If you could be anyone in the world (alive or dead) for 24 hours, who would you choose and why?

Julius Caesar. Those 24 hours when he entered Egypt and made it a Roman Province! :D :D :D Because I get to know Cleopatra too.... which was also conquered :))) Veni, vidi, vici baby!

:) @vladis.

I haven't read the other answers so I apologize if someone else has already said this... I would choose Now before everyone starts screaming Nazi at me - hear me out. If I could be tler at a crucial time in his life where he made the decision that all Jewish people should be wiped off the face of the earth I would be able to stop the murdering and genocide that happened during the holocaust by changing the way I suppose if nothing else I could have even ordered myself (tler) killed just as the 24 hour period ended. Lets face it, tler was evil as evil gets but were he to have used as much energy for good - wow... look at what the man could have done FOR the world vs. against it.

If I was unable to figure out the time that I could be most effective in I would instead bring to life the brilliant movie "Inglorious Bastards" only I, as would have ordered every single Nazi soldier and Nazi minded person into one large building and destroyed the entire lot. Do I get to be me again once tler dies with the rest of the Nazi bastards? Either way, the results would be worth any cost.

I would choose to be Mr. Michael Jackson so that I can tell Dr. Conrad Murray to cancel the Propofol. So that I can live and dance a little longer.

Jesus, circa 36 A.D. /CE, as that would cement the date as A.D. Or CE, depending on if it was possible or not (and, even more importantly, why it wasn't possible if it wasn't).

Oh, this question is cake. I've got my answer all ready, and I don't even have to do any research, since it's a character I deal with on a more or less daily basis. (I say character, because, though he really existed, his exploits are so legendary that probably a good 30 percent of them were fiction in the form of folklore developed over almost two millenia.) If I could be anyone in the world, alive or dead, for 24 hours, I would choose to be Zhuge Liang (Daoist name: Sleeping Dragon), perhaps the most famous mind in the entire Sanguo (Three Kingdoms) Period of Chinese history, who is, actually, the man I also happen to wish to be buried next to after I'm dead.

But I'll get to the reasons I want to buried next to him later. For now, let's begin with a few details of this extraordinarily extraordinary man. Zhuge Liang was born in what is now Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China, in 181 A.D.. (It's that peninsula that juts out of the Chinese mainland towards the Koreas.

) He was only 3 years old when the Yellow Turban Rebellion (long considered the beginning of the end of the Han Dynasty) broke out. He spent his early life as a farmer, ending up in Nanyang (modern day Henan Province) with his younger brother Zhuge Jun and his older brother (also a famous advisor/strategist) Zhuge Jin (or as I call him, "Huge Chin". :p) Zhuge Liang married the daughter of Huang Chengyuan, who was a sage of some fame at the time, and he did not do so for her beauty.

Huang Chengyuan's daughter, Liang's wife (whom many, including me, believe to have been named Huang Yueying), was supposedly regarded to be a rather plain, homely looking woman, but a very, very intelligent one. Possibly almost as intelligent as Zhuge Liang himself. The fact that Zhuge Liang married such a woman demonstrates how shallow he was not, and also demonstrates his ability to see into the very center of anything and everything for the truths hidden beneath the surface.

In 207 A.D. , the famous General of the Late-Han, Liu Bei (who himself, with Zhuge Liang's help, would head up one of the "Three Kingdoms" of the Sanguo Period) is said to have visited Zhuge Liang no less than three times in order to convince Liang to join him. Zhuge Liang was only 26 years old (a few years younger than I am now) when he joined the service of Liu Bei, with no actual battle experience, and became his "Directing Instructor", the Commander-in-Chief of Liu Bei's army. Zhuge Liang possessed a keen ability to anticipate many moves ahead of any opponent (and in the novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", that ability is boosted to almost godlike proportions) A good example of what I'm talking about is to be found in the following link, from Chapter 39 of my audiobook adaptation of the novel, posted at the end of this answer.

The sample chapter I've posted is the one telling the story of the Battle of Bowang Po (Bowang Slope), Liang's first battle ever. As you can hear from listening to it, he appears to have clearly foreseen the whole battle as it would play out. Granted, the selected piece is from a work of fiction, but gives an excellent indication of his brilliance as a military commander.

