> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://smartjots.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Three Items to Take to 1776—The Highest-Leverage Survival Strategies - URL: https://smartjots.com/three-items-to-take-to-1776/ - Published: 2026-08-18T03:05:28.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-04T17:23:34.000Z - Description: Analysis of 1,445 community recommendations reveals why medical knowledge, metallurgy manuals, and seed stock decisively outperform modern electronics and firearms. - Author: Smart Jots - Tags: Culture & Hobbies > [View the original Reddit thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1vqe44p/you%5Fhave%5Fto%5Fgo%5Fto%5Fthe%5Fyear%5F1776%5Fand%5Fcan%5Fonly%5Ftake/?ref=smartjots.com) One hypothetical, read end to end # What to take to 1776 — and what commenters said each thing would actually do when you got there Start here ## What people chose, and what the thread said it would actually do Across all 1445 captured comments the same answers keep returning — penicillin, a modern medical textbook, one of the three books actually written for this scenario, an offline copy of Wikipedia, and a way back home — and in almost every case the thread's own replies supply the reason it would not work: the mould needs a factory, the textbook needs a laboratory, the device needs a charger. What survives that treatment are the cheapest answers in the thread — handwashing, clean water, soap — while the largest single block of replies is not answering the question at all, but arguing about whether 1776 would have burned you for turning up with any of it. What you will find - Penicillin is the most-repeated answer, and the replies underneath it explain why 1776 could not have grown any - The most-upvoted comment in the thread is a modern medical textbook; its own replies argue you would have nothing to use it with - Three real books were written for this exact scenario, and the commenters naming them own them - Every device answer collides with the same objection: the battery - The cheapest answers — handwashing, clean water, soap — are the ones nobody argues with - A large block of the thread answers a different question: would 1776 burn you, or listen to you? - Every quotation on this page is a commenter's own words, reproduced exactly and attributed to a source record #### The top 10 from the comments Ranked by how many distinct source records support each answer, before any category browsing. 1 #### Answers meant to win the Revolution outright 56 source recordsDiscussed Yep! An AR-15 would made short work of them damn Red Coats. From the comments♥ 64 **What the thread said this would do:** 56 records, the largest card in the corpus, and two objections recur so consistently that they function as the card's own review. The first is ammunition: a modern rifle is a club once the magazine is empty, and cased ammunition is close to a century away. The answers that survive that are the ones choosing a black-powder lever action, a percussion revolver replica, or the recipe for smokeless powder instead of the gun. The second objection is personal — one commenter points out you would be robbed or killed in your sleep for owning it, and a long reply proposes the way round it is a plausible cover story about a new British service rifle. The manufacturing-plans answers draw the harshest reply in the thread: a step-by-step list of the metallurgy, tooling and tolerances that do not exist yet, answered by a commenter citing an American gunmaker advertising a nine-shot repeater in 1756. Yeah you'd get it stolen or murked in your sleep by even your friends if you had something like that in 1776 What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Yep! An AR-15 would made short work of them damn Red Coats. From the replies♥ 64 Yeah you'd get it stolen or murked in your sleep by even your friends if you had something like that in 1776 From the replies♥ 31 2 #### Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made any 51 source recordsDiscussed There’s no other answer than penicillin From the comments♥ 1,747 **What the thread said this would do:** 51 records, and the disagreement inside them is entirely about manufacture rather than value. The commenters naming penicillin treat it as the obvious win — the thing that turns a scratch, a childbirth or syphilis from lethal into survivable. The people answering them supply the industrial history instead: the Fleming strain grew too slowly to treat anybody, the strain that worked came off a cantaloupe in an Illinois fruit market, agar for plating was a century away, and mass production needed refrigeration and aerated tanks nobody could build. Two commenters offer improvised routes anyway — culturing on bread, then soaking and drying in alcohol — and one points out that you would still have to persuade somebody to take it. The limit this card keeps arriving at is not that penicillin would fail but that it would not scale. So as far as I can tell they would be able to make use of it if given instruction, but without access to refrigeration or the technical ability to aerate large tanks of mold mass production would be impossible. It would just be generally harder in every way, I imagine sterilization and avoiding contamination would prove to be a pain in the ass. What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 The OG penicillin from Flemmings lab didn’t grow fast enough for medical use. Then after a world wide effort of collecting random molds and shit a mold off a cantaloupe ended up being a unique growth of penicillin and grew at a way faster than normal rate. Enough to grow and make medicine out of. They have no idea where the cantaloupe was collected from. So the penicillin we have would be the move. Just plate it on some agar and save the world. EDIT: They know where it was collected from but not where it was grown. 👍 From the replies♥ 601 Ignorant question here. What could they do with that back then with the tools they had? From the replies♥ 140 3 #### Military hardware at absurd scale 50 source recordsDiscussed A fully-crewed, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Ain't no way I'm gonna live out the rest of my days with no electricity. From the comments♥ 116 **What the thread said this would do:** 50 records escalating from a rifle to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and unusually for a joke cluster the thread works the logistics anyway. Commenters point out that you arrive on land so the reactor cannot be cooled, that a carrier without its crew is scrap, that you would starve long before any boarding party got past the close-in guns, and that the whole plan depends on the manuals being aboard. Named ships recur — the Ford class, the Nimitz, the Gerald R. Ford, the Abraham Lincoln — alongside tanks, an A-10, a helicopter gunship, an ICBM silo and a series of nuclear weapons. The reason the card is worth reading is that the objections are better than the answers. Ford class aircraft carrier. Nuclear reactors will go for ages, modern computers with power, lots of room for activities and immune to weapons of the time. Just hope they have manuals onboard. Or does that not count as one thing? What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Wish granted... You will now be deposited with the Chinese aircraft carrier type 004 with its full construction crew at what is currently 1909 Paris St in Aurora Colorado in the year 1776\. We apologize but due to ongoing construction at the time of transportation the reactors have not been installed yet. We do offer our congratulations on achieving the world's first aircraft carrier land speed record. Thank you for your purchase and have a nice day. From the replies♥ 6 Yes and I will deliver it to British forces and hopefully stave off the rebellion From the replies♥ 3 4 #### Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment 42 source recordsDiscussed A modern gun. I want to give the US founding fathers an M16 and let them know how they need to be a bit more specific with the 2nd. From the comments♥ 30 **What the thread said this would do:** 42 records and the longest argument in the corpus. The answer is simple — show them what “arms” would come to mean and let them write it differently — and it is met every single time by the same historical counter: private citizens owned armed ships, the Chambers gun and rifle-launched grenades existed, and rifles of the period were accurate to around three hundred metres, well past normal engagement range. Several replies argue the demonstration would strengthen the amendment rather than weaken it. Beneath that, a second argument runs about whether the founders would have answered school shootings with restrictions or with more guns, and neither side concedes anything. Nothing here resolves; the card is included because this is what the thread spent its largest single block of replies on. Some big ass gun - not to help win anything, just to convince those guys what a terrible idea the 2nd amendment could turn out to be What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 Nope. The founding fathers would further embrace the 2A. Pushback♥ 9 5 #### The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him 40 source recordsDiscussed **What the thread said this would do:** 40 records, the thread's most repeated political answer, and it comes in two forms worth separating. The first is evidentiary: bring the news reports, the January 6 footage, a book on the presidency, and argue for tighter language while the language is still being drafted. The second is disposal — several commenters say plainly that the appeal is that he would no longer be here. The replies pull the first form apart from several directions at once: one commenter would go after the family tree instead, another argues the problem is 250 years of interpretation rather than any one man, and a British commenter asks whether this is really what America wanted. One reply imagines the resulting conversation as a single escalating monologue, which is as close as the card gets to a conclusion. I'd take Trump. Hear me out, the constitution obviously isn't strong enough. If they saw what was 250 years in the future, maybe they'd tighten it up a bit. What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Why not bring a whole ass history textbook? Get the most detailed one you can find. Lots of presidents and cabinets have been problematic. From the replies♥ 103 Or we could just aee if the French wanted to take him. And. Maybe hang out in Paris. See the revolution from the front lines. From the replies♥ 72 6 #### A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded 39 source recordsDiscussed A smart phone with a solar charger and the entire Wikipedia downloaded would be useful From the comments♥ 203 **What the thread said this would do:** 39 records, and this is where the thread does its most concrete research. Commenters look up and trade the actual numbers — text-only English Wikipedia at 25GB compressed, under 30GB, a school subset around 6GB, a medical subset at 163MB — and conclude that storage is not the constraint. Kindles, e-readers, ruggedised tablets and solar-panelled laptops are all proposed, usually with the specific reason that e-ink outlasts a backlit screen. The limits the card supplies are physical rather than informational: a dropped device takes the entire library with it, and one commenter argues the only sane use of the machine is to spend whatever life it has left transcribing onto paper. The battery life wouldn't matter much between the two. A device like that would only be valuable if it could be constantly used and unfortunately the difference between a few hours and a few weeks would but pretty meaningless long term. If you're going to take a device from today you'd have to go for something not on the consumer market. You need an e-reader/phone with built in solar panels and you'd want to support an SD card so you could actually fit all of Wikipedia uncompressed so it'd be easily browsable. You could even include the images. Such devices exist today but they are all hobbyist projects or extremely limited examples from bigger companies. What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Go with the text-only and f Wikipedia, which I’ve heard is pretty small, and an e-reader, which has a much better battery life. From the replies♥ 73 Is that possible? a kindle just loaded with wikipedia actually sounds super fun From the replies♥ 43 7 #### The Constitution and the court rulings, annotated 38 source recordsDiscussed SCOTUS decisions Like "mother fuckers could we be a bit more explicit when we do this bill of rights thing?" From the comments♥ 206 **What the thread said this would do:** 38 records, and the largest answer that depends on the year rather than the century. The proposals run from a modern annotated Constitution to the complete Supreme Court reports, a list of every ruling, notes on the Second Amendment and the three-fifths clause, and in two cases the tax code offered as a warning. The card contains its own strongest objections twice over: one commenter points out that in 1776 the Constitution does not exist yet and nobody would know what you were talking about, and another that pressing the founders on specific clauses risks losing the later amendments — the Thirteenth and Nineteenth are both named — or splitting the union before it starts. A third argues that no document survives a people unwilling to keep it. Great idea, just make a highlighted list of the most obviously unintended interpretations of the constitution that have been used. "I know you guys think it's clear enough, but here let me show you..." What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 They'd probably be pissed that the ninth and tenth are effectively dead letters. From the replies♥ 39 I can’t help but think that might backfire for you on a few issues, since there were very notably some amendments made later that we take for granted now (13th and 19th for example). You might get a few rights you enjoy now accidentally written out of there From the replies♥ 25 8 #### The battery argument, and the solar workaround 37 source recordsDiscussed A smart phone was mentioned which would certainly set their curiosity ablaze, but it wouldn’t be anything more than a fancy brick without Wi-Fi, etc. From the comments♥ 1,693 **What the thread said this would do:** 37 records, and the single most persistent objection in the corpus. It opens with the most-upvoted reply under the phone answer — a few hours and then nothing — and then splits in two. The builders get specific: a chemical battery is easy, generating the electricity is easy, the hard parts are a stable five volts and a connector, and one commenter proposes an improvised wireless charger turned by a beast of burden as the path of least resistance. The sceptics answer on two grounds at once, the rules and the physics: a solar panel stuck to a battery is a second item and is too weak to run the device anyway. The card's own conclusion is stated by a commenter who points out that a book has none of these problems. And only for a few hours until the battery ran out and you couldn’t charge it What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 The issue is that as soon as it breaks, you're stuffed. Drop it, broken screen? There goes all your knowledge. Reported failure♥ 5 9 #### Antibiotics in general, and the argument that they would breed resistance 36 source recordsDiscussed Antibiotics. Did we learn nothing from Outlander?? From the comments♥ 29 **What the thread said this would do:** 36 records give some version of “antibiotics”, most of them in one or two words, and where a reason is attached at all it is personal rather than philanthropic: a scratch, a splinter, a paper cut, an infection a modern reader assumes will simply be treated. The objection this card carries is the one the penicillin answers mostly dodge — that handing a finite supply to a population with no idea when to stop starts the resistance clock a century and a half early and leaves nobody able to make the next drug. One commenter answers it by narrowing the plan to himself and the people around him, which is the only version the objection does not reach. A reply near the end of the card supplies the counter-anecdote and is immediately told that anecdotes are not the denominator. A huge supply of antibiotics. Forget becoming famous for predicting the future, I’d rather casually eliminate diseases that people in 1776 had basically no defense against. What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 I learned that an activist chick figured out how to time travel to save scotland but didn't bring anything useful back with her to do it. she had access to everything from bolt action rifles to historical accounts of battles and she felt a positive attitude was all that was needed. From the replies♥ 3 They wouldn't be able to understand when and how often to use them. When they inevitably become ineffective in a matter of decades they would just use more; you would be creating a superbug From the replies♥ 3 10 #### Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you? 36 source recordsDiscussed Not a chance. This is a good read: \[link removed\] tl;dr even common people in the Colonies were aware of smallpox and it significantly stunted recruitment efforts for the war. Washington instituted a policy of inoculation in 1777 to ensure there were enough healthy men to fight. The strategic value of a modern medical textbook would have been recognized immediately if you could get to the right folks. From the comments♥ 646 **What the thread said this would do:** 36 records, and the thread's largest argument about its own premise. The reflex to shout “witch” runs through the whole corpus; this card is what happens when somebody pushes back on it, and the pushback is dated. The major witch hunts were a century past, this is the tail of the Enlightenment, the colonies were already inoculating against smallpox and arguing about the ethics of it, and one four-word reply points out it is the late eighteenth century rather than the twelfth. Against that: the Spanish Inquisition ran to 1834, witch killings continue in several countries today, and the year says nothing about where on earth you land. A second strand argues the real risk is not the stake but being disbelieved — dismissed as a crackpot, lobotomised, or simply ignored by the doctors of the day. Not at all. This is the tail end of the "Age of Enlightenment" where old superstitions were done away and the scientific method really started to take hold. While there were holdouts elsewhere in the world, the American colonies were rather open with new medical practices. Outbreaks of disease were very common and they wanted any type of relief from seeing their children die. Go partner up with Ben Franklin and change the world. What readers reported **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 And 1776 means they (obviously) speak english. And not some "well its sort of english if you squint" kinda thing, it's just english. These questions are always asking about going back to the fuckin middle ages and it's like, pretty much everything you take back will get you hanged as a witch or a spy, and you won't be able to communicate with a single soul to tell them otherwise. From the replies♥ 281 I watched an interesting YouTube video where as it played, English was spoken and every 10 seconds or so it advanced 100 or so years. You would be surprised at when you start to actually understand what’s being said, it’s basically around 1500 or a little after that. Anything before that and it sounds really really foreign. From the replies♥ 181 50 answer cards Browse categories and subcategories - [Not dying: the medicine answers](#cv-category-not-dying-the-medicine-answers) - [Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made any](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-0-penicillin-and-whether-1776-could-have-made-any) - [Antibiotics in general, and the argument that they would breed resistance](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-1-antibiotics-in-general-and-the-argument-that-they-would-breed-re) - [The prescription the commenter would not survive without](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-2-the-prescription-the-commenter-would-not-survive-without) - [Vaccines, and the inoculation 1776 already had](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-3-vaccines-and-the-inoculation-1776-already-had) - [The books written for exactly this question](#cv-category-the-books-written-for-exactly-this-question) - [The rebuild-civilization books commenters actually own](#rich-node-0-group-1-subgroup-0-the-rebuild-civilization-books-commenters-actually-own) - [A modern medical textbook: the thread's most-upvoted answer and its longest rebuttal](#rich-node-0-group-1-subgroup-1-a-modern-medical-textbook-the-thread-s-most-upvoted-answer-and-i) - [Manuals written for places with no doctor](#rich-node-0-group-1-subgroup-2-manuals-written-for-places-with-no-doctor) - [General science and reference books](#rich-node-0-group-1-subgroup-3-general-science-and-reference-books) - [Carrying the whole library: Wikipedia and the power problem](#cv-category-carrying-the-whole-library-wikipedia-and-the-power-problem) - [A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-0-a-phone-tablet-or-e-reader-with-the-library-downloaded) - [The battery argument, and the solar workaround](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-1-the-battery-argument-and-the-solar-workaround) - [Wikipedia and the encyclopedias on paper](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-2-wikipedia-and-the-encyclopedias-on-paper) - [A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-3-a-local-ai-model-as-the-thing-that-answers-the-questions) - [Modern tech brought for the reaction it would get](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-4-modern-tech-brought-for-the-reaction-it-would-get) - [A camera, to bring 1776 back with you](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-5-a-camera-to-bring-1776-back-with-you) - [The low-tech answers commenters said would save more lives](#cv-category-the-low-tech-answers-commenters-said-would-save-more-lives) - [Handwashing and germ theory](#rich-node-0-group-3-subgroup-0-handwashing-and-germ-theory) - [Clean water: filters, tablets and rehydration salts](#rich-node-0-group-3-subgroup-1-clean-water-filters-tablets-and-rehydration-salts) - [Soap, sanitiser and masks: hygiene as the whole answer](#rich-node-0-group-3-subgroup-2-soap-sanitiser-and-masks-hygiene-as-the-whole-answer) - [Skipping ahead: one industrial process](#cv-category-skipping-ahead-one-industrial-process) - [Fertiliser, rubber, steel and the processes behind them](#rich-node-0-group-4-subgroup-0-fertiliser-rubber-steel-and-the-processes-behind-them) - [Engines, electricity and electronics](#rich-node-0-group-4-subgroup-1-engines-electricity-and-electronics) - [Aluminium: worth more than gold until 1825](#rich-node-0-group-4-subgroup-2-aluminium-worth-more-than-gold-until-1825) - [A vehicle, brought for the machinery inside it](#rich-node-0-group-4-subgroup-3-a-vehicle-brought-for-the-machinery-inside-it) - [Getting rich instead of saving anyone](#cv-category-getting-rich-instead-of-saving-anyone) - [A map of the gold, silver and oil nobody had found yet](#rich-node-0-group-5-subgroup-0-a-map-of-the-gold-silver-and-oil-nobody-had-found-yet) - [Gold, coins and cash carried back](#rich-node-0-group-5-subgroup-1-gold-coins-and-cash-carried-back) - [The sports almanac, and betting on what you already know](#rich-node-0-group-5-subgroup-2-the-sports-almanac-and-betting-on-what-you-already-know) - [Land, patents and a business built on one modern idea](#rich-node-0-group-5-subgroup-3-land-patents-and-a-business-built-on-one-modern-idea) - [A message for the men writing the Constitution](#cv-category-a-message-for-the-men-writing-the-constitution) - [The Constitution and the court rulings, annotated](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-0-the-constitution-and-the-court-rulings-annotated) - [A history of the next 250 years](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-1-a-history-of-the-next-250-years) - [The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-2-the-exhibit-bringing-a-modern-president-or-the-file-on-him) - [Slavery, and the war it caused](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-3-slavery-and-the-war-it-caused) - [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment) - [Weapons, and the war](#cv-category-weapons-and-the-war) - [Answers meant to win the Revolution outright](#rich-node-0-group-7-subgroup-0-answers-meant-to-win-the-revolution-outright) - [A weapon carried for the commenter's own protection](#rich-node-0-group-7-subgroup-1-a-weapon-carried-for-the-commenter-s-own-protection) - [Military hardware at absurd scale](#rich-node-0-group-7-subgroup-2-military-hardware-at-absurd-scale) - [A disease or a poison, brought on purpose](#rich-node-0-group-7-subgroup-3-a-disease-or-a-poison-brought-on-purpose) - [Answers for the other side: helping Britain win](#rich-node-0-group-7-subgroup-4-answers-for-the-other-side-helping-britain-win) - [The exit answers](#cv-category-the-exit-answers) - [The time machine itself](#rich-node-0-group-8-subgroup-0-the-time-machine-itself) - [A way to die on your own terms](#rich-node-0-group-8-subgroup-1-a-way-to-die-on-your-own-terms) - [Staying yourself: the body, comfort and boredom answers](#cv-category-staying-yourself-the-body-comfort-and-boredom-answers) - [Glasses, teeth and the body parts modern medicine props up](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-0-glasses-teeth-and-the-body-parts-modern-medicine-props-up) - [Clothing, washing and the everyday kit you would miss](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-1-clothing-washing-and-the-everyday-kit-you-would-miss) - [The answers only the women in the thread gave](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-2-the-answers-only-the-women-in-the-thread-gave) - [Something to read, play or watch](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-3-something-to-read-play-or-watch) - [Food, drink and the vices](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-4-food-drink-and-the-vices) - [A vehicle brought to show off](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-5-a-vehicle-brought-to-show-off) - [Your own family, house and past](#rich-node-0-group-9-subgroup-6-your-own-family-house-and-past) - [Taking a person](#cv-category-taking-a-person) - [A person from another century, dropped into 1776](#rich-node-0-group-10-subgroup-0-a-person-from-another-century-dropped-into-1776) - [Someone, or a pet, so you are not there alone](#rich-node-0-group-10-subgroup-1-someone-or-a-pet-so-you-are-not-there-alone) - [The arguments the thread had with itself](#cv-category-the-arguments-the-thread-had-with-itself) - [Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you?](#rich-node-0-group-11-subgroup-0-would-1776-burn-you-as-a-witch-or-listen-to-you) - [“That is more than one thing”](#rich-node-0-group-11-subgroup-1-that-is-more-than-one-thing) - [Where — and when — do you actually land?](#rich-node-0-group-11-subgroup-2-where-and-when-do-you-actually-land) - [Does changing anything even work?](#rich-node-0-group-11-subgroup-3-does-changing-anything-even-work) **Evidence status:** Not dying: the medicine answers124 records · 4 sub-topicsThe largest block of the corpus, and the one its own replies work hardest to knock down. 124 records. Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made any51 index entriesThe thread's most repeated answer, and the sub-thread of people explaining why the mould on its own would not have been enough. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made any Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made any 51 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 182 **Situation:** Carrying the antibiotic, or the mould that produces it, to a century that had neither **Why readers chose it:** 51 records, and the disagreement inside them is entirely about manufacture rather than value. The commenters naming penicillin treat it as the obvious win — the thing that turns a scratch, a childbirth or syphilis from lethal into survivable. The people answering them supply the industrial history instead: the Fleming strain grew too slowly to treat anybody, the strain that worked came off a cantaloupe in an Illinois fruit market, agar for plating was a century away, and mass production needed refrigeration and aerated tanks nobody could build. Two commenters offer improvised routes anyway — culturing on bread, then soaking and drying in alcohol — and one points out that you would still have to persuade somebody to take it. The limit this card keeps arriving at is not that penicillin would fail but that it would not scale. **What readers reported:** So as far as I can tell they would be able to make use of it if given instruction, but without access to refrigeration or the technical ability to aerate large tanks of mold mass production would be impossible. It would just be generally harder in every way, I imagine sterilization and avoiding contamination would prove to be a pain in the ass. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 The OG penicillin from Flemmings lab didn’t grow fast enough for medical use. Then after a world wide effort of collecting random molds and shit a mold off a cantaloupe ended up being a unique growth of penicillin and grew at a way faster than normal rate. Enough to grow and make medicine out of. They have no idea where the cantaloupe was collected from. So the penicillin we have would be the move. Just plate it on some agar and save the world. EDIT: They know where it was collected from but not where it was grown. 👍 From the replies♥ 601 Ignorant question here. What could they do with that back then with the tools they had? From the replies♥ 140 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source There’s no other answer than penicillin source record 137♥ 1,747 Later-arriving source Penicillin. As much as possible posted about 20.7 hours after the source♥ 5 Low-like source Penicillin was already around in 1776\. You wasted your shot posted about 19.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second AmendmentChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment)[The battery argument, and the solar workaroundChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-1-the-battery-argument-and-the-solar-workaround) #### What the counts show Across 51 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Change the sentence” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 51index entries 51distinct source records 41.1%of parent category 5.1%of the complete index 14top-level comments 37replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 5asks a question 0says they intend to try it 46other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Change the sentence **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments51 preserved records · 51 of 51 source records accounted for **There’s no other answer than penicillin**♥ 1,747source record 137 **A book on how to manufacture penicillin?**♥ 743source record 138 **The OG penicillin from Flemmings lab didn’t grow fast enough for medical use. Then after a world wide effort of collecting random molds and shit a mold off a cantaloupe ended up being a unique growth of penicillin and grew at a way faster than normal rate. Enough to grow and make medicine out of. They have no idea where the cantaloupe was collected from. So the penicillin we have would be the move. Just plate it on some agar and save the world. EDIT: They know where it was collected from but not where it was grown. 👍**♥ 601source record 139 **It was found in a fruit market in Peoria, IL.**♥ 199source record 140 **I wanted to learn more about what you are talking about, and found this nice article, for other curious people: \[link removed\]**♥ 21source record 142 **Yeah, I think the woman who found the cantaloupe with the mold just went around to different shops scouring for old produce. If I remember correctly.**♥ 33source record 148 **Well you'd have to wait for over 100 years for agar to first be refined for cultures so it might not be that simple.**♥ 4source record 149 **Have you read Outlander? Exactly what she took, and used it within 24 hours of her arriving.**♥ 89source record 152 **I'm allergic so I'm not bringing that**♥ 82source record 157 **As an fyi 10% of people think they have a penicillin allergy, but 90% of those people do not (only 1% of people actually do). So unless you know you had a scary crazy reaction, you can either consider an oral challenge or repeat allergy testing. Most of the scary reactions occur within minutes of the first dose of a course. If you had a mild rash 5 days into your 7 day course, for instance, you can probably take penicillin without any kind of challenge whatsoever.**♥ 33source record 158 **Syphilis WAS the main reason powdered wigs were so popular, but medicine and chemistry were not well understood; they didn’t even have germ theory yet. You might have trouble finding anyone open-minded enough and clever enough to replicate it.**♥ 25source record 167 **I mean I could have a community-minded outlook but I also don’t mind bringing my own secret supply**♥ 12source record 168 **A culture of penicillin bacteria Edit: penicillin producing mold or fungus**♥ 682source record 178 **Grow more penicillin**♥ 154source record 180 **Grow more penicillin sounds so simple until you remember they'd basically be speedrunning the invention of modern antibiotics with 1776 equipment 💀 . Still, probably the most useful sentence anyone could take back with them.**♥ 4source record 181 **So as far as I can tell they would be able to make use of it if given instruction, but without access to refrigeration or the technical ability to aerate large tanks of mold mass production would be impossible. It would just be generally harder in every way, I imagine sterilization and avoiding contamination would prove to be a pain in the ass.**♥ 112source record 182 **Penicillin tends to handle its own contamination...**♥ 41source record 183 **I’d imagine it’s mostly just being “outcompeted” as a risk, not so much “infected”**♥ 27source record 184 **Nothing. Penicillin's properties were known for 50 years before someone was able to come up with the industrial process to concentrate it enough to be useful for treating internal disease.**♥ 3source record 185 **literally nothing without technology invented 200 years later.**♥ 16source record 186 **\\\*Fungus**♥ 18source record 190 **\*fungus Mainly Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium rubens.**♥ 50source record 191 **Penicillin is not a bacteria**♥ 6source record 192 **\~\~Smallpox vaccine.\~\~ Edit: Penicillin**♥ 24source record 312 **Penicillin. As much as possible**♥ 5source record 347 **The instructions on how to make penicillin**♥ 6source record 392 **A massive load of penicillin**♥ 2source record 423 **penicillin**♥ 2source record 448 **Penicillin**♥ 2source record 451 **The recipe for penicillin.**♥ 2source record 470 **The issue is we don't know what farm grew that specific cantaloupe.**♥ 2source record 599 **The OG penicillin kinda sucked too, as a pharmaceutical. Its solubility and dispersion patterns meant you needed to practically soak the patient in the stuff to get an effective dose going. On the plus side though, you could basically recycle it. Patients pissed out 80%+ of the stuff unaltered, so you could just recollect it, clean it up, and shoot it back in. Took a while to figure out a way to deal with that mess. First by just blocking the kidneys from filtering it out, and later by actually modifying the core molecule to behave better. Fun stuff.**♥ 1source record 666 **You put in on bread and let the whole thing soak in alcohol for a while, then dry the alcohol. The residue is now safe to take and functions as penicillin.**♥ 2source record 682 **What? Poke a hole in the skin, brush some in. Washington innoculated his troops.**♥ 2source record 707 **Penicillin is not a vaccine...**♥ 2source record 708 **Yes but it's administered the same way.**♥ 2source record 709 **Yeah it’s not that hard to make thankfully**♥ 3source record 711 **How would you see the specific type of mold needed to make penicillin under a microscope? Not all molds are penicillin and to find the right one would take some skill.**♥ 3source record 714 **I thought it was mold grown on oranges lol I could be wrong.maybe take a microscope 🔬 lol**♥ 3source record 715 **It was cantaloupes, from what I read in Extra Life by Steven Johnson!**♥ 3source record 716 **Oh I see lol I just watched a person on YouTube ferment it from oranges but maybe both are viable!**♥ 2source record 717 **And hypodermic needles.**♥ 1source record 721 **Penicillin was already around in 1776\. You wasted your shot**♥ 1source record 737 **There was no time in history that there weren't open minded "medicine men" who would experiment with things to try to find out how to heal people and there was no time in history that there weren't people desperate enough to try some random thing. People's lack of understanding of science cuts both ways. Sometimes it might make them not try something they should, but many more times it'd make them willing to try something even though they don't understand how/why it's supposed to work. Really all you have to do is bring or make enough penicillin to dose some people successfully (tell them it's some herbal tea or something) and then start to live on your reputation. Maybe at first you don't tell people the secret ingredient until you establish that it's working. \[The process for making penicillin\](\[link removed\] seems doable with basic ingredients from that era (maybe the one thing you bring is something that makes that easier?), but would likely just be very inefficient until you got it to scale.**♥ 1source record 756 **Sterilization doesn't seem like it'd be that hard... they had stills, boiling water, acid, salt, fire, etc. And imperfect sterilization isn't the end of the world. It just means higher odds that some other microbe sometimes outcompetes the mold you're looking for, so basically just lowers yields. I think the bigger issue would just be purity of ingredients. For example, \[this process/recipe\](\[link removed\] uses glucose, gelatin, thin metal wire, yeast, citric acid, milk powder, salt, hydrochloric acid, ethyl acetate and potassium acetate. All of these things existed or could be made in the time period, but the methods would probably involve a substantial amount of impurities that may or may not impact the outcome. And the need to make them (or equivalents) at scale might be pretty costly and time consuming.**♥ 1source record 767 **Oh damn. You’re right. I change my answer to penicillin.**♥ 1source record 861 **At minimum I taking the info to make penicillin and insulin. If able also the info on how to make nitrogen fertilizer.**♥ 1source record 889 **A massive crate of modern penicillin. I’d be rich, a legendary doctor, and guaranteed not to die from a minor paper cut.**♥ 1source record 992 **Penicillin**♥ 1source record 994 **Pennicillin**♥ 1source record 1134 **Penicillin.**♥ 1source record 1152 Archive: 51 index entries preserve 51 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Antibiotics in general, and the argument that they would breed resistance36 index entriesA one-word answer given dozens of times, against one recurring objection: you would be starting the resistance clock 170 years early. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Antibiotics in general, and the argument that they would breed resistance Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Antibiotics in general, and the argument that they would breed resistance 36 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1228 **Situation:** Bringing a stock of modern antibiotics rather than the means to make more **Why readers chose it:** 36 records give some version of “antibiotics”, most of them in one or two words, and where a reason is attached at all it is personal rather than philanthropic: a scratch, a splinter, a paper cut, an infection a modern reader assumes will simply be treated. The objection this card carries is the one the penicillin answers mostly dodge — that handing a finite supply to a population with no idea when to stop starts the resistance clock a century and a half early and leaves nobody able to make the next drug. One commenter answers it by narrowing the plan to himself and the people around him, which is the only version the objection does not reach. A reply near the end of the card supplies the counter-anecdote and is immediately told that anecdotes are not the denominator. **What readers reported:** A huge supply of antibiotics. Forget becoming famous for predicting the future, I’d rather casually eliminate diseases that people in 1776 had basically no defense against. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 I learned that an activist chick figured out how to time travel to save scotland but didn't bring anything useful back with her to do it. she had access to everything from bolt action rifles to historical accounts of battles and she felt a positive attitude was all that was needed. From the replies♥ 3 They wouldn't be able to understand when and how often to use them. When they inevitably become ineffective in a matter of decades they would just use more; you would be creating a superbug From the replies♥ 3 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Antibiotics. Did we learn nothing from Outlander?? source record 297♥ 29 Later-arriving source Antibiotic Medicine posted about 19.4 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source People keep talking about antibiotics, especially penicillin. I get scratches every day, mostly from sharp and dirty things that are hiding under a car, but I have never experienced a personal death. Penicillin almost killed me, so I guess I'll just take my sharp and modern axe with me. posted about 6.9 hours after the source #### What the counts show Across 36 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Attach it to an existing routine” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 36index entries 36distinct source records 29%of parent category 3.6%of the complete index 24top-level comments 12replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 7asks a question 0says they intend to try it 29other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Attach it to an existing routine **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments36 preserved records · 36 of 36 source records accounted for **I understand why penicillin seems like a good pick. It would save many lives… initially. The problem with it is, it was introduced to treat people in 1940\. Within 5 years of its introduction and initial use there were bacteria resistance to penicillin already. Without the means, materials, and understanding to continue production of new and varied antibiotics derived from penicillin and other sources it would have a limited but useful treatment range (strep throat and syphillis it would probably still be useful against for at least \\\~80 years).And thinking about how giving bacteria an additional 170 years to gain resistance to antibiotics sends a shiver down my spine. I would argue that a guide on good hygiene and an understanding of germ theory would save almost as many lives. Or penicillin and an understanding of modern chemistry to keep the fight against resistance going.**♥ 3source record 170 **Amoxicillin**♥ 53source record 171 **Antibiotics. Did we learn nothing from Outlander??**♥ 29source record 297 **Antibiotics**♥ 13source record 317 **They wouldn't be able to understand when and how often to use them. When they inevitably become ineffective in a matter of decades they would just use more; you would be creating a superbug**♥ 3source record 318 **I mean… in this hypothetical I’d be using them on myself and those in my immediate circle.