would include ideograms, etc. But if you think otherwise, that’s totally fine - any fault with interpreting my “intent” lies with me, obviously.

(BTW, the proper format is “1. The Invention of the Alphabet”, not as how you entered them. You can see any of my entries for an example of how it should be done. Given the severity of the punishment, I’ll let it slide this time. :wink: )

29

2nd Round voting is over!

The losers are…

  1. Creation of Pottery
  2. Emergence of Mayan Civilization
  3. Confucianism
  4. Constantine Promulgates Edict of Milan - Every one received 1 vote, this is what the random number generated picked.
  5. Kievan Rus’ Founded
  6. Double-Entry Accounting
  7. Thirty Years War - Tied with the Copernican Revolution
  8. French Dominance of Europe
  9. French Revolution and Napoleon - Sorry, France. You lose twice! (Tied with the British Empire)
  10. Apollo Moon Landing - One small step for man… one easy knock-off in this game.

Most of these were pretty easy pickings, so again, not many surprises. I think that Double-Entry Accounting is more important than some of the others remaining in that era, but c’est la vie.

3rd-Round lists are coming up…

30

I only have to change 4 votes for the next round :slight_smile:

31

3rd Round List

  1. Pre-History, Pre 3500 BCE
    Invention of Agriculture
    Domestication of Animals
    Invention of Alphabet
    Discovery (and control) of fire
    Invention of the Wheel
    Invention of the Plow
    Invention of Language
    Invention of Metallurgy

  2. Bronze and Iron Ages, 3500 BCE-1000 BCE
    Hammurabi’s Code
    Egyptian Empires
    Founding of Ur (first city)
    Sumerian Cuniform
    Minoan Civilization
    Alphabetic Writing Invented
    Xia Dynasty in China
    First use of Papyrus

  3. Early Classical Antiquity, 1000 BCE - 200 BCE
    Democracy established in Athens
    Alexander the Great conquers the known world
    Rise of Persian Empire
    Unification of China under Qin Shi Huang
    Babylonian Captivity of Jewish People
    Greek Philosophy and Mathematics at peak
    Battle of Marathon
    Invention of number “0” and Binary Systems

  4. Late Classical Antiquity, 200 BCE - 476 AD
    Expansion of Roman Empire (Punic Wars, expansion into Gaul, etc)
    Death of Caesar
    Augustinian Empire
    Life of Jesus
    Three Kingdoms Period in China
    Split of Roman Empire into E/W by Diocletian
    Christianity becomes official religion of Rome
    Collapse of Rome

  5. Early Middle Ages, 477 AD - 1250 AD
    Vision of Mohammed and the Rise of Islam
    Development of Arabic Numerals
    Battle of Tours
    Battle of Hastings
    University of Bologna (first university) founded
    Crusades
    Magna Carta
    Genghis Khan conquers much of Asia

  6. Late Middle Ages, 1251 AD - 1453 AD
    Ottoman Empire Founded
    Great Schism Begins (ends 1417)
    Hundred Years War Begins
    Black Death Begins
    Chaucer Writes “Cantebury Tales”
    Prince Henry the Navigator
    Invention of Printing Press
    Fall of Constantinople

  7. Early Modern Era, 1454 AD - 1648 AD
    Renaissance in Italy
    Columbus “Discovers” America
    Protestant Reformation
    Peak of Ottoman Empire/Siege of Vienna won by Austrians
    Copernican Revolution
    Establishment of Dutch-East India company (First global corporation)
    Elizabethan Age in England
    Spanish Dominance of Middle/South America

  8. Middle Modern Era, 1649 AD - 1788 AD
    Scientific Revolution
    Slave Trade
    The Enlightenment
    Rapid development of mathematics
    Invention of Vaccination
    Publication of “Wealth of Nations”
    Start of Industrial Revolution
    Founding of the US

  9. 19th Century, 1789 AD - 1900 AD
    Pasteurization
    Development of Motorized Mass Transportation (Trains, Ships)
    Implementation of Modern Sanitation
    British Empire
    End of Slavery
    Beginning of the Oil Age
    Germ Theory of Disease developed
    Electrification Begins

  10. 20th Century and Beyond, 1901 AD - 2014 AD
    WW1
    WW2
    The Rise of Mass Culture
    Invention of the Computer/Internet
    End of the European Age and Rise of Asia
    Green Revolution
    Development of Powered Flight
    Nuclear Weapons

32
  1. Invention of the Plow
  2. Minoan Civilization
  3. Battle of Marathon
  4. Split of Roman Empire into E/W by Diocletian
  5. Magna Carta
  6. Prince Henry the Navigator
  7. Peak of Ottoman Empire/Siege of Vienna won by Austrians
  8. Rapid development of mathematics
  9. British Empire
  10. End of the European Age and Rise of Asia
33

C’mon, folks. This game takes a little effort, but it’s fun!

