# You wake up tomorrow - It's Aug 11th, 2001. What do you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068 "2007-09-13T14:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/21 "2007-09-13T23:35:28Z")
I’d call my buddy who works for the CIA, and convince him that I’m not crazy. I’d also contact the Phoenix FBI, and make up a story that would get them even more suspicious of the guys taking flying lessons. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/22 "2007-09-13T23:38:38Z")
I honestly dont know if i would stop it if i could. I mean killing them would be a way to do it but they could always just do it later and maybe even be a little more organized this time around. I mean wasnt 10 planes supposed to be hijacked in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/23 "2007-09-13T23:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Go to a public library somewhere far from home with internet access. Send a mass Email to all of the above concerning a conversation that you overheard that puts your life in danger. Go into details of what is planned and hope that at least one of the dozens of organizations you have notified will react. Jim [/QUOTE] That’d just be like any random loony email that everyone has got lots of since the thing was invented. The time-traveller would have to do something a bit more drastic. And fatal. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/24 "2007-09-14T00:13:44Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] That’d just be like any random loony email that everyone has got lots of since the thing was invented. The time-traveller would have to do something a bit more drastic. And fatal. [/QUOTE] Maybe, I could track the take off of flights out of Boston on the day and then call in the Bomb Threat as a final backup. I don’t think there is much more I could do. I sure as heck could not stop them physically. I would hope that an Email with some fairly specific details might be treated slightly more seriously than offers from Africa. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/25 "2007-09-14T03:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] You could go to the airports, identify the hijackers and start shooting them. If you kill the four who flew the planes, 9/11 would be averted. Of course, you would probably be shot by the police, and if not you would end up in prison, but it might be worth it. [/QUOTE] Man, makes you wonder how many seemingly senseless murders were committed by time travelers to stop terrorist attacks that we now have never heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/26 "2007-09-14T03:17:54Z")
I have some people I could tell, who could kick it way, _way_ up the intelligence food chain. But one I didn’t meet after 9/11/01, so in August 2001 he wouldn’t know me yet… It would be difficult but not impossible to foil the 9/11/01 hijackings as we know them. But I am also sure that another attack would shortly follow. ---
**Author:** ![TJVM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@TJVM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJVM)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/27 "2007-09-14T03:30:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Get a group on all 4 of the planes … The problem is that, if you try to get people to help you like this, I think you’re going to run into the same problem you have with warning the authorities: no one will believe you. Even if you’re talking about good friends, I think they’re going to become concerned about your mental state when you drop by for a visit and start explaining how you need them to buy a tazer and get on a particular airplane flight next month so that you can all subdue some terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/28 "2007-09-14T03:56:35Z")
Was I the only one who saw the thread title and immediately thought, “short the market”? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/29 "2007-09-14T04:07:26Z")
I agree with those who say that even if you were somehow able to stop the attacks on that day, some sort of spectacular attack would still occur at some point somewhere. New guys would be trained, or the same guys would still attack. I doubt you would be able to generate the wariness that would be needed among the relevant authorities to make them stay on guard. Who knows? Maybe the 9/11 attacks were the result of someone going back and preventing the, say, deadly October 15, 1998, attacks. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/30 "2007-09-14T04:16:38Z")
**brewha** , are you writing a 12 Monkeys sequel? I’d try hard, but I’d probably be shot at the airport too. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/31 "2007-09-14T04:33:15Z")
Go back to bed and hope to wake up in the proper time. Threats won’t work. You would have to set a bomb off at the WTC. A good sized one going off at about 6 AM. Get caught by the police and confess to have planted bombs at Logan, JFK, Newark and the Pentagon. Take one for the team Cassandra, it’s all that you can do. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/32 "2007-09-14T04:38:24Z")
Do I look like myself now or myself then? Because if I look like myself now, it might help me convince people I know that I haven’t just gone crazy. By the same token, do I replace my 2001 self or do we both exist? Presenting two identical mes to whomever would lend credibility to my claim that I’m from the future. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/33 "2007-09-14T13:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=Koxinga] Was I the only one who saw the thread title and immediately thought, “short the market”? [/QUOTE] Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Bongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a9adbd/32.png) [@Winston\_Bongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Bongo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/34 "2007-09-14T16:12:59Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Do I look like myself now or myself then? Because if I look like myself now, it might help me convince people I know that I haven’t just gone crazy. By the same token, do I replace my 2001 self or do we both exist? Presenting two identical mes to whomever would lend credibility to my claim that I’m from the future. [/QUOTE] I assumed the idea was that you time-travel into your own body from 2001 (ala _Quantum Leap_) rather than popping in as a secondary you (ala _Back to the Future_). It would certainly be more of a challenge that way, since from others’ point of view it would be like you just woke up one morning and suddenly went loony. (Assuming you told anyone the truth.) ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/35 "2007-09-14T16:16:35Z")
What if you averted it, and because it never happened, Security was never amped up, and two years later they smuggled a nuclear weapon in and leveled half of NYC. How would you feel then? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/36 "2007-09-14T16:25:00Z")
[QUOTE=Epimetheus] What if you averted it, and because it never happened, Security was never amped up, and two years later they smuggled a nuclear weapon in and leveled half of NYC. How would you feel then? [/QUOTE] I once read a short story that was similar. A man finds some sort of “cosmic control room” that allows him to enter the mind of anyone throughout history. He can conrol their actions, while they think they’re doing it on their own. He goes back and “sculpts” history. Makes Hitler’s mother tumble down stairs and miscarry. Gets rid of Martin Luther and Julius Caesar, all sorts of people, and ends up finally with this perfect, most peaceful world with no experience whatsoever of violence. That’s when the space aliens arrived to take over; the humans had no idea how to defend themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/37 "2007-09-14T16:28:51Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I once read a short story that was similar. A man finds some sort of “cosmic control room” that allows him to enter the mind of anyone throughout history. He can conrol their actions, while they think they’re doing it on their own. He goes back and “sculpts” history. Makes Hitler’s mother tumble down stairs and miscarry. Gets rid of Martin Luther and Julius Caesar, all sorts of people, and ends up finally with this perfect, most peaceful world with no experience whatsoever of violence. That’s when the space aliens arrive to take over; the humans had no idea how to defend themselves. [/QUOTE] That’s a common theme. I remember watching a program where someone went back in time and murdered baby Adolph Hitler. Hitler’s mother went mad over the baby’s death, and Hitler’s father went out and bought a baby from a gypsy woman to replace the original–the implication being that the second baby was destined to be the historical Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/38 "2007-09-14T17:03:51Z")
So did we just explain the original WTC bombing in 1994? I think we did. Someone wanna fess up? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/39 "2007-09-14T17:04:50Z")
I don’t think there would be any way to do it without going to jail or suffering through some horrible interrogation. If you provided any credible details about the attack - using the names of the terrorists the FBI knew, for example - you’d end up getting hauled in for questioning within a few days. They would, reasonably, figure that anybody who knew this much about what was happening would have to be involved in it in some way and probably had other information to give up. That’s assuming they don’t dismiss you as a crank in the first place. Either way, they’d probably find you again on September 12th and you would end up taking a long vacation in Guantanamo Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068/40 "2007-09-14T17:39:06Z")
A bit shorter timeframe, but: [You wake up, and it’s Sept. 10, 2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=153931&highlight=prevent+9%2F11) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wake-up-tomorrow-its-aug-11th-2001-what-do-you-do/419068.md?page=3)