Idle Curiosity

[Fox]

Ok, there is no 'right' answer to this question, and I'm not doing a survey, it's just idle curiosity, as I said.

What does the year 1916 signify to you?

I'll explain why I'm asking later.

[Red_Dawn]

I first thought of World War I.

[Cannibal Chrispy]

Motorhead....sorry it just popped into my head.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Cannibal Chrispy

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

That's the year that U.S. ships were torpedoed by Germany and gave the push that turned America in favor of entering WWI. It was a bad year for the Navy both U.S. and Britain lost some major sea power, the Invincible for England and the Memphis for the U.S. The Battle of Verdun was fought, and Einsteins theory of relativity was introduced. These are the things I can remember without looking in a book.

Bo

[jendobyns]

World War I, and a piece of music where someone is wondering about the person's grave that they're standing by who'd fallen in that war.

Ok, there is no 'right' answer to this question, and I'm not doing a survey, it's just idle curiosity, as I said.

What does the year 1916 signify to you?

I'll explain why I'm asking later.

[Silkie McDonough]

Easter Rising/Rebellion, Ireland.

[CaptainB]

The Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916.

[Mission]

My first thought upon seeing the thread title was, "Idle minds are the playthings of the devil." I look inside, and I am proven right.

WWI in a vague, European bi-plane, funny-looking helmets and trenches sort of way...

[Grymm]

The Somme (and first use of the tank), the big bang at La Boisselle, Verdun, Jutland, German agents blowing up stuff in New Jersey(Black Tom), Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, oh and the Irish thing.

*edited first to tidy up the punctuation and second time to say why i'd edited it the first time.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Grymm

[Capt. Sterling]

Dog-fights and trenches, and why the hell would anyone want to recreate trench warfare...

[Mission]

'Cuz you can dig all those cool trenches and have impassioned dialog and people dying in horrible (but dramatic) fashion in them. Put a board over-top part of the trench to form and tunnel and...well! (Plus there's the odd helmets.)

[Tartan Jack]

WW1, primarily.

Also, the famous Jersey shark attacks (that later inspired Jaws), the pursuit of Pancho Villa, The Cubs take over the park from the Chicago Whales and it gets renamed Wrigley Field, the Sykes-Picot agreement that shaped screwed up the middle east to this day, British adopt daylight savings (an invention of Benny Franklin), US National Park service is signed into law, Tennessee hung an elephant, some Russian nobles kill Rasputin (took a LOT of effort inc. poison, gunshots, and he finally drowned to die), and the Berlin olympics cancelled (caused a chip on the shoulder of German that affected the games 20 years latter in the same city)

What are you thinking?

[Jas. Hook]

'Cuz you can dig all those cool trenches and have impassioned dialog and people dying in horrible (but dramatic) fashion in them. Put a board over-top part of the trench to form and tunnel and...well! (Plus there's the odd helmets.)

Splendid war indeed... don't forget submarine warfare, machine guns, automatic pistols, poison gas, barbed wire, mortars, flamethrowers, heavy artillery, aircraft dogfights and bombing and other neat stuff to kill folks with ... all while wearing those odd helmets.

Jas. Hook

[Tartan Jack]

Speaking of WWI reenactment, there is some land out west (US) that would make a fabulous No-Man's Land. Some in North Georgia too.

[Capt. Sterling]

(Plus there's the odd helmets.)

You can say that again... grew up with too many in the house, all belonging to my brother...

[Red_Dawn]

WWI in a vague, European bi-plane, funny-looking helmets and trenches sort of way...

My second thought after WWI was Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace sitting on his doghouse flying in his Sopwith Camel.

[Mission]

WW1, primarily.

Also, the famous Jersey shark attacks (that later inspired Jaws), the pursuit of Pancho Villa, The Cubs take over the park from the Chicago Whales and it gets renamed Wrigley Field, the Sykes-Picot agreement that shaped screwed up the middle east to this day, British adopt daylight savings (an invention of Benny Franklin), US National Park service is signed into law, Tennessee hung an elephant, some Russian nobles kill Rasputin (took a LOT of effort inc. poison, gunshots, and he finally drowned to die), and the Berlin olympics cancelled (caused a chip on the shoulder of German that affected the games 20 years latter in the same city)

Dude. I can't see how there is a way 1916 could have reminded you of all that without help from Wiki unless you majored in early 20th c. history.

