# What single historical event would you most like to have witnessed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582 "2003-01-19T03:27:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/21 "2003-01-19T17:45:03Z")
There’ve been many significant battles that would be interesting to watch - from a distance, I suppose. Some have been named and there are others - Agincourt, Waterloo and Normandy spring to mind. But we’ve got volunteers for the battle watch. As we do for the lunar landing. I think it would be nifty to visit the primordisl soup and watch the first living cell…, um, what? _Coalesce_? I guess you could say _evolve_. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/22 "2003-01-19T18:24:50Z")
The Crusades. Most definately. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/23 "2003-01-19T18:26:19Z")
and Agincourt as well. ---
**Author:** ![SojournerSamson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SojournerSamson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SojournerSamson)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/24 "2003-01-19T18:39:33Z")
Krakatoa (at a safe distance with camcorders and lots of field vulcanologists) ---
**Author:** ![Birds\_On\_A\_Bat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@Birds\_On\_A\_Bat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birds_On_A_Bat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/25 "2003-01-19T18:45:08Z")
Either Normandy or the Battle of the Bulge. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/26 "2003-01-19T19:18:17Z")
For me, I’d like to see them laying the last 5000 blocks of the Great Pyramid. Not only would it be cool to see them in their pristine state but I would also definitively know how they were built. Plus I could wave at the aliens as they flew away in their concrete lifting crystalline UFOs. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/27 "2003-01-19T19:47:52Z")
> [@](#): > > For me, I’d like to see them laying the last 5000 blocks of the Great Pyramid Forgive my ignorance, but wouldn’t that have taken decades? For me, I’d want to witness something life affirming, something incredibly joyful. Something like the liberation of Paris during WWII. The victory parade passing through the Arc de Triumph, with everyone smiling and waving their flags – awesome! Can you even begin to imagine the party that followed? The liberation of a prison camp would have been incredibly awesome as well but in a completely different way. Instead of having a loud, noisy victory, I imagine it to was an incredibly sober, quiet and reverent thing to watch those skeletal souls walk through those gates…free at last, free at last. Life affirming yet twinged with a bone crushing sadness. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/28 "2003-01-19T20:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\*The first-ever performance of _Henry V_. I would LOVE to know how the audience reacted, how much they really liked Henry, whether they were expecting to see Falstaff or if rumors of his death had leaked out beforehand, which of the surviving texts is closest to what was actually performed, and all that geeky stuff. > \*\* Can I come too? 😉 Along similar-but-not-really lines, I’d also rather like to see the performance of _Richard II_ commissioned by the supporters of the Earl of Essex, on the eve of Essex’s rebellion against Elizabeth… (obsessive? Moi? Never…) ---
**Author:** ![EveryDayHasItsDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@EveryDayHasItsDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EveryDayHasItsDog)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/29 "2003-01-19T20:33:45Z")
I’d like to witness my conception. . . . . . Er, uh… just kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/30 "2003-01-19T20:55:57Z")
I wish I could have been in Potsdamer Platz when the Berlin Wall came down. I remember watching the CNN broadcast in my Junior High classroom, the genuine joy and exuberance on the faces of those people is something I will never forget. Shortly thereafter, IIRC, Roger Waters came out of semi-retirement to perform “The Wall” live in front of a crowd of about 500,000. Must have been a great party. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/31 "2003-01-19T21:53:54Z")
The moment of the alleged resurrection. Personally, I think it’s bunk, so it would be nice to check that story out for myself. ---
**Author:** ![louloubelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e68b1a/32.png) [@louloubelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/louloubelle)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/32 "2003-01-19T23:29:27Z")
The parting of the Red Sea. Such a powerful image. Cannot imagine it could really happen, so it would be good to check out the reality - could be a bit underwhelming though! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/33 "2003-01-20T00:54:02Z")
I think it would be interesting (and very gruesome) to see one of those gigantor type battles back in the Ancient Rome days. I mean, imagine an army as far as the eye can see just whuppin’ ass … I can’t even picture the brutality. I don’t know why I would want to expose myself to unending bloodshed, but it’d be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/34 "2003-01-20T02:26:03Z")
I would like to accompany Darwin on the Beagle. Hold the seasickness and tropical diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/35 "2003-01-20T02:41:56Z")
I’d like to be on the grassy knoll in Dallas on 11/22/63. If I could then have a “do-over”, I’d go over to the schoolbook depository and see what happened over there. My second choice is Hitler’s bunker during the 1945 siege of Berlin. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/36 "2003-01-20T02:46:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ryan\_Liam \* > \*\*and Agincourt as well. \*\* When is St. Crispin’s Day?😃 ---
**Author:** ![rowanashe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/edb3f5/32.png) [@rowanashe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowanashe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/37 "2003-01-20T02:57:06Z")
I’m with Radiowave about the pyramids. I want to see how they were really built. The mathmatics involved are mind boggling could it really just be egyptians? Atlantis would be a close second as far as confirming events goes. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/38 "2003-01-20T03:08:04Z")
I’d like to see the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. I’d have to see all of them because some people think they were committed by different people. I’d just like to know who. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/39 "2003-01-20T03:44:54Z")
I’d like to actually see the sinking of the _Titanic_, from the time it hit the 'berg until it sank. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582/40 "2003-01-20T03:45:11Z")
I think it would have been cool to watch the Mediterranean Valley turn into the Mediterranean Sea a couple million years ago. Similarly, it would have been fun to watch the “barriers” to the freshwater Black Sea erode seven-or-so millennia ago, and watch it become a much larger saltwater extension of the Mediterranean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-single-historical-event-would-you-most-like-to-have-witnessed/149582.md?page=3)