34
  1. Domestication of Animals
  2. Egyptian Empires
  3. Rise of Persian Empire
  4. Death of Caesar
  5. Battle of Tours
  6. Chaucer Writes “Canterbury Tales”
  7. Peak of Ottoman Empire/Siege of Vienna won by Austrians
  8. Founding of the US
  9. British Empire
  10. Nuclear Weapons

Thoughts…

This is where my biases come in to play to pick some of the not-easier choices: I will always choose scientific/communication/mathematic/commercial advances and changes over the rise and falls of empires and countries. Yes, the US is an important country. But as important as the Industrial Revolution, vaccines, capitalism, etc? In the way I look at things… probably not.

And I’M SORRY, ANIMALS! I REALLY AM! WE LOVE YOU ALL, EVEN THE LLAMA! :frowning: :sniff:

But even if cows weren’t as domesticable (is that a word?) as they are, we’d still be eating them.

35

Thanks! I guess I’d better start using my signature…

36

  1. Invention of Metallurgy

  2. Xia Dynasty in China

  3. Alexander the Great conquers the known world

  4. Life of Jesus

  5. Battle of Tours

  6. Fall of Constantinople

  7. Spanish Dominance of Middle/South America

  8. Publication of “Wealth of Nations”

  9. End of Slavery

  10. Green Revolution

37

[ol]
[li]Invention of the Plow[/li][li]Minoan Civilization[/li][li]Babylonian Captivity of Jewish People[/li][li]Three Kingdoms Period in China[/li][li]University of Bologna (first university) founded[/li][li]Chaucer Writes “Cantebury Tales”[/li][li]Copernican Revolution[/li][li] Slave Trade[/li][li]Pasteurization[/li][li]End of the European Age and Rise of Asia[/li][/ol]

38

Busy weekend, so didn’t get around to scoring. Will do so later today…

39

… for differing values of “today”, that is.

Third round is over!

First… the losers:

  1. Invention of the Plow
  2. Minoan Civilization
  3. Babylonian Captivity of the Jews
  4. Three Kingdoms Period
  5. Battle of Tours
  6. Chaucer Writes “Canterbury Tales”
  7. Peak of Ottoman Empire
  8. Publication of “Wealth of Nations”
  9. British Empire
  10. End of the European Age and Rise of Asia

Given their competition, these were relatively easy selections… though I would’ve thought domestication to get voted out before farming implements. But that’s why we play the game, right?

Round 4 lists coming up…

40

4th Round List

1.Pre-History, Pre 3500 BCE
Invention of Agriculture
Domestication of Animals
Invention of Alphabet
Discovery (and control) of fire
Invention of the Wheel
Invention of Language
Invention of Metallurgy

2.Bronze and Iron Ages, 3500 BCE-1000 BCE
Hammurabi’s Code
Egyptian Empires
Founding of Ur (first city)
Sumerian Cuniform
Alphabetic Writing Invented
Xia Dynasty in China
First use of Papyrus

3.Early Classical Antiquity, 1000 BCE - 200 BCE
Democracy established in Athens
Alexander the Great conquers the known world
Rise of Persian Empire
Unification of China under Qin Shi Huang
Greek Philosophy and Mathematics at peak
Battle of Marathon
Invention of number “0” and Binary Systems

4.Late Classical Antiquity, 200 BCE - 476 AD
Expansion of Roman Empire (Punic Wars, expansion into Gaul, etc)
Death of Caesar
Augustinian Empire
Life of Jesus
Split of Roman Empire into E/W by Diocletian
Christianity becomes official religion of Rome
Collapse of Rome

5.Early Middle Ages, 477 AD - 1250 AD
Vision of Mohammed and the Rise of Islam
Development of Arabic Numerals
Battle of Hastings
University of Bologna (first university) founded
Crusades
Magna Carta
Genghis Khan conquers much of Asia

  1. Late Middle Ages, 1251 AD - 1453 AD
    Ottoman Empire Founded
    Great Schism Begins (ends 1417)
    Hundred Years War Begins
    Black Death Begins
    Prince Henry the Navigator
    Invention of Printing Press
    Fall of Constantinople

7.Early Modern Era, 1454 AD - 1648 AD
Renaissance in Italy
Columbus “Discovers” America
Protestant Reformation
Copernican Revolution
Establishment of Dutch-East India company (First global corporation)
Elizabethan Age in England
Spanish Dominance of Middle/South America

8.Middle Modern Era, 1649 AD - 1788 AD
Scientific Revolution
Slave Trade
The Enlightenment
Rapid development of mathematics
Invention of Vaccination
Start of Industrial Revolution
Founding of the US

9.19th Century, 1789 AD - 1900 AD
Pasteurization
Development of Motorized Mass Transportation (Trains, Ships)
Implementation of Modern Sanitation
End of Slavery
Beginning of the Oil Age
Germ Theory of Disease developed
Electrification Begins

10.20th Century and Beyond, 1901 AD - 2014 AD
WW1
WW2
The Rise of Mass Culture
Invention of the Computer/Internet
Green Revolution
Development of Powered Flight
Nuclear Weapons