# If You Could Set a Time Machine to Any Date? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262 "2019-06-09T21:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/1 "2019-06-09T21:03:49Z")
This idea actually came up when I was still in HS and I saw the movie _Back to the Future_. The characters in the movie could set the time machine to any date they wanted. First they set it to December 25, 0 A.D. to witness the birth of Christ. (That’s not correct. But I digress.) Then they set it to the date when the inventor came up with the idea to begin with. Anyway they certainly aren’t going to come up a time machine. Not in our lifetime in any event. But it’s still fun to think about. Just setting a date on the dials of some machine, then being immediately taken there. How cool. What date would you set the controls of a time machine to, if it were really that simple? Me, I’d set it to June 24, 3000 A.D. As far in the future as I could go (so they presumably have some wonderful technology). And the summertime so it’d be nice and warm (assuming the earth still has an atmosphere). What about the rest of you? :):):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/2 "2019-06-09T21:19:34Z")
How long do I get to stay there? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/3 "2019-06-09T21:20:54Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > How long do I get to stay there? As long as you want. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/4 "2019-06-09T21:23:59Z")
June 14, 1947 near Roswell New Mexico. While I know the UFO angle has been debunked I’d love to see what actually crashed right as it crashes. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/5 "2019-06-09T22:24:12Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > June 14, 1947 near Roswell New Mexico. > > While I know the UFO angle has been debunked I’d love to see what actually crashed right as it crashes. The trouble with that story is, it would turn out to be your time machine. ---
**Author:** ![Tempe\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tempe_jeff/32/7328_2.png) [@Tempe\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tempe_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/6 "2019-06-09T22:32:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The trouble with that story is, it would turn out to be your time machine. ROFLMAO, what a great response !😉 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/7 "2019-06-09T22:35:34Z")
Can I buy a lottery ticket? 🙂 Sorry, that’s not what this is about. I think I have a good idea of what the near future holds. But it would be interesting to see 100 years from now. I’m also interested in the past. To see 100 years ago, would really, really make me appreciate the present. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/8 "2019-06-09T22:41:22Z")
I’d go back to 9 months before I was born and visit my parents with some protection in hand! 🆒 I know they loved me dearly, but no matter what anyone says, I was an 'oops!". 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/9 "2019-06-09T23:10:12Z")
I would like to go back to 1926 and see my maternal grandparents married. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/10 "2019-06-09T23:24:56Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > June 14, 1947 near Roswell New Mexico. > > While I know the UFO angle has been debunked I’d love to see what actually crashed right as it crashes. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The trouble with that story is, it would turn out to be your time machine. That does remind me of a time-travel story I read once as a lad. A soldier was wounded and in a shit position, a sure goner if he stayed where he was but could not move. Suddenly, someone appeared out of nowhere to haul him to safety, then was not seen again. The identity of his rescuer consumed him, and he eventually built a time machine just so he could go back and see who it was. He watched and waited from a hiding place. But wait and watch as he did, no one showed up. He could stand it no more and ran out to save his past self. Then he realized it had always been himself who who was his rescuer. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/11 "2019-06-09T23:37:54Z")
I would like to see Billie Holiday singing with Lester Young on sax. Whatever date that would be. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/12 "2019-06-09T23:45:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That does remind me of a time-travel story I read once as a lad. A soldier was wounded and in a shit position, a sure goner if he stayed where he was but could not move. Suddenly, someone appeared out of nowhere to haul him to safety, then was not seen again. The identity of his rescuer consumed him, and he eventually built a time machine just so he could go back and see who it was. He watched and waited from a hiding place. But wait and watch as he did, no one showed up. He could stand it no more and ran out to save his past self. Then he realized it had always been himself who who was his rescuer. Heinlein used the basic idea(expanded) in [By His Bootstraps.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_His_Bootstraps) and [All You Zombies.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Zombies) ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/13 "2019-06-10T00:12:28Z")
Be careful you might go back and bang your sexy grandma and become your own grandfather! I’d want to see the dinosaurs, Ancient Rome, the medieval period though I might catch the plague, and some point ludicrously into the future and see the robot dolphins overlords or the eternal oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/14 "2019-06-10T00:30:04Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Be careful you might go back and bang your sexy grandma and become your own grandfather! > > I’d want to see the dinosaurs, Ancient Rome, the medieval period\*\* though I might catch the plague,\*\* and some point ludicrously into the future and see the robot dolphins overlords or the eternal oblivion. Bolding mine. Maybe you could get a bunch of shots or vaccines before you went. Serious, if I went back a long ways I would take some medicines with me, and a few pamphlets on health care, just in case. A few antibiotics and painkillers at least. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/15 "2019-06-10T02:27:21Z")
June 28, 1914, to distract Gavrilo Princip for about 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/16 "2019-06-10T02:47:58Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I’d go back to 9 months before I was born and visit my parents with some protection in hand! 🆒 > > I know they loved me dearly, but no matter what anyone says, I was an 'oops!". 😛 [https://me.me/i/ah-ha-im-so-glad-i-found-you-do-i-18717698](https://me.me/i/ah-ha-im-so-glad-i-found-you-do-i-18717698) Personally I’d travel to the future. First a few weeks in the future to figure out how to get rich (gambling info, lottery tickets, stock market prices, etc). Then I’d travel into the far future and learn a lot of new technology. I’d probably just stay in the far future. I’d like to go back in time and see Kurt Cobain and George Carlin live and in concert though. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/17 "2019-06-10T02:49:12Z")
I’d head to a number of dates around 1200-1150 BC so I could know what really caused the Bronze Age collapse. How could I resist finding out the answer to the greatest mystery of human history? Then I’d head to the future for some robot sex. ETA: I’d also see if anyone else showed up for the Time Traveler’s Convention, or if it’s just a bunch of me at different ages. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/18 "2019-06-10T02:51:30Z")
Experiencing a single dimension of time at a time is so boring! Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/19 "2019-06-10T09:54:08Z")
I’d travel about 15 years in the future, and get new 3-D printed pancreas and kidneys, and have them transplanted. Then, after my recovery, go back to May 7, 1824, and attend the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Then go to the late 1880’s and tell Vincent Van Gogh what his painting will sell for in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262/20 "2019-06-10T14:21:34Z")
I’d go back to about 33 A.D. and hang out at Jesus’s tomb with the other women just to see what really happened. And I’d love to go to January 1, 2100 and see how this century turns out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-set-a-time-machine-to-any-date/835262.md?page=2)