# Top Ten Events in History To View **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126 "2015-02-08T15:48:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/1 "2015-02-08T15:48:51Z")
I periodically think about this; If I had a machine that allowed me to look back and see anything in history, what 10 events would I want to see? Here’s my initial list, not necessarily in priority order; - The Passion of Jesus - Flooding of the Black Sea from the Mediterranean - Chicxulub comet impact (candidate to have killed off the dinosaurs) - Krakatoa eruption - Construction of the Great Pyramid - Kennedy Assassination (I want to pan around and see if there were any other assassins) - Completion and ceremonial use of Stonehenge (what did they do with it???) - First Performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (and see Shakespeare or whomever.) - Lao-tzu meets Confucius (interpreter needed.) - Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address What are other people’s wishes (in case Cecil has such a machine) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/2 "2015-02-08T16:27:54Z")
Sitting in the back of the room and getting an accurate transcript of what was said at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Joker_and_the_Thief)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/3 "2015-02-08T16:42:26Z")
The sack of Constantinople in 1453. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/4 "2015-02-08T17:17:06Z")
Henry VIII’s wedding night with Anne of Cleves. I think they did it. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/5 "2015-02-08T19:23:20Z")
High speed footage from Hiroshima or Nagasaki. With modern super-fast cameras at strategic points it would be our best chance to document just how bad and fast an atomic war could be. If you want to go way back, the landing of Columbus and other early explorers but centering more on the Native reactions and perspectives. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/6 "2015-02-08T19:45:02Z")
The flood(s) released from Lake Bonneville. The 1054 Supernova. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/7 "2015-02-08T21:53:00Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > - Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address It’s a great speech, but was only like 2-3 minutes long. I’d like to see the battle, or at least Pickett’s Charge. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/8 "2015-02-08T22:23:36Z")
It would have to be some serious recording equipment set up at some place I can’t even imagine, but it would be cool to see the Moon being formed out of some impact by some heavenly body with the Earth in the way-back-when period. I’d also like to see those Nazca Lines being drawn (or whatever). And if they have video of that first _Homo Sapiens_ being born, along with its Mama and Daddy nearby, that would be too peachy. Watching the natives mooning Columbus would just be icing on the cake. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/9 "2015-02-08T22:43:05Z")
Assuming I had some adequate form of protection I would love a front row seat to Krakatoa. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/10 "2015-02-09T02:01:32Z")
Luther nailing the 95 thesis to the church door. … along those lines, his “Here I stand, I can do no other” line at the Diet of Worms The premiere of Beethoven’s 9th. … along those lines, the premiere of _Don Giovanni_ The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand Printing the first edition of the Bible on Gutenberg’s press The Beatles first recording session with George Martin The first oil well (1859) The flight at Kitty Hawk The first steam railroad (1830) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/11 "2015-02-09T02:26:27Z")
I liked most of the OP list. Chicxulub would be right near the top. Some of Jesus’ miracles, the crucifixion. Little Big Horn Thiera/ Santorini or Pompeii The 300. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/12 "2015-02-09T02:34:21Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Luther nailing the 95 thesis to the church door. There’s a good chance this never happened. It was reported by one of Luther’s followers several years after the supposed fact. At the time, Luther felt he was just correcting some internal problems within the church. So he sent his writings to a bishop. It was only later, when the church hierarchy failed to make the corrections Luther felt it should, that Luther “went over their head” and appealed to the people to defy the church. And this was around the time when it was reported that Luther had originally posted his theses for public viewing. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/13 "2015-02-09T03:04:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Luther nailing the 95 thesis to the church door. Be forewarned, with his first swing he missed the nail, hit his thumb and there’s a fair bit of cussing. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/14 "2015-02-09T03:33:52Z")
Some that were in the OP and from others, but here’s my list: [ul] [li]The crucifixion of Jesus (I’d stick around three days too)[/li][li]Lincoln’s assasination and the funeral train that went across the country[/li][li]Mt Etna and Pompeii[/li][li]The sinking of the Titanic[/li][li]Just about any above-ground nuclear explosion (Hiroshima or any test)[/li][li]Little Big Horn[/li][li]9/11 with a good (safe) view of the WTC - or is that too soon?[/li][li]D-Day invasion[/li][li]The painting of the Sistine Chapel, or perhaps the Last Supper (the painting)[/li][li]The discovery of Grace Hopper’s first computer “bug” - she sounded like an interesting person[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/15 "2015-02-09T04:35:06Z")
The Big Bang. Formation of the Milky Way Galaxy and our Solar System. Six days of Creation, including creation of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve making their First Big Boo-Boo; [God calling them out](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yPfIDt5qCs/UKmxxakoiuI/AAAAAAAAQGE/nhzDBbpHKhU/s640/SEQA.doorsofbishopbernward.detail.web.jpg). Arrival of Xenu and the Thetans. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/16 "2015-02-09T04:49:06Z")
Since there doesn’t appear to be a limit on how long each viewing gets to be: The whole life of that Jesus guy, starting from conception. And of Sancho VII of Navarre. This one is short: the Battle of Roncesvalles. Life of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. Another short one: siege of Tarifa. … Can I put the whole Siglo de Oro wherever the Royal Household(s) happen to be? Lope, Cervantes, Quevedo, Góngora, Velázquez, wheeeeeeeeeee! Would adding 50 years in front be too much? And then add the Siglo de las Luces in Paris (the 18th), but of course I’m sure it’s called something else in French. Anybody who actually knows French history in French: _siècle lumière_? The Russian Revolution. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/17 "2015-02-09T04:59:00Z")
I still had two left: The raise of the Shogunate. Life of Alexander the Great, with the bits which would be boring from his side spent looking at things from the point of view of the people his campaigns touched. It wouldn’t be just for example the nobility of Persia, but also the common folk and those neighboring nations which weren’t part of the swath of conquest but who were affected by it (our main trade partner just got conquered - our main enemy just got turned into chop suey). ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/18 "2015-02-09T07:03:59Z")
Noah’s Ark - construction, animals that were inside, flood, landing. Watching as the walls of Jericho fall. Battle of David and Goliath. March 8, 1862,Hampton Roads, Battle of Monitor and the Merrimac Elvis going into the Army. Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s record. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/19 "2015-02-09T13:43:18Z")
The flooding of the Mediterranean. The Passion of Christ. The Chicxulub impact. Mohammed receiving instruction. D-Day. The Trinity Test. The signing of Magna Carta. The fall of Troy. Henry VIII and the field of the cloth of gold. The first performance of Handel’s Messiah. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126/20 "2015-02-09T13:53:07Z")
Interactions between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal humans and other species of humans (the Denisovans, Red Deer Cave folks, and more – perhaps homo floresiensis as well). The first uses of spoken language and its progression. The first written language. The first settlement of the Americas, Australia, and Polynesia (by the original inhabitants, I mean). The progenitors to all the major language groups (proto-Indo-European, proto-Uralic, etc.) in ‘action’ before all the splitting. The origin of the Basque people and language (probably before the settlement of Europe by Indo-European speakers). The domestication of dogs and other animals. The first organized religion(s). Dinosaur appearance and behavior, and other prehistoric animals (ground sloths, mammoths, whale evolution, etc.). The first person to call himself/herself ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ or an equivalent. The first contact between Viking explorers and native Americans. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-ten-events-in-history-to-view/712126.md?page=2)