If you suddenly were teleported 100 years back in time, what would the first thing you do be?

F

FuZyOn

Temporal Novice
Self-explanatory title. I personally wouldn't know how to react, I'd probably go and observe how people from that century live their lives compared to ours.

 
The first thing I would do is gather up all the baseball cards and other small collectibles I could find. LOL Then I would try to look up my family. Some of them lived in the woods, and they, by all accounts, were wild and wooly. LOL The most important thing I would do would be find my Grandmother as a young girl, and see what she was like in her young days. She was an important part of my childhood, and I miss her. I imagine she was a very different person back then.

 
Things 100 years ago where not too hygenic in most places. Probably it would take a while before you got used to the horrible smell. Most cities like New York and Paris where filled full of horse manure. So the cities smelled really bad also. Also remember the deoderant was not invented yet, and people did not wash their clothes that often.

The past is largely overrated :) The future is better :)

 
If I were suddenly teleported back to another era as distant as a century ago, my immediate concerns and subsequent actions would be related to determining if and when I would return to my relative present and also to my survival during my visit to the past.

First and foremost, no matter how long I'll be visiting the past: I would be quite worried about deadly diseases of the time that I may not be inoculated against--such as The Spanish Flu.

Secondly, if it were clear that my visit were not a brief one and I was indeed stranded in the past: I would be worried about surviving without an established identity, period money, period clothing, etc. If I were to somehow over come all of that, and I really have no idea how I would deal with all of the above: I would gather a base of capital and then use my knowledge of the next century to grow that base into a level of wealth in which I would be quite comfortable. I would be hesitant about altering the past century of history any further than that, especially with respect to the risk of creating paradoxes, without knowing whether I am simply living in an alternate timeline or am indeed overwriting a single timeline's history.

However, if I actually knew that I would be teleported back to my time soon enough: then I would simply sight see, taking care to not alter history significantly and moreover looking and acting like I actually belong to the period.

 
I'd find my relatives. The thing is we have a problem right now in our family, we can't trace my grandfather's ancestors because he fled his hometown at a young age and never heard of his family again. I don't know why he left, if it was his ow choice or not, but nevertheless I want to meet my ancestors.

 
If I would suddenly be teleported 100 years back, my fear of being in an unfamiliar territory would limit my actions at first but once I finally gain my courage I'd look for the place where I grew up in. It would be interesting for me to know what the place looked like and what it used to be for the past 100 years. Then I'd go looking for family members who lived during that period. I would luke to know how they lived during their time. I wouldn't introduce myself though as their relative from the future. It would be too unbelievable and confusing for them.

 
First things first, I'd probably worry about disease. But really, I'd probably enjoy the bit of time I'd have before World War 1 started as best I could. Even if I was careful, I could easily get conscripted and shipped over. Imagine going through all of that trouble, just to die in a war? Worst time travel movie ever.

 
First things first, I'd probably worry about disease. But really, I'd probably enjoy the bit of time I'd have before World War 1 started as best I could. Even if I was careful, I could easily get conscripted and shipped over. Imagine going through all of that trouble, just to die in a war? Worst time travel movie ever.
Click to expand...
I don’t know, it could be like Candide meets The Time Machine. I’d read/watch that.Anyway, aside from the initial freakout? And then another freakout when I realize I’m probably super susceptible to the diseases and illnesses of the time… if I’m stuck in the past, I like to think I’d gather all my resources and efforts to create an identity for myself that blends in with the upper class, because I’m not gonna lie, I like my comfort. But I don’t know if I’m actually resourceful enough to do so, not to mention the risk of creating paradoxes would be quite high if I managed to succeed.

 
First things first, I'd probably worry about disease. But really, I'd probably enjoy the bit of time I'd have before World War 1 started as best I could. Even if I was careful, I could easily get conscripted and shipped over. Imagine going through all of that trouble, just to die in a war? Worst time travel movie ever.
Click to expand...
World War I was also the first thing that I thought of when I asked this question. I'm really curious to see if I can affect some things from happening if I had the information needed. There's a really small chance that I would be able to do so, though.

 
I find it amusing the most common fear of traveling to the past is "Disease". OMG, I might catch something.

Here is a list of diseases you either already have been or can be vaccinated against.

Anthrax

Cervical Cancer (Human Papillomavirus)

Diphtheria

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Influenza (Flu)

Japanese encephalitis (JE)

Lyme disease (Lyme disease vaccine no longer available in the United States.)

Measles

Meningococcal

Monkeypox (There is NO monkeypox vaccine. The smallpox vaccine is used for this disease.)

Mumps

Pertussis

Pneumococcal

Polio

Rabies

Rotavirus

Rubella

Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

Smallpox

Tetanus

Typhoid

Tuberculosis (TB)

Varicella (Chickenpox)

Yellow Fever

Here is a list of the prevalence of notifiable diseases in 1915 . You can compare the above list with the below list and determine your chances of survival. You can go to the link at the bottom and compare infection and mortality rates on each. Do try to avoid animal bites though. Rabies was fatal in 100% of the 11 reported cases.

DIPHTHERIA, MALARIA, MEASLES, EPIDEMIC CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS, PELLAGRA,

POLIOMYELITIS, RABIES IN MAN, RABIES IN ANIMALS, SCARLET FEVER, SMALLPOX,

TUBERCULOSIS, AND TYPHOID FEVER-CASES REPORTED, INDICATED CASE RATES

PER 1,000 POPULATION, AND INDICATED FATALY RATES PER 100 CASES.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4574083?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Get your shots first. Enjoy your trip.

