As long as there has been history there have been historians willing to analyze, often ad nauseum, any event worth documenting. Though valuable to the understanding of human nature, even the most detailed analyses of critical human events often fail to address some of the most intriguing questions in history; the hypotheticals.
For very obvious reasons, hypothetical and rhetorical questions cannot be addressed in any serious scholarly historical analysis. Moreover, even if they could, the answers would be little more than opinionated guess work, which is traditionally, though somewhat hypocritically, shunned by the history community. Asking hypothetical questions of history can be every bit as thought provoking (and perhaps even more entertaining) than simple analysis.
In hopes of stimulating such thoughts, as well as providing entertainment, we’ll be taking a look at a series of hypothetical and rhetorical questions. Some are serious, some are snarky, some are downright ludicrous.
What If’s: Some questions about things that did or did not happen.
What if Neanderthals had won out over Homo sapiens?
If John the Baptist wasn’t killed by Herod, would his following have overshadowed his cousin’s?
What if the Roman’s used a substance other than lead to make their pipes?
What if Constantine rejected Christianity on his deathbed?
What if the various Barbarian hordes focused their attention on the eastern empire instead of Rome?
If Islam hadn’t spread the way it did, how long would it have taken Europe to come out of the dark ages?
What if DaVinci had successfully created one of his flying machines? Would flight have been possible without combustion engines?
Could the French Revolution have been avoided if the French government hadn’t helped the colonies fund the American Revolution?
What would have become of the Cold War if the allies decided to drop a nuclear weapon on Berlin?
What if Brian Jones didn’t die, and later reunited with The Rolling Stones?
What would have happened to the music industry if Woodstock was a failure?
What if George Lucas decided to put out the Star Wars prequels in the 1980, right after Return of the Jedi? What if he created them in order?
Would the Steroid Era of baseball have been as prominent if the 1994 strike didn’t occur?
What would the careers of people like Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron have looked like without the constraints of the shot clock?
What would have happened if Flight 93 hit its target?
What if Al Gore was elected in 2000 or John Kerry was elected in 2004?
Almost Famous: A look at obscure people involved in not-so-obscure events.
After Barabbas was freed by the Romans instead of Jesus, did he go on to commit any other crimes?
Did the carpenter who created crosses for Jerusalem have any idea how important his job was?
Was the last guy to sign the Declaration of Independence mad that he had to be last?
How bad did the usher waiting on Lincoln’s booth feel after the assassination?
Did the first Jew killed under Hitler’s regime have any idea the tragedy that would ensue?
At what points did the fifth Beatle begin having regrets?
What was going through the head of the Clemson player hit by Woody Hayes? Did he have any idea at that moment that it would be the last act of Hayes’ illustrious career?
Who was the first person in one of the WTC towers to realize a plane was about to hit?
Assorted Irrelevance:
What was the cause of the first fistfight between men?
Who was the first adulterer?
Who invented beastiality? Why?
Who was the first person put to death for doubting Christianity? Islam?
What was the first pornographic image put on the internet?
Who would be more beloved if they were still alive? Biggie or Tupac?
Did anyone die from organ failure due to their transplant not arriving after the 9/11 plane groundings?
What kind of speech will the first man on Mars have to give to top Neil Armstrong’s “One small step…” speech?
At what point will mankind decide to completely abandon all fossil fuels? Is it even possible?
Will sports ever become irrelevant to modern culture?
Will it ever become cool on a pop culture level to be religious?
When will Facebook decline the way Myspace has?
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