# Who would you bring back from history to show the modern world to? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2023, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113 "2023-05-16T06:29:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/21 "2023-05-16T13:53:00Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Really? I would have thought it was the other way around Why do you think that? It seems to me that Mozart was much more a free spirit, and Beethoven was much more the “my way or the highway” type. Though I admit my biographical knowledge of Beethoven is limited. I did go through a Mozart phase in which I read quite a bit about him, including a collection of his letters, which were by turns witty, delightful, and juvenile. He was not above potty humor. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/22 "2023-05-16T14:26:39Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Why do you think that? Well, you used the word “iconoclast,” and few composers were more musically iconoclastic and revolutionary than Beethoven. He arguably did more than any other composer to single-handedly change music, breaking the rules and being ahead of his time. Whereas Mozart was more the type of composer who mastered and perfected and got the most out of the musical language of his era, rather than leading the way to a new era. On the other hand, you may have a point that Mozart would be more open to and appreciative of other people’s music and other musical styles than Beethoven, with his “my way or the highway” attitude, would have. And Mozart would probably be more fun to hang around with and less of an a-hole than Beethoven (even aside from the deafness thing). ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/23 "2023-05-16T14:32:48Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s always been Ben Franklin when I run this program in my head. Same here. But I also would enjoy showing Mark Twain around. I’d have him binge watch a bunch of comedy specials on Netflix; I’m sure he’d be able to crank out a doozy of a set. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/24 "2023-05-16T14:33:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, you used the word “iconoclast,” and few composers were more musically iconoclastic and revolutionary than Beethoven. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > On the other hand, you may have a point that Mozart would be more open to and appreciative of other people’s music and other musical styles than Beethoven OK, I see your point as well now, thanks for the explanation. Let’s bring them both back! It’ll be fun to listen to their debates and arguments over the merits and flaws of modern popular music (I’ll have to learn German first). ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/25 "2023-05-16T14:36:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Also, [a certain painter.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTJI_UphPk) That was beautiful…thank you for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/26 "2023-05-16T14:37:03Z")
I’d bring back Billy the Kid, Sigmund Freud, Abraham Lincoln, Genghis Khan, Socrates, Joan of Arc, and Beethoven ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/27 "2023-05-16T14:48:53Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’d like to show the Wright Brothers a 747 taking off. - Orville would have been 98 when Apollo 11 launched. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/28 "2023-05-16T15:03:05Z")
The first 747 took off 3 months before Apollo 11 landed. The first 747 commercial flight was 7 months after Apollo 11. Orville didn’t live to see any of those milestones, but it’s not inconceivable that he would have. Wilbur would have been 102 then. A LOT was going on in aerospace between e.g. 1965 & 1975. Kinda like the internet a few years ago. Massive changes coming on every front. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/29 "2023-05-16T15:15:18Z")
Can I bring myself back? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/30 "2023-05-16T15:15:24Z")
> [@robby](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Also, [a certain painter.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTJI_UphPk) > > That was beautiful…thank you for sharing. That was nice. I was going to make a slightly snarky comment “didn’t know that Van Gogh, who was Dutch, spoke such fluent English in a British accent, though” but it turns out that [he did speak fluent French and English](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/fascinating-facts-about-vincent-van-gogh). Also, I learned from that video that Brits pronounce his name “Van _ **Goff** _” which seems odd. Did not know that. Is that closer to the Dutch pronunciation I wonder, instead of the American “Van _ **Go** _” [According to this video](https://youtu.be/ZufH6h1-Tm8), it’s neither “Goff” nor “Go” in Dutch, it’s more of a “Hhhaughhhh”: ---
**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:** [May 16, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/31 "2023-05-16T15:15:38Z")
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. I’d bring them here to see how their words were twisted and then send them back for another edit. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/32 "2023-05-16T15:19:34Z")
I feel like anyone my age or older has already been brought forward through quite a bit of history. LSLGuy mentions the changes in aerospace back then; I remember traveling halfway across the country in propeller-driven planes. I’m not quite old enough to remember Sputnik, but I do remember Yuri Gagarin. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/33 "2023-05-16T15:20:43Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Really? I would have thought it was the other way around. Yes, Beethoven was the rebel who broke _all_ the rules. First, he demonstrated mastery of Classical Music up to and including his beautiful 1st symphony, then he ushered in the Romantic era of music with his ground-breaking 3rd symphony, which his contemporary audiences didn’t understand, or appreciate. To them, it sounded like punk rock to your grandparents. Beethoven was the Sid Vicious of his day…but, with supreme talent. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/34 "2023-05-16T15:35:23Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. I’d bring them here to see how their words were twisted and then send them back for another edit. And Jefferson might want to meet his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandkids… > **[Thomas Jefferson's Black Sixth Great-Grandson and Other Descendants of...](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/drew-gardner-descendants-1892513)** > > A new series by photographer Drew Gardner juxtaposes descendants of historical figures with early portraits of their famous relatives. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/35 "2023-05-16T15:35:45Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I’d bring back Billy the Kid, Sigmund Freud, Abraham Lincoln, Genghis Khan, Socrates, Joan of Arc, and Beethoven Don’t forget the hot princesses. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/36 "2023-05-16T15:39:13Z")
Boris Karloff, to see the Walking Dead. Bob Heinlein, to show the school shooting statistics to. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/37 "2023-05-16T15:39:44Z")
Most Royals are hella inbred. Pass. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/38 "2023-05-16T15:45:17Z")
What’s my motivation for bringing a historical figure to the 21st Century? To wow them with how different things are? I’d rather bring back someone whose talents are truly unexcelled in my era. > **[Le Pétomane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane?wprov=sfti1)** > > Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 – August 8, 1945), better known by his stage name Le Pétomane (/ləˈpɛtəmeɪn/, French pronunciation: ​\[ləpetɔman\]), was a French flatulist (professional farter) and entertainer. He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to seemingly fart at will. His stage name combines the French verb péter, "to fart" with the -mane, "-maniac" suffix, which translates to "fartomaniac". The profession is referred to as "flatulist", "farte It wa... ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/39 "2023-05-16T15:51:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s always been Ben Franklin when I run this program in my head. Indeed, Ben Franklin was a remarkable renaissance man, a genius of many talents who comes around only rarely in society. After all, he was _“the only president of the United States who was never president of the United States”._ I would also bring along John Adams and put him in a hotel room with Franklin, just to annoy Adams. Franklin and Adams were like Oscar and Felix from The Odd Couple. I still laugh when I read of their [bed-sharing](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/54169/time-ben-franklin-and-john-adams-shared-bed) stay in Paris. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113/40 "2023-05-16T15:56:32Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Can I bring myself back? If you had a genie you’d probably ask it for more wishes too. 😉 Seriously, that is a good end-around on the question. My aged MIL died at age 96 having gone from just after WW-I to almost now. Towards the end she commented often on how her father had talked of having lived through a great deal of history (1885 through the 1970s) and still he wanted to see the next 80 years as well. As now did she. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-bring-back-from-history-to-show-the-modern-world-to/984113.md?page=3)