# Man wakes up after almost twenty years in coma, what do you tell/show him first? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937 "2003-07-03T02:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/21 "2003-07-03T14:56:53Z")
I would show him all the cool inventions. Like the remote control! A cell phone! A plasma tv! Sanitary napkins with wings \ ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/22 "2003-07-03T15:25:18Z")
Well, it would be interesting Especially with the movies and computers, but all-in-all, who knows? Besides my laptop, there isn’t one thing in my house that wasn’t around 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/23 "2003-07-03T15:33:51Z")
I’d show him how a simian virus jumped species, turning the whole population of England into ravening zombies. Oh, wait, that’s 28 days, not 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/24 "2003-07-03T15:50:31Z")
Guy goes into a coma in 1959, wakes up in 1971. His first question is: “How’s Eisenhour?” The doc tells him that he died. The guy screams: “Oh, no! That means that that bastard Nixon is president?” This joke dates from 1970 or so…but probably has variations at least a century older…I recall hearing someone say about President McKinley that he was all that was keeping “that damned cowboy” from being President (speaking of TR). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/25 "2003-07-03T15:56:27Z")
How about Me-- “Cold War’s over”. Him–_“Who won?”_ Me–“Everybody.” I can’t believe you people forgot about the Cold War! ---
**Author:** ![Zazie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/26 "2003-07-03T16:13:32Z")
The first thing I’d show would be a mirror… Imagine how he’s changed in 19 years! ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/27 "2003-07-03T16:24:59Z")
What about: “Hey, remember you govenor? Well, there’s something I gotta tell you…” ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/28 "2003-07-03T16:41:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nvme77 \* > \*\* > > Have everyone at the hospital greet him wearing ape costumes and splice the evening news with Planet of the apes footage. \*\* I love this idea! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/29 "2003-07-03T17:21:12Z")
## quote: Originally posted by Nvme77 ## Have everyone at the hospital greet him wearing ape costumes and splice the evening news with Planet of the apes footage. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caricci \* > \*\*I love this idea! \*\* So did _Futurama_/ They loved it again, recently, in Cartoon Network™ reruns. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sat_on_Cookie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/30 "2003-07-03T17:58:50Z")
A Downy ball & Michael Jackson ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/31 "2003-07-03T18:13:04Z")
How about a Palm Pilot? Wouldn’t Apple IIe and AppleII+ have been the height of home computing at the time? I have a Handspring and it still sorta boggles my mind (the way you can “beam” stuff to other people, etc.) One of the new Tablet PCs might be sweet too. Those little tiny cell-phones would be a “wower” as well as digital cameras. (I saw someone at a baseball game the other day that had a digicamcorder that was about the size of a beeper – no joke!) Even the little stuff might freak him out though, remember in “Dead Zone” when the guy was amazed by the Flair fibrous-tip pen? He might actually think the maxi-pad with wings was mind-blowing stuff. Oh, and the hovercars! Don’t forget to show him the hovercars! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/32 "2003-07-03T20:34:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\* > I forget who mentioned it, but in the grand scheme of things, 9/11 is really not that big a deal. (no offense intended to those who lost someone- I’m just saying it won’t get the coverage that say, WW2 does fifty years from now.) \*\* I find this hard to believe, man. You’ve got a whole new generation of people (myself included) who weren’t around during WW2, but who saw the Trade Towers fall live on television and lived through the emotions, etc… Fifty years from now will be, “Yes, my grandfather was in WW2, but I was in New York when the towers fell, and it was awful, and this is what I felt and…” As for the OP, shouldn’t he just read Harry Potter like everyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/33 "2003-07-03T21:09:37Z")
Try telling him that 73 is now the number to beat in ML Baseball. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/34 "2003-07-03T21:31:18Z")
Video of the Berlin Wall coming down. Then video of the WTC coming down. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/35 "2003-07-03T21:53:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Fifty years from now will be, “Yes, my grandfather was in WW2, but I was in New York when the towers fell, and it was awful, and this is what I felt and…” I like to compare it to something like JFK’s assassination - everyone who’s old enough to remember where they were when they heard had told the story to everybody they know. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/36 "2003-07-03T22:25:36Z")
I disagree with the movie idea. That would only be of interest to someone who is into special effects in and of themselves. And pure technological developments may not be that interesting to him. If I were to go into a coma right now and wake up 20 years later, I would _expect_ a lot of advancements. Flying cars? I wouldn’t be especially surprised. I like **Mangetout** ’s idea of taking him out for ice cream or something (assuming he was healthy enough). The guy could ask questions at his own pace. Over the course of a few days, you could start to catch him up on recent history, technological developments, etc. Among the things that may surprise him is the new ethnic makeup of the U.S. I don’t know how things are in Arkansas, but the ethnic makeup of Jersey (and the greater NYC area) has certainly changed. Take the guy on a trip to WalMart or something. I’ll bet he’d be surprised to see all the women in head scarves and Indian dress. (What do you call those beautiful tunic/pants outfits, anyway?) ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/37 "2003-07-03T22:35:38Z")
That’s nothing compared to the man in England who after living a normal life completely lost his memory of the last 50 years (I think it was a stroke), he said that when he came round it was literally like he’d travelled 50 years into the future and though he thought he was in hid mid-teens was actually over 60!!! (can’t find a cite for this one, but there was a doc on the BBC about it). ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/38 "2003-07-03T22:40:17Z")
btw the first thing I ask the man is, if he can pay me back that $10 I lent him in 1986!!! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/39 "2003-07-03T22:49:10Z")
What’s the first thing I’d show him? A calendar. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937/40 "2003-07-04T00:27:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > \*\* I’ll bet he’d be surprised to see all the women in head scarves and Indian dress. (What do you call those beautiful tunic/pants outfits, anyway?) \*\* I hope someone can answer this, because I’ve been trying to figure it out for years. I LOVE those outfits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-wakes-up-after-almost-twenty-years-in-coma-what-do-you-tell-show-him-first/185937.md?page=3)