**♥ 3source record 319 **Antibiotics. Those folks could use the help.**♥ 3source record 369 **Do I bring something for the good of all mankind? The formula on how to make antibiotics. But then I would tell the founding fathers how fucked up everything gets so they could write in protections against corruption into the Constitution.**♥ 2source record 414 **Antibiotics**♥ 2source record 418 **Antibiotics**♥ 2source record 421 **probably some antibiotics?**♥ 2source record 425 **Lifetime supply of Antibiotics. I'm not dying from a scratch.**♥ 2source record 429 **Antibiotics.**♥ 2source record 435 **Probably antibiotics. Lol.**♥ 2source record 463 **A barrel full of antibiotics.**♥ 2source record 472 **A pallet of amox-clav.**♥ 2source record 477 **you always think it would be great to have an infinite money glitch but that doesn't help when you die 5 minutes into your new life because of illness no one can solve**♥ 1source record 535 **Wouldn't this just start the process of creating a super bacteria sooner? Move it up the time line too? Unless it eventually helps make more medicine.**♥ 1source record 663 **I mean, not really. Antibiotics in general? Sure But penicillin is wildly over hyped. It was only used for like 10-15 years. It started becoming widespread in the 40s, and by the 50s MRSA was already common.**♥ 1source record 665 **Sulfa Drugs**♥ 1source record 725 **If you take penicillin back in time, how would that effect the present us? Wouldn't bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics at a much earlier rate cause more trouble than your trying to fix?**♥ 1source record 735 **That was my initial thought too. No glass syringes though. And a few PBJs for the road.**♥ 2source record 774 **Anti biotics**♥ 1source record 890 **Probably as much amoxicillin as I can feasibly keep and make efficient use of.**♥ 1source record 911 **Definitely antibiotics. I’m not getting taken out by a splinter in 1776**♥ 1source record 970 **Why does this question pop up every other day? You take antibiotics and a face mask. You don't have antibodies to the now distinct diseases that were floating around x-hundred years ago and you'll likewise kill everyone around you with your pathogens.**♥ 1source record 996 **Antibiotics**♥ 1source record 1024 **Antibiotics…**♥ 1source record 1059 **Antibiotics**♥ 1source record 1147 **Antibiotic Medicine**♥ 1source record 1160 **Antibiotics**♥ 1source record 1214 **Antibiotics**♥ 1source record 1224 **A huge supply of antibiotics. Forget becoming famous for predicting the future, I’d rather casually eliminate diseases that people in 1776 had basically no defense against.**♥ 1source record 1228 **Antibiotic resistance sadly If you just hand it to everyone the bacteria will become resistant to it quite fast, not to mention lacking the knowledge to produce new ones or diffrent antibiotics.**♥ 1source record 1346 **People keep talking about antibiotics, especially penicillin. I get scratches every day, mostly from sharp and dirty things that are hiding under a car, but I have never experienced a personal death. Penicillin almost killed me, so I guess I'll just take my sharp and modern axe with me.**♥ 0source record 1411 **Anecdotes does not equal everyone. Infections that can be treated by antibiotics were a leading cause of death. You say you get scratches all the time and don't get infections. I'm guessing you live in a pretty sanitary world, probably shower daily and probably have clean clothes every day.**♥ 1source record 1412 Archive: 36 index entries preserve 36 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The prescription the commenter would not survive without26 index entriesAnswers where the item is not a gift to 1776 at all — it is the thing keeping the commenter alive. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The prescription the commenter would not survive without Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The prescription the commenter would not survive without 26 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1073 **Situation:** The drug the commenter already depends on, taken as a survival item **Why readers chose it:** 26 records where the item is not a gift to the eighteenth century but a prescription: insulin, blood-pressure tablets, epilepsy medication, an inhaler, epipens, antihistamines, ADHD medication, painkillers. These commenters are answering a different question from everyone else — not what would help 1776, but how long they personally would last there — and several answer it in the same sentence that names the drug. The limit they state themselves is supply: a year's worth, a lifetime's dependency, and no way to make more. Two describe the specific mechanism that would kill them, one of them within weeks. **What readers reported:** If I don't have my daily meds I wouldn't last long and I don't think they made my heart medication until recently. I would promptly die **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 I make \*just\* enough of my own that DKA could take a couple of weeks, if I could avoid hypos. I would need antibiotics though (no spleen). From the replies♥ 2 Word. I would probably be disabled if not for modern antihistamines. Pretty sure I'm allergic to oxygen. And cats. From the replies♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Insulin. Am I the only diabetic here?! source record 240♥ 84 Later-arriving source Pack of Imodium tablets posted about 22.7 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source If I don't have my daily meds I wouldn't last long and I don't think they made my heart medication until recently. I would promptly die posted about 12.5 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “my blood pressure” recurs across 2 of the 26 source records in The prescription the commenter would not survive without; the complete archive stays available below. 26index entries 26distinct source records 21%of parent category 2.6%of the complete index 22top-level comments 4replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 25other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments26 preserved records · 26 of 26 source records accounted for **Insulin. Am I the only diabetic here?!**♥ 84source record 240 **Diabetics would straight up die in 1776.**♥ 39source record 241 **My blood pressure meds.**♥ 3source record 364 **My insulin**♥ 2source record 452 **Insulin. Otherwise I’d be dead.**♥ 2source record 474 **I make \*just\* enough of my own that DKA could take a couple of weeks, if I could avoid hypos. I would need antibiotics though (no spleen).**♥ 2source record 677 **Same. When I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease my doctor told me if it were the 60's, I'd be dead in less than 2 years. And based on how bad I felt then, it would not be a good couple of years. No thanks.**♥ 2source record 778 **Benadryl**♥ 2source record 817 **Word. I would probably be disabled if not for modern antihistamines. Pretty sure I'm allergic to oxygen. And cats.**♥ 1source record 818 **Asprin**♥ 1source record 898 **A year supply of medication so I don't die.**♥ 1source record 902 **Probably just a huge bottle of ibuprofen because life before modern dentistry sounds like an absolute nightmare and I am not about that life.**♥ 1source record 939 **Advil**♥ 1source record 943 **Insulin**♥ 1source record 967 **A set of Epipens or Benadryl. I don’t know how much it would help though, I'd probably die pretty fast with my food allergies anyway.**♥ 1source record 973 **lexapro ✨**♥ 1source record 976 **My blood pressure medication.**♥ 1source record 1045 **Adderall**♥ 1source record 1061 **Inhaler…it’ll help me live slightly longer then 😆**♥ 1source record 1064 **If I don't have my daily meds I wouldn't last long and I don't think they made my heart medication until recently. I would promptly die**♥ 1source record 1073 **Immune system.**♥ 1source record 1095 **Tylenol**♥ 1source record 1105 **Probably a bag with as much of my epilepsy medication as I can reasonably get ahold of.**♥ 1source record 1129 **Pack of Imodium tablets**♥ 1source record 1182 **Adderall**♥ 1source record 1227 **TRT**♥ 0source record 1291 Archive: 26 index entries preserve 26 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Vaccines, and the inoculation 1776 already had11 index entriesNominated as a breakthrough, then corrected by commenters pointing out what Washington was already doing to his troops. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Vaccines, and the inoculation 1776 already had Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Vaccines, and the inoculation 1776 already had 11 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 313 **Situation:** Bringing immunisation to the century of smallpox **Why readers chose it:** 11 records, and the card is mostly a correction. Smallpox vaccine is offered several times as the obvious answer; the replies point out that 1776 already had variolation, that Washington inoculated his troops with it, and that the cowpox technique and the word “vaccine” itself come from a practice older than the thread assumes. One commenter, older than the rest, notes that he has had the smallpox vaccine and younger readers cannot get it, which quietly removes the answer from most of the thread. The polio suggestion draws no correction, and is the only one here that would genuinely have been new. **What readers reported:** They kinda had that in 1776…sort of. Washington famously inoculated his troops in Cambridge in late 1775 or early 1776 but obviously it wasn’t a vaccine, it was more or less just giving you smallpox and hoping you make it through. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 That's what vaccine means actually. The original vaccine is from north Africa, they would run a needle and thread through a cow pox sore on a cow and then sew that into human skin, it created a mild illness and immunity to smallpox. The actual word vaccine is from is from Latin for cow. But the technique is African. From the replies♥ 52 variolation. And 20 years later it would be discovered you could inoculate someone with cowpox, which caused a much less severe illness, so even if it took badly you most likely would survive, but you still got immunity to smallpox. From the replies♥ 5 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source That's what vaccine means actually. The original vaccine is from north Africa, they would run a needle and thread through a cow pox sore on a cow and then sew that into human skin, it created a mild illness and immunity to smallpox. The actual word vaccine is from is from Latin for cow. But the technique is African. source record 314♥ 52 Later-arriving source Small Pox or Polio vaccine? posted about 19.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source smallpox would be the big one then TBF posted about 18.9 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “immunity to smallpox” recurs across 2 of the 11 source records in Vaccines, and the inoculation 1776 already had; the complete archive stays available below. 11index entries 11distinct source records 8.9%of parent category 1.1%of the complete index 5top-level comments 6replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 10other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments11 preserved records · 11 of 11 source records accounted for **They kinda had that in 1776…sort of. Washington famously inoculated his troops in Cambridge in late 1775 or early 1776 but obviously it wasn’t a vaccine, it was more or less just giving you smallpox and hoping you make it through.**♥ 45source record 313 **That's what vaccine means actually. The original vaccine is from north Africa, they would run a needle and thread through a cow pox sore on a cow and then sew that into human skin, it created a mild illness and immunity to smallpox. The actual word vaccine is from is from Latin for cow. But the technique is African.**♥ 52source record 314 **variolation. And 20 years later it would be discovered you could inoculate someone with cowpox, which caused a much less severe illness, so even if it took badly you most likely would survive, but you still got immunity to smallpox.**♥ 5source record 315 **Smallpox vaccine**♥ 2source record 415 **All my shots! Since I’m older, I’ve had a smallpox vaccine. Younger people would be SOL, since the vaccine is no longer available.**♥ 2source record 430 **Vaccinations!**♥ 2source record 437 **Small Pox or Polio vaccine?**♥ 1source record 738 **I know you didn't ask but imma share anyway. Initial discovery was when they performed small pox variolation and noticed certain groups of rural people tended to not show any skin reactions at the site like most people would, notably with milkmaids. Extra fun fact, the term vaccine comes from the Latin vaccinus meaning "of or from a cow".**♥ 1source record 797 **Smallpox vaccine**♥ 1source record 915 **Vaccines mainly polio**♥ 1source record 1021 **smallpox would be the big one then TBF**♥ 1source record 1119 Archive: 11 index entries preserve 11 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The books written for exactly this question72 records · 4 sub-topicsReal titles, owned and argued over by the people naming them — including the author of one of them. 72 records. The rebuild-civilization books commenters actually own33 index entriesThree named titles, compared by people who have them on the shelf, with the author of one of them answering questions underneath. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The rebuild-civilization books commenters actually own Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The rebuild-civilization books commenters actually own 33 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 81 **Situation:** One book written for a reader who has to restart technology from nothing **Why readers chose it:** 33 records naming three real titles — The Knowledge, How to Invent Everything, and The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization. What makes the card unusual is that most of these commenters own them, so the comparison is concrete rather than aspirational: one is described as about four times the size of another, one as more of an art object than a reference, one as the practical one. The author of one title, who also consulted on another, turns up in the thread and offers to take questions. The dissent is equally specific: several commenters argue the genre is written to entertain a modern reader rather than to be used, and one who looked into it says it never actually tells you how to build anything. **What readers reported:** There are a few actually. The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm by Lewis Dartnell is the one that's considered actually useful. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Can you list some of the titles, please? My old brain cells are failing in the recall department... I've been racking my brain trying to come up with one from days gone by, that has diagrams, plans, and process descriptions for all kinds of basic (to us) tools, machines, and other useful items. From the replies♥ 825 That is one I have. I also have How to Invent Everything, and I have heard good things about The Knowledge, but I don’t have it yet From the replies♥ 406 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source There are some books that are written for just such an occasion. A basic guide how to rebuild society if it collapses or how to reinvent things if you get sent back in time. How to isolate penicillin, how to get insulin, the kinds of things a modern textbook wouldn’t cover but would be incredibly valuable I have a couple of them, I think they are fascinating source record 1♥ 4,491 Later-arriving source The Anarchists Cookbook. posted about 22.0 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source I have that one, it's very cool. I learned how to tie a ton of knots through that. posted about 19.1 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “how to invent everything” recurs across 10 of the 33 source records in The rebuild-civilization books commenters actually own; the complete archive stays available below. 33index entries 33distinct source records 45.8%of parent category 3.3%of the complete index 5top-level comments 28replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 32other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments33 preserved records · 33 of 33 source records accounted for **There are some books that are written for just such an occasion. A basic guide how to rebuild society if it collapses or how to reinvent things if you get sent back in time. How to isolate penicillin, how to get insulin, the kinds of things a modern textbook wouldn’t cover but would be incredibly valuable I have a couple of them, I think they are fascinating**♥ 4,491source record 1 **I have How To Invent Everything by Ryan North, though it's more on the pop science / humour side of things. Still a good read. In my case it solved the question of "how do I manually measure latitude, because Wikipedia just tells me to measure the altitude of the Sun at noon during one of the equinoxes, which isn't quite so useful on the 363 days of the year that \*aren't\* equinoxes."**♥ 288source record 3 **The Book: The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization from hungry minds is the one I have (although there are def less pretty more practical/detailed ones out there)**♥ 1,085source record 8 **That is one I have. I also have How to Invent Everything, and I have heard good things about The Knowledge, but I don’t have it yet**♥ 406source record 9 **It is a lot more comprehensive, it’s about four times the size of**♥ 34source record 11 **Thanks. Poking through a PDF online and a great deal of it looks like either stuff the 1776ers already know or the diagrams are, umm, rather fanciful and steampunkish... How to invent Everything might be more what I'd want to take along.**♥ 79source record 13 **The Book is what we read knowing we will never have to make 99% of what's in it. How to Invent everything is what you use if you do.**♥ 4source record 14 **Ehhh, it's a really pretty book, but it's more of an art object than an actually usable book. I was somewhat disappointed, tbh.**♥ 12source record 18 **"How to invent everything" Good book.**♥ 4source record 21 **I'm the author of "THE KNOWLEDGE" and was the consultant for "THE BOOK". Very happy to answer any questions if anyone's got anything!**♥ 13source record 22 **I really like “How to Invent Everything: a survival guide for the stranded tome traveler”.**♥ 44source record 23 **There's this book about how to invent all these things from scratch... Probably that.**♥ 2,318source record 78 **There are a few actually. The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm by Lewis Dartnell is the one that's considered actually useful.**♥ 256source record 81 **I remember one that was called something to the effect of “How to build everything: A guide for the stranded time traveler”**♥ 11source record 82 **Yup! I have that book, great read! \[link removed\]**♥ 3source record 83 **The ultimate guide to rebuilding civilization.**♥ 5source record 86 **I looked into it. It doesn't teach anything. It's more like "YOU CAN USE WINDMILLS FOR THINGS! PRETTY PICTURES!"**♥ 2source record 89 **THE Book: \[link removed\]**♥ 66source record 280 **There are many iterations on the "How to invent everything" concept, which brings you from raw materials through to radios. Teaches smithing, carpentry, basic automation via wind or water powered machines, and so on. So one of those.**♥ 8source record 288 **Except all of those a riooffs. They never actually tell you how to build anything and the hard part isn’t the design, but the tooling, materials, and metalworking needed to make the things. Better to bring a medical or engineering textbook and advance understanding a few hundred years.**♥ 3source record 289 **Any correct answer should be some kind of book. Either a science textbook to help people with medicine or a history textbook to insert yourself into politics, or an economic history to gain fortune.**♥ 2source record 441 **I’ve heard those books would be pretty useless if it actually came down to it. They’re written for modern audiences to be entertained, not serious attempts to produce something useful.**♥ 2source record 498 **They mean one that is more in depth, because it's bigger than**♥ 2source record 516 **I remember I once saw a book that was called “How to build everything: A guide for the lost time traveler” so probably that**♥ 1source record 537 **Anarchist’s Cookbook**♥ 1source record 566 **Not only is it useful but the art in that book is incredible**♥ 6source record 607 **You may be thinking of "The Book". It has a very similar concept, but has a LOT more emphasis on art and illustrations. But they're not all exactly practical or offering specific guidance. It's meant as more of a coffee table book than a reference guide.**♥ 15source record 608 **The Book**♥ 1source record 616 **I liked "How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler" Ryan North**♥ 1source record 639 **The Anarchists Cookbook.**♥ 1source record 659 **I have that one, it's very cool. I learned how to tie a ton of knots through that.**♥ 1source record 668 **Humans over the last 1000 years have approximately the same level of intelligence. If you brought any decent "how to invent everything" book, it would be like a series of dots which the smartest & wealthiest people of the time would be able to connect.**♥ 1source record 865 **I'd grab a copy of the book The Knowledge.**♥ 1source record 930 Archive: 33 index entries preserve 33 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A modern medical textbook: the thread's most-upvoted answer and its longest rebuttal24 index entriesThe single most-upvoted comment in the corpus, and the objection its own replies keep returning to. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A modern medical textbook: the thread's most-upvoted answer and its longest rebuttal Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A modern medical textbook: the thread's most-upvoted answer and its longest rebuttal 24 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 59 **Situation:** Handing 1776 the current state of medicine in a single volume **Why readers chose it:** The most-upvoted comment in the corpus, and 24 records of argument underneath it. The case for it is that the theory is the valuable part: germs, disease vectors, the reasoning behind a test rather than the test itself, and a body of knowledge that would compound for decades. The case against is that the book assumes an entire absent system — laboratories, imaging, a pharmacy — so a reader in 1776 could act on almost none of it, and one reply works through a specific list of what modern medicine cannot deliver without indoor plumbing or trained clinicians. Several commenters counter-propose a history of medicine instead, on the grounds that it points at the next step rather than the last one. Running underneath the whole card is a side-observation nobody disputes: the physical object would persuade people before its contents did — the paper, the flat uniform pages, the photographs, the copyright date. **What readers reported:** A modern medical textbook would help, but probably not as much as you think. You’d still have to convince everyone you weren’t some crazy person, and a lot of the basic ideas behind modern medicine, like germs causing disease, weren’t even understood yet. A book saying “use X-rays” or “run this blood test” doesn’t help much if nobody has the machines, factories, or background knowledge to make them. Something like the instructions for making penicillin would be huge, but even that would be hard because most modern books assume you already have a whole system in place to produce it. The biggest impact would probably come from teaching simple things that could actually be done with the tools they had at the time. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 There are some books that are written for just such an occasion. A basic guide how to rebuild society if it collapses or how to reinvent things if you get sent back in time. How to isolate penicillin, how to get insulin, the kinds of things a modern textbook wouldn’t cover but would be incredibly valuable I have a couple of them, I think they are fascinating From the replies♥ 4,491 First Chapter: Most definitely wash your fucking hands when delivering a baby From the replies♥ 345 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A modern medical textbook would be incredibly valuable source record 0♥ 10,646 Later-arriving source Sure...it'd be a big help since most of the pharmacy isn't available in 1776. posted about 14.5 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source Hope you're a doctor, otherwise that's just 5 pounds of very expensive paper posted about 7.3 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Across 24 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Create a default” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 24index entries 24distinct source records 33.3%of parent category 2.4%of the complete index 2top-level comments 22replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 1says they intend to try it 21other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Create a default **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments24 preserved records · 24 of 24 source records accounted for **A modern medical textbook would be incredibly valuable**♥ 10,646source record 0 **A modern medical textbook would help, but probably not as much as you think. You’d still have to convince everyone you weren’t some crazy person, and a lot of the basic ideas behind modern medicine, like germs causing disease, weren’t even understood yet. A book saying “use X-rays” or “run this blood test” doesn’t help much if nobody has the machines, factories, or background knowledge to make them. Something like the instructions for making penicillin would be huge, but even that would be hard because most modern books assume you already have a whole system in place to produce it. The biggest impact would probably come from teaching simple things that could actually be done with the tools they had at the time.**♥ 125source record 59 **Knowledge snowballs though. Even the basics like "germs cause disease" and "mosquitoes spread Malaria" are pieces of information that wouldn't become commonly accepted fact for \*decades\* after 1776\. A medical textbook isn't just "run these tests", it's "here's how the body works and why you should run these tests". It's all the theoretical underpinnings of human biology you need to understand why you should run this test. Those underpinnings are incredibly valuable, and would allow skilled scientists to develop the means to run many tests and improve the quality of life of millions, if not \*billions\*. They're not going to read the book and stop inventing, they're just going to invent more!**♥ 51source record 60 **Also it's not like the idea of disease vectors were entirely foreign to them. They knew standing near some sick guy coughing would get you sick too, they just thought he coughed up some infectious miasma instead of tiny lifeforms that had invaded his body.**♥ 26source record 61 **\>You’d still have to convince everyone you weren’t some crazy person I think the photographs in the text book would be enough to convince anyone that you have special knowledge beyond what they understand**♥ 82source record 64 **The paper alone. Crisp, white, glossy, unimaginably fine, and in every conceivable color.**♥ 102source record 65 **Not to mention perfectly flat and uniform shaped pages.**♥ 52source record 68 **Since they never saw a photograph before, I'm not sure how they would react. I assume they would marvel at how good the painter you hired was to make your book. My point is larger though, even if they do believe you there is such a knowledge gap most of the information in the book wouldn't be of significant value until technology, science and support fields caught up to make use of it.**♥ 32source record 69 **So a history of medicine to guide them in the right direction then?**♥ 23source record 70 **Yeah, that be my pick. A history book of advancements in medicine, technology and science in the late 18th and early 19th century.**♥ 8source record 71 **A comprehensive history of medical discoveries would probably be more useful to seed innovation.**♥ 3source record 73 **Not really. Modern first aid is prolly better. You would have none of the equipment needed. Edit. The doctor who revolutionized just washing your hands before treating was mid 1800s.**♥ 9source record 74 **Yeah a medical textbook would be trash. Especially a modern one There's nothing that would be even remotely useful. You could put actively doctors back in 1776 and they still wouldn't be very helpful Most of the benefits back that would be basic hygiene, which you don't need a textbook for, and which you likewise are going to have a hard time convincing anyone of**♥ 4source record 75 **I feel a simple medical textbook wouldn't make an immediate impact. Alot of the knowledge and medicine require better equipments no one would understand.**♥ 2source record 76 **Medical journal**♥ 9source record 302 **The copyright date in the book might get their attention even more once they realize the broader implications of who is standing before them.**♥ 2source record 499 **A medical textbook would be an insane choice, especially with how many simple infections were basically death sentences back then. I’d want something practical that could actually be understood and used with 1776 technology.**♥ 3source record 517 **This would be great because germ theory wasn't even a thing back then.**♥ 1source record 527 **Absolutely, especially one that keeps up with how quickly medicine changes. Half the time, old textbooks feel like they belong in a museum.**♥ 1source record 536 **\* That would completely revolutionize healthcare centuries ahead of schedule. \* Just explaining germ theory and basic sanitation would save millions of lives. \* Pairing that with simple surgical techniques would blow their minds. \* You’d have to convince people you aren't crazy, but the results would speak for themselves. \* Handing that over to someone like Benjamin Franklin would change history forever.**♥ 1source record 539 **Hope you're a doctor, otherwise that's just 5 pounds of very expensive paper**♥ 1source record 540 **Sure...it'd be a big help since most of the pharmacy isn't available in 1776.**♥ 1source record 630 **You're not making antibiotics, but curing scurvy and pellagra, ramping up anti mosquito measures, introducing sanitation, and basic mental health measures like therapy will go a long way on its own, while setting researchers on the right path towards various drugs will speed up how quickly they get discovered**♥ 5source record 1331 **scurvy was cured by 1776\. I'll give you pellagra. I'm fairly certain that modern medical textbooks don't have information about how to train and manage a worldwide system of therapists. If you tell people they have to work on getting people trained to do cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy, you're going to get a lot of blank stares. Without indoor plumbing, sanitation efforts are kinda dead in the water. Anti-mosquito measures aren't really detailed in medical textbooks. How would you get people to be on the right path to study medications? They were focused on gases and metallurgy, and slowly working on the elements. They were just discovering oxygen. By the time there was anybody alive who would understand any of what you're talking about, you'd be long dead.**♥ 1source record 1332 Archive: 24 index entries preserve 24 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Manuals written for places with no doctor8 index entriesThe counter-proposal from commenters who think the textbook is the wrong book: field guides written for people with no laboratory. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Manuals written for places with no doctor Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Manuals written for places with no doctor 8 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 497 **Situation:** A reference written for treating people with no hospital behind you **Why readers chose it:** 8 records, and they are the most practical answers in the book themes. Where There Is No Doctor is named four separate times by different commenters, chosen precisely because it is written for health workers with no pharmacy and no equipment; a wilderness medicine handbook, a guide to medicinal and edible wild plants and a post-collapse medical manual arrive on the same logic. One commenter makes an unusual case for a dental surgery text, arguing that eighteenth-century dentistry was bad enough that visible competence in it would buy protection and a monopoly rather than suspicion. The caveat raised inside the card is that even this genre assumes some access to medication. **What readers reported:** What you would actually want is the reference book given to health workers in rural areas of developing countries: \[Where There Is No Doctor\](\[link removed\] that gives you practical treatments and remedies if you don't have modern pharmacies and medical devices. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 a dental surgery book. wouldn't be saving people from diseases and broken arms directly but it would have ripple effect on society. You would very easily become the most trusted person in 1776 during the sugar trade. Even with dental knowledge at the time, people suffered horrible dental pain and this was most exacerbated in surgery. You could use your power to make people conscious about preventative care, anesthesia, precision manufacturing for medical surgery, x-ray technology etc. You basically would speed up history back to where it is without looking way too suspicious like you are from the future. Just another Isaac Newton blending in that crazy society. Other technologies would rise from this. The best part is you will have lived a longer and rich life than anyone else during that time. Your community would no doubt make sure to protect you at all cost cuz you would have a monopoly. Heck the president may come to visit you Reported failure♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source There's also Where There is no Doctor It does assume access to doctors and medications (although not immediately), but it would still be useful for an aspiring 1776 physician. source record 20♥ 14 Later-arriving source Where There Is No Doctor posted about 19.6 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source A wilderness medicine handbook would probably be more helpful. Modern clinical medicine is heavily reliant on the ability to run tests, imaging, etc. I know a doctor who was trained in Bolivia. He could competently diagnose pushing, prodding, and asking questions. He couldn't read X-rays. "And how is this \*electricity\* made?" -Some 18th century sawbones posted about 17.9 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “there is no doctor https www” recurs across 2 of the 8 source records in Manuals written for places with no doctor; the complete archive stays available below. 8index entries 8distinct source records 11.1%of parent category 0.8%of the complete index 2top-level comments 6replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 6other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments8 preserved records · 8 of 8 source records accounted for **There's also Where There is no Doctor \[link removed\] It does assume access to doctors and medications (although not immediately), but it would still be useful for an aspiring 1776 physician.**♥ 14source record 20 **a book of medicinal and edible wild plants**♥ 3source record 377 **a dental surgery book. wouldn't be saving people from diseases and broken arms directly but it would have ripple effect on society. You would very easily become the most trusted person in 1776 during the sugar trade. Even with dental knowledge at the time, people suffered horrible dental pain and this was most exacerbated in surgery. You could use your power to make people conscious about preventative care, anesthesia, precision manufacturing for medical surgery, x-ray technology etc. You basically would speed up history back to where it is without looking way too suspicious like you are from the future. Just another Isaac Newton blending in that crazy society. Other technologies would rise from this. The best part is you will have lived a longer and rich life than anyone else during that time. Your community would no doubt make sure to protect you at all cost cuz you would have a monopoly. Heck the president may come to visit you**♥ 2source record 453 **What you would actually want is the reference book given to health workers in rural areas of developing countries: \[Where There Is No Doctor\](\[link removed\] that gives you practical treatments and remedies if you don't have modern pharmacies and medical devices.**♥ 2source record 497 **The Anarchist Medical Book by The Four Thieves Vinegar Collective is also a relevant title. Deals with providing medical care in a post collapse society as well as how to make all kinds of medical supplies. The PDF is free. It's kinda anti-government leaning like all prepper stuff is but has useful info if you can look past all that.**♥ 2source record 511 **A current edition of "Where there is no doctor" is what I would reccomend.**♥ 1source record 538 **\[Where There Is No Doctor\](\[link removed\]**♥ 1source record 569 **A wilderness medicine handbook would probably be more helpful. Modern clinical medicine is heavily reliant on the ability to run tests, imaging, etc. I know a doctor who was trained in Bolivia. He could competently diagnose pushing, prodding, and asking questions. He couldn't read X-rays. "And how is this \*electricity\* made?" -Some 18th century sawbones**♥ 1source record 632 Archive: 8 index entries preserve 8 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs General science and reference books7 index entriesChemistry, physics and mathematics references, chosen for the theory rather than for any single recipe. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: General science and reference books Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### General science and reference books 7 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1146 **Situation:** Carrying the underlying theory rather than any single application **Why readers chose it:** 7 records that want the principle rather than the recipe: chemistry, physics, electronics, a volume of mathematical tables, and in two cases a stack of textbooks that would plainly break the one-item rule. The reasoning, where it is given, is that a principle can be applied to problems the traveller has not thought of while a recipe only solves the one it describes. Nobody here claims a specific outcome, and none of these answers drew a reply — this is the quietest corner of the thread, and the only book card where the commenters are not arguing with each other. **What readers reported:** A modern science book that has complete contents on chemistry, physics, biology and technology (i don't know if that book even exist) **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source 4 textbooks: Principals of electricity and electronic concepts, book on Physics, a modern medicine book, and a world history book. source record 378♥ 3 Later-arriving source Something to show everyone DNA. posted about 21.6 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source A complete guide to modern Technology posted about 18.7 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 7 source records for General science and reference books together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 7index entries 7distinct source records 9.7%of parent category 0.7%of the complete index 6top-level comments 1replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 7other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments7 preserved records · 7 of 7 source records accounted for **4 textbooks: Principals of electricity and electronic concepts, book on Physics, a modern medicine book, and a world history book.**♥ 3source record 378 **A copy of Caveman Chemistry by Dr. Kevin Dunn**♥ 2source record 475 **Or other reference books. I'd be tempted to take my copy of \[Abramowitz and Stegun\](\[link removed\] in this hypothetical.**♥ 1source record 529 **Book of chemistry basics**♥ 1source record 1124 **A modern science book that has complete contents on chemistry, physics, biology and technology (i don't know if that book even exist)**♥ 1source record 1146 **Something to show everyone DNA.**♥ 1source record 1177 **A complete guide to modern Technology**♥ 1source record 1237 Archive: 7 index entries preserve 7 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Carrying the whole library: Wikipedia and the power problem129 records · 6 sub-topicsEverybody reaches for the same solution and hits the same wall. 129 records. A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded39 index entriesThe most common shape of the technology answer, with commenters trading actual file sizes for an offline copy of Wikipedia. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded 39 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 106 **Situation:** One device holding an offline copy of Wikipedia or a personal library **Why readers chose it:** 39 records, and this is where the thread does its most concrete research. Commenters look up and trade the actual numbers — text-only English Wikipedia at 25GB compressed, under 30GB, a school subset around 6GB, a medical subset at 163MB — and conclude that storage is not the constraint. Kindles, e-readers, ruggedised tablets and solar-panelled laptops are all proposed, usually with the specific reason that e-ink outlasts a backlit screen. The limits the card supplies are physical rather than informational: a dropped device takes the entire library with it, and one commenter argues the only sane use of the machine is to spend whatever life it has left transcribing onto paper. **What readers reported:** The battery life wouldn't matter much between the two. A device like that would only be valuable if it could be constantly used and unfortunately the difference between a few hours and a few weeks would but pretty meaningless long term. If you're going to take a device from today you'd have to go for something not on the consumer market. You need an e-reader/phone with built in solar panels and you'd want to support an SD card so you could actually fit all of Wikipedia uncompressed so it'd be easily browsable. You could even include the images. Such devices exist today but they are all hobbyist projects or extremely limited examples from bigger companies. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Go with the text-only and f Wikipedia, which I’ve heard is pretty small, and an e-reader, which has a much better battery life. From the replies♥ 73 Is that possible? a kindle just loaded with wikipedia actually sounds super fun From the replies♥ 43 #### Where commenters report limits Explicit limit or counterpoint The battery life wouldn't matter much between the two. A device like that would only be valuable if it could be constantly used and unfortunately the difference between a few hours and a few weeks would but pretty meaningless long term. If you're going to take a device from today you'd have to go for something not on the consumer market. You need an e-reader/phone with built in solar panels and you'd want to support an SD card so you could actually fit all of Wikipedia uncompressed so it'd be easily browsable. You could even include the images. Such devices exist today but they are all hobbyist projects or extremely limited examples from bigger companies. source record 106♥ 23 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A smart phone with a solar charger and the entire Wikipedia downloaded would be useful source record 104♥ 203 Later-arriving source Even smaller for the "school" version which excludes pop culture and other articles not deemed relevant for learning. Even with images it's like 6gb. There are also super small text only zims in the MB range for basic knowledge or specializations. here are all of the zim files For example: en\_medicine\_mini is only 163MB posted about 21.2 hours after the source♥ 2 Low-like source My first thought was an e reader loaded up with books. My second thought is that it would die pretty quickly and USB C wouldn't be invented for another 250 years posted about 21.0 hours after the source♥ 1 #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions“a solar powered” · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-3-a-local-ai-model-as-the-thing-that-answers-the-questions)[The battery argument, and the solar workaround“a solar powered” · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-1-the-battery-argument-and-the-solar-workaround) #### What the counts show The exact phrase “a solar powered” recurs across 9 of the 39 source records in A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded; the complete archive stays available below. 