Chilluminati Minisode 5: JFK, Trash Man and Believable Conspiracies

Jesse needs to do an episode on New Chronology...

Dustin Gibbons

In regards to the idea of ancient civilisations being technologically advanced, I don't think you could argue that they were backwards. I think it was you guys who said in an earlier episode that people in the past weren't stupid, and that is true. Technically, the Romans had a working steam engine in 1BC (the Aeolipole, or "Hero's Engine") - nearly a thousand years before their "invention" and proliferation in the 18th century. Of course, it was highly impractical, and was more of a table piece than a piece of machinery, but it shows that the idea that heated water could generate movement was there. As an aside, did you know that there was a form of hologram in the middle ages? I'm mostly working off memory here, I can't remember exactly what they called it, and i'm sorry for the lack of verifiable sources, but a museum I began volunteering at (before Covid-19 shut everything down) had a exhibition of medieval "magic and mystery". One of the items at this exhibition was a replica of an item that could reproduce an almost 3d image of an item, by illuminating an object within a covered concave mirror. I mention this mostly to make the point that, a lot of what we would consider to be "technology" today, would have been considered either "magic" (by which i mean an impressive trick, rather than witchcraft and wizardry) or something to entertain or amuse. Specifically for Hero's engine, I have seen arguments that Romans couldn't have made a steam engine as we know it, because they lacked precision tools/machinery to make such a steam engine, and this is certainly true. But, I don't believe that they couldn't have come to the conclusion that these innovations were useful, and that they wouldn't have worked it out for themselves eventually. Perhaps, if the Roman Empire had lasted another few centuries years, maybe we would have seen steam trains and related technology earlier. The only thing stopping them was their own understanding of science. Which leads to another interesting question. What technologies do we have now that seem superfluous, but might be integral parts of technological society in the future?

Stuart Macklin

US is the same - my ancestors were Thatch Roofers.

A little fact from man in Poland, the surname Nowak in Poland is the most popular, yes, but that doesn't mean that they are or were related to each other. I don't know how were the surnames created in the US but in Europe they were pretty much your Occupation. That's why the most popular surnames in Poland are "Kowalski" from Kowal meaning blacksmith and "Nowak" from Nowy meaning New. I'm pretty sure that it's the same for most if not all of slavic countries.

Disney has made not one, but at least two movies based on amusement park rides. I doubt that they made a movie to alter Google search results, but I could 100% accept that the urban legend was the seed from which that movie grew.

Christopher Clayton

I just wanted to say that the President had never been protected the way he is now, UNTIL JFK. Lincoln's guard literally walked away from his post. And JFK was shot twice not just once in the head.

SeigeRootz

this is my belief too

I can get behind the idea of our ancient ancestors being technologically advanced, just not more advanced then we are now. Their scientists were certainly intelligent, in some ways more then many are now (lack of computers and still doing complex mathematics). And we struggle to find anything at all from more then a few thousand years ago, but if their technology was made from wood it would have rotted long ago. Not to mention any metal parts would likely have been scavenged, since metal was very valuable. The only thing really holding our ancestors back was the lack of computers and telephones. Scholars from thousands of years ago had mastered glass lens, steam power, cogs and gearing systems, concrete architecture, plumbing, complex mathematics and star charting, and the list goes on and on. The Romans were more technologically sophisticated then many medieval civilisations and it took the industrial revolution to beat the achievements of the Greeks and Egyptians. The Aztecs and other central and southern American natives had similar levels of achievement despite barely being in the bronze age by 'our' historical standards. People have always had geniuses among them. And many, many idiots willing to do all the heavy lifting.

Laura Thornley

To continue with Jessie's analogy Taft, Grant, Trump.... coincidence i think not!