Posted on 10/14/2012 8:02:34 AM PDT by trailhkr1
What would they be? A gun? Then you are only allowed to bring 2 bullets..see how that works?? Some basic ground rules..has to be a realistic items you can get you hands on today..no tanks etc. You are going with just the clothes on your back + the 3 items to survive an mingle with the folks of the day. Never coming back.
Saw this question on another site and wanted to see what you guys would come up with..I will post that link tomorrow after everyone has a chance to come up with their ideas..some people came up with good ideas (detailed history text of the time in Europe, antibiotics) and other people's ideas..not so much.
ping for later
Look at it this way.
The native Americans had as much time to develop technology as the Europeans, African and Asians....and they didn’t.
They were content in their lives of what ever depending on the part of the continent.
As an example the north eastern Indians, slashed and burned, exploited the land and moved on.
Bring those three things and the natives would think you were a God.
Do I spend too much time on this site?
Depends on where you landed in 742 AD. The world was much less populated at that time. There’s a good chance that you land somewhere that a human being has never put eyes on. Or for that matter you may end up in the middle of the Pacific, or Antarctica. It says when, not where. I could shoot a pound of gravel out of a musketoon and do a hell of a lot of damage before my demise, and 25lb of black powder can make a very nasty bomb(s).
Before I can answer your question, I'd need to know if I would be able prepare ahead of time by doing such things as learning the language and customs of the people as well being able to wear period appropriate attire?
Solar powered note book full of all technological advances
Kevlar vest
100 pounds of peppercorns
Does the Library of Congress count as one item?
1. The best 21st century knife I could find.
2. The biggest piece of flint I could carry.
3. A combined copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to bring enlightenment to the backward masses.
This does assume that my Latin training of 40+ years ago comes flooding back to me.
A really good tri-lingual Greek-Latin-English dictionary.
A document or book with a detailed description of the metallurgy, engineering and chemistry needed to construct match-lock era fire-arms and cannon (ideally also tri-lingual).
A large sack of gold.
(742 is an unpleasant choice — the Empire is in the hands of the Iconoclast Constantine V Copronymous — of course at this point Rome is still Orthodox, so I think I’d hope to end up in Rome and offer my services to Pope Zacharius.)
2. A mattress
3. carton of cigarettes
Actually, being killed as a heretic for technical knowledge would be vanishingly unlikely in 742. Before the 11th century, the Church, both East and West, followed the wisdom of the Fathers that the execution of heretics was a horror to be avoided — heretics needed to be silence, but they also need to be given a maximal chance of repenting — all the great heresiarchs of the Christological controversies (and the Orthodox they accused of being heretics when they had the ear of the secular authorities, cf. the treatment of St. John Chrysostom) died in exile. Likewise the belief in witchcraft was condemned as pagan superstition until about the 11th century, so it’s unlikely technical prowess, especially if one showed how it was done, would be treated as witchcraft.
(In the East these attitudes continued until they finally broke down in Russia in the 17th century — in the West, heresy as a capital offense and the belief in witchcraft seem to have been picked up from Muslim Spain in the 11th century.)
Rosehips. The rugosa varieties get the size of small grapes.
HitchHikers Guide to the Universe
Towel
BabelFish
endless supply of STD defeating antibiotics since I am sure to be rather popular with the girls given my tools will make me popular
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The “French Pox” (if in England) or the “English Pox” (if in France) can be defeated with pills ,, however you will have to get used to women with hairy legs and pits who bath once a year...
OK, here is my go at it.
year 742, 3 things.
1) A modern made sailing ship capable of carrying cargo. (I’ll hire crew there.) it will have solar powered water desalination with a few solar powered luxuries, and a small solar powered engine, so I can pilot it myself if need be to a port (slow, but needed until I get some crew).
2) modern sea charts showing the full world and major currents. I will let cartographers copy them for a fee.
3) A solar powered computer (kept on my ship) with a detailed history including the recipe for gun powder and the locations of early Spanish goldmines in Cuba.
The goal, hire some crew, including armed and armored fighters, make raids on the Aztecs, take some quick and easy gold. Use that to convince the English to conquer Cuba, and the new world. and push Britain into world power status long before anyone else is even aware of what is going on.
I would be the new Columbus and hated by the Left today.
I’d say the most obvious choice is some sort of survival/swiss knife...depending on your balance of protection vs tool.
But while certain books are a good idea, large volumes, or anything large you are going to have to carry around, keep dry and hope no one gets curious about until you, hopefully, can develop some sort of secure base...but who knows how long that could be?
So imagine having to actually carry or wear what you have, and most likely not want anyone to see it.
As for language, I would also say you can LEARN a lot of things before going, and those who have good memories might be able to absorb a lot of knowledge rather than just count on a huge book that might disappear two days in.
Another big question is how bad one’s eyesight is and how much that factors in...tough call there.
2: A good book on metallurgy
3: Special Forces field manual on medicine
In other words useful knowledge.
AND you need the time machine to get home to a Hero’s welcome.
And if you’re plopped down right in the middle of Aquitaine or the Dordogne high and dry? All but useless other than the solar powered computer. I’d be interested in seeing one of those, by the way. Who makes one? If we’re talking vaporware I’m going to change one of mine to a solar powered flying car, lol.
Funny how many people on FR are relying upon solar for this little exercise in time travel. Every thread I’ve ever been on that broached the subject, solar is trashed. I’d like to see it succeed and become broadly viable, personally, but many FReepers appear to disagree.
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