39index entries 39distinct source records 30.2%of parent category 3.9%of the complete index 19top-level comments 20replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 1explicitly reports a limit or failure 3asks a question 0says they intend to try it 35other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments39 preserved records · 39 of 39 source records accounted for **A smart phone with a solar charger and the entire Wikipedia downloaded would be useful**♥ 203source record 104 **Go with the text-only and f Wikipedia, which I’ve heard is pretty small, and an e-reader, which has a much better battery life.**♥ 73source record 105 **The battery life wouldn't matter much between the two. A device like that would only be valuable if it could be constantly used and unfortunately the difference between a few hours and a few weeks would but pretty meaningless long term. If you're going to take a device from today you'd have to go for something not on the consumer market. You need an e-reader/phone with built in solar panels and you'd want to support an SD card so you could actually fit all of Wikipedia uncompressed so it'd be easily browsable. You could even include the images. Such devices exist today but they are all hobbyist projects or extremely limited examples from bigger companies.**♥ 23source record 106 **Text of the English Wikipedia only is 25 GB compressed, probably around 50 GB uncompressed. That fits on most modern phones. Alternatively, keep it compressed and have the software extract it as needed. \[There is existing software for that\](\[link removed\] Primitive batteries existed in 1776, you can build many of them, phones should be able to use a \~5 V, \~1 A supply even if it's not communicating and not exactly 5 V. Your phone is giving the scientists a good reason to work on that.**♥ 5source record 107 **Does a Kindle loaded with wikipedia and with a solar powered battery attached count as one item? If not I would like to take some sort of "so you accidentally time traveled" book on science, agriculture and technology. One of those books that has everything from how to invent the wheel, to germ theory and astrophysics.**♥ 122source record 212 **Is that possible? a kindle just loaded with wikipedia actually sounds super fun**♥ 43source record 213 **The text-only version of Wikipedia is under 30GB.**♥ 63source record 214 **Solar powered tablet with the whole Wikipedia and medical books downloaded onto it Or probably my dog**♥ 9source record 335 **A copy of Wikipedia on a solar-powered tablet.**♥ 3source record 344 **A solar-powered tablet loaded with offline books, maps, medicine references, and Wikipedia. Basically showing up in 1776 with the entire future in my backpack.**♥ 3source record 345 **A Kindle loaded with every medical text book i could fit, plus several dozen good fiction novels that I could "write" to become famous and wealthy.**♥ 10source record 348 **Offline Wikipedia plus an LLM**♥ 2source record 351 **A modern high-capacity, ruggedized e-reader preloaded with offline Wikipedia, medical guides, engineering schematics, and a built-in solar charger**♥ 9source record 356 **a self charging kindle with a whole disk full of books. it’s like wishing for more wishes, except wishing for more books.**♥ 3source record 371 **Wikipedia downloaded onto a solar-powered tablet. I’m becoming the most powerful historian alive.**♥ 2source record 409 **My solar powered rugged laptop which has every important textbooks saved to it.**♥ 2source record 424 **Probably a download of Wikipedia onto a kindle**♥ 2source record 432 **A solar-powered Kindle with offline Wikipedia. I’m either fixing history or getting burned as a witch by Friday.**♥ 2source record 460 **Solar rechargeable e-ink reader with offline Wikipedia and a chunk of Anna's library**♥ 2source record 465 **My smartphone with Wikipedia downloaded to it**♥ 2source record 483 **Be better to take an e-reader with all of the textbooks on it. That way you could freak people out twice. Once with the e-reader and again with the info on it.**♥ 1source record 541 **They make a solar powered doomsday computer - it basically caches all the information needed.**♥ 1source record 567 **Post apocalyptic cyber deck is what you mean.**♥ 2source record 589 **this is a really fascinating data point. like really? only 25-50gb? i get its text but man that’s wild**♥ 2source record 602 **7 million articles, most of them are short. Here is the result of clicking "random article" three times for example: \[link removed\] \[link removed\] \[link removed\] 3 kB per article when compressed makes 25 GB total. If you wanted to minimize the size for time travel purposes, you could probably skip all recent people and a lot of fictional work. Wouldn't make a big difference with today's storage capabilities, however.**♥ 2source record 603 **Most phones have enough onboard storage to hold the entirety of Wikipedia. Pre-download that and the phone would be pretty darn useful. The bigger issue is power, but this is recent enough in history that building a generator or battery from scratch wouldn't be out of the question. The tricky part would be getting a consistent 5V of DC output out of such a scratch-built power source. Or you could cheat by making your one object “a smartphone (with Wikipedia pre-downloaded) that happens to have a solar charger glued onto the back”, and then you're golden ;)**♥ 1source record 622 **a phone with the entirety of Wikipedia downloaded. now the problem would be battery life.**♥ 1source record 623 **I'd go with a solar powered e-read with all of Wikipedia downloaded to it, if I had time to make something custom.**♥ 1source record 627 **Even smaller for the "school" version which excludes pop culture and other articles not deemed relevant for learning. Even with images it's like 6gb. There are also super small text only zims in the MB range for basic knowledge or specializations. \[here are all of the zim files\](\[link removed\] For example: en\_medicine\_mini is only 163MB**♥ 2source record 690 **\[link removed\]**♥ 20source record 692 **I knew there was a text only version of Wikipedia, as I’ve heard of people keeping a local copy before. So I googled “how big is the text only version of Wikipedia”**♥ 10source record 693 **A solar-powered tablet loaded with all of Wikipedia. I’ll either become the most useful person in 1776 or get accused of witchcraft by Tuesday. 😂**♥ 4source record 802 **A fully loaded smartphone.**♥ 1source record 918 **Solar powered laptop computer with as much of the Wikipedia downloaded on it that'll fit.**♥ 1source record 962 **That’s a bit of a random year, but I guess the Marquis de Pombal was still in charge of the empire and he’d have loved this: an e-reader like the Bigme B7 with a solar power charging case and microsd with a terabyte of books in all fields of science is probably a good idea. Show him the books that mention his earthquake-hardened construction methods for the ego-credibility.**♥ 1source record 1083 **Ebook Reader with medical books and engineering stuff on it**♥ 1source record 1093 **idk man, everyone says textbooks but im taking a solar-powered ereader loaded with wikipedia. Yeah the batteries gonna die eventually but you can get like 10+ years of use, and thats a lot of time to transcribe the important stuff before youre stuck doing memory palace tricks like some medieval monk**♥ 1source record 1138 **My first thought was an e reader loaded up with books. My second thought is that it would die pretty quickly and USB C wouldn't be invented for another 250 years**♥ 1source record 1172 **If you download Wikipedia ahead of time you wouldn't need a signal to read it.**♥ 7source record 1372 Archive: 39 index entries preserve 39 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The battery argument, and the solar workaround37 index entriesThe objection every device answer collides with, and the improvised charging plans that follow it. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The battery argument, and the solar workaround Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The battery argument, and the solar workaround 37 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 94 **Situation:** Any answer that needs charging, and the plan for charging it **Why readers chose it:** 37 records, and the single most persistent objection in the corpus. It opens with the most-upvoted reply under the phone answer — a few hours and then nothing — and then splits in two. The builders get specific: a chemical battery is easy, generating the electricity is easy, the hard parts are a stable five volts and a connector, and one commenter proposes an improvised wireless charger turned by a beast of burden as the path of least resistance. The sceptics answer on two grounds at once, the rules and the physics: a solar panel stuck to a battery is a second item and is too weak to run the device anyway. The card's own conclusion is stated by a commenter who points out that a book has none of these problems. **What readers reported:** And only for a few hours until the battery ran out and you couldn’t charge it **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 The issue is that as soon as it breaks, you're stuffed. Drop it, broken screen? There goes all your knowledge. Reported failure♥ 5 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A smart phone was mentioned which would certainly set their curiosity ablaze, but it wouldn’t be anything more than a fancy brick without Wi-Fi, etc. source record 93♥ 1,693 Later-arriving source I would imagine the purpose of bringing something like that back would be to then transcribe that info to paper ASAP. So it would have to last decades, just as long as possible to get the the most useful information out (penicillin, pasturization, germ theory, epstein files etc), and then anything beneficial after that. posted about 21.5 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source Where is your signal coming from? Can 5G transcend time? Will your provider accept Continental currency as payment? posted about 10.8 hours after the source #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second AmendmentChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment)[Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made anyChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-0-penicillin-and-whether-1776-could-have-made-any)[A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions“a solar powered” · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-3-a-local-ai-model-as-the-thing-that-answers-the-questions) #### What the counts show Across 37 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Change the sentence” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 37index entries 37distinct source records 28.7%of parent category 3.7%of the complete index 5top-level comments 32replies #### What commenters explicitly report 1explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 8asks a question 0says they intend to try it 28other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Change the sentence **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments37 preserved records · 37 of 37 source records accounted for **A smart phone was mentioned which would certainly set their curiosity ablaze, but it wouldn’t be anything more than a fancy brick without Wi-Fi, etc.**♥ 1,693source record 93 **And only for a few hours until the battery ran out and you couldn’t charge it**♥ 911source record 94 **Airplane mode can get a good length of time for new phones**♥ 169source record 95 **Just bring a charger too**♥ 25source record 99 **Solar charger**♥ 42source record 100 **Well, you could load it with tons of data. The issue would mostly be running out of battery. So the first issue would be how fast you can build a charger.**♥ 29source record 111 **The issue is that as soon as it breaks, you're stuffed. Drop it, broken screen? There goes all your knowledge.**♥ 5source record 112 **Exactly, a smartphone would be more of a magic trick than a useful tool without a network or electricity. I’d rather bring something they could actually use to change their lives.**♥ 9source record 116 **Battery would become unusable in a few years. Probably not long enough to get through everything and make copies**♥ 3source record 218 **Love this but what if the screen or some component breaks?! You’d have to spend a couple years transcribing everything onto paper backups first lol.**♥ 40source record 285 **That will work a few days until power runs out**♥ 17source record 349 **Solar powered power bank with built in flashlight.**♥ 6source record 393 **not really if you have the screen on, it's just that without data most people turn the screen off ;)**♥ 2source record 596 **There are plenty of e-readers with built-in solar, and even some covers for the larger brands that include it. To be fair most were released last year, which is weird considering it seems like a no-brainer.**♥ 2source record 598 **Why would anyone bring something that has to be charged? let alone a cell phone that has no other phones to call and no internet to connect to. Books are a vastly better option in almost every way thinkable.**♥ 1source record 635 **Chemical battery would be the easiest.**♥ 1source record 641 **Generating the electricity is probably the easiest part. I'd be more concerned about the actual charging cable interface. I'm sure someone who knows more about electricity could cobble something together without frying their phone, so I think it's doable, just not easy.**♥ 8source record 642 **If you know the pins of a USB connector you could probably rig something. \*Edit: Looks like for Type A plugs Pins 1 and 4 are the +5v and Ground pins. Red and Black respectively. White/Green are data\* Getting a stable 5v to send down the cable is another matter**♥ 2source record 643 **Don't need a precise 5 volts in most cases, though you'd need to know what your device could handle beforehand. The modern spec appears to allow 4.35-5.5V. Most easier-to-make battery chemistries range from \~0.5-2 volts so you'd also need to memorize how many cells you'll need. Maybe before you 'leave', add a voltage regulator with a wide input voltage range so you can just send it 10-15V and not have to worry. In all likelihood, a device that supports 12 or 19V charging would probably not be harmed by simply feeding it that voltage without USB PD negotiation, though that would require testing to confirm.**♥ 3source record 644 **Screw all that. Make a makeshift wireless charger. Much, much easier than all that other stuff. It wouldn't work well, and it would probably take a week to charge it from 0-80, but it would be the easiest to make. You could probably rig it up to a beast of burden like those old mule powered mills. With some gears, you could get it spinning fast and it would still suck but it would work a whole lot better that way.**♥ 2source record 645 **I would be surprised if there hasn't been some phone or mini-computer (like the Rasperberry Pi kits) or ebook reader that has had built in solar charging. However, I think a lot of people are overestimating how long electronics that aren't built for extreme durability last. Assuming you'll be living in the old times for several decades, you might want something less likely to break, whether that's a computer that's big enough to have redundant serviceable parts internally or whether it's something else.**♥ 1source record 649 **I would imagine the purpose of bringing something like that back would be to then transcribe that info to paper ASAP. So it would have to last decades, just as long as possible to get the the most useful information out (penicillin, pasturization, germ theory, epstein files etc), and then anything beneficial after that.**♥ 1source record 650 **\> solar powered battery Can only bring one item. Also the solar panels on the batteries are useless, not enough power to recharge the battery and the device.**♥ 2source record 683 **You going to invent a solar powered Kindle first?**♥ 1source record 838 **Nah, I'm just duct-taping a $20 solar power bank to the back. Work smart, not hard."**♥ 1source record 839 **If you take a paperwhite display ereader, you have a couple of weeks to copy everything off of it.**♥ 1source record 866 **With what internet?**♥ 1source record 934 **Until the battery is dead? Or until you realize you have no service...**♥ 1source record 941 **Battery seems to last 2 days for me**♥ 1source record 942 **my phone charger**♥ 1source record 1025 **A solar powered flashlight**♥ 1source record 1149 **To everyone that was stupid enough to say a smartphone, what good will it do with no service or electricity. Sure, you can download some things. But what are you going to do when it dies.**♥ 1source record 1215 **What network will you be running that on?**♥ 14source record 1299 **Better hope that thing is charged**♥ 8source record 1300 **First proper battery wasn't invented until 1800 but in 1776 people were experimenting with electricity, fuck knows what the world would like if they got their hands on a smartphone but given our history I'm pretty sure the first thing they'd do is try to figure out how they could weaponise it....**♥ 1source record 1351 **Lithium-ion batteries won't really help them much, though. Even if they could recreate the chemistry, they would have trouble with the charging circuitry. Alkaline batteries, on the other hand...**♥ 2source record 1352 **Where is your signal coming from? Can 5G transcend time? Will your provider accept Continental currency as payment?**♥ 0source record 1371 Archive: 37 index entries preserve 37 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Wikipedia and the encyclopedias on paper18 index entriesPaper needs no charger, and the thread immediately starts arguing about how tall the stack would be. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Wikipedia and the encyclopedias on paper Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Wikipedia and the encyclopedias on paper 18 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 221 **Situation:** The whole reference, printed, so that it never needs power **Why readers chose it:** 18 records that solve the battery problem by removing the battery, and then collide with mass. One commenter estimates the printout at about ten Eiffel Towers high; the thread spends several replies converting that figure into other units, and one commenter argues that the question said take rather than carry. Encyclopaedia sets appear as the compact version of the same idea. The substantive objection raised here is editorial rather than physical: a large share of Wikipedia concerns people born after 1850 and would be useless on arrival, so somebody has to decide what to print — which is exactly the decision the digital answers avoid making. **What readers reported:** It said take, not carry. But fair. My light googling says it would be like 10 Eiffel towers high **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Maybe trim it down to just the useful bits. You might not need a synopsis of every Powerpuff Girls episode. From the replies♥ 144 Does a Kindle loaded with wikipedia and with a solar powered battery attached count as one item? If not I would like to take some sort of "so you accidentally time traveled" book on science, agriculture and technology. One of those books that has everything from how to invent the wheel, to germ theory and astrophysics. From the replies♥ 122 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A physical printout of all of Wikipedia source record 208♥ 370 Later-arriving source A printed copy of Wikipedia. Hand it to the government and hope they skip a few years of the tech tree for me. posted about 21.5 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source A battery or an encyclopaedia. posted about 18.1 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “copy of wikipedia” recurs across 3 of the 18 source records in Wikipedia and the encyclopedias on paper; the complete archive stays available below. 18index entries 18distinct source records 14%of parent category 1.8%of the complete index 13top-level comments 5replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 18other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments18 preserved records · 18 of 18 source records accounted for **A physical printout of all of Wikipedia**♥ 370source record 208 **Maybe trim it down to just the useful bits. You might not need a synopsis of every Powerpuff Girls episode.**♥ 144source record 209 **Or we could go old school and download encyclopedias**♥ 5source record 216 **Yeah, you couldn't carry that.**♥ 51source record 220 **It said take, not carry. But fair. My light googling says it would be like 10 Eiffel towers high**♥ 91source record 221 **Really all of Wikipedia probably wouldn't be too helpful 250 years in the past. Articles about people born after 1850 or so isn't going to be useful at all.**♥ 2source record 228 **A print out of Wikipedia... The whole thing**♥ 3source record 380 **A printed copy of Wikipedia.**♥ 2source record 412 **Wikipedia printed out.**♥ 2source record 454 **A printed and bound copy of wikipedia.**♥ 1source record 961 **Encyclopedia**♥ 1source record 1027 **I will become the keeper of Encarta.**♥ 1source record 1046 **my set of encyclopedias.**♥ 1source record 1090 **A printed copy of Wikipedia. Hand it to the government and hope they skip a few years of the tech tree for me.**♥ 1source record 1113 **A printout of Wikipedia**♥ 1source record 1127 **The newest world encyclopedia set**♥ 1source record 1148 **Encyclopedia set**♥ 1source record 1181 **A battery or an encyclopaedia.**♥ 1source record 1236 Archive: 18 index entries preserve 18 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions12 index entriesAnswers that carry a model rather than a library, so the thing you take can be asked a question it was not indexed for. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions 12 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1259 **Situation:** A model that can answer a question the library was never indexed for **Why readers chose it:** 12 records, and the distinction they draw is a real one: a library has to be searched, a model can be asked, which matters when the question is “how do I make this with what I have here”. The answers run from a solar laptop with open weights on it to a purpose-built inference machine and, in one case, an entire datacentre with its own generation, offered explicitly as a test of how large a “thing” is allowed to be. One commenter works out that the recharging problem is solvable with a generator he could build himself. Nobody in the card raises the limit that matters most in 1776, which is that an answer nobody can check is worth less than a printed page. **What readers reported:** A laptop with the best available local LLM and a scrape of \[site removed\] on it. I would be able to recharge it by building a generator, which I should be able to accomplish with my own knowledge, the materials available at the time and some trial and error, and it is a source of (even if not perfectly accurate) knowledge about how to build most things in the modern world. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Love this but what if the screen or some component breaks?! You’d have to spend a couple years transcribing everything onto paper backups first lol. From the replies♥ 40 Franklin, fresh off the printing press and lightning on keys, would be like “okay what the actual fuck” on seeing a smartphone. From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Solar powered Laptop with text only english wikipedia (\\\~166 GB), every science ebook, any and all how to survive in x ebooks and the best AI that runs on it. source record 284♥ 116 Later-arriving source Bonsai ternary 27b is like 8gb hell yeah. posted about 20.1 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source AI Suggested "\*\*solar-powered, ruggedized, fully offline digital library"\*\* but I think a greater question is who do you try and get in contact with to disseminate your ideas and to protect you. In the USA, I would think Ben Franklin is the obvious choice, but in asia or europe . In Australia I would a bag of seed, corn, wheat, carrots, beans to share posted about 1.2 hours after the source♥ -4 #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [A phone, tablet or e-reader with the library downloaded“a solar powered” · 9 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-0-a-phone-tablet-or-e-reader-with-the-library-downloaded)[The battery argument, and the solar workaround“a solar powered” · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-1-the-battery-argument-and-the-solar-workaround) #### What the counts show The exact phrase “solar powered laptop with” recurs across 2 of the 12 source records in A local AI model as the thing that answers the questions; the complete archive stays available below. 12index entries 12distinct source records 9.3%of parent category 1.2%of the complete index 11top-level comments 1replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 11other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments12 preserved records · 12 of 12 source records accounted for **Solar powered Laptop with text only english wikipedia (\\\~166 GB), every science ebook, any and all how to survive in x ebooks and the best AI that runs on it.**♥ 116source record 284 **A solar powered ipad with some local LLM model.**♥ 3source record 372 **Whatever computing device I could find that would include photovoltaic recharging capability. Store Wikipedia and a few good large language models on there. Then, hey -- I'm already in Philly. I'll walk downtown, talk to Franklin, and suggest a quiet collaboration while we skip most of the last 250 years of the tech tree.**♥ 2source record 422 **Solar powered Laptop with a few terabytes of snapshot of entire human knowledge and local language model.**♥ 2source record 426 **A solar-powered all-in-one Linux PC with a local LLM and several terabytes of modern knowledge in PDF's and e-books**♥ 2source record 458 **An AI datacenter, with on-site power generation, which hosts a frontier LLM. What? You never specified how big a "thing" can be...**♥ 2source record 459 **Bonsai ternary 27b is like 8gb hell yeah.**♥ 1source record 851 **A cerebras CS-3 unit loaded with OSS AI models and you have a god machine that knows answers to everything.**♥ 1source record 1057 **claude**♥ 1source record 1078 **A laptop with the best available local LLM and a scrape of \[site removed\] on it. I would be able to recharge it by building a generator, which I should be able to accomplish with my own knowledge, the materials available at the time and some trial and error, and it is a source of (even if not perfectly accurate) knowledge about how to build most things in the modern world.**♥ 1source record 1259 **ChatGPT**♥ -2source record 1272 **AI Suggested "\*\*solar-powered, ruggedized, fully offline digital library"\*\* but I think a greater question is who do you try and get in contact with to disseminate your ideas and to protect you. In the USA, I would think Ben Franklin is the obvious choice, but in asia or europe . In Australia I would a bag of seed, corn, wheat, carrots, beans to share**♥ -4source record 1282 Archive: 12 index entries preserve 12 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Modern tech brought for the reaction it would get16 index entriesAnswers where the point is not the information on the device but the faces of the people looking at it. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Modern tech brought for the reaction it would get Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Modern tech brought for the reaction it would get 16 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 933 **Situation:** Bringing modern technology for its effect on the people who see it **Why readers chose it:** 16 records where the information on the device is beside the point. What these commenters want is the moment: a lit screen, a laser pointer in a dark field, a photograph of somewhere nobody present has been. Several are explicit that the reaction is the payoff — a wizard, a king, somebody worth protecting — and one describes a deliberate plan of talking the device up for weeks before producing it, then switching it off and lying about where the power came from. The replies attached are the same two objections as everywhere else in this theme, network and battery, and one commenter's summary of what a phone reduces to without either. **What readers reported:** A fully charged smartphone with unlimited battery. Imagine casually showing people 250 years of future history and then watching their brains melt. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Until the battery is dead? Or until you realize you have no service... From the replies♥ 1 They'll probably think you're stealing their souls. From the replies #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source My iPhone. They’ll be bewitched. source record 343♥ 5 Later-arriving source I’d just turn it off and explain to them what I had for weeks, build the hype. Finally show them then turn it back off, I’d probably lie about the source of its power lol posted about 19.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source A smartphone just to watch their reaction posted about 0.0 hours after the source♥ -5 #### What the counts show Within 16 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 16index entries 16distinct source records 12.4%of parent category 1.6%of the complete index 13top-level comments 3replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 14other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments16 preserved records · 16 of 16 source records accounted for **My iPhone. They’ll be bewitched.**♥ 5source record 343 **A smartphone, I’d have the whole 1700s convinced I’m a wizard.**♥ 4source record 395 **Probably my phone honestly. Alarm clock, level, flashlight, calculator all in one thing. I'd be relearning how to do math by hand in a week but worth it**♥ 2source record 433 **I would take my phone so I could Google in my spare time,**♥ 2source record 456 **I’d just turn it off and explain to them what I had for weeks, build the hype. Finally show them then turn it back off, I’d probably lie about the source of its power lol**♥ 1source record 634 **An LED flashlight or red laser pointer. I’d have way too much fun with either - hiding in bushes and shining them on people passing by and anonymously convincing an entire town they’re being watched by supernatural alien creatures with a technology they don’t even have terms for yet. 😂😂😂**♥ 1source record 896 **My phone 😆**♥ 1source record 931 **A fully charged smartphone with unlimited battery. Imagine casually showing people 250 years of future history and then watching their brains melt.**♥ 1source record 933 **Phone. I'd be a king probably**♥ 1source record 940 **My iPhone and concern the world Like in \*In Another World With My Smartphone\* lol**♥ 1source record 977 **My smart phone! I assume the same magic that is transporting me to 1776 will figure out how to connect to WiFi.**♥ 1source record 1040 **My cell phone of course! I can’t live without it😆💯💪**♥ 1source record 1086 **My phone. Gotta take some selfies with the 1700 fam. Ya feel?**♥ 0source record 1270 **They'll probably think you're stealing their souls.**♥ 0source record 1271 **A smartphone just to watch their reaction**♥ -5source record 1298 **Why? Itll just be a glorified calculator.**♥ 4source record 1302 Archive: 16 index entries preserve 16 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A camera, to bring 1776 back with you7 index entriesThe only answers that treat the trip as a round trip, and the item as a way of bringing evidence home. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A camera, to bring 1776 back with you Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A camera, to bring 1776 back with you 7 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1230 **Situation:** Documenting 1776 in order to bring the record home **Why readers chose it:** 7 records, and the only ones in the corpus that assume a return journey rather than a one-way trip. The reasoning is documentary: photograph the land before it was developed, record the founders answering a question, leave a camera in a time capsule for 2026 to dig up. One commenter works the equipment trade-off in unusual detail — a crop-sensor body for battery life, a grip carrying two batteries, redundant cards, and why a film camera would be worse because extra rolls would count as extra items. The battery limit that dogs the rest of this theme is fatal here, because all the value is in the images getting back. **What readers reported:** I'm taking a digital camera that I can leave in a time capsule for someone to find back in 2026\. Photos and video from the founding of the country would be interesting. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Probably a DSLR. Maximize number of possible photos. Would love to document life and the land before a lot of development. Ostensibly a camera+battery grip+2 batteries in said grip+redundant cards+lens would be considered a single item. I would want to document as much as possible, and a digital camera would be very cool to show people from that time. Possibly an APS-C camera that takes the full size batteries as it should be slightly better on battery life. Like a Canon 7D series maybe. Smaller sensor but still uses the full size batteries. As long as I could find a grip for it. I could extend battery life if I brought a mechanical film SLR but the problem is I would only have the single roll in the camera, as additional film would be additional items. I would use a mirrorless but that would eat batteries quicker. source record 469♥ 2 Later-arriving source Am I visiting or staying? If visiting, I'd want to be able to take as many photos/video as I possibly could to bring back. posted about 20.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source I'm taking a digital camera that I can leave in a time capsule for someone to find back in 2026\. Photos and video from the founding of the country would be interesting. posted about 15.0 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 7 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 7index entries 7distinct source records 5.4%of parent category 0.7%of the complete index 7top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 5other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments7 preserved records · 7 of 7 source records accounted for **My phone so I can record everything**♥ 2source record 420 **Probably a DSLR. Maximize number of possible photos. Would love to document life and the land before a lot of development. Ostensibly a camera+battery grip+2 batteries in said grip+redundant cards+lens would be considered a single item. I would want to document as much as possible, and a digital camera would be very cool to show people from that time. Possibly an APS-C camera that takes the full size batteries as it should be slightly better on battery life. Like a Canon 7D series maybe. Smaller sensor but still uses the full size batteries. As long as I could find a grip for it. I could extend battery life if I brought a mechanical film SLR but the problem is I would only have the single roll in the camera, as additional film would be additional items. I would use a mirrorless but that would eat batteries quicker.**♥ 2source record 469 **Am I coming back? If so, a fully charged digital video camera to record the founding fathers’ opinions on modern American politics….**♥ 1source record 1007 **Il telefono per catturare testimonianze .**♥ 1source record 1058 **Am I visiting or staying? If visiting, I'd want to be able to take as many photos/video as I possibly could to bring back.**♥ 1source record 1170 **I'm taking a digital camera that I can leave in a time capsule for someone to find back in 2026\. Photos and video from the founding of the country would be interesting.**♥ 1source record 1230 **My camera**♥ 1source record 1256 Archive: 7 index entries preserve 7 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The low-tech answers commenters said would save more lives22 records · 3 sub-topicsThe answers that need no factory, no laboratory and nobody's permission. 22 records. Handwashing and germ theory12 index entriesThe cheapest answer in the thread, and a long argument about what happened to the men who first proposed it. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Handwashing and germ theory Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Handwashing and germ theory 12 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 25 **Situation:** Teaching a practice rather than supplying a substance **Why readers chose it:** 12 records making the cheapest case in the thread: the intervention costs nothing, needs no factory, and works whether or not anybody accepts the theory behind it. What the card spends most of its length on, though, is what happened to the people who said it first. Semmelweis is raised and then corrected in both directions — one commenter says he was institutionalised and beaten to death for it, two others say the asylum story is not really about handwashing — and Lister is named as the one who made it stick. The lesson commenters draw from that history is a warning aimed at their own answer: being right in 1776 is not the same as being believed. **What readers reported:** First Chapter: Most definitely wash your fucking hands when delivering a baby **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 He was also genuinely \*kind of insane\*, and the idea that he was thrown into the asylum over handwashing isn't true. Pushback♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source First Chapter: Most definitely wash your fucking hands when delivering a baby source record 25♥ 345 Later-arriving source This is probably the most clear example of how high society, aka doctors of the time, viewed themselves as always in the right based on their own behaviors. And no damn person could tell them that they have been wrong their entire lives. posted about 19.8 hours after the source♥ 3 Low-like source Honestly just wash your hands all the time. Most diseases are circumvented by that alone. posted about 16.7 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “the fight against” recurs across 2 of the 12 source records in Handwashing and germ theory; the complete archive stays available below. 12index entries 12distinct source records 54.5%of parent category 1.2%of the complete index 1top-level comments 11replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 12other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments12 preserved records · 12 of 12 source records accounted for **First Chapter: Most definitely wash your fucking hands when delivering a baby**♥ 345source record 25 **“In a few years you’re going to hear about a guy named Semmelweis. HE’S RIGHT!”**♥ 122source record 26 **Eta: One of the main guys popularly known \*said\* that, and got thrown into an asylum and beaten to death literally just for saying it. Also eta: \[More reading on the fight for hand washing\](\[link removed\] thankies to \[account\]. I don't know why I find the fight against hygiene through history so fascinating.**♥ 50source record 29 **\[He was far from the first.\](\[link removed\]**♥ 16source record 30 **I loathe to make this a political issue, but the fight against hand washing was the "anti vaccine" attitude of its time.**♥ 31source record 32 **This is probably the most clear example of how high society, aka doctors of the time, viewed themselves as always in the right based on their own behaviors. And no damn person could tell them that they have been wrong their entire lives.**♥ 3source record 33 **There is little evidence that he was institutionalized specifically for his beliefs, nor that the murderous orderlies cared at all about medicine.**♥ 4source record 34 **He was also genuinely \*kind of insane\*, and the idea that he was thrown into the asylum over handwashing isn't true.**♥ 2source record 500 **Just teaching them to boil water and wash hands will save millions**♥ 2source record 514 **They laughed at John Lister for wanting clean medical instruments in the 1850s. It would be considered the ramblings of a crazy person, unless you were the person doing surgeries.... without the invention of modern anesthesia.**♥ 1source record 530 **Honestly just wash your hands all the time. Most diseases are circumvented by that alone.**♥ 1source record 558 **The works of Louis Pasteur, try and get germ theory popular a 100 years early. If I want to help the most children the simplest way, information on Pasteurization and how to do it at scale.**♥ 1source record 958 Archive: 12 index entries preserve 12 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Clean water: filters, tablets and rehydration salts5 index entriesAnswers aimed at what actually did the killing, including one that needs nobody to accept germ theory first. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Clean water: filters, tablets and rehydration salts Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Clean water: filters, tablets and rehydration salts 5 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 528 **Situation:** Attacking dehydration and waterborne disease directly **Why readers chose it:** 5 records, and one of them is the most carefully argued answer in the corpus. It proposes oral rehydration salts over any book on three grounds: that dehydration from dysentery, not infection, did most of the killing; that the mechanism is sugar and salt in clean water at the right ratio; and — the part that separates it from every other medical answer here — that nobody has to accept germ theory first for it to work. The rest of the card is filter straws and purification tablets, chosen for the commenter's own survival rather than anyone else's. No reply disputes any of it. **What readers reported:** Skip the textbook and take the oral rehydration formula. Sugar and salt in clean water at the right ratio pulls fluid through the gut wall, and dehydration from dysentery is what did most of the killing then. No lab, no industry, and nobody has to accept germ theory first. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source The survivalist water filter straw source record 331♥ 5 Later-arriving source A portable water filter would be a game changer for survival and health back then. posted about 6.