If you could hang out with 5 historical figures for a day.....

[vcczar]

How did I come up with this list? I just used our Top 100 most influential ranking we created about a year ago. I took out the living people. 

Therefore, out of this selection from our top 100 list, who would you hang out with? What would you do? What would you discuss?

[MrPotatoTed]

I’d be most interested in interviewing Jesus and recording him, getting to the truth about his life, his intent, thoughts about modern issues.

For the other four, I chose the founding fathers I’m most interested in, so I could show them the results of their vision.

[vcczar]

I picked Jesus, Shakespeare, Socrates, Napoleon, and Benjamin Franklin. I picked the first three partially because there's gaps in their timeline I'd like to fill out. I include Napoleon because he's the most interesting person I've read about. I picked Franklin because he's a harmonizer and that might be necessary for this group. 

Most of my 24 hours would be kind of tabletop interviews. I'd do some one on ones. At some point, I'd take them out in the 21st century and just record them interacting with things and people. I'd record them reflecting on that. I'd also catch them up on art, music, culture, etc. to show them how the world has progressed. For instance, I'd show them images of Salvador Dali, etc. 

For Jesus, I'd focus on filling in gaps in his timeline. Tell him about how Christianity has developed. Ask him his opinions on the Religious Right (I'm sure the Religious Right would cause him to overturn tables and such), and I'd ask him his views on both Socialism and Capitalism after he sees neutral definitions of the two. I'd then broadcast this interview with Jesus to Christian Conservatives world wide. I'd also ask him about Trump. I also want to know more about his parents, siblings, etc. I'd ask him if the gospels written about him are accurate, etc. 

For Shakespeare, I'd fill him in on how his plays have been made into films, and that there are countless Shakespeare companies etc. I'd ask him to fill the gaps in his biography. I'd show him the list of known plays by Shakespeare. I'd ask if there are any others. If so, I'd have him explain what those others are. I'd also ask him about his contemporaries. 

For Socrates, I'd want to know more about his life. Who influenced him? What did he think of Plato. Fill him in on Aristotle. I probably wouldn't focus as much time on Socrates interviewing Socrates, but I'd spend time filming him questioning others until he gets arrested. 

For Napoleon, I'll start by asking basic questions about his life that aren't recorded. I'd fill him in on French history after him. I'd show him some wikipedia articles on famous battles/campaigns after his time and ask him what he would have done differently. I'd like to know also what he would have done had he won at Waterloo. Also, what he would have done if he had been rescued on St Helena and been brought back to New Orleans. 

For Benjamin Franklin, I'd fill him in on US history and record his reactions. I wouldn't focus as much on Franklin (or Socrates) or Napoleon as I would with Jesus or Shakespeare, as I think they'd probably be more important to know more about, especially Jesus. As stated, Franklin is mainly around to keep the others harmonious. For instance, Napoleon hated Shakespeare's plays ("They are pitiful") but loved going to the theatre.

I'd also film all five discussing topics and life with each other. 

I'd probably need a film crew and some handlers because I'll be doing a lot of multitasking. I'd like to send each one to a different event. Shakespeare to one of his plays. Franklin to historic cites in Philadelphia. Napoleon to a military museum, Socrates to some downtown location with a ton of people walking around so he can talk to them, and Jesus will be taken to the most ornate church in Philadelphia and to a homeless shelter.