Would you have survived 200 years ago?
Replies
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most definitely!
apart from having the desire to live and thrive,
creative thinking, adaptability, innovative, eager to learn, good communication skills, hard working, caring, patient....etc.0 -
I know how to trap hogs. I can make my own long bow and hunt with it. I tan fur and snare-trap fur bearing animals. I can make clothing from said fur. I weave baskets and hats. I know how to make my own lye for soap. I know how to purify lard. I raise livestock and grow their and MY food. I know how to hand-thresh grain. I make candles from beeswax. I make bread from acorns. I eat wild plants. I can use wild plants medicinally. I make my own cough syrup and asprin. I eat raccoon and opossum. I know how to make a boat from a tree and fishing line from deer intestines. I know how to cook snake, and how to make a bird trap for doves and cardinals. I have used horses to plow. I know how to castrate livestock for fattening.
With the exeption of this computer and electricity, I AM living 200years in the past.0 -
Nope, I'd die. Because I can't keep my big fat mouth shut. They'd kill me for obstinance.0
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You're so much cooler than me it hurts. But since you're my friend I think some of it rubs off on me LOLI know how to trap hogs. I can make my own long bow and hunt with it. I tan fur and snare-trap fur bearing animals. I can make clothing from said fur. I weave baskets and hats. I know how to make my own lye for soap. I know how to purify lard. I raise livestock and grow their and MY food. I know how to hand-thresh grain. I make candles from beeswax. I make bread from acorns. I eat wild plants. I can use wild plants medicinally. I make my own cough syrup and asprin. I eat raccoon and opossum. I know how to make a boat from a tree and fishing line from deer intestines. I know how to cook snake, and how to make a bird trap for doves and cardinals. I have used horses to plow. I know how to castrate livestock for fattening.
With the exeption of this computer and electricity, I AM living 200years in the past.0 -
yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.0 -
Edited because internet connection caused double-post.0
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Definitely. I'm not tech. heavy, I don't even use a smart phone. I have a mechanical engineering degree and a physics degree, and I can hunt/fish. I would have a tough time without modern hygiene products, but those aren't a "necessity" to surviving.0
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I would be dying/dead from my infected gall bladder that I had removed last month during emergency surgery.0
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thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.0 -
I was going to be totally non PC and say...Im black, I think I need to stay right here in 2014, but I see someone got to that one first LoL!!
Okay though, to answer the question... I'm a fast learner and super resourceful, Macgyver could have been my father if he wasnt a fictional character
You can plunk me down anywhere, in a posh condo in the city, or a cabin the woods and I'll find a way to be happy. So from that alone, I'd probably make it.
My downside? I think a lot, have a lot of wild ideas and say the darnest thing sometimes (all the time)...nowadays, Im seen as quirky, an out of the box thinker and intelligent...but 200 years ago, I probably would have gotten a lobotomy or burned at the stake or something.
Yeah, 2014 is good for me all around hehehe!!0 -
Given that I am 3 generations removed from Teepee (Tipi) life... and that My Grandmother raised 6 kids alone for 3 years in a canvas tent on the bald prairie while my grandfather fought in WWII... I would say I have resilience and fortitude in my genetic code... as for my current skill set... as a hobby I work with leather... making bags, pouches, belts, moccasins etc... I also spent 17 years of my youth working "in the bush" where I learned to thrive in the outdoors... I can take the eye out of a gopher from 200 yards with a .22 and nail a bull's eye with a bow from 30 yards...0
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*** Edited b/c I missed quoting a previous MFP'er who said "I wouldn't survive, I'd thrive!"
Ditto!
I only get minor colds & only every 3 years so I believe I’d fair better during plagues than others with my strong immune system, I have no desire to have kids so no fear of dying in childbirth there and I HATE cell phones!! I refuse to own one so I'd survive without the internet - too many manual chores to do anyway!
The downside however would be my lack of voting ability, equal rights etc. and therefore it would be almost impossible to continue doing what I do for a living, wearing a suit every day since women were kept out of business (mostly).0 -
Eep! I took so much time daydreaming about answering my question how Id survive, I totally missed the whole race debate that happened while I was posting.
I mean, what I said about me being black 200 years ago was totally in a light-hearted sense. But if anyone wants to get *really* serious about it...then all I can say is....I have black ancestors, obviously, and Im going to have to assume they survived, else I wouldnt be here!!! So with that reasoning, I could totally survive, regardless of the era or my race.
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No, I definitely wouldn't survive 200 years ago. All my skills are related to technology. I don't know if I can live without my computer, internet, cell phone, car, and money.
Yeah, I don't know how to hunt without a gun. I'd be eaten within moments.0 -
most definitely! gardener, herbalist, survivalist, soldier0
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No, I definitely wouldn't survive 200 years ago. All my skills are related to technology. I don't know if I can live without my computer, internet, cell phone, car, and money.
Yeah, I don't know how to hunt without a gun. I'd be eaten within moments.
erm..... there were guns 200 years ago.0 -
I would have been fine. I can cook and bake with fire and sew (by hand as well as the machine), both of which would give a single woman a chance at supporting herself.
If a 21st century person got sent back to the early 19th century, they would be immune to many of the diseases that ravaged people like smallpox, diptheria, tetanus, etc because of vaccines. What we would have trouble with are the ordinary bugs which our modern sanitation has caused us to lose immunity to because we have not been exposed for several generations.0 -
No, I definitely wouldn't survive 200 years ago. All my skills are related to technology. I don't know if I can live without my computer, internet, cell phone, car, and money.