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source Just some high concepts from today, or even not too distantly in the past would save thousands, maybe millions. -Boiling water to sterilize bandages. -Sterilizing drinking water and medical utensils in general! -Administering boiled water with a little salt, lemon, honey for victims of sickness and dehydration. -Washing your hands -Coaxing a culture of penicillin from orange peel for antibiotics -Not drinking or eating from pewter (leaded) utensils, plates and cups posted about 5.1 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 5 source records, 1 explicitly report a benefit and 0 explicitly report a limit or failure. These are attributed experiences, not effectiveness data. 5index entries 5distinct source records 22.7%of parent category 0.5%of the complete index 3top-level comments 2replies #### What commenters explicitly report 1explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 4other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments5 preserved records · 5 of 5 source records accounted for **The survivalist water filter straw**♥ 5source record 331 **Skip the textbook and take the oral rehydration formula. Sugar and salt in clean water at the right ratio pulls fluid through the gut wall, and dehydration from dysentery is what did most of the killing then. No lab, no industry, and nobody has to accept germ theory first.**♥ 1source record 528 **Just some high concepts from today, or even not too distantly in the past would save thousands, maybe millions. -Boiling water to sterilize bandages. -Sterilizing drinking water and medical utensils in general! -Administering boiled water with a little salt, lemon, honey for victims of sickness and dehydration. -Washing your hands -Coaxing a culture of penicillin from orange peel for antibiotics -Not drinking or eating from pewter (leaded) utensils, plates and cups**♥ 1source record 553 **A portable water filter would be a game changer for survival and health back then.**♥ 1source record 1052 **Water fiter**♥ 1source record 1117 Archive: 5 index entries preserve 5 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Soap, sanitiser and masks: hygiene as the whole answer5 index entriesOne-item answers that skip the science and go straight to washing. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Soap, sanitiser and masks: hygiene as the whole answer Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Soap, sanitiser and masks: hygiene as the whole answer 5 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 945 **Situation:** Hygiene as the entire answer, with no theory attached **Why readers chose it:** 5 short records that skip the science altogether. Soap is named twice with the same reason — that people did not wash — and hand sanitiser, wipes and a pallet of N95 masks appear as personal protection rather than public health. One of them makes the point the rest of the thread mostly ignores: the traveller is the one with no immunity to whatever is circulating in 1776, so the mask faces inward. None of these drew a reply, and none of them needs one. **What readers reported:** Soap, and lots of it. People were often really nasty back then, bathed not often if at all, etc. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Booty wipes and hand sanitizer. source record 1234♥ 1 Later-arriving source Soap, and lots of it. People were often really nasty back then, bathed not often if at all, etc. posted about 10.9 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source Pallet full of N95 masks and water filters. Otherwise I'm probably just going to die of some nasty disease immediately. posted about 6.9 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 5 source records for Soap, sanitiser and masks: hygiene as the whole answer together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 5index entries 5distinct source records 22.7%of parent category 0.5%of the complete index 5top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 5other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments5 preserved records · 5 of 5 source records accounted for **Soap lol**♥ 3source record 368 **Soap, and lots of it. People were often really nasty back then, bathed not often if at all, etc.**♥ 1source record 945 **Pallet full of N95 masks and water filters. Otherwise I'm probably just going to die of some nasty disease immediately.**♥ 1source record 1055 **Booty wipes and hand sanitizer.**♥ 1source record 1234 **You cannot take anything that changes the future. I would take sanitizer to protect myself**♥ 1source record 1263 Archive: 5 index entries preserve 5 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Skipping ahead: one industrial process47 records · 4 sub-topicsAnswers that pick a single bottleneck and try to move the whole century through it. 47 records. Fertiliser, rubber, steel and the processes behind them9 index entriesAnswers picking a single industrial bottleneck, and the reply arguing every one of them needs metallurgy that did not exist yet. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Fertiliser, rubber, steel and the processes behind them Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Fertiliser, rubber, steel and the processes behind them 9 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 173 **Situation:** Moving one industrial bottleneck forward by several decades **Why readers chose it:** 9 records that pick a process rather than a device: rubber tree seeds, the Haber process for synthetic fertiliser, oil refining, stainless steel, sewing and weaving machine plans. The reasoning is that most of these were only sixty or seventy years away and the explained principle was the missing piece. The rebuttal is the strongest technical objection in the corpus: several of these processes are gated on materials rather than knowledge — the steam engine waited on crucible steel, the fertiliser process needs pressures and temperatures nobody could reach — so the plans would sit unused. Two commenters add a moral objection rather than a technical one: better machinery in 1776 makes forced labour more profitable, exactly as the cotton gin did. **What readers reported:** Rubber tree seeds. Securing rubber supplies was a huge part of the industrial revolution. Alternatively, the chemical process to make artificial fertilizer. Or a book on the basics of oil refining. Or the process to make stainless steel. Plenty of major inventions were only 60-70 years away from 1776 and probably reachable with their technology once the principles were explained. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 I mean, they did lead to population explosions when they were invented (especially the fertilizer). I'm not sure why moving that up by a century so would be that big a problem. From the replies♥ 25 That’s what we need, oil even earlier… Electricity earlier would have far greater benefits than oil earlier. From the replies♥ 5 #### Where commenters report limits Explicit limit or counterpoint Sewing machine blus prints. Or a collection of weaving, spinning and knitting machine blue prints and manuals. It just when sewing machines became functional not just prototypes. I could seize the means of production of one of the most importantand lucrative industries. Unfortunately it was during the time slavery was a thing, it would have made their lives worse, just like the cotton gin. source record 957♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Rubber tree seeds. Securing rubber supplies was a huge part of the industrial revolution. Alternatively, the chemical process to make artificial fertilizer. Or a book on the basics of oil refining. Or the process to make stainless steel. Plenty of major inventions were only 60-70 years away from 1776 and probably reachable with their technology once the principles were explained. source record 173♥ 405 Later-arriving source I feel like this would just be setting the groundwork for Napoleon with tanks which may cause more problems in the long run than solutions. posted about 21.6 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source These all would have lead to a population explosion the would likely have doomed our race. Well, maybe not the steel. Perhaps knowledge of effective birth control would have been the best option. posted about 1.9 hours after the source♥ -16 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “of the industrial revolution” recurs across 2 of the 9 source records in Fertiliser, rubber, steel and the processes behind them; the complete archive stays available below. 9index entries 9distinct source records 19.1%of parent category 0.9%of the complete index 5top-level comments 4replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 1explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 8other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments9 preserved records · 9 of 9 source records accounted for **Rubber tree seeds. Securing rubber supplies was a huge part of the industrial revolution. Alternatively, the chemical process to make artificial fertilizer. Or a book on the basics of oil refining. Or the process to make stainless steel. Plenty of major inventions were only 60-70 years away from 1776 and probably reachable with their technology once the principles were explained.**♥ 405source record 173 **The problem with a lot of industrial processes, is that the materials needed for them are too expensive to be cost effective. For example, the steam engine was a main driver of the industrial revolution, however it was not possible to happen until crucible steel became possible to make in large quantities☼, which itself required several developments to coincide. The knowledge of how to make steam engines had existed for hundreds of years, thousands really, but they weren't able to be efficient enough to be useful until the 19th century with the metallurgical and engineering breakthroughs that came about in that time. The Haber-Bosch Process, the one for artificial fertilizer, requires exceedingly high pressures and temperatures, and is likewise not possible without similar advancements as the steam engine. Use of artificial fertilizers are also arguably a major contributing factor to the dropping nutritional content of most staple crops, because plants really do need more than just bio-available nitrogen in order grow, and artificial fertilizers do not replace everything lost each growing season. ☼ The efficiency of a steam engine is determined by the pressure achieved, it wasn't until crucible steel became a viable material to build them out of, steam engines did not have the efficiency necessary to power the industrial revolution.**♥ 2source record 177 **I feel like this would just be setting the groundwork for Napoleon with tanks which may cause more problems in the long run than solutions.**♥ 1source record 744 **A copy of a steel manufacturing reference book. Not sure if ‘The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel’ from AIST is overkill or not.**♥ 1source record 914 **Sewing machine blus prints. Or a collection of weaving, spinning and knitting machine blue prints and manuals. It just when sewing machines became functional not just prototypes. I could seize the means of production of one of the most importantand lucrative industries. Unfortunately it was during the time slavery was a thing, it would have made their lives worse, just like the cotton gin.**♥ 1source record 957 **Haber-Bosch Process.**♥ 1source record 999 **guide to the haber process, how we can make synthetic fertilizer. in terms of net impact on humanity i think thats the biggest from 1776 to now because it effectively solves humanity's food problem and allows for far greater specialization of labor.**♥ 1source record 1107 **These all would have lead to a population explosion the would likely have doomed our race. Well, maybe not the steel. Perhaps knowledge of effective birth control would have been the best option.**♥ -16source record 1378 **I mean, they did lead to population explosions when they were invented (especially the fertilizer). I'm not sure why moving that up by a century so would be that big a problem.**♥ 25source record 1379 Archive: 9 index entries preserve 9 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Engines, electricity and electronics11 index entriesWhere these commenters put the lever: not the machine, but the principle that lets 1776 build the machine itself. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Engines, electricity and electronics Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Engines, electricity and electronics 11 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 362 **Situation:** Handing over the principle that lets 1776 build its own machines **Why readers chose it:** 11 records choosing the lever rather than the object: electronics theory from vacuum tubes to transistors, a combustion-engine blueprint, books on solar panels and batteries, a metal lathe chosen by a commenter who reckons he could generate electricity with it himself. Several argue explicitly that electricity earlier would matter more than oil earlier. The card also deflates itself twice: one commenter points out the steam engine is the better target because it will burn anything, and another that almost every thermal power station since is still only boiling water. **What readers reported:** Books on how to manufacture electronics, vacuum tubes, resistors, capacitors, transistors. All the theory behind modern electronics would be available to them. It would still take them a while to come up with everything, but eventually they would figure it out. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 At the time you would be better off building steam engines as it can use any fire source... petroleum would need a lot of people and cash involved to get that off the ground. From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source That’s what we need, oil even earlier… Electricity earlier would have far greater benefits than oil earlier. source record 175♥ 5 Later-arriving source The better move would be books on solar panels and batteries posted about 22.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source Early steam engine prototype, kickstarting the industrial revolution 100 years earlier would be kinda neat. posted about 10.1 hours after the source #### What the counts show Within 11 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 11index entries 11distinct source records 23.4%of parent category 1.1%of the complete index 7top-level comments 4replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 9other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments11 preserved records · 11 of 11 source records accounted for **That’s what we need, oil even earlier… Electricity earlier would have far greater benefits than oil earlier.**♥ 5source record 175 **A chemistry book? Maybe an early blueprint of a combustion engine?**♥ 3source record 361 **Books on how to manufacture electronics, vacuum tubes, resistors, capacitors, transistors. All the theory behind modern electronics would be available to them. It would still take them a while to come up with everything, but eventually they would figure it out.**♥ 3source record 362 **How about a pair of solar powered walkie talkies. Instant communication over a distance.**♥ 2source record 419 **The better move would be books on solar panels and batteries**♥ 1source record 745 **At the time you would be better off building steam engines as it can use any fire source... petroleum would need a lot of people and cash involved to get that off the ground.**♥ 2source record 779 **Depressing fact: Most traditional power plants that burn fuel, including coal, current nuclear plants, etc. all generate heat to boil water to create steam... we've not really gone all that far.**♥ 2source record 781 **Metal lathe, I can create electricity myself**♥ 1source record 1010 **Electricity**♥ 1source record 1112 **I think the only reasonable answer here is a fully functional tokamak.**♥ 1source record 1235 **Early steam engine prototype, kickstarting the industrial revolution 100 years earlier would be kinda neat.**♥ 0source record 1420 Archive: 11 index entries preserve 11 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Aluminium: worth more than gold until 182512 index entriesThe thread's favourite arbitrage, corrected in detail by commenters who know when the metal was actually extractable. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Aluminium: worth more than gold until 1825 Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Aluminium: worth more than gold until 1825 12 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 261 **Situation:** Selling a metal that was briefly worth more than silver **Why readers chose it:** 12 records built on one real fact — aluminium was not isolated in pure form until 1825 and stayed more valuable than silver for decades afterwards — and the card is the clearest example of the thread checking itself. The plan is to arrive with foil, an ingot or the refining process, and sell. The correction is dated line by line: on arrival the extractable amount is essentially zero, trace amounts are about fifty years out, novelty jewellery seventy-five, and scalable electrolytic extraction a hundred and ten. Commenters then split over whether bauxite's abundance rescues the plan, whether chromium would be the better bet, and how you would hide the electrical apparatus. **What readers reported:** Not to poop on your popsicle, but, the extractable amount at the time you appear is mainly zilch. It would be about 50 years after you arrive that trace amounts are discovered. It would then be 75 years after you arive that the novelty amounts would be used in jewelry. Electrolytic extraction technique for scalable extraction would be 110 years after you arrived. So, maybe you want to readjust your idea for the arrival timeline? **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Not to poop on your popsicle, but, the extractable amount at the time you appear is mainly zilch. It would be about 50 years after you arrive that trace amounts are discovered. It would then be 75 years after you arive that the novelty amounts would be used in jewelry. Electrolytic extraction technique for scalable extraction would be 110 years after you arrived. So, maybe you want to readjust your idea for the arrival timeline? From the replies♥ 20 Man i'd love to read the angry parchment about the jerk that showed up selling low grade aluminum. From the replies♥ 6 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Documentation of refining aluminium from foraged ores. I'd keep it secret, sell the then very rare and valuable aluminium ingots for vast fortunes. Edit: I'd also fix the spelling and name. I'm an American but somehow ended up spelling aluminium the British way. Couldn't figure out why spell check always hated my spelling of it, until recently discovering that issue. source record 258♥ 71 Later-arriving source If all you wanted was money, the easiest (and cheapest) thing to bring would probably be a heavy-duty roll of aluminum foil from Costco. Despite being the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, aluminum wasn't isolated in its pure form until 1825\. And even then, it was so difficult to produce pure aluminum that it was actually more valuable than silver until the late 19th century. posted about 16.7 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source They would have the ability to do things themselves, you know? Like, they can write where bauxite is in the world in the pages. posted about 8.7 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “of aluminum foil” recurs across 2 of the 12 source records in Aluminium: worth more than gold until 1825; the complete archive stays available below. 12index entries 12distinct source records 25.5%of parent category 1.2%of the complete index 7top-level comments 5replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 3asks a question 0says they intend to try it 9other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments12 preserved records · 12 of 12 source records accounted for **Documentation of refining aluminium from foraged ores. I'd keep it secret, sell the then very rare and valuable aluminium ingots for vast fortunes. Edit: I'd also fix the spelling and name. I'm an American but somehow ended up spelling aluminium the British way. Couldn't figure out why spell check always hated my spelling of it, until recently discovering that issue.**♥ 71source record 258 **Not to poop on your popsicle, but, the extractable amount at the time you appear is mainly zilch. It would be about 50 years after you arrive that trace amounts are discovered. It would then be 75 years after you arive that the novelty amounts would be used in jewelry. Electrolytic extraction technique for scalable extraction would be 110 years after you arrived. So, maybe you want to readjust your idea for the arrival timeline?**♥ 20source record 261 **I mean, bauxite is fairly common, you can find a bunch of it in New England and the Great plains, along with the Caribbean. It's also all over Europe. The Bayer process is pretty easy to achieve in the 18th century (pressure vessels) so as long as you had some good geological knowledge (bauxite looks like . . . rocks . . .) it would be workable. Not sure how you could hide the enormous electrical apparatus you would need but all the shit to do it does commonly exist. Source, grew up in an Alcoa town back when they were actually making aluminum in the US**♥ 6source record 262 **you'd be better off trying that with chromium. you don't just need it to make things stainless either, you'd be amazed what just 1% chromium can do for you.**♥ 2source record 264 **Just one 60m roll of foil and you would be wealthy as can be.**♥ 2source record 265 **A huge ingot of solid aluminum**♥ 2source record 427 **The formula for Transparent Aluminum.**♥ 2source record 455 **A case of aluminum foil. Back then, aluminum was worth more than gold. In reality though, unless I have a guaranteed return option, some kind of poison. I’m Black and I’m taking no chance on getting shanghaied by some slave catcher. P.S. I kinda hate the \*lack\* of thought behind questions like this.**♥ 2source record 464 **They would have the ability to do things themselves, you know? Like, they can write where bauxite is in the world in the pages.**♥ 1source record 752 **A bunch of aluminum since everyone else is bringing penicillin. And apparently I can just trade it for gold before I bring the gold back.**♥ 2source record 871 **If all you wanted was money, the easiest (and cheapest) thing to bring would probably be a heavy-duty roll of aluminum foil from Costco. Despite being the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, aluminum wasn't isolated in its pure form until 1825\. And even then, it was so difficult to produce pure aluminum that it was actually more valuable than silver until the late 19th century.**♥ 1source record 1018 **If I can pick where I go? I'm going to Como, Italy with an electrical engineering textbook that has the Bayer and Hall-Heroult processes written on a blank page (Volta had just started teaching there, basically just give him a 200 year head start). I'd be useful, as an engineer myself, in terms of knowledge transfer with what's in my head, as long as we can start making electricity. I reckon I could also make an airplane, or at least demonstrate the working principle, depending on how quickly I can get them to make an ICE from my explanation. If I land where I am now? No idea. Auckland in 1776 was not on the same technological level and no odds I'm going to meet anyone who knows english or spanish.**♥ 1source record 1219 Archive: 12 index entries preserve 12 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A vehicle, brought for the machinery inside it15 index entriesVehicles nominated as portable technology demonstrations, and the tank of fuel that runs out behind them. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A vehicle, brought for the machinery inside it Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A vehicle, brought for the machinery inside it 15 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 352 **Situation:** A vehicle taken as a working demonstration of later technology **Why readers chose it:** 15 records treating a vehicle as a technology sample rather than as transport: a modern semi truck described as containing a piece of every major breakthrough since, a moped engine light enough to carry, a bicycle, a sailboat, a railroad. The objection arrives every time and it is fuel — one tank, and petrol is itself a refining by-product that does not appear until the mid-1800s — which pushes two commenters toward a Model T that would run on kerosene or strong alcohol, and a third to point out how constantly a Model T broke down. The bicycles are the only answers in the card that still work on the second day. **What readers reported:** Edison Motors semi truck. Has bits of every major technological breakthrough for the next couple hundred years. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 This is hilarious. Do you know how often model Ts broke down? All the time, tire punctures were frequent, the transmission used a cotton band that would snap, axles failed regularly... Yeah, running on other fuels would be great, but overall you'd be having a bad time. Reported failure♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Edison Motors semi truck. Has bits of every major technological breakthrough for the next couple hundred years. source record 352♥ 10 Later-arriving source The engine from a Honda 90 moped , or from a Citroen 2CV (they weigh about 120#) They already had rudimentary battery tech at this point so a 12v power source wouldnt be difficult to develop. A combustion engine changes the game in 1776\. No steam needed posted about 21.8 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source This is hilarious. Do you know how often model Ts broke down? All the time, tire punctures were frequent, the transmission used a cotton band that would snap, axles failed regularly... Yeah, running on other fuels would be great, but overall you'd be having a bad time. posted about 18.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “one tank of gas” recurs across 2 of the 15 source records in A vehicle, brought for the machinery inside it; the complete archive stays available below. 15index entries 15distinct source records 31.9%of parent category 1.5%of the complete index 9top-level comments 6replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 13other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments15 preserved records · 15 of 15 source records accounted for **So you get to use it for one tank of gas and then what?**♥ 3source record 124 **Edison Motors semi truck. Has bits of every major technological breakthrough for the next couple hundred years.**♥ 10source record 352 **That would help a lot but The manufacturing technology would still need to be developed. Even if it was a bit faster**♥ 3source record 353 **Bicycle.**♥ 3source record 363 **Gasoline is a byproduct of oil refinement that started appearing in the mid-1800s. A truck with one tank of gas is not going to be useful for long.**♥ 3source record 614 **That's an excellent tool until you run out of gas. A Model T might be more useful since it was built to work (not just play) off road and run on kerosene or strong alcohol if needed. In some ways the road system might've been in better shape in the late 18th century than the early 20th, road maintenance went way down the priorities list when the railroads took over intercity travel in the 1850s and '60s.**♥ 1source record 625 **This is hilarious. Do you know how often model Ts broke down? All the time, tire punctures were frequent, the transmission used a cotton band that would snap, axles failed regularly... Yeah, running on other fuels would be great, but overall you'd be having a bad time.**♥ 1source record 626 **Bicycle. Would change the course of the war.**♥ 1source record 955 **Paraglider**♥ 1source record 1001 **Bicycle.**♥ 1source record 1026 **The engine from a Honda 90 moped , or from a Citroen 2CV (they weigh about 120#) They already had rudimentary battery tech at this point so a 12v power source wouldnt be difficult to develop. A combustion engine changes the game in 1776\. No steam needed**♥ 1source record 1035 **horse**♥ 1source record 1048 **Modern day sailboat. As someone who sails, I would be the fastest/safest person to explore the world, likely already know the general direction to go to get anywhere I want, and what ill find. Ill just need to secure some initial rations.. but honestly stealing might be the best call, no one will catch me due to speed or recognize me as ill be a stranger. Long as I ditch my modern clothes and change my hair by next im seen I should be ok.**♥ 1source record 1135 **A railroad**♥ 1source record 1223 **Sure, but in the meantime I have examples. That plus my own knowledge and I'd be a juggernaut**♥ 1source record 1349 Archive: 15 index entries preserve 15 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Getting rich instead of saving anyone61 records · 4 sub-topicsThe commenters who read the question as an opportunity rather than a duty. 61 records. A map of the gold, silver and oil nobody had found yet15 index entriesAnswers that need no science at all, only knowing where to dig — and the replies about who was already living there. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A map of the gold, silver and oil nobody had found yet Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A map of the gold, silver and oil nobody had found yet 15 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 203 **Situation:** Knowing where the deposits are seventy years before anyone else **Why readers chose it:** 15 records, and their appeal is that they need no scientific credibility at all — one commenter says so outright, ruling himself out of explaining germ theory and taking a geological map instead. The plan is to reach the deposits decades before the rush and claim the ground. The replies are the most historically pointed in the corpus: how would you fund and staff a transcontinental journey, where exactly would you spend the proceeds, and the territory is not empty. Two commenters redirect the plan to the Georgia gold fields as the reachable version, and one of them adds what happened to the people living there once the miners arrived. **What readers reported:** A detailed geological map of North America showing every major gold, silver, and oil deposit. I’m not smart enough to reinvent the steam engine or explain germ theory to people who think ghosts cause fevers. I’d just take the map, travel out West 70 years before the Gold Rush, and quietly claim the land where the massive nuggets were literally sitting in riverbeds. I’d be the richest person on the continent without having to convince a single person that I’m a "wizard" from the future. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 How would you convince a team of people to go with you on a several thousand mile journey through unexplored wilderness into territory fully inhabited by native Americans (and roughly a thousand Spaniards)? Even if you get a bunch of gold... where do you think you're going to spend it? From the replies♥ 33 If it’s that detailed, there are probably deposits that were undiscovered but close enough to civilization to make it reasonable for an average person. Then you could invest the proceeds from that into building a team for larger or more complex mineral excavations. For what it’s worth there were a lot of places close to the west coast where gold just sat on the banks of the creeks and rivers, you could probably just hire local guides. The most dangerous part would be getting to the west coast because the Panama Canal wasn’t built until much later. From the replies♥ 4 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A detailed geological map of North America showing every major gold, silver, and oil deposit. I’m not smart enough to reinvent the steam engine or explain germ theory to people who think ghosts cause fevers. I’d just take the map, travel out West 70 years before the Gold Rush, and quietly claim the land where the massive nuggets were literally sitting in riverbeds. I’d be the richest person on the continent without having to convince a single person that I’m a "wizard" from the future. source record 203♥ 74 Later-arriving source A map of every major mineral, coal, oil, & gold deposit untouched in 1776 so I can stake claims. posted about 22.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source You haven’t thought this one through. Marking Saltpeter would give you the manpower to find the rest. posted about 20.5 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 15 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 15index entries 15distinct source records 24.6%of parent category 1.5%of the complete index 8top-level comments 7replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 13other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments15 preserved records · 15 of 15 source records accounted for **The only other answer is accurate maps.**♥ 14source record 151 **A detailed geological map of North America showing every major gold, silver, and oil deposit. I’m not smart enough to reinvent the steam engine or explain germ theory to people who think ghosts cause fevers. I’d just take the map, travel out West 70 years before the Gold Rush, and quietly claim the land where the massive nuggets were literally sitting in riverbeds. I’d be the richest person on the continent without having to convince a single person that I’m a "wizard" from the future.**♥ 74source record 203 **How would you convince a team of people to go with you on a several thousand mile journey through unexplored wilderness into territory fully inhabited by native Americans (and roughly a thousand Spaniards)? Even if you get a bunch of gold... where do you think you're going to spend it?**♥ 33source record 204 **If it’s that detailed, there are probably deposits that were undiscovered but close enough to civilization to make it reasonable for an average person. Then you could invest the proceeds from that into building a team for larger or more complex mineral excavations. For what it’s worth there were a lot of places close to the west coast where gold just sat on the banks of the creeks and rivers, you could probably just hire local guides. The most dangerous part would be getting to the west coast because the Panama Canal wasn’t built until much later.**♥ 4source record 205 **It's true that there was a Georgia gold rush, which is closer (it seems like everyone is assuming that we start out in like, Boston) but it's also true that the US government stepped in to remove the inhabitants of the area to protect the gold miners.**♥ 3source record 206 **Assuming I'd land in the US: A detailed topographic atlas.**♥ 3source record 367 **A map of every major mineral, coal, oil, & gold deposit untouched in 1776 so I can stake claims.**♥ 1source record 386 **Why? In that era you wouldn't be traveling very far especially if you didn't start with a lot of wealth.**♥ 2source record 588 **Traveling to California in that time would be \*rough.\* Head to Dahlonega, Ga instead, kick off the Ga gold rush. Incredibly pure gold, too. Try to make sure yo give the local Cherokee a heads up that things are about to get really weird if you do this. On second thought, head west.**♥ 2source record 678 **You haven’t thought this one through. Marking Saltpeter would give you the manpower to find the rest.**♥ 1source record 741 **A geological survey map**♥ 1source record 938 **I would carry a high definition world map.**♥ 1source record 948 **I think id bring mineral and oil maps .. as well as all the writings of americas that went west**♥ 1source record 975 **A map of the California gold discoveries.**♥ 1source record 1036 **A detailed world map**♥ 1source record 1111 Archive: 15 index entries preserve 15 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Gold, coins and cash carried back24 index entriesThe money answers, with a long reply thread on what happens to a stranger carrying refined gold and no local connections. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Gold, coins and cash carried back Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Gold, coins and cash carried back 24 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 114 **Situation:** Carrying wealth back rather than earning it there **Why readers chose it:** 24 records, most of them a single word, plus one long exchange that supplies everything the single words leave out. The case for gold is that money is money in any century and it buys safety. The reply against it is specific and cumulative: gold is heavy, there was no security, refined modern metal is conspicuous, you would have to explain where you got it, and a stranger with an odd accent and no local connections is an easy mark. One commenter argues gold is among the worst available choices because it already existed there and was worth relatively less than it is now; another lands on Spanish dollars for the same reason in reverse. The cryptocurrency answers are the joke version of the same instinct. **What readers reported:** The problem with gold is that it's insanely heavy and there was no such thing as security so someone could just stroll up to your place and kill you; you'd have to find a person to sell it to, then you'd have to explain where you got it with people thinking you stole it, especially since it'd be super refined by modern tech. I'd probably bring that book on how to rebuild civilization and just slowly build things but pretending I'm a genius but using stupid logic. "I just figured that since food goes rotten, there had to be something causing it so I ran a series of tests using apples. Anyone can duplicate it". Less likely to be seen as a witch if you slowly start making "discoveries" in a public place like going to the bar and steering a coversation towards food sterilization or removing particulants from water. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 The problem with gold is that it's insanely heavy and there was no such thing as security so someone could just stroll up to your place and kill you; you'd have to find a person to sell it to, then you'd have to explain where you got it with people thinking you stole it, especially since it'd be super refined by modern tech. I'd probably bring that book on how to rebuild civilization and just slowly build things but pretending I'm a genius but using stupid logic. "I just figured that since food goes rotten, there had to be something causing it so I ran a series of tests using apples. Anyone can duplicate it". Less likely to be seen as a witch if you slowly start making "discoveries" in a public place like going to the bar and steering a coversation towards food sterilization or removing particulants from water. From the replies♥ 13 the thing is you did have 'men of science' back then. mostly they were teachers for the rich but if you did something like a proof of concept steam engine for a wealthy merchant. you could have safety in that respect. then you can go and do things like build a basic revolver or magazine fed gun. lets face it a sten gun or grease gun doesnt take a lot but the bullet manufacturing does. however you would be a military game changer for whatever country you found yourself in. then you do things like work out insulin, penicillin, cook up some meth for the soldiers to they fight better too whilst you're morally bankrupt. the industrial buildup would take a lifetime but by the time you're done you've rocketed through the industrial revolution and could potentially reach microchips and pre-modern computing. in the 1800's From the replies♥ 5 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source I’ve thought about this very question a number of times. As a woman, and even as a man, you’d have to tread very carefully at first and try hard to blend in until you got the lay of the land. You’d be in culture shock. You’d have to find a way to live and eat. By no means could you talk about where you came from and all of the wonders of the future. Because someone, I guarantee it, would decide that you were a witch or a warlock or quite mad. If you got real lucky and found someone capable of understanding you and all you bring with you in terms of future knowledge, you would both still have to be very careful. This is why I thought bringing gold could help you survive. You could wrap yourself in riches and be respected and relatively safe as long as you were exceedingly cautious. source record 113♥ 69 Later-arriving source I would take as many Spanish Dollars as I could carry. At least then I could start transacting and start a business. posted about 21.9 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source Also most people here are assuming they want to better the world what about a F ton of gold ? posted about 17.1 hours after the source #### What the counts show The exact phrase “youd have to find a” recurs across 2 of the 24 source records in Gold, coins and cash carried back; the complete archive stays available below. 24index entries 24distinct source records 39.3%of parent category 2.4%of the complete index 17top-level comments 7replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 3asks a question 0says they intend to try it 21other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments24 preserved records · 24 of 24 source records accounted for **I’ve thought about this very question a number of times. As a woman, and even as a man, you’d have to tread very carefully at first and try hard to blend in until you got the lay of the land. You’d be in culture shock. You’d have to find a way to live and eat. By no means could you talk about where you came from and all of the wonders of the future. Because someone, I guarantee it, would decide that you were a witch or a warlock or quite mad. If you got real lucky and found someone capable of understanding you and all you bring with you in terms of future knowledge, you would both still have to be very careful. This is why I thought bringing gold could help you survive. You could wrap yourself in riches and be respected and relatively safe as long as you were exceedingly cautious.**♥ 69source record 113 **The problem with gold is that it's insanely heavy and there was no such thing as security so someone could just stroll up to your place and kill you; you'd have to find a person to sell it to, then you'd have to explain where you got it with people thinking you stole it, especially since it'd be super refined by modern tech. I'd probably bring that book on how to rebuild civilization and just slowly build things but pretending I'm a genius but using stupid logic. "I just figured that since food goes rotten, there had to be something causing it so I ran a series of tests using apples. Anyone can duplicate it". Less likely to be seen as a witch if you slowly start making "discoveries" in a public place like going to the bar and steering a coversation towards food sterilization or removing particulants from water.**♥ 13source record 114 **A brick of gold. Assuming I appear in the same location I left. Also assuming I won't start a near society ending plague with future germs. I'm planning on starting in Philadelphia and buying the gear and crew to journey west to the Shawnee people. I'll start with heading north to the haudenosaunee people and try to become friendly to the oneida. From there I'll work west, if this takes a couple years I can hopefully work my way to a young Tecumseh, and help him build his confederacy and win his war. It's possible if he could have held off the Europeans.**♥ 16source record 325 **Had the same thought but was thinking of making my way down to Mexico, trying to amass a fortune with either a gold brick I take with me or this new penicillin invention I have. Enjoying the local Latinas. Probably trying to get the Mexicans to start over throwing the Spanish a bit early. Maybe get a tequila ranch going.**♥ 3source record 326 **$10000**♥ 2source record 403 **Assuming i have my knowledge. One gold bar.**♥ 2source record 416 **Gold**♥ 2source record 436 **All the gold I can carry. Being poor in 1776 would suck.**♥ 2source record 444 **Forget that, I'm bringing a bunch of currency to show how famous they all get, and tell Benedict Arnold he is not on any of them because no one likes him.