Wish you could live in the 1800's? (1 Viewer)

[Henry Carmona]

I really want to watch this. It starts in a couple days here on my local PBS station.

...There, each of our selected families took over their own 160-acre plot of homestead land. Through late spring, summer, and early fall of 2001, we observed their complete immersion into the lifestyle -- how they fared with building their home, tending their livestock, planting food, catching fish in the creek -- all without the assistance of modern technology. Their triumphs and frustrations provide a unique account of one of the most important, and often romanticized, periods in American history.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/

 

[Evelio Figueroa]

No thanks. I don't think I can live one day without DVD and home theater.

 

[Nathan*W]

Not to mention personal hygene taking a nosedive. Ugh...

 

[DennisHP]

I watched all 4 episodes a couple months ago and it was highly interesting. Back then there was no PC'ness as you were too busy working to stay alive. And he was he and not "re" and she was she and not "ris".

 

[Edwin-S]

No but the way things are going maybe we will get a chance to revisit them.

 

[AllanN]

That is kind of a dumb question to ask in a fourm that is based soley on very modern technology. I would "...lapse into catastrophic schizophrenia..." if I was without my cell phone, HT, or computer.

 

[Ron-P]

No micro-breweries, no thanks.
Peace Out~

 

[Jay H]

No micro-breweries, no thanks.

But Ron, wouldn't everything be considered a micro-brewery? This is before Anheiser-Busch and all the other big companies were around and you and your neighbor were all brewing beer and hard liquor...

Jay

 

[MikeAlletto]

I think we all could get by without the technology, its the health aspect that I would be concerned about. Also try doing this in the dead of winter...talk about hard times.

 

[Patrick_S]

Depends on the location.
1800's Montana? I could barely tolerate modern day Montana let alone 1800's Montana.
1800's New York? I could live in most large cities of the 1800's. It would of course take some getting use to but I could manage.
Oh and I probably could survive in 1800's Hawaii.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Life expectancy of about 30? No thanks.

 

[DennisHP]

Also try doing this in the dead of winter...talk about hard times

Sure would weed out the inferior genes wouldn't it? Get us back to when only the strong survive.

 

[Steeve Bergeron]

Naaah... I think I'll stay where I am!

 

[Grant B]

say hi to Mr Smallpoxs and Mr Influenza.
mind you, a good portion never got past childbirth.
Still hard to believe that twice the number died from the flu after WWI then in the war

 

[D. Scott MacDonald]

I don't think that they could truly reproduce the 1800 experience in such a test today. When reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series, it did in fact take a LOT of effort for them just to stay alive and I think that they can reproduce this aspect today (they probably wouldn't get attacked by wolves as much, though). There were other factors, however, they they probably couldn't deal with so well. For example, there was lots of wild game to hunt and they used to sell the furs. This probably wouldn't work as well today. Also, they often teamed up with their neighbors to help each other dig wells, etc. Unless all of these homesteads were adjacent to each other, this also would be difficult to reproduce today.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

After reading some of the exploits of my ancestors, I'd say I'll pass. One story involved moving, where they spent 3 weeks making a 160 mile trek, the adults on a wagon, the kids on foot along with a pig, a goat and a cow.

 

[Jeff Pryor]

1800's were just a little too primitive for me. What would I do? No cars to drive, no TV to watch, no phone to talk, no internet to surf. But I could have beer, and that would go a long way toward making me feel comfortable.

 

[Seth Paxton]

And yet some damn fool will be running an article about "Would you like to try to survive in the 1900's?" sometime around 2150.
"Give up my ??? and go back to DVDs and TV? No thanks. And only PCs/Macs and cellphones? Barbaric. Do you realize people used to DIE back then, seriously."

 

[Luis Esp]

Outhouses? Hellllll NO! I don't even go camping! Where do I plug in my tv, much less my hairdryer.

 

[Thik Nongyow]

Interesting that the people who do not like to live in the 1800s are those who have a strong love affair with modern technology. These people are too depended on technology that if withdrawn, they act like people who are without addictive drugs.

Yes, we live in a time of advances in technology, but want about stress and other mental problems? Technology can help people, but can harm them.