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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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