**♥ 1source record 555 **I don't know if a random modern person would have the street smarts to be a random 'foreigner' (based on accent and using weird words) with no local connections and a ton of gold. Maybe you try to safely use a bank and get totally scammed, maybe you just get mugged day 1, whatever.**♥ 1source record 648 **You are going to take something that already exists in that time, and has less intrinsic value then than it does currently?**♥ 2source record 783 **Probably gold or something that I can use as money.**♥ 1source record 891 **A giant bar of gold.**♥ 1source record 912 **Gold**♥ 1source record 982 **Cash**♥ 1source record 1011 **A couple of gold bricks**♥ 1source record 1069 **Bitcoin**♥ 1source record 1100 **I would take as many Spanish Dollars as I could carry. At least then I could start transacting and start a business.**♥ 1source record 1115 **gold**♥ 1source record 1133 **Gold**♥ 1source record 1173 **Also most people here are assuming they want to better the world what about a F ton of gold ?**♥ 0source record 1204 **What if I just bring a leather pouch of old gold coins.**♥ 1source record 1213 **A bunch of gold. I’d sell it, file a bunch of patents, buy a ton of land, come back, and finally be able to afford a home in modern America**♥ 1source record 1233 **Idk but ill sure tell them to buy bitcoin**♥ 1source record 1305 Archive: 24 index entries preserve 24 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The sports almanac, and betting on what you already know14 index entriesThe Back to the Future answer, given both straight and as a joke, and the reply that checks its dates. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The sports almanac, and betting on what you already know Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The sports almanac, and betting on what you already know 14 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 128 **Situation:** Betting on results you already know **Why readers chose it:** 14 records, and the answer is a film reference before it is a plan: Gray's Sports Almanac is named repeatedly, sometimes with the film's own date range attached. What lifts the card above a running joke is that commenters keep testing it. One points out that an almanac of 1950–2000 statistics is no use whatever in 1776; another proposes a 1777–1790 almanac as the version that would actually pay; a third notes it may take a while to pay out at all. One wants major historical events added, not to change anything, but to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. **What readers reported:** Obviously should have gone for Grays Sports Almanac: Complete Sports Statistics 1776-2000 **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Obviously should have gone for Grays Sports Almanac: Complete Sports Statistics 1776-2000 From the replies♥ 945 The hoop stick hitting game had an insane season in 1788 From the replies♥ 155 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source \*Grays Sports Almanac: Complete Sports Statistics 1950-2000\* source record 127♥ 2,748 Later-arriving source Gray's Sports Almanac. May take a while to pay out, however. posted about 16.1 hours after the source♥ 2 Low-like source I'd love it even more if it included a timeline of major historical events. Not that I'm planning to alter the course of history. I just want to win a few sure-thing bets and maybe avoid accidentally being at the wrong place at the wrong time. posted about 7.7 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “grays sports almanac complete sports statistics” recurs across 2 of the 14 source records in The sports almanac, and betting on what you already know; the complete archive stays available below. 14index entries 14distinct source records 23%of parent category 1.4%of the complete index 10top-level comments 4replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 12other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments14 preserved records · 14 of 14 source records accounted for **\*Grays Sports Almanac: Complete Sports Statistics 1950-2000\***♥ 2,748source record 127 **Obviously should have gone for Grays Sports Almanac: Complete Sports Statistics 1776-2000**♥ 945source record 128 **Well that would help in the OTBs, wouldn't it?**♥ 43source record 132 **1777\_1790 almanac and bet on predictions like Biff Tannin in Back to to the Future.**♥ 3source record 382 **Definitely a book with sports winners for betting. À la the book/show 11-22-63**♥ 2source record 442 **Gray's Sports Almanac. May take a while to pay out, however.**♥ 2source record 479 **Sports Almanac**♥ 2source record 482 **I'd love it even more if it included a timeline of major historical events. Not that I'm planning to alter the course of history. I just want to win a few sure-thing bets and maybe avoid accidentally being at the wrong place at the wrong time.**♥ 1source record 624 **Sports almanac**♥ 1source record 829 **Sports almanac**♥ 1source record 935 **Stock Market Sellers Digest**♥ 1source record 1038 **A sports almanac**♥ 1source record 1104 **Greys Sports Almanac**♥ 1source record 1261 **(I mean it wouldn't work since there are no sports stats from before 1950\. How will that help him in 1776?)**♥ 1source record 1353 Archive: 14 index entries preserve 14 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Land, patents and a business built on one modern idea8 index entriesAnswers that convert the trip into a business rather than a windfall. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Land, patents and a business built on one modern idea Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Land, patents and a business built on one modern idea 8 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1183 **Situation:** Turning one modern idea into a going concern rather than a windfall **Why readers chose it:** 8 records that convert the trip into a business: stake land around the Falls of the Ohio before the war ends and sell lots, file patents, build a cotton gin, go into partnership with Franklin, invent an alternative to the corset. What separates these from the gold answers is that they need a local partner and years of work, and the commenters accept that. Two of them attract the same correction the map answers get — the land was inhabited — and the cotton gin proposal is the one place in the thread where somebody names a money-making plan whose actual historical effect was to entrench slavery, and says so in the same comment. **What readers reported:** I would probably take a huge sack of water purification tablets. Then head out stake out all kinds of land around the Falls of the Ohio before the end of the war. Get rich selling lots. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 You know that wasn't just uninhabited land, right? From the replies♥ 8 Dude was harnessing lightning. He had it figured out. From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Not a bad idea. You could show it to Ben Franklin and go into business together. source record 310♥ 26 Later-arriving source They ostracized Ignaz Semmelweis for suggesting that though. It wasn't until Joseph Lister came around that they actually started doing something. I'd bring the plans for a the cotton gin, build a huge factory and then dominate the cotton market. posted about 16.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source Well obviously. The money will hopefully turn the tide at tippecanoe posted about 1.9 hours after the source #### What the counts show The exact phrase “the cotton gin” recurs across 2 of the 8 source records in Land, patents and a business built on one modern idea; the complete archive stays available below. 8index entries 8distinct source records 13.1%of parent category 0.8%of the complete index 2top-level comments 6replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 6other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments8 preserved records · 8 of 8 source records accounted for **Not a bad idea. You could show it to Ben Franklin and go into business together.**♥ 26source record 310 **They ostracized Ignaz Semmelweis for suggesting that though. It wasn't until Joseph Lister came around that they actually started doing something. I'd bring the plans for a the cotton gin, build a huge factory and then dominate the cotton market.**♥ 1source record 557 **Just do the cotton gin.... It's quick it's effective and will make you lots of money**♥ 1source record 754 **Could make lots of money with the invention of a corset alternative.**♥ 1source record 863 **I will took "Rich mind Poor mind" book with me**♥ 1source record 1070 **I would probably take a huge sack of water purification tablets. Then head out stake out all kinds of land around the Falls of the Ohio before the end of the war. Get rich selling lots.**♥ 2source record 1183 **You know that wasn't just uninhabited land, right?**♥ 8source record 1184 **Well obviously. The money will hopefully turn the tide at tippecanoe**♥ 0source record 1185 Archive: 8 index entries preserve 8 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A message for the men writing the Constitution156 records · 5 sub-topicsThe answers that exploit the specific year: in 1776 the drafting room is still open. 156 records. The Constitution and the court rulings, annotated38 index entriesAnswers built around a document rather than an object, and the replies arguing which later amendments you would be risking. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The Constitution and the court rulings, annotated Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The Constitution and the court rulings, annotated 38 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 268 **Situation:** Bringing the document back to its own drafting room, marked up **Why readers chose it:** 38 records, and the largest answer that depends on the year rather than the century. The proposals run from a modern annotated Constitution to the complete Supreme Court reports, a list of every ruling, notes on the Second Amendment and the three-fifths clause, and in two cases the tax code offered as a warning. The card contains its own strongest objections twice over: one commenter points out that in 1776 the Constitution does not exist yet and nobody would know what you were talking about, and another that pressing the founders on specific clauses risks losing the later amendments — the Thirteenth and Nineteenth are both named — or splitting the union before it starts. A third argues that no document survives a people unwilling to keep it. **What readers reported:** Great idea, just make a highlighted list of the most obviously unintended interpretations of the constitution that have been used. "I know you guys think it's clear enough, but here let me show you..." **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 They'd probably be pissed that the ninth and tenth are effectively dead letters. From the replies♥ 39 I can’t help but think that might backfire for you on a few issues, since there were very notably some amendments made later that we take for granted now (13th and 19th for example). You might get a few rights you enjoy now accidentally written out of there From the replies♥ 25 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source SCOTUS decisions Like "mother fuckers could we be a bit more explicit when we do this bill of rights thing?" source record 229♥ 206 Later-arriving source I'm gonna take a diagram of the current house and Senate and show these dumb fucks creating the govt how their stupidity will fuck up the nation in the future and force them to reconsider how the govt of the United states is formed. posted about 20.9 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source The Declaration of Independence posted about 15.3 hours after the source #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second AmendmentTurn it into a game · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment)[Slavery, and the war it causedTurn it into a game · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-3-slavery-and-the-war-it-caused) #### What the counts show Across 38 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Turn it into a game” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 38index entries 38distinct source records 24.4%of parent category 3.8%of the complete index 24top-level comments 14replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 3asks a question 0says they intend to try it 35other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Turn it into a game **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments38 preserved records · 38 of 38 source records accounted for **SCOTUS decisions Like "mother fuckers could we be a bit more explicit when we do this bill of rights thing?"**♥ 206source record 229 **They'd probably be pissed that the ninth and tenth are effectively dead letters.**♥ 39source record 230 **and that the 14th wasnt followed nor the 25th used either**♥ 15source record 231 **Few people in 1776 would still be alive to see the 14th passed.**♥ 10source record 232 **good point. going back in time and showing them though might get it added into the original. im sure they wouldnt want someone who incited a failed insurection becoming president let alone one whos got dementia.**♥ 3source record 233 **That would be more useful in 1787\. In 1776 they would still have no idea what you're talking about if you mention the Constitution**♥ 3source record 234 **Melissa Murray’s annotated U. S. constitution. There’s some stuff those guys didn’t anticipate that’s really hard to change and really problematic now.**♥ 22source record 243 **Great idea, just make a highlighted list of the most obviously unintended interpretations of the constitution that have been used. "I know you guys think it's clear enough, but here let me show you..."**♥ 63source record 268 **I can’t help but think that might backfire for you on a few issues, since there were very notably some amendments made later that we take for granted now (13th and 19th for example). You might get a few rights you enjoy now accidentally written out of there**♥ 25source record 269 **Something else I find very intriguing that could be interesting is the property requirement to vote. Of course it’s long gone now, but the idea at the time was that people who owned property could be trusted to vote with future generations’ benefit in mind, since the property would be passed down. Obviously that’s no longer the way our society operates, so I wonder if/what the founding fathers would come up with instead to ensure virtuous voters if they knew property wouldn’t stick**♥ 3source record 271 **A written constitution is only as strong as the will to adhere to it. And I’d argue elite norms are just as important as the words committed to paper. The articles of confederation were the version of the constitution that maximally protected against a trump and they got steamrolled by immediate needs for strong action by the federal govt. guess my point is just that there’s no paper inoculation against populist tyrants. The only defense is a constant game of persuasion that produces a people who won’t go down this road.**♥ 5source record 276 **Take a modern version of the constitution. They would put more emphasis on the 2nd amendment to prevent restrictions and more emphasis and restricting central banks. would solve A LOT of problems. They could put some language in to prevent the 15th and 16th amendments as well**♥ 2source record 278 **A list of all court desicions from as the internet can provide, especially supreme court desicions. That way, it can be inscribed in the actual constitution specifically what is and isn't up for debate.**♥ 6source record 324 **Articles of how people in the US currently view their constitution, show how there are no more "checks and balances," and show gerrymandered voting districts. That way they can spend the next 10 years to fix these things...**♥ 6source record 358 **My knowledge of how things turned out. If I was able to get to the right people, maybe we could skip the Articles of Confederation and get straight to the current Constitution, but make it somehow clearer (not that its meaning is overly muddy).**♥ 3source record 381 **Does the multi-volume Supreme Court Reporter count as one thing? I feel like the founders might be interested to see how their little project turned out.**♥ 3source record 383 **The US tax code.**♥ 3source record 384 **Why specifically 1776? Because you chose that exact year, and if I have time to prepare, I'm compiling an essay of all the vulnerabilities in the US Constitution that leave it open to abuse and hopping on the first carriage to Philadelphia.**♥ 2source record 476 **The US rewrote our constitution for Japan in 1945\. It is admittedly a superior document!**♥ 1source record 757 **That said the founders (generally) believed in the people’s right to self determination. The people have the right to decide the laws which they would be subjected to. I think looking at a history book they would be concerned about the accumulation of power in the executive branch. Many of them would believe this was a problem and would limit the peoples ability to choose the laws for themselves.**♥ 1source record 770 **The constitution with all current amendments**♥ 1source record 828 **Yeah but the decisions they make back then might not be the ones we want now. And then they'd be even harder to change**♥ 1source record 844 **Any good book that analyzes the United States Constitution and its flaws**♥ 2source record 872 **The Constitution & Handbook of American law up to 2026**♥ 2source record 873 **An updated and annotated book of the constitution with quick blurbs as to why they are what they are**♥ 1source record 893 **The Declaration of Independence**♥ 1source record 925 **A manuscript detailing the pros and cons of the parliamentary vs current system and something to convince them that the electoral college system is bunk.**♥ 3source record 953 **A copy of the constitution/bill of rights and a couple of notes on some …clarity about a few parts.namely the second and the 3/5ths clause. Come on TJ get some shit right my man**♥ 1source record 980 **Yeah I suppose the 19th amendment would be too ahead of it's time.**♥ 2source record 981 **the Declaration of Independence**♥ 1source record 987 **The "originalists" interpretation of the constitution and it's amendments.**♥ 1source record 995 **Bill of rights .**♥ 1source record 997 **The constitution in its entirety (with some modifications of course)**♥ 1source record 1028 **The US Constitution. I’d just like to save them some time. I’ll rip off the part with the signatures and take all the credit. Kinda like that movie about the guy who pretends to come up with all the Beatles songs in a Beatles-less world.**♥ 1source record 1081 **I'm gonna take a diagram of the current house and Senate and show these dumb fucks creating the govt how their stupidity will fuck up the nation in the future and force them to reconsider how the govt of the United states is formed.**♥ 1source record 1106 **The citizens united ruling**♥ 1source record 1240 **The declaration of Independence**♥ 0source record 1284 **The Declaration of Independence**♥ 0source record 1290 Archive: 38 index entries preserve 38 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A history of the next 250 years19 index entriesThe general-purpose version of the same idea: hand them the outcome and let them decide what to do about it. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A history of the next 250 years Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A history of the next 250 years 19 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 486 **Situation:** Handing them the outcome instead of the instructions **Why readers chose it:** 19 records choosing a history book, on the reasoning that the founders were perfectly capable of drawing their own conclusions if they could see the results. What each commenter wants shown is usually stated: Civil War casualties, the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment, the world wars, the last decade of politics. Two have a different use for the same object — knowing which situations to avoid, and being treated as a prophet who is never wrong. The weakness the card exposes without quite naming is that a history book is the one answer here whose value depends entirely on being believed. **What readers reported:** A comprehensive history of the last 250 years so the founders will better choices in forming our constitution and govt so we hopefully dont end up with the 2 party, corporate owned, shitshow that we have **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Great idea, just make a highlighted list of the most obviously unintended interpretations of the constitution that have been used. "I know you guys think it's clear enough, but here let me show you..." From the replies♥ 63 But once you started sharing info, wouldn’t that change the time line? Say you out Benedict Arnold or provide info so the (siege)Battle of Charleston, so that the Americans can sneak out forces before unconditionally surrendering…. The ripples might change the rest of your history book From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Why not bring a whole ass history textbook? Get the most detailed one you can find. Lots of presidents and cabinets have been problematic. source record 267♥ 103 Later-arriving source A comprehensive history of the last 250 years so the founders will better choices in forming our constitution and govt so we hopefully dont end up with the 2 party, corporate owned, shitshow that we have posted about 19.3 hours after the source♥ 2 Zero-like source A modern government textbook. I want those motherfuckers to look socialism in the eyes. posted about 11.7 hours after the source♥ -2 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “us history book” recurs across 2 of the 19 source records in A history of the next 250 years; the complete archive stays available below. 19index entries 19distinct source records 12.2%of parent category 1.9%of the complete index 17top-level comments 2replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 1says they intend to try it 16other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments19 preserved records · 19 of 19 source records accounted for **Why not bring a whole ass history textbook? Get the most detailed one you can find. Lots of presidents and cabinets have been problematic.**♥ 103source record 267 **A US history book.**♥ 3source record 360 **A complete up to date 2026 history book. They might think im crazy but we could solve a lot of modern problems by changing some decisions made by our fore fathers in the past.**♥ 3source record 365 **A detailed, hand written account of how this all ends.**♥ 2source record 408 **I'd bring a history book. First they'd get thrilled to hear they win and it makes something huge. Then I'd tell them, that we become great friends with England, then Sam Adams and his goon squad beat the shit out of me and dump my body in the harbor.**♥ 2source record 461 **A history book might be handy. Know who to avoid and how situations are going to play out.**♥ 2source record 467 **A current US history book would open there eyes to changes both good and bad**♥ 2source record 471 **Detailed history of politics from 2016 on.**♥ 2source record 473 **A comprehensive history of the last 250 years so the founders will better choices in forming our constitution and govt so we hopefully dont end up with the 2 party, corporate owned, shitshow that we have**♥ 2source record 486 **What I could carry of the most important bits of American history with a strong emphasis on the Civil War (wish casualties) and WW1 and WW2.**♥ 2source record 679 **The date makes me think OP is looking at something related to the US, so how about a stack of 2026 newspapers. Let the guys writing the constitution see what the country has come to, and give them a chance to do it right.**♥ 1source record 876 **A paper explaining how the system ends.**♥ 1source record 894 **A history book with all the events that will happen in the future would rule their lives like a prophet who is never wrong because I am enlightened by God, etc.**♥ 1source record 968 **A book on the 250 years of American history, with notations and markers for things like slavery, Jim Crow, the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment during WWII, and the Trump regime.**♥ 1source record 1082 **A History of United States Politics from the end of WW2 through 2026.**♥ 1source record 1155 **A history book**♥ 1source record 1156 **An EReader with a copy of American History. Convince the Colonials not to spill tea in the harbour.**♥ 0source record 1200 **An American History book**♥ 1source record 1216 **A modern government textbook. I want those motherfuckers to look socialism in the eyes.**♥ -2source record 1296 Archive: 19 index entries preserve 19 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him40 index entriesThe thread's most repeated political answer, offered both as an argument to the Congress and as a way of getting rid of him. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him 40 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 266 **Situation:** Producing a person, or the file on one, as evidence to the Congress **Why readers chose it:** 40 records, the thread's most repeated political answer, and it comes in two forms worth separating. The first is evidentiary: bring the news reports, the January 6 footage, a book on the presidency, and argue for tighter language while the language is still being drafted. The second is disposal — several commenters say plainly that the appeal is that he would no longer be here. The replies pull the first form apart from several directions at once: one commenter would go after the family tree instead, another argues the problem is 250 years of interpretation rather than any one man, and a British commenter asks whether this is really what America wanted. One reply imagines the resulting conversation as a single escalating monologue, which is as close as the card gets to a conclusion. **What readers reported:** I'd take Trump. Hear me out, the constitution obviously isn't strong enough. If they saw what was 250 years in the future, maybe they'd tighten it up a bit. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Why not bring a whole ass history textbook? Get the most detailed one you can find. Lots of presidents and cabinets have been problematic. From the replies♥ 103 Or we could just aee if the French wanted to take him. And. Maybe hang out in Paris. See the revolution from the front lines. From the replies♥ 72 #### Where commenters report limits Explicit limit or counterpoint A news article about trump and just leave it on Washington’s desk as a warning source record 1186♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source I'd take Trump. Hear me out, the constitution obviously isn't strong enough. If they saw what was 250 years in the future, maybe they'd tighten it up a bit. source record 266♥ 593 Later-arriving source A book about the Trump presidency so the Framers know they have to write some things differently when they put the Constitution together. posted about 22.4 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source The full J6 report posted about 0.7 hours after the source♥ -2 #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment“the founding fathers” · 6 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment) #### What the counts show The exact phrase “the founding fathers” recurs across 5 of the 40 source records in The exhibit: bringing a modern president, or the file on him; the complete archive stays available below. 40index entries 40distinct source records 25.6%of parent category 4%of the complete index 32top-level comments 8replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 1explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 37other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments40 preserved records · 40 of 40 source records accounted for **I'd take Trump. Hear me out, the constitution obviously isn't strong enough. If they saw what was 250 years in the future, maybe they'd tighten it up a bit.**♥ 593source record 266 **Or we could just aee if the French wanted to take him. And. Maybe hang out in Paris. See the revolution from the front lines.**♥ 72source record 272 **Naw, I’d just go seek out his family tree. Stop that shit before it even happens.**♥ 3source record 275 **I searched the post for "trump" before commenting, and I see I don't have much to add. Plenty of people have already said that they would warn the founding fathers that they provided terrifyingly few guardrails for despots, so I guess I'd bring a hybrid memory foam/coils mattress because mine was a blessing for me.**♥ 4source record 340 **A newspaper containing Trump's latest exploits. Maybe they could shore up that whole checks and balances thing come 1789.**♥ 4source record 346 **Trump. It's a sacrifice im prepared to make**♥ 10source record 357 **A book about the Trump presidency so the Framers know they have to write some things differently when they put the Constitution together.**♥ 1source record 387 **A copy of the Epstein files.**♥ 2source record 413 **Trump, I'd drop that red headed bitch off in time**♥ 2source record 417 **A current newspaper from today to show the founders**♥ 2source record 447 **Newspaper from Jan 7**♥ 2source record 480 **American newspaper dated 7 Jan 2021**♥ 2source record 485 **Our president. You are welcome!**♥ 2source record 488 **As a Brit I’d also take Trump or atleast a book detailing American politics from 2012-Present. Yeah the monarchy sucks right now for you, but is this really what you want America to become? Atleast have another crack at the constitution with a little bit more focus on democracy and more failsafes against one person having so much power.**♥ 1source record 727 **Please include 2000 because that shit was ridiculous.**♥ 1source record 728 **It was when it was written. 250 years of interpretations in favor of the government and state level laws in clear violation of the constitution created the world that we're in today. Trump's part of that world. Drop him off in 1776, and even if he holds office in 1797, he'd be relatively powerless.**♥ 1source record 731 **A collection of print outs of news of political corruption from 2026 to warn the founding fathers of stuff that they need to prevent from the beginning at the level of the constitution.**♥ 3source record 801 **A verry well written compilation of the Relgious right and Republicans to bring the Founding Fathers and be like "they don't take your document seriously" Fix it now or watch your greatest creation get shit on.**♥ 4source record 807 **All the newspaper articles I can carry that document how effed up the current admin is.**♥ 2source record 821 **Donald Trump and explaining to the founding father what he has done. He'll be drawn and quartered**♥ 3source record 878 **That photo of the Qanon Shaman in the Capitol**♥ 0source record 879 **A highlight reel of this unbelievable idiot in charge of the U.S. so I guess a phone. In the hopes... they're way more clear with parts that have been weaseled around. E: After being ignored I'd probably go with Thomas Paine to France. Maybe I have some knowledge that helps at least one democracy.**♥ 1source record 900 **My phone with downloaded videos of what this damn administration are doing to the US and showing them that they cannot end up like Trump and that the constitution should be improved to prevent such man like him from getting office.**♥ 3source record 952 **Trump. Id leave him there. Youre all welcome.**♥ 1source record 1016 **Video from Jan 6**♥ 1source record 1020 **Trump. Leave him there.**♥ 1source record 1140 **I'm taking Donald Trump. Let's see what the founders think of him in their time.**♥ 1source record 1158 **A list of the 47th president’s doings**♥ 1source record 1163 **A news article about trump and just leave it on Washington’s desk as a warning**♥ 1source record 1186 **Project 2025 the 900 page one . It’s whole ass book technically it counts for one thing .**♥ -1source record 1198 **Donald Trump so Washington can tell him what a fucktard he is.**♥ 0source record 1203 **A camcorder recording of a Trump ralley, so I can show the Founding Fathers just how much they're about to fuck up.**♥ 1source record 1266 **I would take a book detailing all the crimes of Donald Trump and give it to the Founding Fathers, and tell them their mission is to prevent this from happening.**♥ -1source record 1273 **Art of the deal by Donald Trump**♥ -1source record 1274 **Yeah, my 'thing' would be a picture of Donald Trump and some words of advice**♥ 1source record 1326 **George Washington: "What did I say about parties?! I like this Teddy Roosevelt fellow. You did \*what\* to Japan? You went to the moon? The moon in the fucking sky? I don't like this Richard Nixon fellow. What's a World Trade Center? What does trans mean and why do the Republicans hate it? Excuse me, did you just say that this Trump tried to pull a \*fucking coup\*?! \*\*\*Why isn't he in prison?!\*\*\*"**♥ 2source record 1327 **Just take some details of the current incumbent of the White House and see if they think the fight is still worth it.**♥ 0source record 1407 **Trump**♥ -1source record 1419 **Donald Trumps great great grandfather so he is never born**♥ -1source record 1430 **The full J6 report**♥ -2source record 1432 Archive: 40 index entries preserve 40 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Slavery, and the war it caused17 index entriesThe answers aimed at the founding compromise, and the commenters who reply that 1776 is already too late to fix it. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Slavery, and the war it caused Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Slavery, and the war it caused 17 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 394 **Situation:** Aiming the trip at the founding compromise itself **Why readers chose it:** 17 records, and the most serious disagreement in the political themes. The proposals are a history of the Civil War, a military history sold to Washington on condition that he frees the people he enslaved, the emancipation proclamation, a photograph of Obama's swearing-in, and A People's History, which one commenter intends to use on a few founders directly. The replies are unusually hard on all of it: that the compromise existed because the states could not agree and forcing it would produce two countries rather than one, that industrialisation is what drove the wedge in the first place, and that by 1776 the damage is already done. One commenter makes the sharpest point in the card by analogy — a stranger describing a catastrophe two centuries out would be received about as well as a warning about the climate is received now. **What readers reported:** A detailed history of the country up to and including the civil war. If the founding fathers could have seen what it would have done to the country and weakened us to the point that the country could have nearly failed in less than 90 years, they might consider outlawing slavery earlier. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Something else I find very intriguing that could be interesting is the property requirement to vote. Of course it’s long gone now, but the idea at the time was that people who owned property could be trusted to vote with future generations’ benefit in mind, since the property would be passed down. Obviously that’s no longer the way our society operates, so I wonder if/what the founding fathers would come up with instead to ensure virtuous voters if they knew property wouldn’t stick From the replies♥ 3 Yeah... I think a lot of people here are failing to realize how flawed the founders, the people of that time, and the people of our time all are. Like, some person claiming to be a time traveller showing the colonists the consequences of slavery, or gun violence, or women's right to vote, would sway them about as much as some loon today claiming that most of the coastline is under water, the average temperature of earth has risen several degrees causing famine and the acidification of the oceans a hundred years from now. That guy would get laughed at by a decent portion of the population while the portion that cares about the warning remains powerless to do anything with the information. From the replies♥ 1 #### Where commenters report limits Explicit limit or counterpoint Yeah... I think a lot of people here are failing to realize how flawed the founders, the people of that time, and the people of our time all are. Like, some person claiming to be a time traveller showing the colonists the consequences of slavery, or gun violence, or women's right to vote, would sway them about as much as some loon today claiming that most of the coastline is under water, the average temperature of earth has risen several degrees causing famine and the acidification of the oceans a hundred years from now. That guy would get laughed at by a decent portion of the population while the portion that cares about the warning remains powerless to do anything with the information. source record 823♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source One-volume military history of the War for Independence. I'll sell it to George Washington for some substantial sum of money + him freeing all his slaves immediately. If he doesn't take the deal, I'll bludgeon him with the book, and we just get to be British from now on. source record 355♥ 7 Later-arriving source Best to let the union know that after the confederates lose punish the absolute fuck out of them with no mercy. No kid gloves. posted about 21.1 hours after the source♥ 2 Zero-like source A copy of the emancipation proclamation posted about 0.9 hours after the source #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second AmendmentTurn it into a game · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-4-gun-violence-as-the-argument-for-rewriting-the-second-amendment)[The Constitution and the court rulings, annotatedTurn it into a game · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-0-the-constitution-and-the-court-rulings-annotated) #### What the counts show Across 17 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Turn it into a game” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 17index entries 17distinct source records 10.9%of parent category 1.7%of the complete index 9top-level comments 8replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 1explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 14other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Turn it into a game **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments17 preserved records · 17 of 17 source records accounted for **I get what you're saying, but I wasn't really thinking about giving them the whole book, just very specific guidance on a few key issues. That said, pushing them on the wrong issues could easily backfire by splitting the Union from the start. Slavery wasn't explicitly named in the founding documents partly because it didn't look good, but mostly because the states just couldn't reach a consensus. They ended up relying on big compromises to keep states like South Carolina from walking away. If future warnings forced southern politicians to push harder for an explicit enshrinement of slavery, I doubt northern states would just concede. At that point, you might not get a tighter Constitution, you might just get two separate countries right out of the gate. Virginia might have been willing to negotiate given their leadership at the time, but I'm not so sure about the rest of the south, but at that point the question is would they be confident enough to go it alone? as per the 19th, I'm not really sure but I would have loved to see what Abigail Adams had to say in that case.**♥ 7source record 270 **Noble and ending slavery any sooner is a win, but the damage has been done by 1776\. There would still be hell to pay.**♥ 5source record 301 **One-volume military history of the War for Independence. I'll sell it to George Washington for some substantial sum of money + him freeing all his slaves immediately. If he doesn't take the deal, I'll bludgeon him with the book, and we just get to be British from now on.**♥ 7source record 355 **A detailed history of the country up to and including the civil war. If the founding fathers could have seen what it would have done to the country and weakened us to the point that the country could have nearly failed in less than 90 years, they might consider outlawing slavery earlier.**♥ 5source record 394 **Best to let the union know that after the confederates lose punish the absolute fuck out of them with no mercy. No kid gloves.**♥ 2source record 790 **They couldn't have, for multiple reasons.**♥ 2source record 822 **Yeah... I think a lot of people here are failing to realize how flawed the founders, the people of that time, and the people of our time all are. Like, some person claiming to be a time traveller showing the colonists the consequences of slavery, or gun violence, or women's right to vote, would sway them about as much as some loon today claiming that most of the coastline is under water, the average temperature of earth has risen several degrees causing famine and the acidification of the oceans a hundred years from now. That guy would get laughed at by a decent portion of the population while the portion that cares about the warning remains powerless to do anything with the information.**♥ 1source record 823 **Industrialization was the wedge between the north and the south though. The diverging economic systems literally sparked the conflict.**♥ 1source record 840 **Yeah, ish. Have you ever been to the capital in Montpelier, Vermont? It’s coated in anti-slavery iconography, and when I visited I realized nobody made all that stuff because they cared about people being equal. 1) In the 1830s and 1840s, the most popular form of entertainment in America was the minstrel show. It retained popularity for decades afterwards. 2) The cotton gin boosted yields for slave-owning cotton growers, turning what was a terrible problem into a terrible industrial-sized problem. 3) Vermont’s economy was based at one time on logging for fertilizer (the hardwoods in Vermont’s forests grew there after \\\_all\\\_ the old-growth pine was burned for potash). Then with all the new fields (which sucked for agriculture), Vermonters turned to sheep farming for wool. The bottom fell out of that when the Erie Canal opened, and also because cotton got \\\_much, much\\\_ cheaper to manufacture, not least of which because most of the cotton farmers were made to work for nothing. Vermont wasn’t ‘industrialized’, then or now. They were pissed at the South because their labor costs were literally immoral. Introducing some sort of advancement in manufacturing to 1776 America would just exacerbate that problem faster, while leaving America’s disgusting popular entertainment untouched. If I was heading back to 1776, I’d try to sneak MLK into the Constitutional Convention (for Vermont!), and maybe the \\\_fourteen\\\_ original colonies could have prevented…uh…a lot of stuff.**♥ 1source record 841 **A Book containing picture of all the mixed descendants of Thomas Jefferson. That'll make for a fun Sunday.**♥ 1source record 1077 **Anything to off Charles Pickney and his southern trash entourage.**♥ 1source record 1087 **Probably give a history book to native tribes**♥ 1source record 1102 **Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Then im slapping the shit out of a few founders with it.**♥ 1source record 1191 **A copy of the emancipation proclamation**♥ 0source record 1196 **A picture of President Obama's swearing in ceremony.**♥ 0source record 1202 **A history of the Civil War. Let the American founding fathers make an informed decision on the consequences of their compromise.**♥ 1source record 1264 **I think you should go to the Continental Congress and explain your history and see if you can persuade them to knock a few heads together.