h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Vatican have tried to keep secret about the device known as 'Father Ernetti's Chronovisor'. The priest was said to have recruited a number of top scientists who then created a contraption which could witness events in history, such as the crucifiction and subsequent resurrection of Christ.

That is reprinted from the "Best kept secret" thread, and I thought it worthy of starting a new thread.

The building of the Great Pyramid, to see where the body was really laid to rest.

The first performance of Handel's Messiah, to see how "He was despised" should really be performed. Nowadays, we have no idea what sort of ornamentation was used.

Roswell - a close view of that weather baloon.

I'd like to have seen Stonehenge being built, just to see if, as I suspect, it was built upon a crop circle...

It would be very hard to hold back on altering history by causing a distraction at:

The assassination of JFK
or Gandhi
or Martin Luther King

How about the Bunker in Berlin, to see if they really *did* save Hitler's brain?

Though I think what I'd like is to see certain now-ruined buildings as they once were: cathedrals, castles, Rome...

i would like to witness the surmoun on the mount.

because he only ever showed himself to one man i want to know why does god have perculiar facial warts?

I know this doesn't really count as history per se but I'd like to have seen a speeded-up version of glaciation - the ebb and flow of the north polar ice-cap when it covered the northern part of the UK during the last ice-age.

I'd also like to have experienced life in a Roman Villa - as one of the advantaged.

The great fire of London - although from some sort of fireproof time machine of course.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'd like to be at the birth of Christ...

this is nothing to do with history but i would trace back my family tree far enough to see what realtion i am to bubbles (jackos chimp friend)
if i say to mr micheal jackson that i am bubbles's 62964969th cousin 5702457254 times removed do you think that he will give me some free money

Certainly worth a try - but you'd have to share it with the rest of your cousins.

You're a lot closer related to Bubbles than that! At 25 years per generation, you only have to go back about 400,000 generations to reach a common ancestor. I'm assuming 10,000,000 years should be enough, but even at 10 times that, it's still a lot closer than you're making out.

your actually wrong
chimps mastered space travel years ago bubbles and my closet reletive lived 3 gazillion years ago on a small planet that they never got round to naming

I'd love to know what happened to the Mary Celeste - my own theory is it's one of the greatest practical jokes in history
I'd also like to stop the Crystal Palace from burning down. It was a fantastic building. The fire actually started in the gents, so I wouldn't be short of ideas on how to put it out

I'd love to see the Egyptian temples in their heyday rather than as dusty ruins. Same goes for places like Angkor Wat, Rome, Byzantium and the like. Wouldn't mind being in on some of the great speaches, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth at the Armada just to see if they really did inspire and move as they were supposed to.

I would like to see the beginning of history, the big bang.

Mostly

I can tell you what happened to the Mary Celeste SpinksSecret.

The Daleks landed on her and everyone jumped overboard.

Hmmmmmm, this is a good idea for a thread

I would like to visit... (from a safe time-bubble )

Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount (don't know the date) - I would be interested to see what sort of speaker he was

The Seige of Rome by the Visigoths (530s) - not the fall of the Western Empire (which happened in the 5th century) but the defence of the city (which was notoriously hard to defend) by a few thousand troops of the Eastern Empire against a much larger Visigothic force. The Imperial troops were victorious.

Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor (800AD) - apparently he was taken by surprise when the Pope crowned him, so would like to see the look on his face.

The Fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453) - to see the last remnant of the Roman Empire fall, also a good opportunity to see if the Emperor Constantine XI really did die in battle (his body was never found).

Boston Tea Party (late 18th century) - just for fun

JFK's assassination (1963) - to try and work out what *did* happen

talking of visiting cities in their "heyday", it would be fascinating to see Timbuktu when it was the "wealthy trading city" of legend. By the time Europeans found it, it had fallen into long-term decline and was a shadow of it's former self .

What an interesting question.

Lynnrd Skynnrd playing Freebird at Knebworth, I think.

Queen with Freddy Mercury.

Pink Floyd, though I did see Roger Waters last year.

A first night of any Shakespeare play.

The Peter Brooks' Midsummer Night's Dream.

I think that is about it for now.

Oh - no - Atlantis. I would defitinely like to see Atlantis.

Ben

Thanks for turning my "Chronovisor/Vatican conspiracy posting into a conversation. I didn't think anyone had read it!
I would like to go back to the 1880's, London. It would be really interesting to witness the underbelly of life during the Rippers' reign.