He did not participate in Bowang Po, but he DID participate with distinction in the Battle of Chi Bi not long afterwards, and also did subjugate the Nanman tribes in what is now North Vietnam by defeating their King, Meng Huo, and letting him go no less than 7 times. It is said that when Liu Bei died after the disastrous Battle of Yi Ling (a battle of revenge against Wu for the slaying of his sworn Brother, Guan Yu, an offensive that Zhuge Liang himself opposed vehemently), he requested Zhuge Liang to set Liu Shan (Bei's son and heir) aside and seize control of Shu himself, but that Zhuge Liang, because of his great love and loyalty for his Master, refused to do this and served as Liu Shan's Prime Minister for all the remaining days of his life. This demonstrates in Zhuge Liang compassion, loyalty, and a devotion to a sense of right which triumphed over not only self-interest but, as history has demonstrated, better judgment as well.

If Zhuge Liang had fulfilled Liu Bei's final wish, Liang would likely have unified China rather than the Jin Dynasty (heirs to Sima Yi, Liang's counterpart and archnemesis in the Wei Empire, who overthrew the Wei Dynasty late in the Sanguo Period). Zhuge Liang, both the fictional and the historical man, possessed exactly those qualities I find most important in the world: Honor, devotion to duty, compassion, intelligence, wisdom, cunning, self-confidence, and a great understanding of the way people think. If I could be anyone for 24 hours, I would be Zhuge Liang.

I would give my left arm to be Zhuge Liang for just one day. I do not speak Mandarin, though I am still learning the language, so I'd probably have to act like I have an upper-respiratory disease so I have an excuse for not talking. But nonetheless, it seems to me that there's no one cooler, past or present, for me to be than Zhuge Liang.

S traditional burial place is Mt. Ding Jun in what is now Shaanxi province. I wish to be buried there because, well, my life has thus far run parallel to Liu Bei's, and every Liu Bei needs a Zhuge Liang around to advise him, even in the afterlife.

I can think of no place more suitable for me to be buried in other than the place where Zhuge Liang is buried, because he was the man who gave Liu Bei, who had struggled all his life, a chance to be something better than a poor loser.Heh. I should be so lucky. :p.

24 hours ha, too short. I would say King Philip the Second of Macedon. The father of Alexander the Great.

Why? Read the sources. There is quite interesting story about the greatest war strategist of all times.

You can check some of his achievements: - Reorganization of the Macedonian Army - The Conquest of Amphipolis and the Defeat of the Thracians - The Conquest of the Greek cities Potidaea, Pydna, and Methone - The Conquest of Northern Greece - Thessaly - The end of Greek settlements on Macedonian soil - The Conquest of Thrace - Victory over the Scythians - And the greatest one off all - Macedonian phalanx, designed by Philip II, a basic factor in the military achievements of the Macedonians BR Alex.

I would go back and be Andy Kaufman, the "Song and Dance Man". I don't think the world realizes the impact of that Andy Kaufman had on the world he disdains -- comedy. S use of silence as a comedic tool is something we still see in today's most popular shows.

The other night, I was watching "Man on the Moon" the movie based on Kaufman's life. Afterwards, I watched a view episodes of "Family Guy" and "The Office" and saw the use of silence implanted in properly timed moments that made almost funny moments incredibly funny. If I could be Kaufman for 24 hours, I would choose to be Kaufman on the night he went on The Letterman Show with Jerry Lawler.

Lawler and Kaufman staged a huge fight that ended with Lawler slapping Kaufman in the face and Kaufman running off stage while threatening to sue everyone. Kaufman sacrificed himself, his credibility, and his public opinion to pull one of the greatest pranks played on the American public. I would love to have been a part of it.

I would like to know what it feels like to play on the public's love for controversy. He gave into that need for drama while simultaneously giving the public the finger. These days, how readily do we as a society pass judgement on those in the public eye?

By Kaufman and Lawler working to stage this controversial scene, they were doing much more than just creating comedy. They were shining the light on all of us who spend our day passing judgement on, let's be honest, complete strangers.

I would love to be Cleopatra for 24 hours. Not only was I obsessed with her throughout school I would love to see Egypt. Also the idea of being the last pharaoh to rule Egypt before it became a Roman province would be great.