**♥ 1source record 1348 Archive: 17 index entries preserve 17 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment42 index entriesA recurring answer that turns into the thread's longest argument, with 18th-century repeating firearms entered as counter-evidence. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Gun violence as the argument for rewriting the Second Amendment 42 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1193 **Situation:** Using a modern weapon as an argument about the amendment being drafted **Why readers chose it:** 42 records and the longest argument in the corpus. The answer is simple — show them what “arms” would come to mean and let them write it differently — and it is met every single time by the same historical counter: private citizens owned armed ships, the Chambers gun and rifle-launched grenades existed, and rifles of the period were accurate to around three hundred metres, well past normal engagement range. Several replies argue the demonstration would strengthen the amendment rather than weaken it. Beneath that, a second argument runs about whether the founders would have answered school shootings with restrictions or with more guns, and neither side concedes anything. Nothing here resolves; the card is included because this is what the thread spent its largest single block of replies on. **What readers reported:** Some big ass gun - not to help win anything, just to convince those guys what a terrible idea the 2nd amendment could turn out to be **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 Nope. The founding fathers would further embrace the 2A. Pushback♥ 9 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A modern gun. I want to give the US founding fathers an M16 and let them know how they need to be a bit more specific with the 2nd. source record 389♥ 30 Later-arriving source Yeah there was one guy that said "if he wants a ship cannon, he can have a fucking ship cannon." posted about 21.6 hours after the source♥ 2 Zero-like source That actually might have them rethink the 2nd amendment posted about 0.2 hours after the source♥ -8 #### Related evidence elsewhere in the index [Penicillin, and whether 1776 could have made anyChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-0-subgroup-0-penicillin-and-whether-1776-could-have-made-any)[Slavery, and the war it causedTurn it into a game · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-6-subgroup-3-slavery-and-the-war-it-caused)[The battery argument, and the solar workaroundChange the sentence · 2 there](#rich-node-0-group-2-subgroup-1-the-battery-argument-and-the-solar-workaround) #### What the counts show Across 42 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Turn it into a game” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 42index entries 42distinct source records 26.9%of parent category 4.2%of the complete index 16top-level comments 26replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 7asks a question 0says they intend to try it 35other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Change the sentence **2**Turn it into a game **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments42 preserved records · 42 of 42 source records accounted for **A modern gun. I want to give the US founding fathers an M16 and let them know how they need to be a bit more specific with the 2nd.**♥ 30source record 389 **You think the founding fathers didn't know what they were doing? Giving them an M16 just means they can wipe out the natives that much quicker.**♥ 7source record 390 **You know they had full auto lmgs and grenade launchers back then right?**♥ 8source record 391 **Voice recorder so I can ask the foundation fathers the fuck they actually meant with the second amendment**♥ 2source record 481 **A book about all the gun violence in America, especially schools and our callous attitude to it. Or a compendium of the last 100 years of US history.**♥ 3source record 870 **\[link removed\] 😄 key & peele time travel 2nd amendment**♥ 1source record 905 **Modern guns so the founding fathers know what the 2nd amendment gives an average person.**♥ 1source record 1169 **News reports of school shootings. To hopefully influence the US constitution a little. Edit: awww. Did I hurt some fee-fees?**♥ -2source record 1189 **Some big ass gun - not to help win anything, just to convince those guys what a terrible idea the 2nd amendment could turn out to be**♥ -6source record 1193 **Private citizens owned armed battleships when the 2nd amendment was written. There were also early breechloading and repeating firearms around.**♥ 11source record 1194 **Maybe the statistics on school shootings.**♥ 0source record 1201 **a book about modern assault rifles and a note that says "y'all fuckers need to plan for this."**♥ 1source record 1245 **There's a Key & Peele skit about it: \[link removed\]**♥ 1source record 1251 **Fully automatic machine gun. I’m telling the founding fathers about the mess their poor wording of the second amendment brings about.**♥ -4source record 1275 **Yeah, that won’t work… \[\[link removed\]**♥ 2source record 1276 **An AR-15 to show them maybe it’s not a good idea that everyone has the right to bear arms.**♥ -4source record 1281 **The statistics for gun fatalities or a list of things Trump will attempt**♥ 0source record 1286 **AR-15 to show the founding fathers they really need to reword that 2nd Amendment. That would probably really mess up the timeline but - damn you can’t tell me that they really meant for rapid human killing machines as the arms they wanted folks to own. “\*A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”\***♥ -6source record 1294 **And the way the 2nd has been expanded to cover modern weapons and the societal impacts that resulted.**♥ 1source record 1315 **i cant imagine how they would feel knowing how people excuse school shootings and do nothing about it.**♥ 4source record 1316 **their solution would be to arm the employees of the school, and the children as well probably.**♥ -1source record 1317 **They'd likely be appalled, saying something like why aren't these parents teaching their kids about proper gun handling and safety, or something like that. Kids back then would have been taught gun responsibly by what we'd consider a very early age.**♥ 7source record 1318 **yea i think they would impress that they intended for these people to understand safety, storage and handling.**♥ 1source record 1319 **With sayings like "I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet," I don't think they would want to encourage \*more\* death.**♥ 1source record 1321 **the one who would be shocked is you I think. they would have no patience what so ever for any restrictions.**♥ 2source record 1322 **Yeah there was one guy that said "if he wants a ship cannon, he can have a fucking ship cannon."**♥ 2source record 1323 **That actually might have them rethink the 2nd amendment**♥ -8source record 1373 **Nope. The founding fathers would further embrace the 2A.**♥ 9source record 1374 **Yeah, in the context of the time period, superior firepower would have just made a stronger case for the second amendment.**♥ 9source record 1375 **What they did, who taught my history class?**♥ 1source record 1400 **The chambers gun was invented in 1790s, but it was not anything like a modern machine gun. Your very valid point still stands.**♥ 3source record 1401 **The second was ratified in December 1791**♥ 1source record 1402 **I still don't get your point. You expect the founders to understand what modern guns would be like. The founders shit in pots and didn't have electricity.**♥ 3source record 1403 **The first water closet was invented in the mid 1500s. It became camercially avaliable in 1778\. One of the founding fathers pioneered our understanding of modern electricity. They weren't the barbarians you make them out to be. They were well to do and independent minded individuals who gave their new nation the chance to be the same.**♥ 2source record 1404 **Tbf they also had rifled sniper rifles. They were accurate to about 300 meters. Which is well past most engagement ranges of that day.**♥ 3source record 1405 **The chambers machine gun. Mostly used on ships. Forgotten weapons has a great video on them. They also had grenade launchers that worked on the same principle as rifle grenades. Sorta like a golf ball cannon upper for an ar 15 today. Toss in grenade with lit fuse fire launcher send grenade a long distance.**♥ 4source record 1406 **they wouldn't. which is why they'd advocate for more guns. because anyone who tried anything at a school would be cut down instantly. so one crazy is gone, but it's just that one. which is less death several children killed. look, you clearly have a way you see the world, but it's not how they saw the world. I'll leave it to you to decide which is right.**♥ 0source record 1416 **You speak very confidently about the topic considering they didn't have school shootings back then or ARs haha I think it might be more divided than you anticipate.**♥ 1source record 1417 **they \*did\* have guns in school. and knives. and they even had access to cannons but nobody ever even considered siting one in on a school. I suspect the reason then(as well as today) was more psychological. they didn't spend days alone in rooms brooding about how nobody liked them or anything. they were part of families and communities, and had constant interaction with people and a role to play. they had purpose. it's not simply the ability to do damage that causes it. it's the will to, and you can't fix that with a rules. it is a lot easier to pretend you can and make a bunch that don't do anything and pat yourself on the back for it than face the actual problems though.**♥ 1source record 1418 **A newspaper that lists all of the school shootings to date, hoping those guys can write a better, more restrictive Second Amendment.**♥ 0source record 1421 **A example of the powerful firearms of today**♥ -1source record 1426 **I didn’t say they were barbarians just that modern firearms would blow their minds, as would most modern inventions. The first American house with indoor plumbing was built 20 years after George Washington died.**♥ -1source record 1431 Archive: 42 index entries preserve 42 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Weapons, and the war142 records · 5 sub-topicsWhere the thread stops being a thought experiment about knowledge and becomes one about force. 142 records. Answers meant to win the Revolution outright56 index entriesFirearms as the answer, and the two objections that arrive every time: the ammunition, and what happens to you for owning one. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Answers meant to win the Revolution outright Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Answers meant to win the Revolution outright 56 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 197 **Situation:** Arriving armed, and what the thread said happens to you next **Why readers chose it:** 56 records, the largest card in the corpus, and two objections recur so consistently that they function as the card's own review. The first is ammunition: a modern rifle is a club once the magazine is empty, and cased ammunition is close to a century away. The answers that survive that are the ones choosing a black-powder lever action, a percussion revolver replica, or the recipe for smokeless powder instead of the gun. The second objection is personal — one commenter points out you would be robbed or killed in your sleep for owning it, and a long reply proposes the way round it is a plausible cover story about a new British service rifle. The manufacturing-plans answers draw the harshest reply in the thread: a step-by-step list of the metallurgy, tooling and tolerances that do not exist yet, answered by a commenter citing an American gunmaker advertising a nine-shot repeater in 1756. **What readers reported:** Yeah you'd get it stolen or murked in your sleep by even your friends if you had something like that in 1776 **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Yep! An AR-15 would made short work of them damn Red Coats. From the replies♥ 64 Yeah you'd get it stolen or murked in your sleep by even your friends if you had something like that in 1776 From the replies♥ 31 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Yep! An AR-15 would made short work of them damn Red Coats. source record 196♥ 64 Later-arriving source Minigun. George is gonna love this. posted about 22.6 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source My fully loaded AR that has a hundred round drum. After I rack up 100 redcoats, I'd find a machinist/gun maker that could help replicate it. At least the ammo. I bet you could build quite a fortune off that. Just mercking the Brits. 'Merica posted about 13.2 hours after the source♥ -2 #### What the counts show Across 56 source records, the most common observable tactic structure is “Remove a step” (2 records). This is a wording pattern, not a measured outcome. 56index entries 56distinct source records 39.4%of parent category 5.7%of the complete index 37top-level comments 19replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 4asks a question 0says they intend to try it 52other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. #### Observable tactic structures Remove a step **2** Counts show source records whose wording matches the tactic structure; biological explanations remain commenter claims unless separately checked below. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments56 preserved records · 56 of 56 source records accounted for **My boom stick!**♥ 387source record 193 **Yep! An AR-15 would made short work of them damn Red Coats.**♥ 64source record 196 **Yeah you'd get it stolen or murked in your sleep by even your friends if you had something like that in 1776**♥ 31source record 197 **One thing, AR-15\. You got no ammo.**♥ 9source record 199 **Stick a loaded 100 round drum in and pray it doesn't jam**♥ 6source record 202 **Damn. Some good answers I’m over here thinking a minigun or something to absolutely terrify the British in the revolution. Penicillin works too though I suppose**♥ 9source record 303 **An AR15\. Help out Washington with some cover and make sure the founding fathers know to tighten up the 2nd amendment so weapons of war are excluded.**♥ 5source record 398 **I was thinking a machine gun.im gonna be king**♥ 1source record 551 **Yes and no. 250 years ago anecdotes and rumors carried a lot more weight than nowadays so you could potentially have some luck in convincing people that it was in fact a mass produced weapon, just one that they hadn’t heard of. You’d prob be able to convince people that “it’s the new British service rifle to replace the musket” and they’d be astonished and fascinated but believe you because you’re holding it and it’s real. You could definitely make some powerful connections by convincing people of that and furthermore, that you secretly stole it to bring to them to study. You’d just need a somewhat believable backstory as to how you stole it lol.**♥ 1source record 764 **OK, what about some good optics, and with the recent NFA changes, a suppressor? Oh yeah, I'll take all the green tip ammo my horse & wagon can carry.**♥ 3source record 765 **It would blow peoples’ minds but you’d have to have some sort of backstory as to how you acquired it because like the above commentator said I’d be worried about getting taken out due to suspicion.**♥ 1source record 766 **I would take my knowledge of and ability to teach French. The French joined the American Revolution as an ally in 1777\. In 1776 I would teach Americans to speak French to aid our winning the Revolutionary War. Although I have no evidence, I would think there was a lot of miscommunication because of the language barrier.**♥ 4source record 800 **M2 .50 BMG with a lot of ammo. Gonna win the revolution quickly.**♥ 4source record 814 **I'm bringing General Washington a Mark VIII Churchill Crocodile. It was a tank with a built-in flamethrower. Not only could it blast you with its main gun, but it could shoot flames 100 yards+. Those redcoats would think it was Satan's wrath and what's funny is that they wouldn't know it was developed by the British!**♥ 2source record 816 **A M240 machine gun.**♥ 1source record 881 **For the patriots, a book that shows how to manufacture the AK-47....won't the redcoats love that.**♥ 1source record 884 **First, mine for metals you don't know exist, and then treat it and forge it into an alloy that you don't have the equipment for. Make sure the dimensions are precise using your handmade slide rule and abacus. Then, precision cast and machine these parts to fit together like so. Then, it should fire the ammunition you can't make. Green tips bby! Might as well bring a spacecraft manual instead.**♥ 5source record 885 **Lmao, somebody has no clue about how guns and ammo are actually made and what metals and tools were available in 1776.**♥ 1source record 886 **They were using muzzle loaded muskets with balls for ammunition. Forgive me for thinking perhaps they didn't quite have the technology or wherewithal for a modern production military rifle.**♥ 1source record 887 **Glock 18 with a backpack full of drum mags and a couple of bulletproof vests. Who gon stop me.**♥ 1source record 897 **A modern gun. Just to create the chaos and see what the technology would be today. Or some current medical marvel that they could understand and replicate**♥ 1source record 903 **A fully loaded General Dynamics M1-Abrams. We're gonna be making some changes.**♥ 1source record 908 **a lever action (ie win1873) or bolt action rifle that can fire black powder (like a 1879 remington lee) to make it easier to manufacture with the tools of the time**♥ 1source record 921 **Or you could bring a recipe for smokeless powder. That would get them 90% of the way there.**♥ 1source record 922 **Machine Gun**♥ 1source record 927 **a double barrel shotgun**♥ 1source record 950 **Like I said, you don't have a clue. \[link removed\] >Another John Cookson, who was also a gunmaker, is known to have worked in America. He is recorded in Boston, Massachusetts between 1701 and 1762\. In 1756 he advertised repeating firearms firing nine shots in the local paper, the Boston Gazette Kentucky and Pennsylvania rifles (accurate to 200 yards) were used in the French and Indian war in 1754\. The colonials had a thriving iron industry and they had crucible steel, and many master gunsmiths. We're talking 1776, Colt's first revolver came out 60 years later, it could have been made in 1776, they had the required technology and materials, if someone gave them one and the technical specs it wouldn't have been very hard for them to figure out how to produce them. An AK isn't hard either, it was designed to be produced rapidly under rough manufacturing conditions and poor tolerances.**♥ 2source record 951 **Boom stick**♥ 1source record 956 **Book of modern firearm designs😈**♥ 1source record 960 **Blueprints for the m1 Garand**♥ 1source record 965 **Machine gun**♥ 1source record 969 **Id take my boomstick!**♥ 1source record 1014 **A gun**♥ 1source record 1032 **M16\. Lol can you imagine**♥ 1source record 1041 **An M249 with ammo.**♥ 1source record 1074 **Do I get to come back? If I am spending the rest of my life in 1776, and don't have to witness any of the consequences, then my one item is a case with a high powered sniper rifle and as much ammo as it can hold besides. I will be the whispering death of crooks the world over, and whatever timeline results will be drastically different than this. I will train and deploy an apprentice who will take the mantle when I am done, and we will pick targets with thorough research (and just a hint of historical knowledge), and I'll leave a legacy of shitters get shot.**♥ 1source record 1075 **Gatling gun.**♥ 1source record 1092 **Hk416**♥ 1source record 1096 **A Glock 19 could in theory change the timeline like 15 - 60 times in one trip**♥ 1source record 1114 **I chose the AK-47 over the M16 because of fewer parts, easier to make in mass quantities, and besides....30 caliber is awesome.**♥ 1source record 1120 **M249 Saw, I got me some indepence to win**♥ 1source record 1151 **An AR15 with 20,000 rounds.**♥ 1source record 1167 **My bicentennial flag. I don’t know what other kind of encouragement I could bring. Oh, it may be some modern weapons**♥ 0source record 1192 **AR-15.**♥ -1source record 1197 **a gun**♥ 0source record 1205 **a modern rifle. not too complex, probably would struggle to find any gunsmith's skilled enough to reproduce an m4, but like.. a 30-30 lever? anything bolt action? patent that shit and mad produce it for the slew of impending conflicts. war profiteering at it's most egregious.**♥ 0source record 1206 **An AR-15\. I will become a Space God to these yokels**♥ 1source record 1225 **Except cased ammunition is near a century away.**♥ 1source record 1226 **An AR-15 with the instructions for how to make smokeless powder laser engraved on the side. Revolutionary war will be over as soon as we spool up manufacturing, and America is becoming the world superpower in months, not 150 years later.**♥ 1source record 1244 **"Gun."**♥ 1source record 1248 **Minigun. George is gonna love this.**♥ 1source record 1255 **My fully loaded AR that has a hundred round drum. After I rack up 100 redcoats, I'd find a machinist/gun maker that could help replicate it. At least the ammo. I bet you could build quite a fortune off that. Just mercking the Brits. 'Merica**♥ -2source record 1297 **Well fuck, I'd bring a shipping container of AK-47's and ammo, might as well add a few flame throwers, and a a couple tanks.**♥ 1source record 1387 **Why stop at a shipping container? Just bring one fully stocked armory? Like Hawthorne out in Nevada.**♥ 1source record 1388 **Excellent suggestion.**♥ 1source record 1389 **One thing I think I'd take is a modern replica of a black powder Colt revolver. Better steel, can use the powder available in the 1770's, just make sure you bring a \*lot\* of percussion caps with you as well as a couple of bullet molds (you'd want a roundball and a conical). You can get good functional gear to do all this with, put it in a leather tool roll and you should be able to avoid the witch labels. If you can find some engineering drawings of the revolver make sure to take those along as well.**♥ 1source record 1398 Archive: 56 index entries preserve 56 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A weapon carried for the commenter's own protection8 index entriesAnswers from commenters who do not expect 1776 to be safe for them whatever else they bring. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A weapon carried for the commenter's own protection Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A weapon carried for the commenter's own protection 8 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 337 **Situation:** Arriving as somebody 1776 was dangerous to be **Why readers chose it:** 8 records, and they change what the question is. Commenters who are black, gay or women answer not with an object for the century but with protection from it, and most of them say why in the same sentence that names the item. Two are explicit that the weapon is for themselves rather than for anyone else. One woman rules out bringing technology precisely because it would attract the witch accusation and picks a semi-automatic instead — and gets the standard ammunition reply that every other gun answer in the thread gets. This is the smallest weapons card and the most direct answer in the corpus to the question of who the hypothetical is comfortable for. **What readers reported:** A gun with one bullet. Im gay and black and have no interest in living in 1776 **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Noble and ending slavery any sooner is a win, but the damage has been done by 1776\. There would still be hell to pay. From the replies♥ 5 Best to let the union know that after the confederates lose punish the absolute fuck out of them with no mercy. No kid gloves. From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Well, I'm black, so probably a gun to defend myself or a history textbook to let them know that us being in bondage will end and they're setting up the country for its bloodiest engagement in all of its history by leaving slavery as it is. source record 299♥ 22 Later-arriving source A gun because I’m black and don’t fancy being treated like property posted about 17.3 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source Same. Unless maybe I could end up in Africa somewhere and improve the course of history there somehow. Still I think it would mentally destroy me too much posted about 15.6 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 8 source records for A weapon carried for the commenter's own protection together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 8index entries 8distinct source records 5.6%of parent category 0.8%of the complete index 6top-level comments 2replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 8other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments8 preserved records · 8 of 8 source records accounted for **Well, I'm black, so probably a gun to defend myself or a history textbook to let them know that us being in bondage will end and they're setting up the country for its bloodiest engagement in all of its history by leaving slavery as it is.**♥ 22source record 299 **A gun with one bullet. Im gay and black and have no interest in living in 1776**♥ 17source record 337 **A kevlar vest. Then I duel my way to the top, as god intended.**♥ 3source record 376 **As I’m a woman and would need to protect myself and also wouldn’t want to be labeled a witch by bringing technology I’m thinking a semi automatic. Thought about gold or something but again without being able to protect myself it would get stolen.**♥ 15source record 396 **Might be hard without bullets**♥ 10source record 397 **Same. Unless maybe I could end up in Africa somewhere and improve the course of history there somehow. Still I think it would mentally destroy me too much**♥ 1source record 845 **A gun because I’m black and don’t fancy being treated like property**♥ 1source record 1019 **Full body level IV plated armor. Those puny musket rounds will be ineffective.**♥ 1source record 1056 Archive: 8 index entries preserve 8 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Military hardware at absurd scale50 index entriesThe escalation answers, and the replies working out what a warship does with no crew, no harbour and no fuel. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Military hardware at absurd scale Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Military hardware at absurd scale 50 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 327 **Situation:** Taking something too large for 1776 to argue with **Why readers chose it:** 50 records escalating from a rifle to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and unusually for a joke cluster the thread works the logistics anyway. Commenters point out that you arrive on land so the reactor cannot be cooled, that a carrier without its crew is scrap, that you would starve long before any boarding party got past the close-in guns, and that the whole plan depends on the manuals being aboard. Named ships recur — the Ford class, the Nimitz, the Gerald R. Ford, the Abraham Lincoln — alongside tanks, an A-10, a helicopter gunship, an ICBM silo and a series of nuclear weapons. The reason the card is worth reading is that the objections are better than the answers. **What readers reported:** Ford class aircraft carrier. Nuclear reactors will go for ages, modern computers with power, lots of room for activities and immune to weapons of the time. Just hope they have manuals onboard. Or does that not count as one thing? **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Wish granted... You will now be deposited with the Chinese aircraft carrier type 004 with its full construction crew at what is currently 1909 Paris St in Aurora Colorado in the year 1776\. We apologize but due to ongoing construction at the time of transportation the reactors have not been installed yet. We do offer our congratulations on achieving the world's first aircraft carrier land speed record. Thank you for your purchase and have a nice day. From the replies♥ 6 Yes and I will deliver it to British forces and hopefully stave off the rebellion From the replies♥ 3 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A fully-crewed, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Ain't no way I'm gonna live out the rest of my days with no electricity. source record 253♥ 116 Later-arriving source Fully operational and armed RS-28 Sarmat ICBM silo. Lake Superior doesn't stand a chance. posted about 21.9 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source A Nuke! LET THE CHAOS BEGIN! posted about 11.2 hours after the source♥ -1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “an aircraft carrier” recurs across 4 of the 50 source records in Military hardware at absurd scale; the complete archive stays available below. 50index entries 50distinct source records 35.2%of parent category 5%of the complete index 40top-level comments 10replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 6asks a question 0says they intend to try it 44other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments50 preserved records · 50 of 50 source records accounted for **The USS Abraham Lincoln and its crew. American Revolution about to be a fuck lot shorter.**♥ 3source record 110 **A fully-crewed, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Ain't no way I'm gonna live out the rest of my days with no electricity.**♥ 116source record 253 **A modern aircraft carrier, fully loaded.**♥ 28source record 316 **Ford class aircraft carrier. Nuclear reactors will go for ages, modern computers with power, lots of room for activities and immune to weapons of the time. Just hope they have manuals onboard. Or does that not count as one thing?**♥ 15source record 327 **It counts, but you didn't get the crew so good luck keeping it operational. Also you spawn on land so...**♥ 3source record 329 **All you saying AR-15 … think bigger. A-10 Warthog with enough ammo and fuel to take out the British navy. No navy = no blockade. Problem solved. But really I’d probably just bring the money I have now in gold, finance some privateers to steal more, and buy a bunch of Manhattan. Then invest in the B&O in the 1840s, and Standard Oil in the 1870s. Make more money than Mansa Musa.**♥ 2source record 406 **USS Gerald R Ford There are a million reasons why this is impractical, but I’m pretty sure I could live the rest of my days out comfortably in my own floating city with all the modern convenience of home.**♥ 2source record 410 **A fully loaded M1 Abrams tank, painted red white and blue. Give them red coats something to poo their pants about.**♥ 2source record 411 **The USS Gerarld R. Ford aircraft carrier.**♥ 2source record 457 **An aircraft carrier**♥ 2source record 493 **Nuclear attack submarine, fully stocked, manned and functioning**♥ 1source record 532 **A smartphone. 😐 An aircraft carrier! Hard for them to call you a liar when there's something the size of a skyscraper floating in a New York harbour. Plastics, electricity, rubber, medical supplies, food rations, textbooks, operating manuals, a nuclear reactor, backup diesel generators, maps, jet aircraft...**♥ 1source record 628 **Finally, someone thinking in the right scale. Though I was thinking the USS Iowa, given I suspect I'd run out of jets before I got my first pilot who could take off and land a plane on the first attempt**♥ 2source record 784 **Even on land it would be fine. Yeah lack of crew is hard. Hence manuals. How hard can a reactor really be? /s I’ll recruit some people and add a unit conversion chart.**♥ 2source record 793 **Will be difficult to cool the reactors on land without water... Like nuclear meltdown difficult.**♥ 2source record 794 **Any modern battle ship**♥ 1source record 827 **Everyone saying smart logical stuff. Which is correct. But let’s get crazy! Give the colonists a nuke and tell them to sneak it to England and set it off. (Nothing against England just assuming the choice of year was referring to the American revolution)… what a different world it would be today if that happened lol.**♥ 1source record 883 **Do I get to choose where I land? If I can start on an English warship in the middle of the fleet, I'd take a nuke with a few seconds to detonation.**♥ 1source record 892 **An aircraft carrier. Assuming it comes with everything that an aircraft carrier comes with.**♥ 1source record 919 **A fully crewed aircraft carrier.**♥ 1source record 924 **A fully staffed and equipped USS Gerald Ford.**♥ 1source record 946 **WMDs. All slavers have to go!**♥ 1source record 974 **Plutonium**♥ 1source record 979 **A battleship.**♥ 1source record 985 **An aircraft carrier.**♥ 1source record 988 **A nuclear bomb.**♥ 1source record 990 **A guide and supplies to make a nuclear bomb**♥ 1source record 1031 **USS Gerald Ford, including everything in it and on it.**♥ 1source record 1049 **A nuclear bomb. It'd be kinda funny**♥ 1source record 1065 **A fully equipped and loaded AH-64 helicopter; gonna take the heat to King George.**♥ 1source record 1080 **A F16, I would destroy England just too see what happens**♥ 1source record 1085 **Fully operational and armed RS-28 Sarmat ICBM silo. Lake Superior doesn't stand a chance.**♥ 1source record 1116 **Aircraft carrier.**♥ 1source record 1118 **A fully staffed Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.**♥ 1source record 1154 **One dirty bomb. Let's see how that revolution turns out this time.**♥ 1source record 1164 **a tank**♥ 1source record 1175 **aftican america here. im taking a whole military base.. can i do that? bc there are some things i plan on changing.**♥ 1source record 1178 **A10 warthog with fully loaded 40mm cannons …. Or a an Ac130**♥ 1source record 1179 **Ford class aircraft carrier.**♥ 1source record 1190 **Hard to think of something from 2026 but I'd guess a nuclear bomb.**♥ 1source record 1247 **A fucken tank huuuuu raahhh boys**♥ 1source record 1249 **A thermal nuclear device for London. Gotta make a son rise over there.**♥ 1source record 1257 **That was my second thought. First thought was a mini gun for when they came through concord LOL bet that would turn em back the other way quick**♥ 1source record 1258 **The functional prototype of Tsar Bomba (at 100MT) after finding a way to detonate it in 1776\. They will think God did it**♥ 1source record 1268 **A Nuke! LET THE CHAOS BEGIN!**♥ -1source record 1279 **The USS Gerald R. Ford. Just for the fun of it.**♥ 0source record 1285 **A fully staffed, stocked, and highest tech aircraft carrier available :P**♥ 0source record 1292 **What happens when you get boarded? Or run out of food?**♥ 0source record 1367 **Well, you would be long dead from starvation before a boarding party could even get near one of those with the 30mm Vulcan cannons auto targeting anything that gets within a mile of the ship. (A modern 30mm round would pulverize the wood hull of any ship from that era.)**♥ 1source record 1368 **Aircraft carrier.**♥ -1source record 1429 Archive: 50 index entries preserve 50 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A disease or a poison, brought on purpose16 index entriesAnswers pointed the other way: the item is chosen for the harm it would do. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A disease or a poison, brought on purpose Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A disease or a poison, brought on purpose 16 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 491 **Situation:** Choosing the item for the harm it would do **Why readers chose it:** 16 records where the answer is aimed at 1776 rather than offered to it: covid or coronavirus named eight separate times, plus polio, plague, ebola, fentanyl, microplastics, and LSD in a town's water supply. The reasons, where any are given, are retributive — the shoe on the other foot, the world would be better without America — and two are marked as jokes by their own authors. The card contains the only sustained counter-argument it gets: a long reply listing what the next two centuries would have lost. These are recorded because they are answers with stated reasons, not because the reasoning is endorsed. **What readers reported:** modern diseases the colonial americans had no resistance to. Shoes on the other foot enjoy polio. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 without America, WWI might not have been won by the Allies. & WWII definitely would've gone quite differently. there would've been nobody to lend all that money to rebuild Europe, and it might not have become the economic powerhouse it is today. Lots of diseases wouldn't have treatments or cures, medical advances would've been much slower. There would be countless wars all over the globe. Shipping would be a nightmare as there would be no Navy to police the seas, dispersing pirate ships or bad actors form other nation. There would be no Panama Canal, possibly no Suez Canal, no one would've been there to keep the USSR in check after WWII, leading to a rise of the eastern bloc, communist nation. NATO would likely not exist. China may not have become the manufacturing hub for the world without American companies relocating and American consumers buying their goods. The world would be held hostage my the Middle East and OPEC, paying whatever price was dictated. World prosperity wouldn't have increased as much as quickly as it did. There would be far fewer well-educated people in many nations, as American Universities educate many top minds from places across the world. There wouldn't be baseball. Or shrimp and grits. Or hot boiled peanuts. Or sweet tea. And then where would we be? From the replies♥ 6 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source 14,000 Gallons of LSD and I’m spiking the local water system and then leaving source record 334♥ 13 Later-arriving source modern diseases the colonial americans had no resistance to. Shoes on the other foot enjoy polio. posted about 20.4 hours after the source♥ 2 Zero-like source Everyone's saying penicillin but I'd lwk bring polio. The world would be better without America posted about 2.1 hours after the source♥ -4 #### What the counts show Within 16 source records, 1 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 16index entries 16distinct source records 11.3%of parent category 1.6%of the complete index 16top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 15other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments16 preserved records · 16 of 16 source records accounted for **14,000 Gallons of LSD and I’m spiking the local water system and then leaving**♥ 13source record 334 **Corona virus**♥ 2source record 438 **modern diseases the colonial americans had no resistance to. Shoes on the other foot enjoy polio.**♥ 2source record 491 **Ebola.**♥ 1source record 904 **Covid virus? Spread it world wide and we'd fix the 21st century Otherwise, a history book to invest in the best things the world has created. No point building what they already will, just makes others richer, extract every single dollar from the world like Elon and then rule. Wouldn't take much money to buy some things that long ago, so a crate of cash could also buy you Manhattan and other amazing places.**♥ 1source record 1003 **Microplastics**♥ 1source record 1006 **Covid**♥ 1source record 1022 **A vial of covid-19**♥ 1source record 1079 **Plague**♥ 1source record 1091 **COVID**♥ 1source record 1125 **a lighter to burn the country down before it can grow**♥ 1source record 1137 **Covid.**♥ 1source record 1142 **Covid. Fuck you revolutionary traitors! /s**♥ 1source record 1241 **Covid**♥ 1source record 1262 **Everyone's saying penicillin but I'd lwk bring polio. The world would be better without America**♥ -4source record 1303 **Fentanyl to get all the settlers addicted**♥ -3source record 1425 Archive: 16 index entries preserve 16 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Answers for the other side: helping Britain win12 index entriesA small, consistent group answering the question as a British player rather than an American one. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Answers for the other side: helping Britain win Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Answers for the other side: helping Britain win 12 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 808 **Situation:** Answering the question from the other side of the war **Why readers chose it:** 12 records from commenters who are British, or who simply find the reversal more interesting than the patriotic version: a map of the ocean currents so the fleet reaches Yorktown before the French, the locations of the signatories, a letter to the king, a technology book for the British side, an explosive at the Pennsylvania State House. One argues the British side is the better bet and that a solar-charged phone would hand Britain a large technology advantage. The reply that lands is short — the technology we have now would be further behind — and one commenter sidesteps the loyalty question entirely by offering the plan of Washington's crossing to the highest bidder. **What readers reported:** A map of the ocean currents so that the British fleet can arrive in Yorktown before the French and keep the US British. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Then we wouldn’t be nearly as far along in technology 💀 From the replies♥ 8 If you time travel for the shits and giggles, how can you not take some laxative laced pot brownies? From the replies♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Not even British, but you know, if I am going to time travel it is for the shits and giggles source record 810♥ 11 Later-arriving source I’m British so something to give us the edge in the revolutionary war and any future wars. Any book on advanced technology and how to make these systems from the ground up. posted about 21.5 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source A history book that helps England win the war. If the American Revolution fails, it changes world history so much that none of us would be alive. Plus Hitler and Mr Rogers wouldn't be born either. posted about 5.4 hours after the source♥ -4 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 12 source records for Answers for the other side: helping Britain win together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 12index entries 12distinct source records 8.5%of parent category 1.2%of the complete index 7top-level comments 5replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 12other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments12 preserved records · 12 of 12 source records accounted for **Yes and I will deliver it to British forces and hopefully stave off the rebellion**♥ 3source record 328 **You are almost better off helping the British win decisively. You halve 7 years to turn the revolution around. The best protype solar powered phone can charge 10% battery per hour of good light. Sure you would have to use it very sparingly but having even 1 hour a day access to it mean you can store and use a database. I could load enough engineering information on that to give Britain a gigantic tech advantage. Britain's tech advantage would have some downside during their imperial phase but may just prevent ww 1 or ww 2 from ever happening. Considering were we are in history right now I am willing to roll the dice.**♥ 1source record 749 **A map of the ocean currents so that the British fleet can arrive in Yorktown before the French and keep the US British.**♥ 4source record 808 **Not even British, but you know, if I am going to time travel it is for the shits and giggles**♥ 11source record 810 **Then we wouldn’t be nearly as far along in technology 💀**♥ 8source record 813 **The precise locations of the Founding Traitors. \*Rule Britannia!\***♥ 1source record 1110 **If I take Some sort of big explosive to pennsylvania state house I can prevent the signing of the declaration of independence and prevent the collapse of the british empire.