The Worst Period to be alive in?

[Free Soviets]

I think this sorta depends on who's point of view you're looking from. If you're a rich white guy, then it's all good, really.

On the other hand if you're a woman, you're more or less fucked no matter what time you're in.

plague killed you just as dead, riches or not. and in some hunter-gatherer cultures, women had it fairly alright comparatively.

[BrightonBurg]

The girlfriend you caught cheating.

^ Epic truth.

[LOL ANARCHY NUBZ]

First half of the 20th century. Two wars, a pandemic (Spanish Flu), the Great depression, rise of extremism (Facism, communism) end of some of the largest empires the world ever saw (British and French), the nuclear bomb and the start of the cold war...

[Tagmatium]

First half of the 20th century. Two wars, a pandemic (Spanish Flu), the Great depression, rise of extremism (Facism, communism) end of some of the largest empires the world ever saw (British and French), the nuclear bomb and the start of the cold war...

Yeah.

Being British and in my early twenties, I'd undoubtedly be called up for either world wars, so would probably catch a bullet or shrapnel in one of those...

[Northwest Slobovia]

I think this sorta depends on who's point of view you're looking from. If you're a rich white guy, then it's all good, really.

If by "white" you mean "European", no, not really. For much of human history, other than the Med basin, Europe was the ass-end of nowhere: low population, low technology, low culture. Ugh.

At best, you can say life sucked somewhat less for the rich, but we see from mummified pharoahs that even they had diseases we trivially cure or treat. And as the old saw goes, before the 20th century, even kings had no air conditioning, couldn't travel faster than about 10mph (good sailing ship w/ good winds), had painfully slow long-distance communication, etc. Frankly, I'd rather be poor in today's civilized world.

On the other hand if you're a woman, you're more or less fucked no matter what time you're in.

Things improved for women dramatically since the mid-18th century, at least in the civilized world. The development of antiseptics reduced death in childbirth a lot, by permitting (relatively) safe surgical intervention. Further technological changes have also helped (chemical contraception notably), and the effects of women's rights movements is hard to ignore. As far as I can tell, women want to live now, and no earlier time.

[Tagmatium]

The period when anesthetics in surgery were commonplace, but antiseptics had yet to be widespread. Bad times for those going under the knife.

[Insertdecentnamehere]

I can't believe we've gotten this far without a menstruation joke.

[LOL ANARCHY NUBZ]

I can't believe we've gotten this far without a menstruation joke.

The standards are slipping somewhat.

[BrightonBurg]

The first of the month?


* The thread now has a menstruation joke*

[Farnhamia]

The first of the month?


* The thread now has a menstruation joke*

The joke is that you think periods always start on the first.

[Sarkhaan]

I can't believe we've gotten this far without a menstruation joke.

My sisters. Ba dum tish.



In reality, I'd say most any that aren't modern day...yeah, we still have a lot of issues, but I'll take our issues of systematicly enforced racism, sexism, homphobia, religious bigotry, assorted forms of slavery and serfdom, etc.

[Flameswroth]

Definitely pre-history...unless we were some sort of alien transplant that lived in intelligence and glory nearly analogous to our alien overlords, such that they wiped out most of our civilization, destroyed the minds of those who remained, and put us on Earth as a prison.

[Iniika]

I think this sorta depends on who's point of view you're looking from. If you're a rich white guy, then it's all good, really.

If by "white" you mean "European", no, not really. For much of human history, other than the Med basin, Europe was the ass-end of nowhere: low population, low technology, low culture. Ugh.

At best, you can say life sucked somewhat less for the rich, but we see from mummified pharoahs that even they had diseases we trivially cure or treat. And as the old saw goes, before the 20th century, even kings had no air conditioning, couldn't travel faster than about 10mph (good sailing ship w/ good winds), had painfully slow long-distance communication, etc. Frankly, I'd rather be poor in today's civilized world.

On the other hand if you're a woman, you're more or less fucked no matter what time you're in.

Things improved for women dramatically since the mid-18th century, at least in the civilized world. The development of antiseptics reduced death in childbirth a lot, by permitting (relatively) safe surgical intervention. Further technological changes have also helped (chemical contraception notably), and the effects of women's rights movements is hard to ignore. As far as I can tell, women want to live now, and no earlier time.

The latter of the poll options seemed to have a Eurocentric view, so I went with that. Comparitively, different places will have varying levels of attractiveness or unattractiveness in certain points in history as much as different classes will. "Which is worse, now or then?" is missing the key addition of "for who" or "for what". Otherwise, the question is simply too broad. Which is what I meant to illustrate, but I seem to be on a communication fail train today.

[Druidville]

anytime prior to the 20th century is bad enough. Farther back you go you lose things like bathrooms, modern medicine, automobiles, electricty, radio, tv.... Never mind the civil rights problems, which amount to if you're not one of Us you're one of Them and therefore bad.

[JuNii]

well... would we know then what we know now? after all, if you lived in the middle ages, you might actually think it's a grand time unless you know then what you know now.

[Laos Refugees]

The middle ages, too much religious and sexual cleansing by fire and the sword.

Same, I picked that because of Vlad the Impaler, I'd pick a concentration camp over getting impaled on a stake or having my nose cut off just for complaining about all the dead bodies on stakes...

[Call to power]

living around the time of the dinosaurs would suck there was like super strong babies and invisible aliens running amok *hums along*

[Buchanan-1]

The other day when the internet went out.....

Or was that the best time to live?

[Autumn Wind]

Actually, I'd think that being a peasant in the immediate aftermath of the black death would be one of the least horrible times to be poor. Thinking Britain/Western Europe, of course.

With all your stupid neighbors dead of the plague and all those obnoxious nobles dead from pointless wars you'd have a run of the place.

Renegotiating contracts due to the complete destruction of the labor population, or dectupling the amoung of land that your family can work... still crappy, but decidedly less crappy than everything that your family has had to deal with for the past several hundred years.

This is of course a ludicrous oversimplification, but getting to use the phrases like "I think we just wound up owning a whole town", "Last one to the castle/cathedral's treasury is a rotten egg" or "Lady, I AM the last man on the face of the Earth!" would be kinda funny.

[Fiduses and Diuses]

40,000 AD or round abouts. If the chaos doesn't corrupt you, aliens don't kill you, someone else will burn you as a heretic.

[Rhodmhire]

The Dark Ages, clearly:

Whenever the concept of "rap" was applied for the first time - 2009.

[Conserative Morality]

The Dark Ages, or the later Middle Ages, before the Renaissance.

[Conserative Morality]

40,000 AD or round abouts. If the chaos doesn't corrupt you, aliens don't kill you, someone else will burn you as a heretic.

Unless you join The Imperial Guard.

[Rhodmhire]

Aside from the Dark Ages, I say the worst time to live was whichever era of time was the most likely one where the human population was only ten.

I'll bring back the argument that the most brutal war, percentage-wise, in human history likely happened then, since I assume at least six people were killed--or 60% of the human population--which would amount to over 3.2 billion today.

But that's my idiotic assumptions for you.

Roll in them.

Disclaimer: But for the love of decency, clean your feet before you come back in the house.

[Anbrig]

The Dark Ages gets my vote.