# What if you could go back in time **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088 "2003-09-02T06:18:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/1 "2003-09-02T06:18:19Z")
Just supposing that you could travel back in time. What day/month/year/century would you choose and why. Also you are permitted to take one item from today, what would it be and again why. As for myself I would choose yesterday with a copy of todays newspaper, boy those bookies would sure get a caning.😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/2 "2003-09-02T06:26:06Z")
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. IMHO is for opinions and polls. I’ll move this to IMHO for you. Off to IMHO. **DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/3 "2003-09-02T06:32:59Z")
Okily Dokily Doc, I’m fairly new so excuse the error:smack: ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/4 "2003-09-02T06:42:21Z")
either the first Easter weekend- Jerusalem of course, or the first Ascension Thursday ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/5 "2003-09-02T06:48:03Z")
What would you take Oh ecclesiastical one? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/6 "2003-09-02T07:58:04Z")
> [@](#): > > KRYTEN: Well, if I could go anywhere, absolutely anywhere at all in time, I think I’d probably choose to go back to a week last Tuesday. > LISTER: Why? > KRYTEN: Don’t you remember? I did all the laundry, and then we watched TV. Wow, we won’t see the like of THOSE sorts of days again. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/7 "2003-09-02T08:11:18Z")
Wow you really lead exciting lives you pair, but what would you take back with you? a box of Daz maybe ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/8 "2003-09-02T08:20:35Z")
Maybe I’d go back to the 1940’s in California, golden years it seems. I’d bring some gold, and a bunch of stock market information, but I don’t think I’d get greedy, just prosper and not change history. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/9 "2003-09-02T08:28:03Z")
MARY: You are only allowed one item ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/10 "2003-09-02T10:31:33Z")
I would travel back to January 1993 with a notarized copy of a respected national newpaper covering [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/991849.stm) story. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/11 "2003-09-02T12:43:16Z")
Some possibilities: I’d find out when the last super big lottery jackpot was won and go back to the drawing _before_ the big one (since, historically, nobody wins the previous drawing leading up to the biggie, I would take this one, otherwise I’d have to share my winnings with the other ticketholders who also had those numbers.) I’d go back to the days when Microsoft was barely known and buy up thousands of shares. Then, just before the big dot-bomb crash occurred I’d sell it all. In any case, when September 10 came around I’d have to do something like cause a major blackout on the east coast in order to thwart the terrorists from proceeding with their plans. I’d bring the September 12 copy of The New York Times with me so that if I were arrested for causing a blackout people would at least see the catastrophe that I had prevented. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/12 "2003-09-02T13:07:25Z")
So thus far there are:- 3 mercenary members of the SDMB 1 who wants to see Christ 2 with a laundry and TV fetish 1 humanitarian dwc1970 is hedging his bets somewhat but as he is 2/3rds mercenary I’ve included him in section (1) Come on people let’s see what you would go for, why and with what ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/13 "2003-09-02T13:34:01Z")
A few interesting scenarios I’d try: Go back to November 22, 1963 with a tranquilizer gun and shoot Lee Harvey Oswald with it before Kennedy went by, then see what happens… Go back to September 11th and phone in bomb threats to the airports where the hijackers took off. Go back to 1965 with some reefer and see the Beatles in concert. On a similar note , I’d go back to 1980 and prevent John Lennon from being killed. Go back to various points in time to see what my ancestors were like. Oh, and like somebody else said, go back to right before a big lottery jackpot and hit it. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/14 "2003-09-02T14:05:46Z")
AA :I like your choices mate and get the feeling that you don’t think LHO killed JFK…am I right? Totally agree with the 9/11 scenario Why do you need the weed, I’ve seen the Beatles live without it, agree about JL though Dunno about MY ancestors, bit iffy about this. Better you hit the bookies mate, no begging letters that way Surprised that nobody has said they would go back with a gun and kill Hitler before he came to power Even more surprised that nobody has said they would go back with a 1920s style death ray and zap Attila the Hun 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Delly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Delly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delly)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/15 "2003-09-03T00:01:45Z")
Go back to 1940 and have a chat with J.R.R. Tolkien about the world that he made up and maybe get him to teach me some elvish! Id bring back a copy of FOTR to see if he liked it, because dispite that fact that he didnt like ‘new technology’ I think hed be impressed with the film. Delly the self confessed LOTR freak ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/16 "2003-09-03T01:53:43Z")
Back to a time before all the land was ‘owned’ with an SAS survival book. I’d have a treetop city with pullys and ropelifts built within a month, and all the most beautiful forest women would adore me and want to have my children. Back to medieval times (probably the same time period as above) with some modern currency. It would somehow make me a very rich person, Id own a castle and be a knight stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. And all the most beautiful village women would adore me and want to have my children. Back to the time when the UK lottery had it’s highest jackpot (42 million I think) with the winning numbers. With the winnings I’d move to California or Florida where all the most beautiful beach women would adore me and want to have my children. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/17 "2003-09-03T02:05:14Z")
**What if** …posters followed the rules and used descriptive titles for their threads. I’m changing the thread title for you. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/18 "2003-09-03T02:05:47Z")
I’d go back to the latter half of the 1700s and I wouldn’t bring a darn thing with me. I’ve always thought I was better suited for that time, and I just don’t feel right in this era. (Except for the occassional bright spots in technology. Like you folks. And webcomics.) ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/19 "2003-09-03T03:11:58Z")
I’ll go back to medieval Europe, and live the life of a court mystic. With scientific knowledge of science and engineering, life is going to be _fun_ [Rubs hands together in a sufficiently evil manner] The only thing I would bring is an entire set of hardcopy encyclopedias. And get all the necessary vaccine shots done before departure too. ---
**Author:** ![TheFunkySpaceCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheFunkySpaceCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFunkySpaceCowboy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088/20 "2003-09-03T04:15:56Z")
I’d travel back to ancient Greece, with enough gold to live out my days in leisure as a student of Epicurus in his philosphy garden. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-you-could-go-back-in-time/199088.md?page=2)