# If you could travel back in time, where would you go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294 "2013-08-04T02:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/21 "2013-08-04T22:19:06Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My parents’ house, 1973. I’d tell myself to get off my ass, get into town and get a part-time job so I could earn some money, develop some self-respect and people skills, and study something in college that would bring in a paycheck, rather than studying music. Oh, and, once I’d gotten some money, ask Laurie out on a date. And then you’d get to watch your past self not listen to a word you’re saying because all s/he’s thinking is “holy crap, time travel is possible?” (I’d still like to pay a similar visit to my own past self, though, only in my case, my younger self would only be thinking “holy crap, how did my future self get so fat?”) ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/22 "2013-08-04T22:46:23Z")
Speaking of bigfoots, I’d like to have been there when the [Patterson-Gimlin film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson-Gimlin_film) was made, October 20, 1967. ---
**Author:** ![AussieDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@AussieDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AussieDog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/23 "2013-08-05T06:59:46Z")
I would love to go back to May 7th 1824. This was the premier of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. I once listened to the symphony played on period instruments. Sounded the same as modern instruments, but different. I think it had to do with the,at least to me, the relative volume. ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/24 "2013-08-05T09:24:52Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I was actually around for that. I was a young child but I remember them in a general way. There’s a website called pbase which has photographers putting up pictures from their portfolio and this guy called venicepix was around during that time period where he took pictures of people who lived around then. You should check it out, might even see yourself or some one you knew in one of the albums. Even though I wasn’t around then I still feel nostalgic when flicking through the pictures. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/25 "2013-08-05T09:35:48Z")
Tuesday, 6 August 2013. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/26 "2013-08-05T09:57:36Z")
Waubunsee County, Kansas, 1917 to 1926. I’d love to see my maternal grandparents in their teens and early twenties. ---
**Author:** ![Caneknife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Caneknife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caneknife)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/27 "2013-08-05T11:22:58Z")
Yes, go back to see if that Bigfoot footage was real and if Roswell really happened ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/28 "2013-08-05T12:04:20Z")
> [@Caneknife](#): > > Yes, go back to see if that Bigfoot footage was real and if Roswell really happened Roswell happened, there are extant news reports. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/29 "2013-08-05T12:34:45Z")
First, [A Brief History of Time Travel:](http://brunching.com/timetravel.html) > [@Lore Sjoberg](#): > > The only way reality can exist for more than an instant is when someone, by accident or design, changes things to create a universe where time travel is never discovered. And that, my friends, is where we are now. Time travel may be possible, but anyone who tries to discover it will fail, probably due to a misadventure of ludicrous improbability. Having said that, if time travel were possible, I’d like to have been there for any number of historic occasions, most of which have already been discussed: -The launch of Apollo 11, though I think a time traveler’s mood would be different from the rest of the observers, since we would already know the whole mission was a resounding success. -The first flight of the Wright brothers. -The first nuclear device test. -The signing of [The Japanese Instrument of Surrender.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Instrument_of_Surrender) I wonder what the mood was like on deck, for each side. -The first meeting of my parents. Mom was an English woman about 20 years old, living/working in America. Dad was a US Navy pilot. They met at a party. I’ve always wondered how they connected with each other back then. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/30 "2013-08-05T13:35:12Z")
Depends on what was meant in the OP. If I was to have the ability to be an unseen observer, like a ghostly presence at some historical event, I’d like to have seen the Crucifixion and then hang out in the tomb until the Resurrection. If I could be transported in time to an historical event in period clothing with a chance to take action, I’d probably put myself in the antechamber to the presidential box in Ford’s Theater and given Booth a haymaker. Or else go on board the Californian and tell the wireless operator to wake up and listen to Titantic’s SOS calls. Or if I could talk to an earlier self, I’d go back to the fall of 1972, tell myself to get together all the money I could and get my parents to put it on Secretariat in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, then put all the winnings on him in the Preakness, then repeat for the Belmont. I’d also give myself a good talking to about which girls I shouldn’t bother with and those that I should have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/31 "2013-08-05T14:30:27Z")
My first thought was Giza, halfway through the construction of the great pyramid. Bring a sketch artist who could speak Greek to draw the progress and get a local guide to explain how its being done. But some of the other ideas posted are good, too. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/32 "2013-08-05T14:31:24Z")
I would go back to when the builders of stonehenge actively used it for its original intended purpose. I’d advise my younger self to stay away from a woman I’ll meet at college. It can only end in pain. She’ll be persistent, but just focus on your studies and ignore her. Don’t respond to her emails. Then I’d go ahead in time a bit and convince myself to persue the very attractive older woman who works in your office. You have a small window of time to act on it before she starts dating someone else to whom she will eventually be married. That night you’re both getting drunk at the bar after work would be a good time to make a move, dumbass. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/33 "2013-08-05T14:35:49Z")
I would love to meet William Shakespeare and see some of his original works. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/34 "2013-08-05T15:00:21Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’d also give myself a good talking to about … girls This. I like the idea of seeing the pyramids built too, or seeing some of the big obelisks erected. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/35 "2013-08-05T15:14:22Z")
I would like to go back to 1787 and listen in on the discussions of Constitutional Convention. Many politicians and pundits today seem quite confident in their ability to know what was meant by those men in 1787, so I would like to see if the delegates in Philadelphia are in agreement with the views of today’s lawmakers. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/36 "2013-08-05T15:44:10Z")
Assuming the time travel also takes care of the language barrier (a key ‘if’), I’d want to go back to Galilee in ~26 A.D. so I could be in the crowd when Jesus preached. And ultimately follow him to Jerusalem. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/37 "2013-08-05T15:50:43Z")
I’d go back to July 1983; specifically to Robins bedroom in Columbus Ohio. And I’d keep going back again and again like my own personal Groundhog Day until I could figure out a way to make it work out forever. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/38 "2013-08-05T18:00:38Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I’d go back to July 1983; specifically to Robins bedroom in Columbus Ohio. And I’d keep going back again and again like my own personal Groundhog Day until I could figure out a way to make it work out forever. 😉 Who’s Robin? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/39 "2013-08-05T18:05:50Z")
I’d get some binoculars and go to Mount St. Helens on November 24, 1971 and take a shot at finding where D. B. Cooper landed. Although according to wikipedia, there was a big rainstorm that day, so visibility might be too bad. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294/40 "2013-08-05T18:18:06Z")
[ul] [li]The Cretaceous[/li][li]The Crucifixion[/li][li]Select points in my past to revisit places that don’t exist anymore[/li][li]Coney Island in its original pre-WW1 form[/li][li]find out what those damn dodecahedrons were for[/li][/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-travel-back-in-time-where-would-you-go/665294.md?page=3)