 
The premise is that one is suddenly transported back in time, so one wouldn't have the advanced notice to prepare themselves for the trip as such. (And while we would indeed by protected from many past diseases, there are others that we may not be--especially the further from the present we are sent.) If it were a planned trip with enough advance notice with which to prepare, then any wise traveler would ensure that they are fully inoculated to the diseases of the time, have period clothing, have sufficient period money, speak in a period dialect, have a false identity prepared (for long stays), etc. It's the sudden unexpectedness that adds the initial panic and brings forth immediate concerns that must be dealt with before one can then start spying on one's ancestors or what-have-you.

 
I find it amusing the most common fear of traveling to the past is "Disease". OMG, I might catch something.Here is a list of diseases you either already have been or can be vaccinated against.Anthrax

Cervical Cancer (Human Papillomavirus)

Diphtheria

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Influenza (Flu)

Japanese encephalitis (JE)

Lyme disease (Lyme disease vaccine no longer available in the United States.)

Measles

Meningococcal

Monkeypox (There is NO monkeypox vaccine. The smallpox vaccine is used for this disease.)

Mumps

Pertussis

Pneumococcal

Polio

Rabies

Rotavirus

Rubella

Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

Smallpox

Tetanus

Typhoid

Tuberculosis (TB)

Varicella (Chickenpox)

Yellow Fever

Here is a list of the prevalence of notifiable diseases in 1915 . You can compare the above list with the below list and determine your chances of survival. You can go to the link at the bottom and compare infection and mortality rates on each. Do try to avoid animal bites though. Rabies was fatal in 100% of the 11 reported cases.

DIPHTHERIA, MALARIA, MEASLES, EPIDEMIC CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS, PELLAGRA,

POLIOMYELITIS, RABIES IN MAN, RABIES IN ANIMALS, SCARLET FEVER, SMALLPOX,

TUBERCULOSIS, AND TYPHOID FEVER-CASES REPORTED, INDICATED CASE RATES

PER 1,000 POPULATION, AND INDICATED FATALY RATES PER 100 CASES.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4574083?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Get your shots first. Enjoy your trip.
Click to expand...
What about the other way around? I could be Typhoid Mary and the Trojan horse all rolled into one, spreading modern antibacterial-resistant diseases to people who've never been vaccinated for the disease at all. It could be just as disastrous as when Europeans first made contact with the Americas.

 
There's a big difference between traveling in time and traveling to another isolated country. Unless you are sick at the time you go back, alone, it's not likely you would be bringing anything not already there. They had the same "bugs" we do. Europeans coming to America at a time when sanitation was poor and one sick guy on a crowed ship would spread his illness to more, it was easy to transmit contagions to people with no previous exposure.

 
Self-explanatory title. I personally wouldn't know how to react, I'd probably go and observe how people from that century live their lives compared to ours.
Click to expand...
If you suddenly were teleported 100 years back in time, what would the first thing you do be?I would rather have a planned trip, then I would do something similar to the character in that movie, Somewhere in Time. He was wearing the clothing attire for the period, money in his pocket and knew exactly who he was looking for on his time travel journey. But you add "suddenly".

Well, thus far, the responses have been spot on. I would have a panic attack because I would not want to go back in time, unless planned and knew I could return. So, the first thing I would do is try to find a way back to the present. Eventually, I would settle down into my new reality.

Exciting events happened in 1915; nevertheless, on this day in history back on 24 May 2015 is the beginnings of recorded telephone conversations with Thomas Edison's inventing the telescibe. How surprised my contacts would be be to find out out about today's iphones with video recording capabilities sent instantly around the world!

 
Well, I would look for a store or a bar for a hot meal and cold drink and see how the prices are and also, see what it is like to get a job over there and wages would be lower than now and cars would not be like the ones we have. I think that, I would meet with the Titanic survivours and hear about how they survived and what it was like and would be interesting to hear their stories. It would, be interesting to see the inventions made during that time and also would be nice to see Thomas Edison and see him work and get ideas from him.

 
If I were suddenly teleported back to another era as distant as a century ago, my immediate concerns and subsequent actions would be related to determining if and when I would return to my relative present and also to my survival during my visit to the past.First and foremost, no matter how long I'll be visiting the past: I would be quite worried about deadly diseases of the time that I may not be inoculated against--such as The Spanish Flu.
Click to expand...
Good one. You're second plan might involve staying clear of the draft and having a solid and verifiable cover story. Being a stranger walking about without proper papers in 1915 would have been unwise especially in Europe, the Med and the Middle East.

 
I would write a book called ´1983´ and steal all the ideas from 1984.

The funny thing is, most of us are largely ignorant to the technology we have, so we would not be able to recreate it. I am not sure I would want to go back in the past unless I have a long time to prepare for it.

 
Isn't 1915 the year when World War 1 happened? If I had the choice to go back, I would have researched the whole war, and then predicted the whole war in a dramatic fashion. At first, no one would've believed me, but as soon as one of my predictions became true, I'd be famous. And probably most wanted in a lot of other countries.

 
I think it would be a massive struggle to survive in 1915 because we are just not conditioned to that world. We would have to adapt extremely quickly and on a massive scale, it would all be too much to overcome successfully in my opinion. We are adapted for life in the 21st century and i don't think we would cope too well with the massive culture shock. There would be an overbearing sense of isolation and loneliness in trying to exist in a world where we did not belong that would affect our mental health.

I don't know what the first thing i would do would be as i would probably be too disorientated to achieve anything. I wonder if such a change would affect our physical health in some way also like it does if we visit a certain foreign land. I think the only way i would want to travel back in time would be if i was forewarned and had plenty of time to prepare for it mentally and physically.

 
Back
Top