# You can bring one item from history to the present. What are you getting?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 2, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244 "2022-11-02T19:50:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/1 "2022-11-02T19:50:58Z")
The criteria:
You must be able to carry it.
It cannot be a living thing.
It must benefit a substantial portion of society, not just you. IOW, this is not a get rich trip.
You only get one trip so you can’t break something large into pieces that you can carry.
I’ve thought about this most of the morning and I still can’t decide so I’m interested to hear what others might come up with.
---
### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/2 "2022-11-02T19:54:51Z")
The Holy Grail? Assuming Jesus actually lived, and the events went down as recorded, that’s kind of THE historical artifact of artifacts. Now how I’d verify it? That I don’t know.
If I ended up in 1st century Judaea, and it turns out that there was no historical Jesus, or that things weren’t as advertised, I think I’d probably try to get something of archaeological significance.
Still… a couple hours of video footage might be of more utility than a single item, in that you could _see_ how things were in that time frame.
---
### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/3 "2022-11-02T20:20:12Z")
> [@bump](#):
>
> The Holy Grail?
We’ve already got one.
---
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/4 "2022-11-02T20:20:44Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> > [@bump](#):
> >
> > The Holy Grail? .
>
> We’ve already got one. .
It’s very nice.
---
### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/5 "2022-11-02T20:33:44Z")
Can I yoink, say, John Wilkes Booth’s gun from just before he would’ve fired it?
---
### Author:  [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/6 "2022-11-02T20:36:00Z")
A codex selected from the pile that Bishop de Landa was burning
---
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/7 "2022-11-02T20:52:09Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#):
>
> Can I yoink, say, John Wilkes Booth’s gun from just before he would’ve fired it?
You can try but disarming a crazed gun carries potential consequences.
---
### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/8 "2022-11-02T21:04:59Z")
For believers (no comments on him not being real please), I’d bring back Jesus’s bloody cross, I could bear it long enough to get it into the time machine. Might be interesting to check out the DNA from his fresh non-living blood.
For non-believers, I’m heading to the library in Alexandria (before it burned) and grabbing as many scrolls that I could carry on philosophy, mathematics and astronomy.
---
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/9 "2022-11-02T21:32:53Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#):
>
> For non-believers, I’m heading to the library in Alexandria (before it burned) and grabbing as many scrolls that I could carry on philosophy, mathematics and astronomy.
Would you be able to distinguish those from say, the records of Ptolemy’s grain purchases?
---
### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/10 "2022-11-02T21:55:22Z")
I’d ask when when I got my library card. 😉
Imagine the fines I’d be getting when I got back!
---
### Author:  [@John\_Barleycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Barleycorn)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/11 "2022-11-02T22:04:51Z")
[Antikythera mechanism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism)
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/12 "2022-11-02T22:22:56Z")
Button Gwinett’s signature. 😉
---
### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/13 "2022-11-02T23:53:53Z")
Another vote for the library. With luck, more of Sappho’s work.
---
### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/14 "2022-11-02T23:55:08Z")
I’d bring back some of Jesus’ semen, assuming he existed. (Please don’t ask me how I’d get it.) Half of his DNA was supposedly Mary’s, but the other half?
---
### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/15 "2022-11-02T23:57:02Z")
I think the historical consensus is that Jesus existed. It is more a question if he was actually god that is in dispute.
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/16 "2022-11-02T23:58:27Z")
Forget Jesus. I’m breaking into the Temple of Jerusalem and stealing the Ark of the Covenant, presumably with the original Ten Commandments inside.
---
### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/17 "2022-11-03T00:12:02Z")
Didn’t it take 4 people to carry it?
---
### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/18 "2022-11-03T00:42:01Z")
Fine, I’ll settle for the stone tablets. Maybe Aaron’s rod if I can tuck it under my arm.
---
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/19 "2022-11-03T01:05:55Z")
A breeding supply of silphium seeds. Except that is disqualified for being alive I guess.
---
### Author:  [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244/20 "2022-11-03T01:08:48Z")
I’d take a camera with me and take some historic (and maybe pre-historic) pictures which I would then bring back with me.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-bring-one-item-from-history-to-the-present-what-are-you-getting/974244.md?page=2)