Comments on: Monday Confessional: We Don’t Need Roads

By: Ferris

Ferris — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:06:31 +0000

What about Steve Guttenberg?
I’d like to go back in time to the filming of Police Academy 1 and go to the hair stylist with Mr. Guttenberg and find out if that awesome fro was naturally occurring or if he had a man-perm.

By: keithage

keithage — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:18:58 +0000

Much better thank you. I agree that it is a good era to visit.

By: E Dagger

E Dagger — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:40:41 +0000

While it’s true that Gutenberg was beaten to the printing press punch by several hundred years, how often do you hear anyone talking about the Chinese inventing the thing? They may have invented it, but didn’t really do shit with it in the broad scheme of history. Gutenberg’s printing press led to the Gutenberg Bible which is largely credited as the catalyst for widespread literacy, which was the point of what I wrote above. I simply used our collective shorthand knowledge of Gutenberg as the printing press inventor as the starting point of what I wrote above.

But since I didn’t realize you were writing a history of the printing press in your spare time and demand accuracy, I suppose here’s what I should have said

“…it’s my personal view that there is no more important technological advance in the history of the world in terms of spreading knowledge than Gutenberg’s use of the printing press leading to the Gutenberg Bible largely credited as the catalyst for widespread literacy.”

It’s a bit overwritten, but at least it’s accurate now, yes?

By: keithage

keithage — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:46:28 +0000

I have a problem with your irrefutable proof Dagger.

What about “the first European to use movable type printing” defies my statement? I am aware it says “invents the global printing press” but, I believe if you wikipedia’d it you would find out that the chinese invented it a few years before Gutenberg (539 AD.). Your statement would be like saying Henry Ford invented the Automobile when all he did was use interchangable parts on an assembly line.

All that being said, you now have a very good reason to visit said time zone.

By: Tron

Tron — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:27:16 +0000

I just wanted to reference wikipedia again. But yeah, he was elected to 4 served a couple months in the final one. It’s a tough call.

By: augie.maestas

augie.maestas — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:24:45 +0000

Very good point, however elected to 4 terms, he didn’t complete the 4th because he passed away. I need a ruling. Does this mean he was president for 3 terms because they were full or 4 terms because he was voted to 4?

Thoughts?

By: Tron

Tron — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:19:59 +0000

According to Wikipedia FDR served 4 terms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDR

By: augie.maestas

augie.maestas — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:06:33 +0000

History does kick ass Flickerbock, however, after watching many movies about going back in time. I didn’t want to go back and mess anything up by involving myself in history.

On that note, if you can have the power of the “Ghost from Christmas past” and go back in time without being seen/heard, I would go back in time to 1776. I would want to sit in the room with all of Americas great leaders well they signed the Declaration of Independence.

If you can go back, and interview people from the past without changing their thought process or changing what they will do that was so great for this world – I agree with Flickerbock that meeting TJ or Ben Franklin would be awesome. I would even love to have a sit down with one Franklin D. Roosevelt – post WWII. Having been the President that started in the Great Depression, was part of the New Deal, went through the adversity of WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbor which can be argued that is it the largest attack on American Soil. I just think it would be an interesting conversation to hear his point of view on all of the events he had to go through in his 3 terms as President.

By: Gutter

Gutter — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:03:10 +0000

I agree that Wikipedia is not a good site to reference with someone questions your source, I do believe Dagger is still right. I found a ton of sites that give credit to Gutenberg for inventing the printing press. Just put into google “inventor of the printing press” and his name comes up. Of course, the internet as a whole is not a great source either so take that search for what it is worth.

Gutenberg could have invented Shamwow becuase it is made in Germany and Gutenberg is German. I find this logic to be bulletproof. The debate is over, Guttenberg invented Shamwow!

By: Flickerbock

Flickerbock — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:26:00 +0000

I’m not going to lie – I am disappointed in the lack of responses to this confessional. History kicks ass. How could you not think of one thing you would like to see? Come on, readers!

And Dagger, I wouldn’t go around flashing Wikipedia entries as fact. Go to a respectable site to find that info!