this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 101 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I'm reading a book from the 30s and it has phrases like: "in the time after the war". It's written in 1937 and hits differently in hindsight.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 109 points 2 years ago (4 children)

They called WWI "the war to end all wars". Then humanity developed its interest in sequels.

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 30 points 2 years ago

Yes, the "second war to end all wars" and the "cold war that only gets hot in the periphery"

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 20 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nukes are about the only reason we haven't made it a trilogy.

It'll be the last one in the franchise if they do.

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[–] devfuuu@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Typical holywood and their sequels. Just pray they don't remember to retrofit a prequel in there.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (4 children)

WWII wasn't even really a sequel - it's more of a classic reboot. It's almost exactly the same story as the first one, just with a few twists like Japan and the atomic bomb ending thrown in.

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[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Wow, that truly is my favorite part of reading/watching old media. I love learning how people thought back then.

[–] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 31 points 2 years ago (2 children)

People in November 2019: "Next year is my year!"

Little did we know.

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

Eventually they’ll be a bigger pandemic and all this post pandemic talk will be seen in the same light

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[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

He also talks about unemployment rates in Britain and "unless a war is coming soon" many people will stay underfed. Maybe the British proletariat is behind WWII?

Edit: Since I'm downvoted: the last sentence was a joke, obviously

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 55 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Pro tip for time travelers, ask what year it is instead. So much easier. It's weird to ask, or be asked, but it's less weird tham giving spoilers.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 22 points 2 years ago

What year and country am I in?

Russia, 1917.

Unfortunately that doesn’t narrow down much except really telling you to get anywhere else asap

[–] notabot@lemm.ee 18 points 2 years ago

Easier? Yes. More fun? No.

[–] Hagdos@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

As long as you are someplace and time where they use the Gregorian calendar

[–] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 years ago

Fair point.

I recently learned about how recently we moved to the current calendar. It's wild to think about.

[–] Ultraviolet@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

"Ah yes, the start of World War 1."

"World War what now?"

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 44 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Would you even need to ask? What with the trenches and mustard gas everywhere?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 27 points 2 years ago (2 children)

They did still have trenches and other fortifications in WW2. That said...

  1. Do you see any tanks traveling faster than 15mph? Any planes with less than four wings?
  • WW2
  1. Mustaches? Waxed?
  • WW1
  1. Folks with gas masks on their belts are definitely a tell.
[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (5 children)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

Fair enough

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Also plenty of monoplanes in WWI, most notably the Fokker Eindeckers,.

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[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

yeah, no, gas masks were carried in ww2. some poor bastards (depending on unit) carried them all the way through the war. promask carriers were a choice bit of storage room if you decided to lose the mask, but early on lots of folks worried that it would be used on the battlefield again.

plenty of discussion on this with a quick search

[–] wildcardology@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago

Why would he even ask if it's 1 or 2, just ask the year.

[–] this_1_is_mine@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Ground so dangerous you couldn't walk offinto the fields. So many shells fired it turn the soil into quick sand. Stick to the boards. If you slip and fall your compatriots dare not try and save you or their fate will be sealed as well.

So many shells fired it turn the soil into quick sand.

An interesting stat is that the major combatants fired approximately 300 artillery shells for every soldier that was killed - and 75mm shells (the most common caliber) are not trivial industrial products to produce. It's hard to even conceive of an industrial society devoting that much productive capacity to the task of killing somebody.

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[–] kbin_space_program@kbin.run 35 points 2 years ago (3 children)
[–] Maultasche@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago
[–] TheDoozer@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

That hit surprisingly hard and unexpectedly. I don't remember any of the rest of that episode, but I remember that tiny bit very clearly.

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[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago

"But... but... they told us it's the "War To End All Wars!""

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 15 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I think I saw on QI that WWI was already being called that before the war had ended.

People at the time knew there would probably be another one someday.

Which isn't that odd, really. We use the Term WWIII at times. It's not that we know it will definitely happen but it's not something that's unfathomable either.

[–] Entropywins@lemmy.world 31 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I've always heard it was called the Great War.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You heard correct. I have never heard any contemporary account from the time call it "WW1" - they did call it "the war to end all wars," though.

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[–] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Really? That would be an extremely concerning thing to hear anyone say back then.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

"Great" did not automatically imply "good" back then - just big.

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 4 points 2 years ago

Good point. Of course, with the number of nuclear war-heads we've built, I would feel pretty confident referring to it as "World War Final".

I actually usually just refer to it as "our extinction event". But I'll acknowledge I'm going out on a limb - there's plenty of other ways we could finish ourselves off.

[–] Toes@ani.social 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

"It sure isn't ww3, I don't see any drones"

[–] AntiGuide@feddit.de 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Could also be good old number 4 then

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[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

And it's not ww4 because I don't see any weapons made from sticks or stone.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I think the fifth one was the best.

[–] GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Imo they ran out of ideas during the third and from then on it was just a cash grab. Creativity really is dead

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

There's only so much you can do in radioactive wasteland.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

What weapons did they fight that with?

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Well, number four was with sticks and stones. For five they didn't have sticks any more.

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"Nice shotgun! That'll really get the German's riled up."

[–] dumbass@leminal.space 6 points 2 years ago (3 children)

That image of Kurt Angle will never stop being hilarious to me. God I love that man.

[–] MeDuViNoX@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What made him give that original look to the camera?

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[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago
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