**♥ 1source record 1150 **A letter for the king of england. ‘Don’t let the american colonies become independent; it doesn’t end well’.**♥ 0source record 1208 **I’m British so something to give us the edge in the revolutionary war and any future wars. Any book on advanced technology and how to make these systems from the ground up.**♥ 1source record 1252 **A history book that helps England win the war. If the American Revolution fails, it changes world history so much that none of us would be alive. Plus Hitler and Mr Rogers wouldn't be born either.**♥ -4source record 1295 **Never said it was. I was just thinking what little thing I could take back in time to stop the British surrendering and allowing the regions who were pro British from defeating the rebels in what was mostly a civil war, despite all the American movies and books that ignore this fact.**♥ 1source record 1438 **A map of where Washington crossed the Delaware, available to the highest bidder.**♥ -2source record 1444 Archive: 12 index entries preserve 12 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The exit answers42 records · 2 sub-topicsThe refusal. The item is a way out, and the reasons given are specific. 42 records. The time machine itself32 index entriesThe most common single answer after penicillin, and the one that refuses the premise outright. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The time machine itself Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The time machine itself 32 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 944 **Situation:** Refusing the premise and taking the way home **Why readers chose it:** 32 records, one of the larger single answers in the corpus, and it is the thread arguing with its own question. The reasoning is stated plainly and repeatedly: 1776 has nothing these commenters want, they do not expect to survive it, and a machine that got them there must exist, so it is fair game. Several sharpen the loophole — a return pad, a second use of the machine, a machine that comes with its own batteries, one set for 2029 — and one takes the opportunity to route via 1990 and buy shares on the way through. Nobody argues against it, which is itself worth noting: it is the only large answer in the thread that draws no rebuttal at all. **What readers reported:** How about another time machine so I can make a return trip instead of living out the rest of my life in the Colonial Era? I mean, we already know there must be one of those around for the original question to be meaningful. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Great Scott! Now you're thinking fourth dimensionally! From the replies♥ 16 Upon return you are immediately arrested for walking out of a barns and noble \[link removed\] From the replies♥ 12 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source As a black man, I'm taking a way back to 2026. source record 235♥ 210 Later-arriving source The time machine so I can set it to 2029 and leave posted about 21.5 hours after the source♥ 2 Low-like source A time machine so I can leave posted about 21.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “a time machine so i can” recurs across 3 of the 32 source records in The time machine itself; the complete archive stays available below. 32index entries 32distinct source records 76.2%of parent category 3.2%of the complete index 29top-level comments 3replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 31other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments32 preserved records · 32 of 32 source records accounted for **As a black man, I'm taking a way back to 2026.**♥ 210source record 235 **My Time Machine**♥ 129source record 237 **the time machine**♥ 28source record 296 **A way to get back.**♥ 12source record 320 **A Time Machine so I can go back to 2026\. Duh.**♥ 12source record 332 **I would go back to 1990 so I could invest in a lot of stocks.**♥ 7source record 333 **Something that will make me not be in 1776 anymore, I'd be dead in a week from disease because they didn't have the medicine (or technology) to make it for another 200 years**♥ 7source record 354 **A time machine**♥ 2source record 405 **The time machine that sent me, so I can come back.**♥ 2source record 443 **A time machine. Technically it's from 2026, gets me there, and I can just bring the good ideas with me once I arrive. Plus, no one's confiscating a time machine in 1776.**♥ 2source record 450 **The time machine that got me there.**♥ 2source record 487 **The time machine so I can set it to 2029 and leave**♥ 2source record 494 **Yup. I’d want to come right back. I’m too 20th century to survive in the 18th. They’d probably restart the witch trials**♥ 2source record 788 **I would go into the future, then return to 2026...**♥ 1source record 862 **A time machine so I can go back to the present, 1776 sucks.**♥ 2source record 875 **A Delorean.**♥ 1source record 899 **How about another time machine so I can make a return trip instead of living out the rest of my life in the Colonial Era? I mean, we already know there must be one of those around for the original question to be meaningful.**♥ 1source record 944 **a time machine**♥ 1source record 947 **A time machine to go back**♥ 1source record 949 **The time machine I went back in**♥ 1source record 972 **Def the Time Machine that got me there**♥ 1source record 998 **A timeportal to the 1980/90's**♥ 1source record 1002 **A Time Machine**♥ 1source record 1008 **A time machine to take me back.**♥ 1source record 1051 **My time machine**♥ 1source record 1072 **Time machine. They obviously have to exist so, that is what i'll bring and it has to include batteries.**♥ 1source record 1088 **A second use of the time machine.**♥ 1source record 1099 **The return pad, obviously.**♥ 1source record 1136 **A time machine so I can leave**♥ 1source record 1174 **A copy of whatever time machine they're sending me back with, as it would be just after being charged and calibrated.**♥ 1source record 1220 **the way back.**♥ 1source record 1253 **A time machine.**♥ 1source record 1254 Archive: 32 index entries preserve 32 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A way to die on your own terms10 index entriesAnswers where the item is an exit, given by commenters who state plainly why they do not expect to last. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A way to die on your own terms Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A way to die on your own terms 10 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 388 **Situation:** An item chosen because the commenter does not expect to survive **Why readers chose it:** 10 records, and they are unsparing about the reasoning. A cyanide capsule, a gun with one round, a syringe of morphine, strychnine — chosen because the traveller would arrive naked at an unknown location, because the odds of meeting another human before dying of thirst are poor, because a named condition would kill them slowly, or simply because they do not want to live there. One commenter asks the question the rest of the thread skipped: how long are we staying, because the answer changes what you bring, and he gives three different items for three different durations. Read with the time-machine card, this is the corpus's clearest statement that a substantial minority treats the hypothetical as a punishment. **What readers reported:** A cyanide pill I guess. I am not traveling back in time naked to destination unknown. Did they even have toilet paper? I am not even going to consider living anywhere before 1976. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 lmao someone else said a way to get back, seems like a better option From the replies♥ 2 In 1976, people smoked in grocery stores and doctors’ offices and usually had 4 TV channels. From the replies♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A cyanide pill I guess. I am not traveling back in time naked to destination unknown. Did they even have toilet paper? I am not even going to consider living anywhere before 1976. source record 388♥ 8 Later-arriving source Before deciding that we all need a qualifying question of how long are we in 1776 because if it's forever I'm taking strychnine. A month or shorter, bag full of bear spray. Not sure about a year or longer. posted about 20.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source A fucking cyanide capsule. posted about 19.2 hours after the source #### What the counts show The exact phrase “a gun to shoot myself with” recurs across 2 of the 10 source records in A way to die on your own terms; the complete archive stays available below. 10index entries 10distinct source records 23.8%of parent category 1%of the complete index 7top-level comments 3replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 9other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments10 preserved records · 10 of 10 source records accounted for **a gun to shoot myself with. 1776 fucking sucked**♥ 6source record 323 **A cyanide pill I guess. I am not traveling back in time naked to destination unknown. Did they even have toilet paper? I am not even going to consider living anywhere before 1976.**♥ 8source record 388 **I’d argue a loaded gun so you could off yourself. None of us are ready for 1776**♥ 1source record 733 **Before deciding that we all need a qualifying question of how long are we in 1776 because if it's forever I'm taking strychnine. A month or shorter, bag full of bear spray. Not sure about a year or longer.**♥ 1source record 852 **Assuming I will be traveling through time and not space - I would bring a gun, to shoot myself with. In my area in 1776 there were no people anywhere near enough for me to find them before I died of thirst.**♥ 1source record 877 **A big syringe of morphine so I don't have to wait for death while my blood turns to sludge in my veins without modern medicine.**♥ 2source record 954 **A gun, so I can shoot myself. Being send back in time sounds miserable to me, I dont want to live in those awful times.**♥ 1source record 991 **Cyanide pill. Fuck that noise**♥ 1source record 1068 **A fucking cyanide capsule.**♥ 0source record 1207 **This. Call me a cynic, but I was not built for that life. I like my cushy 2026 life with its modern conveniences and orthodontia and Taco Bell delivered to my doorstep.**♥ 1source record 1397 Archive: 10 index entries preserve 10 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Staying yourself: the body, comfort and boredom answers92 records · 7 sub-topicsSmall, unembarrassed answers about surviving the day rather than the century. 92 records. Glasses, teeth and the body parts modern medicine props up7 index entriesSmall answers about the prosthetics 1776 has no version of. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Glasses, teeth and the body parts modern medicine props up Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Glasses, teeth and the body parts modern medicine props up 7 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 466 **Situation:** Replacing the small pieces of modern medicine a body relies on **Why readers chose it:** 7 records about prosthetics rather than cures: spectacles in the commenter's own prescription, a night guard, dentures. The reason is that these are cheap and invisible now and simply unavailable then, so the loss is total and immediate — one commenter notes his hearing aids would be flat inside a day and takes the glasses instead. The dentures answer is the only one in the card aimed at somebody else, and the somebody is George Washington. Nothing here is argued with, which is the point: these are the answers with no upside and no risk, only a body that stops working without them. **What readers reported:** I think I would take my glasses, since my hearing aids would run out of charge in a day or so. Good luck to me. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 I can't believe no one is thinking about brining Ben Franklin a box of pornography. He would have loved it From the replies♥ 3 Great idea, then his slaves wouldn't have to give up their teeth to make dentures for him. From the replies♥ 1 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A good set of modern dentures for my new pal, George Washington. source record 283♥ 37 Later-arriving source One thing as in an actual single item? Because a sweet first aid kit if not. If a single item, its gonna be my nightguard. I don't want my teeth to get worse and brushing along wont save them. I think everything else I'd need to survive would be there, as terrible as it would be. posted about 20.1 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source My glasses, no chance without em posted about 19.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 7 source records, 1 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 7index entries 7distinct source records 7.6%of parent category 0.7%of the complete index 7top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 6other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments7 preserved records · 7 of 7 source records accounted for **A good set of modern dentures for my new pal, George Washington.**♥ 37source record 283 **My glasses**♥ 3source record 341 **I think I would take my glasses, since my hearing aids would run out of charge in a day or so. Good luck to me.**♥ 2source record 466 **A box full of glasses in my prescription. All I need is to be stuck in ye olden days crawling around like Velma from Scooby Doo.**♥ 2source record 489 **My glasses probably, or some candy. Either way they'll probably call me a witch. Glasses -> witch Blind -> witch Sugar balls -> witch**♥ 1source record 1004 **My glasses, no chance without em**♥ 1source record 1157 **One thing as in an actual single item? Because a sweet first aid kit if not. If a single item, its gonna be my nightguard. I don't want my teeth to get worse and brushing along wont save them. I think everything else I'd need to survive would be there, as terrible as it would be.**♥ 1source record 1165 Archive: 7 index entries preserve 7 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Clothing, washing and the everyday kit you would miss26 index entriesThe answers that skip world-changing entirely and name the thing the commenter would miss on the first day. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Clothing, washing and the everyday kit you would miss Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Clothing, washing and the everyday kit you would miss 26 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 913 **Situation:** The everyday object the commenter would miss on the first day **Why readers chose it:** 26 records that decline to change anything. Toilet paper is named five times, a lighter three, plus boots, long underwear, deodorant, toothpaste, floss, a towel, an air conditioner, a multi-tool and a pencil with an eraser on it. Two commenters give reasons that are more than preference: one is already an eighteenth-century reenactor and would bring his own kit because it lets him blend in and work, and one points out that a disposable lighter would be genuinely ahead of its time, since the mechanical lighter does not arrive until 1823 and matches after that. The card is more useful than it looks, because it is the only place the thread describes the daily texture of the destination rather than its politics. **What readers reported:** Warmest long underwear I can find or my really warm boots. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Not a bad idea. You could show it to Ben Franklin and go into business together. From the replies♥ 26 Charmin, the colonialists would go crazy for triple ply. You'll be the most popular fellow in town square! From the replies♥ 15 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Lots of toilet paper. source record 290♥ 44 Later-arriving source The mechanical lighter was invented in 1823, three years before matches. So your bic would be useful for a while. posted about 17.4 hours after the source♥ 2 Low-like source Probably need one of those powdered wigs, won't I? posted about 14.0 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “a lifetime supply of” recurs across 2 of the 26 source records in Clothing, washing and the everyday kit you would miss; the complete archive stays available below. 26index entries 26distinct source records 28.3%of parent category 2.6%of the complete index 23top-level comments 3replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 24other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments26 preserved records · 26 of 26 source records accounted for **A towel**♥ 118source record 90 **Lots of toilet paper.**♥ 44source record 290 **Charmin, the colonialists would go crazy for triple ply. You'll be the most popular fellow in town square!**♥ 15source record 291 **A bic lighter**♥ 25source record 309 **The mechanical lighter was invented in 1823, three years before matches. So your bic would be useful for a while.**♥ 2source record 311 **A travel bidet**♥ 8source record 336 **Charmin Ultra Strong.**♥ 4source record 339 **My towel.**♥ 2source record 439 **a lighter, i'd be the most powerful wizard in the colonies for about five minutes**♥ 2source record 445 **A modern pencil with an attached eraser.**♥ 1source record 880 **I’m already an 18th century reenactor so I’d bring my outfits and hope they pass as accurate enough and then I could blend in doing hearth cooking or spinning wool. If we’re already allowed clothes then I’d bring a lifetime supply of Tums because some of their receipts (recipes) are very …..unique. Also, there was some knowledge on food safety/cross contamination, but I think we’d be horrified now that we know what we know about bacteria 😬**♥ 1source record 901 **Leatherman. Lol**♥ 1source record 907 **Warmest long underwear I can find or my really warm boots.**♥ 1source record 913 **Pants.**♥ 1source record 920 **I think if I merely brought a lifetime supply of deodorant I’d be deemed the sexiest president ever**♥ 1source record 923 **An air conditioner**♥ 1source record 959 **AC**♥ 1source record 964 **Good work boots. Several pairs.**♥ 1source record 1012 **Deodorant**♥ 1source record 1013 **Toothpaste**♥ 1source record 1050 **a/c unit? dang it I can't plug it in. oh well.**♥ 1source record 1071 **Probably need one of those powdered wigs, won't I?**♥ 1source record 1076 **floss.**♥ 1source record 1153 **Toilet paper.**♥ 1source record 1180 **Toothpaste**♥ 1source record 1218 **"You wipe your ass with toilet paper that has LITERAL SPLINTERS IN IT, of course I'm bringing triple-ply!"**♥ 1source record 1339 Archive: 26 index entries preserve 26 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The answers only the women in the thread gave10 index entriesA distinct set of answers about what 1776 would specifically be like for a woman. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: The answers only the women in the thread gave Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### The answers only the women in the thread gave 10 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 370 **Situation:** Answering for what 1776 would specifically be like as a woman **Why readers chose it:** 10 records forming a set nobody else in the thread produces: a menstrual cup, a bra, an IUD or implant, contraception, and — twice — something that would let the commenter pass as a man. The reasons are given directly and are about the destination rather than the object: rags instead of products, no control over childbearing, and one flat description of what womanhood there would be. One reply argues the opposite way, that the Enlightenment is precisely the moment to start the emancipation argument early if you can reach the right people. Elsewhere in the thread a commenter looks at the same problem and sees a business in it. **What readers reported:** All these people being altruistic with things that would help all man-kind. But my first thought was a menstrual cup. I’m not going back to literal rags, thank you very much. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 Why tho? Surely the freedom of not having one would be nice? From the replies♥ 3 You might as well take a gas mask at the same time. Unless you catch each and every one right after their twice yearly bath. From the replies♥ 3 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Something that would make me look like a man. Womanhood in 1776 was pretty fucking bleak. source record 330♥ 11 Later-arriving source You’d be landing in Patriarchy Central. On the flipside you could start the emancipation wave early. It’s the Age of Enlightenment so you got a good chance if you connect with the right thinkers and authors. posted about 11.1 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source A modern protection, so to tell the people not to overpopulate the earth. 🌚 posted about 7.3 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 10 source records, 1 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 10index entries 10distinct source records 10.9%of parent category 1%of the complete index 8top-level comments 2replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 9other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments10 preserved records · 10 of 10 source records accounted for **Something that would make me look like a man. Womanhood in 1776 was pretty fucking bleak.**♥ 11source record 330 **All these people being altruistic with things that would help all man-kind. But my first thought was a menstrual cup. I’m not going back to literal rags, thank you very much.**♥ 3source record 370 **A bra**♥ 3source record 373 **Why tho? Surely the freedom of not having one would be nice?**♥ 3source record 374 **A large pack of condoms**♥ 6source record 399 **An IUD or birth control implant**♥ 2source record 404 **A book of woman's History.... To really stir shit up**♥ 2source record 449 **A modern protection, so to tell the people not to overpopulate the earth. 🌚**♥ 1source record 936 **Birth control.**♥ 1source record 1023 **You’d be landing in Patriarchy Central. On the flipside you could start the emancipation wave early. It’s the Age of Enlightenment so you got a good chance if you connect with the right thinkers and authors.**♥ 1source record 1347 Archive: 10 index entries preserve 10 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Something to read, play or watch13 index entriesAnswers that assume a great many empty evenings. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Something to read, play or watch Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Something to read, play or watch 13 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1199 **Situation:** Something for the evenings **Why readers chose it:** 13 records assuming a great deal of empty time, and honest about it: a novel, a games console, a hacky sack, a heavy metal album chosen specifically for what amplified sound would do to people who had never heard any, a projector and a reel of Roots. Two commenters state the reasoning outright — that going back sounds boring, and that there would be a lot of downtime. The battery objection that dominates the rest of the technology answers applies to about half of these and is never once raised, which suggests the card is not really about feasibility. **What readers reported:** My Steam Deck because I'm fucking stupid. It sounds so boring to go back to that time so I'll need entertainment but it's not like I'll actually be able to lay around and play the damn thing. I'd have to rely on my natural charisma and wit to win these 1776 ass motherfuckers over and I'm afraid I'd just go over their heads and they'd drown me in a lake **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A hacky sack. Wanna hacky some sack with the founding brochachos source record 321♥ 6 Later-arriving source I'd take the book ' Bridget Jones Diary'. No real reason I just enjoyed reading it posted about 20.7 hours after the source♥ 2 Zero-like source An all in one movie projection set up. Outfitted with a large screen projector, speakers, solar charged battery packs to power it, and a large capacity hard drive with every movie and music ever made, and a small computer with LCD screen to operate. It's all in one box so it counts as one item. 😆 I would be the greatest entertainment house to ever exists. posted about 1.4 hours after the source♥ -1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 13 source records for Something to read, play or watch together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 13index entries 13distinct source records 14.1%of parent category 1.3%of the complete index 13top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 13other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments13 preserved records · 13 of 13 source records accounted for **A hacky sack. Wanna hacky some sack with the founding brochachos**♥ 6source record 321 **Bring a heavy metal album. The superstitious people back then would definitely think it is witchcraft or demonic possession from the speakers.**♥ 3source record 375 **I'd take the book ' Bridget Jones Diary'. No real reason I just enjoyed reading it**♥ 2source record 492 **Only kind of joking, but a battery powered projector and a reel of "Roots".**♥ 2source record 820 **Big mouth billy bass**♥ 1source record 917 **Switch 2**♥ 1source record 1034 **Probably my book so I have something to read while I’m there. I expect there to be lots of downtime.**♥ 1source record 1042 **Bleed by Meshuggah**♥ 1source record 1131 **The Ocarina of Time**♥ 1source record 1171 **My Steam Deck because I'm fucking stupid. It sounds so boring to go back to that time so I'll need entertainment but it's not like I'll actually be able to lay around and play the damn thing. I'd have to rely on my natural charisma and wit to win these 1776 ass motherfuckers over and I'm afraid I'd just go over their heads and they'd drown me in a lake**♥ 0source record 1199 **1776 is a long time ago. I don’t even know what I would do without fortnight. I guess I’d take me fortnight with me.**♥ 1source record 1217 **A labubu**♥ 1source record 1250 **An all in one movie projection set up. Outfitted with a large screen projector, speakers, solar charged battery packs to power it, and a large capacity hard drive with every movie and music ever made, and a small computer with LCD screen to operate. It's all in one box so it counts as one item. 😆 I would be the greatest entertainment house to ever exists.**♥ -1source record 1278 Archive: 13 index entries preserve 13 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Food, drink and the vices23 index entriesAnswers chosen for a taste, a habit, or for what a modern flavour would do to an 18th-century palate. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Food, drink and the vices Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Food, drink and the vices 23 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 484 **Situation:** Taking a taste, or a habit, that 1776 has no version of **Why readers chose it:** 23 records naming a snack, a drink or a drug. The habit answers — vapes three times, cannabis in four different forms — are about the commenter and are stated without elaboration. The food answers are mostly about the reaction: sour sweets, hot crisps, instant noodle seasoning, an energy drink for George Washington, and one commenter who wants to watch people whose sweetest available thing is cake meet a modern sour candy. Another notes, plausibly, that a single flavour-blasted cracker would be overwhelming to an eighteenth-century palate. The seasoning answer is the only one in the card that argues for trade value rather than novelty. **What readers reported:** I mean, I would kind of want to troll people. Imagine giving people who the sweetest thing they get is cake for gobs of money and then one day some dude in weird looking clothes shows up with sour patch kids? or warheads. their tastebuds wouldn't know how to handle that lol. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source I'm bringing a taco source record 304♥ 30 Later-arriving source Baja blast zero sugar posted about 21.7 hours after the source Low-like source Some seasonings, you just know they would live you if you had some rare shit posted about 19.3 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 23 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 23index entries 23distinct source records 25%of parent category 2.3%of the complete index 23top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 21other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments23 preserved records · 23 of 23 source records accounted for **I'm bringing a taco**♥ 30source record 304 **Crack**♥ 2source record 407 **My vape**♥ 2source record 446 **My vape**♥ 2source record 468 **I mean, I would kind of want to troll people. Imagine giving people who the sweetest thing they get is cake for gobs of money and then one day some dude in weird looking clothes shows up with sour patch kids? or warheads. their tastebuds wouldn't know how to handle that lol.**♥ 2source record 484 **No one said a Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme ?**♥ 2source record 490 **I can't believe no one said pop rocks!**♥ 2source record 869 **Brownies**♥ 1source record 888 **The Baja Blast pie from taco bell.**♥ 1source record 895 **Probably my vape**♥ 1source record 906 **Weed pen**♥ 1source record 909 **Flaming Hot Nacho Dorito**♥ 1source record 984 **A pack of 2x spicy bulldak, let the ancestors themselves suffer with their inventions**♥ 1source record 1005 **Penjamin**♥ 1source record 1009 **Id bring a chicken Ramen noodle seasoning pack**♥ 1source record 1017 **Drop me off with Benny Franklin and I’m bringing a ton of modern bud and we’re getting lit!**♥ 1source record 1043 **Rice cooker**♥ 1source record 1066 **A White Monster for George Washington.**♥ 1source record 1084 **Bag of flavor blasted goldfish. A single one could probably kill someone from back then**♥ 1source record 1094 **Dabs**♥ 1source record 1109 **A bag of cheese doodles.**♥ 1source record 1161 **Some seasonings, you just know they would live you if you had some rare shit**♥ 1source record 1239 **Baja blast zero sugar**♥ 0source record 1293 Archive: 23 index entries preserve 23 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs A vehicle brought to show off10 index entriesVehicles named for the spectacle rather than the engineering — one of them the second most-upvoted comment in the thread. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A vehicle brought to show off Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A vehicle brought to show off 10 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 117 **Situation:** A vehicle named for the spectacle rather than the engineering **Why readers chose it:** 10 records, one of them among the five most-upvoted comments in the whole thread — a pickup truck with a novelty accessory on the tow hitch, offered with no plan whatsoever and answered almost entirely with more jokes. The rest are cars, a Hummer, a diesel dually and a four-hundred-foot yacht. The one exception is an electric pickup with solar panels, which is the only answer in the card that would still work on the second day. It is kept separate from the vehicles chosen for their engineering because nothing here is offered as useful — and it is the clearest demonstration in the corpus that a very high upvote count is measuring something other than the quality of the answer. **What readers reported:** A Ford Raptor with a tow hitch ball sack **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 \[George Washington was a Dodge Challenger guy.\](\[link removed\] From the replies♥ 295 F150 Lightning and solar panels. Freedom runs on sunshine, bitches! From the replies♥ 20 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source A Ford Raptor with a tow hitch ball sack source record 117♥ 2,160 Later-arriving source At least go with the Raptor Bronco so you can sleep in it easier. posted about 20.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source 400' yacht with full fuel tanks and fully stocked provisions. posted about 10.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 10 source records for A vehicle brought to show off together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 10index entries 10distinct source records 10.9%of parent category 1%of the complete index 6top-level comments 4replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 10other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments10 preserved records · 10 of 10 source records accounted for **A Ford Raptor with a tow hitch ball sack**♥ 2,160source record 117 **A blue ball sack**♥ 48source record 122 **F150 Lightning and solar panels. Freedom runs on sunshine, bitches!**♥ 20source record 123 **Hummer EV\***♥ 2source record 610 **At least go with the Raptor Bronco so you can sleep in it easier.**♥ 1source record 638 **My car**♥ 1source record 882 **My car**♥ 1source record 910 **2009 Dodge Charger**♥ 1source record 986 **Diesel dually**♥ 1source record 1089 **400' yacht with full fuel tanks and fully stocked provisions.**♥ 1source record 1139 Archive: 10 index entries preserve 10 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Your own family, house and past3 index entriesThree answers that use the trip to go looking for the commenter's own ancestors. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Your own family, house and past Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Your own family, house and past 3 source records **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 932 **Situation:** Using the trip for a private errand **Why readers chose it:** 3 records, and the only answers in the corpus that treat 1776 as a place where the commenter already has people. One would carry enough genealogical information to find an ancestor who fought at Breed's Hill and talk to him; one would bring the deed to a house built in 1770 and still standing; one is going to look for relatives on family land in North Carolina. None of them proposes changing anything at all. They are grouped together because the item is chosen for a private errand rather than for the century, which is a genuinely different use of the hypothetical from every other card here. **What readers reported:** Enough information to track down my great, great, great great etc. grandfather who fought at Breed's Hill (later known as the Battle of Bunker Hill) so I could track him down and talk to him. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Family tree , im finding my relatives from that time period! We have family land in NC. source record 1176♥ 1 Later-arriving source The deed to my house. I bought the house this year in 2026, and the house was built in 1770\. Would be cool to show someone that even 250+ years later the house is still going strong. posted about 13.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source Enough information to track down my great, great, great great etc. grandfather who fought at Breed's Hill (later known as the Battle of Bunker Hill) so I could track him down and talk to him. posted about 6.6 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show This report keeps all 3 source records for Your own family, house and past together and surfaces traceable examples without converting anecdotes into proof. 3index entries 3distinct source records 3.3%of parent category 0.3%of the complete index 3top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 0asks a question 0says they intend to try it 3other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments3 preserved records · 3 of 3 source records accounted for **Enough information to track down my great, great, great great etc. grandfather who fought at Breed's Hill (later known as the Battle of Bunker Hill) so I could track him down and talk to him.**♥ 1source record 932 **The deed to my house. I bought the house this year in 2026, and the house was built in 1770\. Would be cool to show someone that even 250+ years later the house is still going strong.**♥ 1source record 1015 **Family tree , im finding my relatives from that time period! We have family land in NC.**♥ 1source record 1176 Archive: 3 index entries preserve 3 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Taking a person16 records · 2 sub-topicsAnswers that read “one thing” loosely enough to include somebody. 16 records. A person from another century, dropped into 17765 index entriesAnswers that read the rules as permitting a person, chosen for what they would say to the Congress. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: A person from another century, dropped into 1776 Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### A person from another century, dropped into 1776 5 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 402 **Situation:** Reading “one thing” as permitting a person **Why readers chose it:** 5 records that take a person instead of an object, on the reasoning that an argument is more persuasive delivered by somebody than written down. Martin Luther King is named as the answer to a founding the commenter calls fatally flawed; Obama is offered when that commenter concedes he had misread the prompt; one asks simply whether a clever person counts. The same commenter who proposes King also rules out bringing any manufacturing knowledge at all, on the grounds that it would only make slaveholders richer — the only place in the thread where somebody excludes an entire category of answer for that reason. **What readers reported:** I would take MLK. The founding of the United States was fatally flawed, so much so that a) it broke 85 years later, and b) I cannot think of a better ‘cure’ for racism. Certainly don’t bring along any sort of technology or manufacturing process. That just leads to slaveholders becoming wealthy, and nobody wants that. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 I would take MLK. The founding of the United States was fatally flawed, so much so that a) it broke 85 years later, and b) I cannot think of a better ‘cure’ for racism. Certainly don’t bring along any sort of technology or manufacturing process. That just leads to slaveholders becoming wealthy, and nobody wants that. Reported failure♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Can I take someone from now and leave them back then? source record 428♥ 2 Later-arriving source Yeah, I know, I didn’t read the prompt, my bad. Obama then. If anyone could change 1776 for the better, maybe he could. posted about 19.4 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source What about taking a very clever person back with me ? posted about 17.1 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 5 source records, 2 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 5index entries 5distinct source records 31.2%of parent category 0.5%of the complete index 4top-level comments 1replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 2asks a question 0says they intend to try it 3other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments5 preserved records · 5 of 5 source records accounted for **I would take MLK. The founding of the United States was fatally flawed, so much so that a) it broke 85 years later, and b) I cannot think of a better ‘cure’ for racism. Certainly don’t bring along any sort of technology or manufacturing process. That just leads to slaveholders becoming wealthy, and nobody wants that.**♥ 2source record 402 **Can I take someone from now and leave them back then?**♥ 2source record 428 **Yeah, I know, I didn’t read the prompt, my bad. Obama then. If anyone could change 1776 for the better, maybe he could.**♥ 1source record 848 **Obama**♥ -4source record 1209 **What about taking a very clever person back with me ?**♥ 1source record 1231 Archive: 5 index entries preserve 5 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Someone, or a pet, so you are not there alone11 index entriesThe other half of that idea: the person or animal named so the commenter is not alone in 1776. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Someone, or a pet, so you are not there alone Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Someone, or a pet, so you are not there alone 11 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1108 **Situation:** Not being in 1776 by yourself **Why readers chose it:** 11 records naming a spouse, a partner, a cat, a dog, a family — and in three cases the commenter they are replying to. The reasons are stated more often here than almost anywhere else in the thread, and none of them is strategic: not wanting to be burned at the stake alone, not wanting a partner to think you had simply vanished, a cat who would be fine because she is a mouser. These commenters have read the question as a one-way trip and answered the loneliness rather than the century, and it is the one card where no two reasons resemble each other. **What readers reported:** My boyfriend <3 I'd hate for him to think I just disappeared and wouldn't want to be stuck in 1776 alone. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 Nothing says love like being at a warm fire on a cold night together. From the replies♥ 2 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source My wife. No way I'm getting burned at the stake alone. source record 342♥ 5 Later-arriving source My boyfriend <3 I'd hate for him to think I just disappeared and wouldn't want to be stuck in 1776 alone. posted about 21.4 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source hard choice, and it'll probably be useless overall, but my answer would be: you posted about 20.4 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 11 source records, 1 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 11index entries 11distinct source records 68.8%of parent category 1.1%of the complete index 11top-level comments 0replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 10other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments11 preserved records · 11 of 11 source records accounted for **My wife. No way I'm getting burned at the stake alone.**♥ 5source record 342 **My cat cuz he’s cool**♥ 3source record 385 **My Cat. She hates everyone else, and me too. A mouser though, so she would be fine.**♥ 2source record 462 **Not gonna overthink this and try to save or advance humanity or something… I’m taking my dog.**♥ 2source record 874 **My husband, we would probably do alright**♥ 1source record 1054 **hard choice, and it'll probably be useless overall, but my answer would be: you**♥ 1source record 1101 **My boyfriend <3 I'd hate for him to think I just disappeared and wouldn't want to be stuck in 1776 alone.**♥ 1source record 1108 **You**♥ 3source record 1121 **my cat! what eelse?**♥ 1source record 1126 **you**♥ 1source record 1145 **My family**♥ 1source record 1232 Archive: 11 index entries preserve 11 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs The arguments the thread had with itself88 records · 4 sub-topicsFour running disputes: the reception, the rules, the landing site, and whether any of it changes anything. 88 records. Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you?36 index entriesThe thread's biggest argument about its own premise, with the Enlightenment and the Inquisition both entered as evidence. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you? Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you? 36 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 55 **Situation:** Whether 1776 would burn you, listen to you, or simply ignore you **Why readers chose it:** 36 records, and the thread's largest argument about its own premise. The reflex to shout “witch” runs through the whole corpus; this card is what happens when somebody pushes back on it, and the pushback is dated. The major witch hunts were a century past, this is the tail of the Enlightenment, the colonies were already inoculating against smallpox and arguing about the ethics of it, and one four-word reply points out it is the late eighteenth century rather than the twelfth. Against that: the Spanish Inquisition ran to 1834, witch killings continue in several countries today, and the year says nothing about where on earth you land. A second strand argues the real risk is not the stake but being disbelieved — dismissed as a crackpot, lobotomised, or simply ignored by the doctors of the day. **What readers reported:** Not at all. This is the tail end of the "Age of Enlightenment" where old superstitions were done away and the scientific method really started to take hold. While there were holdouts elsewhere in the world, the American colonies were rather open with new medical practices. Outbreaks of disease were very common and they wanted any type of relief from seeing their children die. Go partner up with Ben Franklin and change the world. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 And 1776 means they (obviously) speak english. And not some "well its sort of english if you squint" kinda thing, it's just english. These questions are always asking about going back to the fuckin middle ages and it's like, pretty much everything you take back will get you hanged as a witch or a spy, and you won't be able to communicate with a single soul to tell them otherwise. From the replies♥ 281 I watched an interesting YouTube video where as it played, English was spoken and every 10 seconds or so it advanced 100 or so years. You would be surprised at when you start to actually understand what’s being said, it’s basically around 1500 or a little after that. Anything before that and it sounds really really foreign. From the replies♥ 181 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source Not a chance. This is a good read: tl;dr even common people in the Colonies were aware of smallpox and it significantly stunted recruitment efforts for the war. Washington instituted a policy of inoculation in 1777 to ensure there were enough healthy men to fight. The strategic value of a modern medical textbook would have been recognized immediately if you could get to the right folks. source record 36♥ 646 Later-arriving source nobody would believe you least of all Doctors of the time. posted about 21.0 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source No matter what you bring, your doomed. Anything from the future, and they will call you a witch/wizard and put you to death posted about 0.1 hours after the source♥ -5 #### What the counts show The exact phrase “youd probably just” recurs across 2 of the 36 source records in Would 1776 burn you as a witch, or listen to you?; the complete archive stays available below. 36index entries 36distinct source records 40.9%of parent category 3.6%of the complete index 2top-level comments 34replies #### What commenters explicitly report 1explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 34other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments36 preserved records · 36 of 36 source records accounted for **Not a chance. This is a good read: \[link removed\] tl;dr even common people in the Colonies were aware of smallpox and it significantly stunted recruitment efforts for the war. Washington instituted a policy of inoculation in 1777 to ensure there were enough healthy men to fight. The strategic value of a modern medical textbook would have been recognized immediately if you could get to the right folks.**♥ 646source record 36 **And 1776 means they (obviously) speak english. And not some "well its sort of english if you squint" kinda thing, it's just english. These questions are always asking about going back to the fuckin middle ages and it's like, pretty much everything you take back will get you hanged as a witch or a spy, and you won't be able to communicate with a single soul to tell them otherwise.**♥ 281source record 37 **A surprising number of Redditors seem to think witches were still being burnt in the 1920s...**♥ 52source record 48 **The Spanish Inquisition didn't end until 1834.**♥ 3source record 52 **Abigail Adams innoculated her kids with a needle. She was such a badass for so many reasons.**♥ 80source record 53 **Puritan colonists in Massachusetts had lively debate on whether inoculation via cowpox was ethically permissible and those who though it wasn't were considered fringe extremists. By puritans.**♥ 7source record 54 **Not at all. This is the tail end of the "Age of Enlightenment" where old superstitions were done away and the scientific method really started to take hold. While there were holdouts elsewhere in the world, the American colonies were rather open with new medical practices. Outbreaks of disease were very common and they wanted any type of relief from seeing their children die. Go partner up with Ben Franklin and change the world.**♥ 60source record 55 **\[link removed\] >More than fifty years before the American Revolution, Boston was in revolt against the tyrannies of the Crown, Puritan Authority, and Superstition. This is the story of a fateful year that prefigured the events of 1776\. >In The Fever of 1721, Stephen Coss brings to life an amazing cast of characters in a year that changed the course of medical history, American journalism, and colonial revolution, including Cotton Mather, the great Puritan preacher, son of the president of Harvard College; Zabdiel Boylston, a doctor whose name is on one of Boston’s grand avenues; James and his younger brother Benjamin Franklin; and Elisha Cooke and his protégé Samuel Adams. >During the worst smallpox epidemic in Boston history Mather convinced Doctor Boylston to try a procedure that he believed would prevent death—by making an incision in the arm of a healthy person and implanting it with smallpox. “Inoculation” led to vaccination, one of the most profound medical discoveries in history. Public outrage forced Boylston into hiding, and Mather’s house was firebombed.**♥ 3source record 56 **In 1776, nope.**♥ 12source record 58 **the thing is you did have 'men of science' back then. mostly they were teachers for the rich but if you did something like a proof of concept steam engine for a wealthy merchant. you could have safety in that respect. then you can go and do things like build a basic revolver or magazine fed gun. lets face it a sten gun or grease gun doesnt take a lot but the bullet manufacturing does. however you would be a military game changer for whatever country you found yourself in. then you do things like work out insulin, penicillin, cook up some meth for the soldiers to they fight better too whilst you're morally bankrupt. the industrial buildup would take a lifetime but by the time you're done you've rocketed through the industrial revolution and could potentially reach microchips and pre-modern computing. in the 1800's**♥ 5source record 115 **Well no, the idea that everyone was obsessed with witches and couldn’t wait to burn some is a figment of modern imagination. All it would take is for you to cure someone important from something, and they would protect you like you’re the messiah himself.**♥ 2source record 496 **If you went back to the Middle Ages with a bunch of fancy and clearly alien technology, you’d probably just get hauled off to court to explain yourself. People back were constrained in their knowledge, but they weren’t stupid. Even if your 21st-century iPhone scared the bejesus out of some poor villagers, I’d bet they’d go running for the priest or bailiff before trying to knock your head off. It’s also worth noting that witches weren’t persecuted en masse until the Middle Ages were coming to a close. In fact, the Catholic Church prior to the 14th century quite flatly rejected belief in magic as mere superstition.**♥ 2source record 503 **And it wouldn't a ieve anything because the medical community would dismiss your "crackpot theories" (when the first guy who suggested dictors wash their hands he was scoffed at for suggesting doctors have dirty hands) and might even lynch you for heresy or "witchcraft" when you suddenly show up actually healing untreatable ailments at the time. You would have to convince the medical world of so many thibgs that turned it on the top of its head at the time that it just wouldn't happen.**♥ 1source record 542 **If you survive the inquisition against you. Grey's anatomy is basically a grimoire to their eyes.**♥ 1source record 546 **I mean maybe but the major witch hunts were almost a century old by that point. You wouldn’t be hanged most likely**♥ 1source record 552 **The germ theory of disease had already been posited by 1776\. The problem is that it was not commonly accepted fact; how would you change that? How would a modern medical textbook help? The aim of modern medical textbooks is not to convince people of the germ theory of disease.**♥ 1source record 565 **I'm sure they were, but not in the States. Places like Papua New Guinea and sub-Saharan Africa have burned 'witches' up into the 21st century. OP only mentioned the year 1776, and we associate that year with the USA, but it's a big world and we could end up anywhere.**♥ 1source record 571 **And a double benefit is that English as it was spoken back then is closer to English as it's spoken in the US today than in the UK. So if a US citizen was the one to go back, things like accents would be even less jarring.**♥ 1source record 573 **There are plenty of books, newspapers, even whole US Constitutions written back then. If we can easily read them and understand them with no difficulty, then talking won't be much of an issue. A lot of slang will be different, expect them not to know what "cool" means other than a reference to the temperature, but aside from slang communications would be a cinch.**♥ 1source record 574 **That's because of our America centric bias.**♥ 1source record 577 **Depends on the location. A lot of witches are being killed (not necessarily burned though) up to this day in South Africa, Kenia, Papua New Guinea etc. Inquisition still exists too, btw, but under a slighly different name: the Holy Office (don't recall the full official name now: something of the doctrine of the faith).**♥ 1source record 580 **I'm referring to some much less nuanced takes I've seen, in the context of mainstream Western civilization.**♥ 1source record 581 **nobody would believe you least of all Doctors of the time.**♥ 1source record 640 **Unless there are things you could demonstrate, you’d probably just be called a loony and be lobotomized**♥ 1source record 742 **\>good hygiene and an understanding of germ theory And a very strong will considering what the medical establishment did to the guy who popularized germ theory and its impacts on medicine**♥ 1source record 753 **Franklin, fresh off the printing press and lightning on keys, would be like “okay what the actual fuck” on seeing a smartphone.**♥ 2source record 776 **He'd be among the least likely to just call it witchcraft. Anyone else except maybe Jefferson, I'd be in trouble.**♥ 1source record 777 **Nothing, I'm a woman and would burn me at the stake for witchcraft 😭**♥ 1source record 1130 **No matter what you bring, your doomed. Anything from the future, and they will call you a witch/wizard and put you to death**♥ -5source record 1210 **It's the late 18th century, not the 12th...**♥ 3source record 1211 **any technology sufficiently advanced will look like magic.**♥ 1source record 1212 **Yeah, look how current Americans react to vaccines.**♥ -1source record 1280 **Well in america they were still lynching black people, so i see where the confusion comes from**♥ 1source record 1338 **I feel like people are underestimating how advanced 1776 was...**♥ 1source record 1342 **Nobody is going to label you a witch in the middle of the Enlightenment.**♥ 0source record 1393 **There are people today that think all sorts of supernatural shit is real. Guarantee someone gets called a witch by someone if they go back 250 years with something witchy in hand.**♥ 1source record 1394 Archive: 36 index entries preserve 36 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs “That is more than one thing”29 index entriesRules-lawyering as its own genre, from the solar panel glued to the back of a Kindle to an entire library in one binder. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: “That is more than one thing” Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### “That is more than one thing” 29 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 523 **Situation:** Testing what the one-item rule actually allows **Why readers chose it:** 29 records of rules-lawyering, and it is a genre rather than a nuisance. The moves are consistent: a solar panel taped to the back of the device, a magazine that comes with the gun, an entire library cut up and rebound into one binder, a warship that arrives with everything a warship comes with, a house, a city, and one commenter asking whether “the library” counts as a single thing for the purposes of the spell. The counter-moves are equally consistent — quoting the words “only take 1 thing” back at the answer, and pointing out that the question said take rather than carry. Nobody adjudicates, and this exchange is most of what gives the thread its shape. **What readers reported:** You could cut the pages out of multiple books, hole-punch the pages, and put it in one custom-sized binder to meet the rule of taking one thing. The question becomes what books to include and how big you could make it to physically carry it, at least as long as the transport back in time takes to be completed. Edit: better to put the content into a new word file and reduce the font size to whatever size that could be read with the magnifying glasses of the day. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 All these people "bring this WITH that" - if that's the case, I'm bringing the empire state building with . From the replies♥ 9 Stick a loaded 100 round drum in and pray it doesn't jam From the replies♥ 6 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source stretching the definition of "one thing" source record 254♥ 13 Later-arriving source Is fort Knox one thing? Because then I have gold AND security! posted about 21.5 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source My house. I think I found a loophole. posted about 21.2 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 29 source records, 8 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 29index entries 29distinct source records 33%of parent category 2.9%of the complete index 5top-level comments 24replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 8asks a question 0says they intend to try it 21other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments29 preserved records · 29 of 29 source records accounted for **only one item**♥ 4source record 103 **\> only take 1 thing**♥ 8source record 108 **All these people "bring this WITH that" - if that's the case, I'm bringing the empire state building with .**♥ 9source record 109 **That’s two things. Either take the Raptor or the ballsack.**♥ 3source record 126 **Would ammunition count as a second object?**♥ 7source record 201 **Who said they need to carry it all at once?**♥ 6source record 227 **stretching the definition of "one thing"**♥ 13source record 254 **Sorry, you only get one toilet paper.**♥ 2source record 293 **1 set of 1000 things.**♥ 2source record 434 **You could cut the pages out of multiple books, hole-punch the pages, and put it in one custom-sized binder to meet the rule of taking one thing. The question becomes what books to include and how big you could make it to physically carry it, at least as long as the transport back in time takes to be completed. Edit: better to put the content into a new word file and reduce the font size to whatever size that could be read with the magnifying glasses of the day.**♥ 1source record 523 **At that point your "one thing" becomes your entire local library.**♥ 1source record 524 **Yea but how do you “take” it? Has to be reasonable enough in size and weight to carry it, by my thinking.**♥ 1source record 525 **Nope. Package deal.**♥ 2source record 585 **\> 1 thing**♥ 1source record 652 **Is fort Knox one thing? Because then I have gold AND security!**♥ 1source record 669 **So, they go back in time, but keep bouncing back and forth with new chapters?**♥ 2source record 695 **\> and with So no...**♥ 1source record 751 **Yeah it only works if I get those too as one item**♥ 3source record 798 **Wish granted. You get one mag that goes with the gun.**♥ 2source record 799 **You cheated**♥ 2source record 824 **That's how you win Time Games, my friend.**♥ 13source record 825 **can "the library" be treated as a single "thing" for the purposes of the spell, DM?**♥ 1source record 937 **My knowledge.**♥ 1source record 966 **The Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area. It's one thing.**♥ 1source record 1000 **My house. I think I found a loophole.**♥ 1source record 1033 **There are phones cases that have solar panels, could it get a pass?**♥ 1source record 1307 **The whole of it goes back with them in this scenario, they plop down wherever, and just take it one backpack at a time to wherever**♥ 1source record 1334 **It’s one item! One single document. Erroneous! Erroneous on all accounts.**♥ 4source record 1335 **OK, how many backpacks full of documents does it take to a stack several times the height of the Eiffel Tower?**♥ 1source record 1336 Archive: 29 index entries preserve 29 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Where — and when — do you actually land?13 index entriesCommenters asking what the question leaves out: the place, the duration, and whether you arrive with clothes on. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Where — and when — do you actually land? Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Where — and when — do you actually land? 13 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 1162 **Situation:** The variables the question never specifies **Why readers chose it:** 13 records asking what the hypothetical leaves out, and between them they identify four gaps that each change the answer: whether you arrive clothed, where on earth you land, how long you stay, and whether you come back at all. One commenter points out that a naked traveller has a problem no object solves; another that everyone is assuming the United States when the year says nothing of the kind; another that the genuinely useful item for Oklahoma in 1776 would be a Kiowa-to-English dictionary. One imagines being deposited on the summit of Everest with a pocketful of penicillin. These count as answers because each names the specific missing variable rather than merely complaining about the question. **What readers reported:** I'm not sure there is any one thing I can take that will help a naked time traveler from being killed immediately. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added2 According to the time travel documentary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, you keep your underwear unless the person you are swapping with also wears underwear, in which case you will appear in their underwear. From the replies♥ 33 Wrong. Terminator has long since established that you can only time travel naked. From the replies♥ 3 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source According to the time travel documentary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, you keep your underwear unless the person you are swapping with also wears underwear, in which case you will appear in their underwear. source record 251♥ 33 Later-arriving source ITT - people who assume they have to end up in the states posted about 20.2 hours after the source♥ 1 Low-like source I'm not sure there is any one thing I can take that will help a naked time traveler from being killed immediately. posted about 19.6 hours after the source♥ 1 #### What the counts show Within 13 source records, 5 ask a question and 0 explicitly say they intend to try the idea; neither signal is treated as an outcome. 13index entries 13distinct source records 14.8%of parent category 1.3%of the complete index 10top-level comments 3replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 0explicitly reports a limit or failure 5asks a question 0says they intend to try it 8other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments13 preserved records · 13 of 13 source records accounted for **Does that mean we arrive naked if we don't choose a onsie?**♥ 19source record 250 **According to the time travel documentary Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, you keep your underwear unless the person you are swapping with also wears underwear, in which case you will appear in their underwear.**♥ 33source record 251 **Wrong. Terminator has long since established that you can only time travel naked.**♥ 3source record 252 **It's 1776 and I took penicillin but I am dropped off on the peak of Qomolangma so I die of exposure and hypoxia within minutes. But Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary are going to be really surprised when they find my frozen corpse in 177 years.**♥ 9source record 338 **A Kiowa to English dictionary would probably be the most useful for Oklahoma in 1776.**♥ 2source record 478 **Well. You might want to plan around arriving naked then.**♥ 1source record 989 **Am I just sent back 250 years right where I am? If so, just give me the cyanide pill. Odds are low that I survive long enough on my own to even meet another human, and frankly don't get much better even if I do.**♥ 1source record 993 **How long are you there? An hour, a day, forever?**♥ 1source record 1062 **Am I coming back, or do I have to live in the time line?**♥ 1source record 1128 **I'm not sure there is any one thing I can take that will help a naked time traveler from being killed immediately.**♥ 1source record 1162 **ITT - people who assume they have to end up in the states**♥ 1source record 1168 **I'm not sure it'll matter especially if I don't get to choose to be on a complety different continent than where I am. As soon as I'm found I'd be killed or shipped off to a plantation.... Or worse.**♥ 1source record 1267 **Well that would mean I have to wait for the second coming or have 2 time travel trips, and that would break the rules of this game. Also I should point out if I travelled back to 1776 I would end up in space somewhere as the Earth is moving and the whole thing is mute. Are you taking this game seriously?**♥ 1source record 1440 Archive: 13 index entries preserve 13 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs Does changing anything even work?10 index entriesThe determinist objection, raised in several forms, that whatever you do there has already happened. Source-backed index report #### Answer card naming what commenters would take to 1776, the reason they gave for taking it, and what the thread's own replies said it would actually do there: Does changing anything even work? Source-backed answers are shown before diagnostics; the complete source archive remains below. #### Does changing anything even work? 10 source recordsDiscussed **Evidence Status:** Community answers to a hypothetical; nothing here is verified**Representative Source Record Id:** 858 **Situation:** Whether the trip can change anything at all **Why readers chose it:** 10 records making the determinist objection in several forms: whatever you did there has already happened, so your failure is baked into the history you came from — or your success is, and you would never be able to tell which. Two commenters work it through carefully, one concluding that you can only change events if your knowledge of them was wrong to begin with. A smaller group treats the butterfly effect as the interesting part rather than the objection, and one points out that it is the premise of every answer in the thread, including the ones about preventing the Civil War. Nobody in this card names an item; they are here because they are arguing about what any item could possibly do. **What readers reported:** But see, no matter if you succeed or fail, that is already what happened, so you can only change events (to your own knowledge) if your knowledge of those events were wrong. If you have correct information about the past, then you will find that your efforts were already reflected in that timeline. **Limit:** Everything in this card is what somebody typed in a thread about a hypothetical — including the dates and mechanisms commenters used to correct each other. None of it is verified, and several of these answers are contradicted elsewhere in the same thread. What the replies added1 Yeah I wrote a short story about this once. Basically anything they try doesn't work because it had already been done and then they realize that they may have changed things a million times but from their own perspective it already happened each time because it's all relative. So even if things were radically different, they weren't from their perspective. Pushback #### Where commenters report limits Explicit limit or counterpoint Yeah I wrote a short story about this once. Basically anything they try doesn't work because it had already been done and then they realize that they may have changed things a million times but from their own perspective it already happened each time because it's all relative. So even if things were radically different, they weren't from their perspective. source record 1365 #### Source-record spotlights Most engaged source So honestly it doesn't matter. Hear me out, whatever you plan to change, you failed already, so... source record 294♥ 39 Later-arriving source But see, no matter if you succeed or fail, that is already what happened, so you can only change events (to your own knowledge) if your knowledge of those events were wrong. If you have correct information about the past, then you will find that your efforts were already reflected in that timeline. posted about 22.4 hours after the source♥ 1 Zero-like source I think this question ignores the butterfly effect.... posted about 1.2 hours after the source♥ -1 #### What the counts show Within 10 source records, 0 explicitly report a benefit and 1 explicitly report a limit or failure. These are attributed experiences, not effectiveness data. 10index entries 10distinct source records 11.4%of parent category 1%of the complete index 2top-level comments 8replies #### What commenters explicitly report 0explicitly reports a benefit 1explicitly reports a limit or failure 1asks a question 0says they intend to try it 8other source context These buckets are a deterministic partition based on explicit phrasing in the source text; they are not sentiment scores or effectiveness findings. **Reading limit:** Counts show source-record support for this index node. Explicit language and exact-phrase rules do not establish uniqueness, semantic exhaustiveness, or effectiveness. Browse the original comments10 preserved records · 10 of 10 source records accounted for **So honestly it doesn't matter. Hear me out, whatever you plan to change, you failed already, so...**♥ 39source record 294 **If you change who lives or dies you radically change the future**♥ 1source record 534 **Just imagine the insane amplification loop we could get from bringing one of those books back 500 years, speedrunning the last 500 years of tech, making 500 years worth of new discoveries, writing a book on that, going back in time again, and doing that ad infinitum.**♥ 1source record 556 **But once you started sharing info, wouldn’t that change the time line? Say you out Benedict Arnold or provide info so the (siege)Battle of Charleston, so that the Americans can sneak out forces before unconditionally surrendering…. The ripples might change the rest of your history book**♥ 2source record 680 **That's part of the premise for the question and every answer though. Mainly I'd like to prevent the Civil War by demonstrating the need to abolish slavery from the get go. Preventing prohibition prevents the significant rise of organized crime. Etc. Obviously there are butterfly effects to it all.**♥ 1source record 681 **It would be interesting to see how this changes the world. Would-be world leaders that died from disease. Inventors that never got their ideas out. Etc.**♥ 1source record 732 **Or they didn't fail, you just haven't heard about the things they were successful in changing the last time round and different new things cropped up.**♥ 1source record 857 **But see, no matter if you succeed or fail, that is already what happened, so you can only change events (to your own knowledge) if your knowledge of those events were wrong. If you have correct information about the past, then you will find that your efforts were already reflected in that timeline.**♥ 1source record 858 **Yeah I wrote a short story about this once. Basically anything they try doesn't work because it had already been done and then they realize that they may have changed things a million times but from their own perspective it already happened each time because it's all relative. So even if things were radically different, they weren't from their perspective.**♥ 0source record 1365 **I think this question ignores the butterfly effect....**♥ -1source record 1427 Archive: 10 index entries preserve 10 distinct source records · Every displayed synthesis count resolves to source-record IDs How this catalog was built **How this guide is organized** The complete source archive contains all 1445 captured comments. 991 of them name something to take, or argue about what taking it would actually do in 1776, and are cited by 50 visible reviewed cards across 12 groups — grouped by what the item is for rather than by what it is. The remaining 454 are jokes that name nothing, reactions, questions to other commenters and off-topic tangents; they stay in the labelled source archive and are not credited as answers. Every answer that drew a correction carries that correction inside the same card. Source: Reddit comments — 1 thread, 1445 comments (622 top-level, 823 replies) ## Selected comments from the discussion This export carries real like counts and timestamps. The first 18 are the most resonant on-topic top-level comment from each stage of the discussion, ranked by resonance within their arrival-time cohort so later arrivals are not penalised for having had less time to accumulate likes. The last 6 received no likes at all and were chosen for the specificity of what they describe. A modern medical textbook would be incredibly valuable most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 10,646 There's this book about how to invent all these things from scratch... Probably that. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 2,318 SCOTUS decisions Like "mother fuckers could we be a bit more explicit when we do this bill of rights thing?" most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 206 It's 1776 and I took penicillin but I am dropped off on the peak of Qomolangma so I die of exposure and hypoxia within minutes. But Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary are going to be really surprised when they find my frozen corpse in 177 years. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 9 A gun with one bullet. Im gay and black and have no interest in living in 1776 most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 17 A modern high-capacity, ruggedized e-reader preloaded with offline Wikipedia, medical guides, engineering schematics, and a built-in solar charger most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 9 A fully-crewed, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Ain't no way I'm gonna live out the rest of my days with no electricity. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 116 Melissa Murray’s annotated U. S. constitution. There’s some stuff those guys didn’t anticipate that’s really hard to change and really problematic now. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 22 As a black man, I'm taking a way back to 2026. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 210 A detailed geological map of North America showing every major gold, silver, and oil deposit. I’m not smart enough to reinvent the steam engine or explain germ theory to people who think ghosts cause fevers. I’d just take the map, travel out West 70 years before the Gold Rush, and quietly claim the land where the massive nuggets were literally sitting in riverbeds. I’d be the richest person on the continent without having to convince a single person that I’m a "wizard" from the future. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 74 A newspaper containing Trump's latest exploits. Maybe they could shore up that whole checks and balances thing come 1789. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 4 Well, I'm black, so probably a gun to defend myself or a history textbook to let them know that us being in bondage will end and they're setting up the country for its bloodiest engagement in all of its history by leaving slavery as it is. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 22 Does the multi-volume Supreme Court Reporter count as one thing? I feel like the founders might be interested to see how their little project turned out. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 3 My cat cuz he’s cool most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 3 Newspaper from Jan 7 most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 2 I mean, I would kind of want to troll people. Imagine giving people who the sweetest thing they get is cake for gobs of money and then one day some dude in weird looking clothes shows up with sour patch kids? or warheads. their tastebuds wouldn't know how to handle that lol. most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 2 Penicillin. As much as possible most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 5 The time machine so I can set it to 2029 and leave most resonant in its arrival cohort♥ 2 My Steam Deck because I'm fucking stupid. It sounds so boring to go back to that time so I'll need entertainment but it's not like I'll actually be able to lay around and play the damn thing. I'd have to rely on my natural charisma and wit to win these 1776 ass motherfuckers over and I'm afraid I'd just go over their heads and they'd drown me in a lake no likes — selected for specificity a modern rifle. not too complex, probably would struggle to find any gunsmith's skilled enough to reproduce an m4, but like.. a 30-30 lever? anything bolt action? patent that shit and mad produce it for the slew of impending conflicts. war profiteering at it's most egregious. no likes — selected for specificity A newspaper that lists all of the school shootings to date, hoping those guys can write a better, more restrictive Second Amendment. no likes — selected for specificity My bicentennial flag. I don’t know what other kind of encouragement I could bring. Oh, it may be some modern weapons no likes — selected for specificity A letter for the king of england. ‘Don’t let the american colonies become independent; it doesn’t end well’. no likes — selected for specificity Early steam engine prototype, kickstarting the industrial revolution 100 years earlier would be kinda neat. no likes — selected for specificity ## How the discussion breaks down Relative volume of distinct source-backed records across every reviewed category in this corpus. ### A message for the men writing the Constitution 156 distinct coded comment records 5 normalized answers ### Weapons, and the war 142 distinct coded comment records 5 normalized answers ### Carrying the whole library: Wikipedia and the power problem 129 distinct coded comment records 6 normalized answers ### Not dying: the medicine answers 124 distinct coded comment records 4 normalized answers ### Staying yourself: the body, comfort and boredom answers 92 distinct coded comment records 7 normalized answers ### The arguments the thread had with itself 88 distinct coded comment records 4 normalized answers ### The books written for exactly this question 72 distinct coded comment records 4 normalized answers ### Getting rich instead of saving anyone 61 distinct coded comment records 4 normalized answers ### Skipping ahead: one industrial process 47 distinct coded comment records 4 normalized answers ### The exit answers 42 distinct coded comment records 2 normalized answers ### The low-tech answers commenters said would save more lives 22 distinct coded comment records 3 normalized answers ### Taking a person 16 distinct coded comment records 2 normalized answers ## Which answers the thread checked, and what broke The useful test to put to a hypothetical thread is not whether an answer sounds clever, but whether anybody underneath it worked out what the thing would actually do on arrival. This one does that repeatedly, and the answers that get checked hardest are the popular ones. Every quotation below is a commenter's own words, reproduced exactly and attributed to its source record; none of it is verified beyond that. **The two biggest answers are both corrected from underneath.** The most-upvoted comment in the corpus is *“A modern medical textbook would be incredibly valuable”* — and the replies do not leave it alone. One puts the practical objection in a sentence: *“Hope you're a doctor, otherwise that's just 5 pounds of very expensive paper”* Another works through what a modern text actually assumes and finds most of it unreachable: *“scurvy was cured by 1776\. I'll give you pellagra. I'm fairly certain that modern medical textbooks don't have information about how to train and manage a worldwide system of therapists. If you tell people they have to work on getting people trained to do cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy, you're going to get a lot of blank stares. Without indoor plumbing, sanitation efforts are kinda dead in the water. Anti-mosquito measures aren't really detailed in medical textbooks. How would you get people to be on the right path to study medications? They were focused on gases and metallurgy, and slowly working on the elements. They were just discovering oxygen. By the time there was anybody alive who would understand any of what you're talking about, you'd be long dead.”* The same thing happens to penicillin, the thread's other headline answer and the subject of 51 records. A commenter who knows the manufacturing history explains why the culture alone is not the win: *“Nothing. Penicillin's properties were known for 50 years before someone was able to come up with the industrial process to concentrate it enough to be useful for treating internal disease.”* and another lists the missing plant: *“So as far as I can tell they would be able to make use of it if given instruction, but without access to refrigeration or the technical ability to aerate large tanks of mold mass production would be impossible. It would just be generally harder in every way, I imagine sterilization and avoiding contamination would prove to be a pain in the ass.”* **Every device answer runs into the same wall.** 39 records propose a phone, tablet, laptop or e-reader with an offline library on it; 37 more are the argument that follows, and it starts with the second-most-upvoted reply in that whole branch: *“And only for a few hours until the battery ran out and you couldn’t charge it”* Solar chargers are proposed and then disputed on two grounds — the rules, and the physics: *“> solar powered battery Can only bring one item. Also the solar panels on the batteries are useless, not enough power to recharge the battery and the device.”* The paper version escapes the battery and immediately acquires a different problem, measured by a commenter with a search engine: *“It said take, not carry. But fair. My light googling says it would be like 10 Eiffel towers high”* **The cheapest answers are the ones nobody argues with.** 22 records answer with handwashing, clean water or soap, and they attract corrections about history rather than about feasibility. One record states the mechanism and the reason it needs no buy-in from anyone: *“Skip the textbook and take the oral rehydration formula. Sugar and salt in clean water at the right ratio pulls fluid through the gut wall, and dehydration from dysentery is what did most of the killing then. No lab, no industry, and nobody has to accept germ theory first.”* Another puts the whole case in one line: *“Just teaching them to boil water and wash hands will save millions”* **And a large part of the thread is not answering the question at all.** 823 of the 1445 records are replies (57%), and 36 of them are one argument: whether 1776 would burn you for whatever you brought. It is settled, repeatedly, by people supplying dates. One reply is four words: *“It's the late 18th century, not the 12th...”* A longer one makes the positive case: *“Not at all. This is the tail end of the "Age of Enlightenment" where old superstitions were done away and the scientific method really started to take hold. While there were holdouts elsewhere in the world, the American colonies were rather open with new medical practices. Outbreaks of disease were very common and they wanted any type of relief from seeing their children die. Go partner up with Ben Franklin and change the world.”* The same corrective instinct polices the get-rich answers — aluminium is met with *“Not to poop on your popsicle, but, the extractable amount at the time you appear is mainly zilch. It would be about 50 years after you arrive that trace amounts are discovered. It would then be 75 years after you arive that the novelty amounts would be used in jewelry. Electrolytic extraction technique for scalable extraction would be 110 years after you arrived. So, maybe you want to readjust your idea for the arrival timeline?”* and the rifle answers with *“Except cased ammunition is near a century away.”* Separately, 42 records decline the premise and take a way out instead. Browse the original comments1,445 audited comments and replies PreviousNext Dataset, coverage, and methodology 1,445 comments read and classified 991 records naming something to take, or arguing about what a named answer would do 46 distinct answers the thread gave 823 of the records are replies ## How this was counted The working unit is a comment record, not a person and not a distinct object. All 1445 canonical comments from this one thread (622 top-level, 823 replies) were read thread by thread and each was assigned to exactly one answer card or one exclusion bucket. 991 records name something to take, or argue about what a named answer would do once you were there, and all 991 appear in the complete index below. The other 454 break down as jokes and riffs that name nothing to take (210), reactions, agreement and applause (51), off-topic tangents (46), present-day political arguments (33), a sub-thread about the commenters' own antibiotic allergies (27), sexual and scatological gags (19), questions and requests put to another commenter (17), fragments, single words and unreadable text (16), one-line “witch” replies with no argument attached (13), a templated verdict line pasted under unrelated answers (10), chatter about a named book's edition, price or availability (10), one comment about the thread itself (1), and one comment removed by the platform (1). Cards are grouped by what the item is for, not by what kind of object it is. A phone carried for an offline copy of Wikipedia (39 records) and a phone carried for the reaction it would get are separate answers, and a correction stays with the answer it corrects rather than being filed as a separate topic. 991 counts classified comment records, not distinct objects; the thread produced 46 distinct answers plus four arguments about its own premise. Repeats were deliberately kept: 51 records discuss penicillin and 24 discuss a modern medical textbook, and each stays its own row. Jokes were not excluded for being jokes. A joke that names something to take is an answer and is filed as one; a joke that names nothing and adds no reason about somebody else's answer is in the exclusion buckets with the reason recorded. Upvote counts are the raw numbers as captured. The first hour of this thread holds 60.3% of all its upvotes, so ranking by raw upvotes would mostly rank arrival time; the answers below are ordered by how many records they hold, not by popularity. Nothing here is verified. The historical dates and mechanisms on this page are what commenters typed at each other, quoted exactly and attributed to a source record. Read it as a record of how one crowd argued about a hypothetical, not as history.