:) I however would want to rule before she committed suicide in 30 BC. I would love to be able to see her finest 24 hours.

Leonardo da Vinci - I'd love to just pour over his manuscripts and gain even a smidge of insight into his genius. As an engineer, I'm fascinated by the concepts he came up with hundreds of years before they were successfully developed. Queen Elizabeth I - The first Queen Elizabeth was such a dynamic ruler in a world dominated by men.

I'd love to see how she managed to secure her position.

I'd be one of the Apollo astronauts, maybe Gene Cernan. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Cernan#Apollo

Landing on the moon, and an EVA on the Moon's surface that lasted three times longer than all of the time that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent there. youtube.com/watch?v=wo3-fuYKWB4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRpcz93CtOs.

I would love to be George Washington as he crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessian troops at the battle of Trenton without losing a single man. That single battle began the turning point, in the Revolutionary War, that gained the United States its freedom from England. To me, that would be absolutely amazing.

Mother Teresa. Her deeds always spoke louder than her words.

I know too much about the historic people that interest me to tempt me into their shoes for a day. But, given the chance, I would be one of cirque du soleil clowns. It is one of the few things I have always wanted to be/do that I have not yet done.

I'll be Princess Diana. Although her personal life isn't as wonderful as it was at first (when Prince Charles married her), she has the power which she used for good deeds. I'd like to live that kind of life too even for just 24 hours.

I want to be powerful enough that I could move many people to do good things. I've always wanted to reach out to those who are in need but right now, I can't do much cause I lack money and power too. If I'll be Diana for a day, I have both.

The first thing I'd do is to auction some of my personal things and the proceeds will go to charities. Then I would find unfortunate children who cannot study due to poverty and give them scholarship grants. I'd also give money to UNICEF and other big organizations so I would be able to touch more lives.

Since 24 hours is too short, I think I'll assign a particular person to watch over the things I've done for a day so when I have to go back to the real me, I'm sure that everything's taken care of just in case things wouldn't be done in 24 hours like maybe the auction for my things. I guess by being Diana too, I'll be a princess which I really dream of as a child. :).

I think that I would be Slash from Guns N' Roses. Maybe not one specific time, but I want to know how he plays the guitar so well. It's almost like magic.

He is a brilliant, up there with Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. However, he is the only one that hasn't had his life taken short.

I would be Barack Obama for the 12 hours before and 12 hours after his winning the Presidency was announced. I would love to know what he was feeling, what was going through his mind. I know one thing, that he was absolutely exhausted, and at the end, he looked a little frightened.

I cannot ever imagine what it was like for him knowing the responsibility he was taking on, and the danger he had now put his family and himself into. It must have been completely overwhelming to realize that he was the first African American President of the U.S. To feel that joy, fear, apprehension, and probably some self-doubt all at one time would be something I would love to experience from inside his mind.

How about Ronald Reagan as he's rolling out his "Reaganomics" Plan, we could use a little bit of that logic to solve our current economic woes.

First of all, I would like to be Swami Vivekananda in the Chicago Convention where he delivered his historical speech and people listened to him mesmerized. If not, then I would like to be the pilot of the bomber plane that dropped the Atom Bombs on I would change my mind and commit a suicide by diving in the ocean instead. That would be a way to forgive myself.

Finally (This time I am in the mood for joking), I would like to be Archimedes when he discovered the principle of density and buoyancy and ran naked yelling "Eureka! Eureka! " I would get my dressed before doing going out in the streets.

I would also like to be Newton when he saw the apple drop. I want to be him just before his cat Diamond spoiled his ongoing work. I would secure my works and prevent that.

That would have given the world something brilliant. Perhaps, his fourth law. I want to be a lot many persons for different reasons.

But let it be. Some other time. Thanks.

I would choose to be Shaghayegh Claudia Lynx: The Most Beautiful Woman In The World! youtube.com/watch?v=S1OTZr_2ueQ What a beautiful life it would be!

Da Vinci, there will never in the life of mankid be another as close to perfection as was he. A savant in several disciplines, a man known for his brains, brawn, looks, beauty (and ability to both depict it through his works and appreciate it through his writings). A sheer specimen of human accomplishment.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.