I'm reading a book from the 30s and it has phrases like: "in the time after the war". It's written in 1937 and hits differently in hindsight.
They called WWI "the war to end all wars". Then humanity developed its interest in sequels.
Yes, the "second war to end all wars" and the "cold war that only gets hot in the periphery"
Typical holywood and their sequels. Just pray they don't remember to retrofit a prequel in there.
Wow, that truly is my favorite part of reading/watching old media. I love learning how people thought back then.
Pro tip for time travelers, ask what year it is instead. So much easier. It's weird to ask, or be asked, but it's less weird tham giving spoilers.
What year and country am I in?
Russia, 1917.
Unfortunately that doesn’t narrow down much except really telling you to get anywhere else asap
Easier? Yes. More fun? No.
As long as you are someplace and time where they use the Gregorian calendar
Fair point.
I recently learned about how recently we moved to the current calendar. It's wild to think about.
"Ah yes, the start of World War 1."
"World War what now?"
Would you even need to ask? What with the trenches and mustard gas everywhere?
They did still have trenches and other fortifications in WW2. That said...
- Do you see any tanks traveling faster than 15mph? Any planes with less than four wings?
- WW2
- Mustaches? Waxed?
- WW1
- Folks with gas masks on their belts are definitely a tell.
Plenty of biplanes in WWII as well.
yeah, no, gas masks were carried in ww2. some poor bastards (depending on unit) carried them all the way through the war. promask carriers were a choice bit of storage room if you decided to lose the mask, but early on lots of folks worried that it would be used on the battlefield again.
plenty of discussion on this with a quick search
Why would he even ask if it's 1 or 2, just ask the year.
Ground so dangerous you couldn't walk offinto the fields. So many shells fired it turn the soil into quick sand. Stick to the boards. If you slip and fall your compatriots dare not try and save you or their fate will be sealed as well.
So many shells fired it turn the soil into quick sand.
An interesting stat is that the major combatants fired approximately 300 artillery shells for every soldier that was killed - and 75mm shells (the most common caliber) are not trivial industrial products to produce. It's hard to even conceive of an industrial society devoting that much productive capacity to the task of killing somebody.
The eastern front was a lot more dynamic and had fewer trenches.
I too have seen that scene from Doctor Who.
Spoilers
That hit surprisingly hard and unexpectedly. I don't remember any of the rest of that episode, but I remember that tiny bit very clearly.
I stopped keeping up after 12s first season… what the fuck is 1 doing on the Tardis
"But... but... they told us it's the "War To End All Wars!""
I think I saw on QI that WWI was already being called that before the war had ended.
People at the time knew there would probably be another one someday.
Which isn't that odd, really. We use the Term WWIII at times. It's not that we know it will definitely happen but it's not something that's unfathomable either.
Really? That would be an extremely concerning thing to hear anyone say back then.
"Great" did not automatically imply "good" back then - just big.
Good point. Of course, with the number of nuclear war-heads we've built, I would feel pretty confident referring to it as "World War Final".
I actually usually just refer to it as "our extinction event". But I'll acknowledge I'm going out on a limb - there's plenty of other ways we could finish ourselves off.
"It sure isn't ww3, I don't see any drones"
Could also be good old number 4 then
There's a lot of eerie coincidences between WW1 and WW4 that it makes you wonder if somone really is behind it all.
And it's not ww4 because I don't see any weapons made from sticks or stone.
I think the fifth one was the best.
not General Angle!
"Nice shotgun! That'll really get the German's riled up."
That image of Kurt Angle will never stop being hilarious to me. God I love that man.
What made him give that original look to the camera?
Austin? Potentially Taker?
A director.
Yelling at him that he sucked will always be a happy memory
I love how that went from an attack on him, to a sign of respect for him. I can't hear that song without singing YOU SUCK! Same with Cenas, can't not hear "John Cena Sucks!" When that horn hits.
Neither.
