Visitor From The Past

Have you ever watched one of those shows or stories where someone, perhaps like Ben Franklin, is transported to our time? He's marveling at all the technology and advances that's been made. The people set about showing him all the great things that have been made and done, like cars, planes, TV, radio, computers and all. Should it happen to me, and I met someone from the past, do you know what I'd show them?

I'd show them something they never had, but is far superior to all those fancy trinkets. I'd take them down to Dairy Queen®, and get them the largest ice cream cone they had available. Then, I'd watch the expressions on their face as they sampled the smoothest, most delicious treat they'd ever tasted. Then, if they stuck around long enough, I'd show them the advances that have been made with ice cream. Maybe I'd take them to Baskin-Robbins®, so they could sample the hard frozen product, or get them Sundays, Malts, or maybe even a Blizzard®.

But then, maybe you think something different is more significant.

Yeah, I would show them my Braun electric toothbrush. And some Mentadent toothpaste, maybe some Listerene. EEWW stinky cavity creeps! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

Maybe it would be better to let them talk instead ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif ... might prove more useful for our own evaluation of reality and the "achievements" of modern society.
But then again ... I'd show them earth seen from space.
bernhard

Shine a flashlight at them? Taking them on a roller coaster would be pretty fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

That's several hundreds of years, and I can't imagine the culture shock. If you were to hand my old HP 15C scientific calculator to a hot aeronautical engineer/scientist from the 1950's, you would have no trouble convincing him it was of extraterrestrial origin! (And that ain't that long ago for me. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )

Larry

I think Ben Franklin would be blown away by current communication and transportation. In his time, just travelling from Boston to Philadelphia required waiting for favorable wind and tides, could take a week or more and be life-threatening due to storms and submerged rocks, etc. Communication was by letters (written with a quill) sent on the same ships. Receiving a response often took months.

I would drive BF to the airport and show him a cell phone. And then show him a pair of modern bifocals so he could see that some things have not changed that much at all. And as a printer, the internet and desktop publishing would amaze him. But I don't think he would like seeing Philadelphia today.

I think a ride in, oh, maybe an F-16 or B-2, would make an impression.

Just imagine Eddison coming to out time, me finding him in a dark room only with a candle...and them BAM, out comes a SF M6.

Let's bring Tesla back. He might help us solve tomorrow's problems.

Those deck-of-cards sized digital cameras might prove pretty impressive. Same goes with nanotechnology and microprocessors.

It would also be pretty fun trying to convince them that a 10 gram 1gb memory card can store 10,000 photos or an entire library worth of text.

Do you all really think that tech-stuff will leave the one and most important impression on such a visitor?
It might help to hide where we have failed to accomplish more than our ancestors, true, but ...
bernhard

looks like plastic, if I might say so ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin07.gif
and on the run now ... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/aaa.gif

bernhard