While we're speaking of WWI cartoon dogs in aviator goggles and biplanes, let's not forget Muttley.

[Tartan Jack]

WW1, primarily.

Also, the famous Jersey shark attacks (that later inspired Jaws), the pursuit of Pancho Villa, The Cubs take over the park from the Chicago Whales and it gets renamed Wrigley Field, the Sykes-Picot agreement that shaped screwed up the middle east to this day, British adopt daylight savings (an invention of Benny Franklin), US National Park service is signed into law, Tennessee hung an elephant, some Russian nobles kill Rasputin (took a LOT of effort inc. poison, gunshots, and he finally drowned to die), and the Berlin olympics cancelled (caused a chip on the shoulder of German that affected the games 20 years latter in the same city)

Dude. I can't see how there is a way 1916 could have reminded you of all that without help from Wiki unless you majored in early 20th c. history.

While we're speaking of WWI cartoon dogs in aviator goggles and biplanes, let's not forget Muttley.

I remembered most of it, then checked the dates on the rest (w/ Google) to be sure, mainly the time-zone change, elephant, and park service. I knew the shark attacks, pretty sure on Pancho Villa (knew was 1915 or 1916-before the Lusitania and US entering WWI), Cubs/Wrigley (after the Federal League folded in 1915 and BEFORE the 1917 Star-Spangled White Sox uniforms) Sykes-Picot (but had to look up the correct name), and Rasputin (1 year before the 1917 Russian Revolution and one of the timing sparks). All those were before the US got into WWI in 1917. The Berlin Olympic thing was actually an issue/reason/matter in them getting the 1936 Games, famous for Hitler's propaganda on the "new, enlightened Nazi Germany. I find the 1936 Berlin games particularly interesting and have a couple books on them.

And, yes, I majored in History and had a professor who focused on Civil War-WW2 history, mostly early 20th C. Plus, I am a HUGE Baseball park fan, among many other things . . .

Nerd-fight time . . .

In a dogfight between Snoopy and Muttley, who has the edge?

(Note the pun)

[Mission]

Snoopy - because he is a good character and Muttley is a bad 'un. (The good characters may take a shellacking in the short run, but they nearly always triumph in the long run in cartoons.)

[Capt. Sterling]

Must agree with Mission here. Snoopy, without a doubt...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDu95lVe74c&feature=related

Edited April 28, 2011 by Capt. Sterling

[Capt. Sterling]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbhzqoYYROA&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=AVGxdCwVVULXcG5_wT1Qt83xLl_CuGqNbz

[Red-Handed Jill]

Yep - I flashed on the Jersey shark attacks too.

[Red_Dawn]

Nerd-fight time . . .

In a dogfight between Snoopy and Muttley, who has the edge?

(Note the pun)

I had to think about this a while, but I think Snoopy would win. If I recall correctly, both of them tended to crash a lot, but at least Snoopy was getting shot down by the infamous Red Baron. Muttley, despite having backup, was getting pwned by a pidgeon.

[Fox]

My second thought after WWI was Snoopy the World War I Flying Ace sitting on his doghouse flying in his Sopwith Camel.

OK, this wins the prize for my favourite response

The (incredibly dull now) reason for my asking is that I was listening to Zombie, by the Cranberries, which was a bit of a favourite in the 90s. After all these years I just realised that it's about the Easter Rising (being an Irish band) and not WWI as I had blithely assumed.

I wondered if my oversight was the result of having an English outlook, and sought to test it by asking my colonial friends, who turned up late for WWI, and thus might not think of 1916 in the same way.

Thanks.

Please now resume your former conversation, which was more interesting.

(Of course, if I'd ever watched the video it would have become obvious)

[Tartan Jack]

I thought Easter Rising, but for some reason thunk it was after 1918 . . .

Nope: http://www.easter1916.net/

(That has been the subject of numerous songs and a notable film or 2)

I forgot it was in the midst of WWI fighting.