Yeah, I don't know how to hunt without a gun. I'd be eaten within moments.
erm..... there were guns 200 years ago.
True, but have you ever shot black powder guns? Accuracy is not their strong suit and I know really good marksmen and women who can't hit close to the bullseye when shooting a muzzleloader.0 -
No, I definitely wouldn't survive 200 years ago. All my skills are related to technology. I don't know if I can live without my computer, internet, cell phone, car, and money.
Yeah, I don't know how to hunt without a gun. I'd be eaten within moments.
erm..... there were guns 200 years ago.
True, but have you ever shot black powder guns? Accuracy is not their strong suit and I know really good marksmen and women who can't hit close to the bullseye when shooting a muzzleloader.
Yes, I have, and if they can't hit close to the bullseye when shooting a muzzleoader they are not good marksmen and women. Shooting a muzzleoader is not much different than shooting a single shot shotgun. You have 50-150 yards to hit your target. You have one shot and it takes a while to reload, so you'd better hit the target the first time. We've taken deer and turkey with them. If they weren't accurate, people would have starved hunting with them 200 years ago.0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
Slavery a common first world problem? :huh: Hmm k the more you know.0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
Slavery a common first world problem? :huh: Hmm k the more you know.
lol no, the common overmedicated form of depression in the first world.0 -
I'd have died at birth, so no, I wouldn't have been all that useful 200 years ago.0
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lol no, the common overmedicated form of depression in the first world.
Depression is real, just as diabetes is real. Samuel Johnson probably had depression. Winston Churchill had it. My great-grandfather had it so badly that he'd sit for days in a chair in the corner and not speak. It simply doesn't rise to the level of things that will kill you (unless you kill yourself).0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
I think it's odd that a person wouldn't consider things like that when considering a hypothetical like this. I mean, isn't the point to think about what it would be like?0 -
I could not have survived as a pioneer or anyone that lived outside of a city. I have no skills that are applicable to 200 years ago except the fact that I'm a woman (not a skill, just stay with me). If I were suddenly transported 200 years in the past, I think I would quickly find myself among the ranks history's first profession.
I'll stay right here.0 -
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
Honestly, it is only odd for you because you wouldn't have to think about things like racism and slavery and you take that for granted. I mentioned before, the first question I always ask when this hypothetical comes up is "Would I still be black?" and it has made people think-- wait, the olden days weren't so great, for reasons beyond missing modern medicine and conveniences. And if whimsical hypothetical questions sometimes make you think about more serious things, that's okay.0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
I think it's weird not to. It's reality. My first thought when I read the question was "I'd hate being treated as a second class citizen. I'd probably be a prostitute". Why is considering how poorly people of your race/color were treated any different?0 -
thiisook a strange turn....yes! im a farm girl and love being outside!
Well I'd be a slave, so the above wouldn't be quite so whimsical as it sounds. If the topic of going back in time comes up in conversation, the first thing I ask is "Would I still be Black?"
If I retained my skills/knowledge as a physician, I might get to be a midwife or house slave. Lucky me!
why would you have to be in America though?
People of color were treated like crap all over back in those days.
People of color are still treated like crap all over... including in America.
First of all, which color? Brown, as in Latino? They're doing pretty well in South and Central America and the Iberian peninsula. Yellow, as in Oriental? They're doing pretty well in Asia.
Black? Then.... as of today,
Where is this all over of which you speak? South Africa, yes. Portions of the United States, yes. The majority of Africa, no.
Every race and ethnicity gets treated like crap somewhere. Not everywhere, but "all over" as in many different places. As you point out, there are places where certain races or ethnicities are not treated like crap. I'm not going to go into so much detail as to make you a map for each race and each ethnicity with every village or region where they are treated like crap. Broadly speaking, they are. You can disagree if you wish, and I support free speech so that is alright, but I'm not going to spend time arguing with you.
PS: You forgot native peoples, for example: American Indians and Eskimos... I'm not sure there is any place this group is thriving, even on reservations.
basically I just think it's odd that so many people too something like a topic on survival prior to modern conveniences and took it to a level of racism, slavery, and not having medications for their depression, which is a common 'first world' problem.
I think it's weird not to. It's reality. My first thought when I read the question was "I'd hate being treated as a second class citizen. I'd probably be a prostitute". Why is considering how poorly people of your race/color were treated any different?
Maybe it's just odd the two sides of how people think - about half the people answered based on survival abilities, while the other half zeroed in on societal issues only,0 -
There are really two ways people are looking at this question: would you have survived if you had been born 200 years ago vs, would you survive if you were sent back 200 years. The OP was referring to being sent back 200 years (methinks someone has been watching "Outlander").
I am pretty sure I would have survived if I had been born 200 years ago. I come from hearty stock with very few childhood deaths. In fact, among my direct ancestors only two died before their 70's and one was an accident (the other was TB). My birth was uneventful and I haven't had any serious health complications.
Surviving if I went back 200 years? Probably but it would mostly depend on where I was able to live. I have skills that would be in demand in a city like cooking and sewing. I am also well read and have taught so getting a job as a governess would be a possibility. I am too old to get work as a prostitute but I can pull a pint with the best of them so maybe a barmaid. If I ended up in the middle of nowhere, maybe. I have some experience with survival living but I don't know if I have enough to keep me going until I got to a city.0
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