January 4, 2000
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If you could ask one question of a person 100 years ago, what would that question be?


What do you think life will be like in 100 years?

Laurie

I'd love to get a good hearty slice of the popular culture of the time. . . see some vintage vaudeville or see a popular operetta. . . If I was actually physically transported back to that time and I was in a city I'd ask the person where the nearest theatre is and what time they have their stuff going. . . .If the person from 100 years ago was talking to me on the phone or if he was physically transported here or I was sending him an e-mail or a telegram that I knew he/she would be answering, I guess I'd ask them about their lives. . .if they were one of the many opressed working class folks, I might want to know how they keep their spirits up and stay sane. . .if they were one of the leisure class I'd love to hear about the last book they read or the last play they saw. . .. . .I'd like to get a sense of who this person  is and to what extent I am different from them because of the 100 year difference between us. . .

mothmc, 35
Pensacola
FL

I've been getting back to basics lately. I would ask how do you make...(soap, tallow, yarn, thread, candles). I know this information is in books but there is such a huge difference between what is recorded in books and what you learn through experience and practice.

Tom

It's hard for me to predict what life will be like as far as tools we'll use, the way we'll do business, etc. I suppose it'll be more automated. I'm hoping robots that wash, dry and put away laundry will be available and affordable in my lifetime.

I expect people will still be people. In other words, we'll be just as prone to error and just as prone to compassions.

Laura, 34
Lowell, MA

I have always wanted to go back in time to NYC when all the mansions were homes. I would ask the woman of one of these mansions (say Rockefeller) if they had any unfulfilled dreams. What would they like to have accomplished if they were allowed to pursue anything, Would they have had a career?

Janet, 42
E. Brunswick, NJ

Ask only one question? That is a bit like compressing a significant moment to banal postcard coverage--or the despicable news bites of network television. I would enjoy an afternoon chat with my forebears of l00 years ago (not long enough that I could consider my great-grandmother an ancestor) about the tenor of their lives before modern transportation and communication.

Jill, 59
Saylorsburg
PA

I guess I would want to know their thoughts. Like what did they think about their work? How about their families? What did they worry about? What made them happy? Sad? Excited? What are their dreams? Fears? Hopes? What was their first date like? Things like that.

Felicia, 33
Somerville, MA

There was a big hurricane in Galveston in 1900. I would want to ask the city council what their plans for mitigation for future hurricanes are.

Rebekah, 20
Galveston,
TX

What do you mean I have to go outside in that little building to do my business?

Johnnie, 41
Houston,
TX

I'd probably ask women why they weren't fighting...why they didn't continually ask..."Why ain't I good enough?"

Amy, 23
Turner
, ME

Did it smell really nasty all the time without indoor plumbing or did you just get used to it?

Shayna, 28
Somerville
MA

If I could a person a question 100 years ago, I would ask them what they thought would happen in the 20th century--what advances would we be making, how would we be living, how would they do during the century, etc.

I doubt they could have dreamed what eventually appened during this century--everything from going to the moon to going online. But those dreams were the stuff that made today's reality possible.

Larry, 42
Long Island
, NY

I would want to know there most memorable moments of their lifetime.

Chris, 25
Lowell,
MA

Do you feel lucky to be alive in the year 1900? Do you think things are better than they were a hundred years ago? Do you think they'll be worse in the year 2000?

kimberfreed, 31

How are you?

Ray , 17
Toronto  CANADA

Hmmm....one question? I think that question would have to be, "Can I ask you a whole bunch of questions?". Oh wait, that defies the "wishing for wishes" clause. How about if I ask the debutante Consuelo Vanderbilt, "Can I follow you around for a day?"

Kristin, 20
IA  USA

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