By the way, happy new millennium. We have just witnessed the end of the 20th century. A century that I immensely enjoyed living through the second half of. And I hope most of you did too. It was a century that witnessed two world wars, several other lesser wars, the end of Fascism, the end of communism, and the prosperity of the American spirit of determination. It saw the invention of assembly line mechanization, radio, television, motion pictures, video and the computer. The birth of Rock & Roll, the Beatles, Elvis, Wolfman Jack, Woodstock, The Summer of Love, and The Age of Aquarius. The rise of Hippies, Yuppies, Buppies, and Generation X. We saw man conquer space, walk on the moon, and develop the ability to orbit satellites that will change the way we live from now on. We witnessed triumph, tragedy, organization and chaos in proportions that others before us could never have imagined. And, on top of all of that, for those of us that were from the "Baby Boom" generation, medical science managed to double our lifespans so we would be around longer to enjoy it all. We were very lucky to have been born when we were, and to have the amazing experiences that we did. It was an awesome (not meant as a trite cliche), truly AWESOME century!!!

So let's raise our glasses high. Here's a toast to everyone and everything that amazed, aggravated, educated, enlightened, entertained, intoxicated, pleased, satisfied, sobered, teased, terrified, thrilled, titillated, and touched us during this, the most amazing century so far in the entire history of mankind...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

How do you know for sure that it was the most amazing century mankind has ever experienced, or are you a time-traveller? ;-D

I'm not sure that I need to dignify this last remark with a reply.

But perhaps, just for the sake of intellectual debate, you could cite for us what you think was "the most amazing century so far in the entire history of mankind". :p

Seriously, I did leave out something of great importance to all of us here that transpired during the century we just put in our rearview mirrors. And, for that I apologize.

There are actually two primary things that bring us together here. The first I already mentioned, the invention of the computer (the internet being a natural result of that).

I didn't think that I needed to state the obvious. But, the most important development of this last century that brings us all together her and now is the very existence and continued development of the Mercedes-Benz.

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Hmm, well the century(ies?) that saw mankind discover the inventions of controllable fire-making and the wheel must have been quite something, but yes I agree the previous century was absolutely amazing for technological innovation.

Beautifuly said longston.Happy new year

Well said Longston extremely well said!! I too wish everyone on this forum a happy and prosperous new year

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Keith Schuster
2006 E350 98K miles
2013 Ford Explorer 15K miles

AW, CRAP! I promised myself (and all of you), that I wouldn't get into these KIND of skirmishes here on a forum dedicated to Mercedes-Benz maintenance and repair, so really, please forgive me, but I have no willpower or discipline...I am weak!

Hey, besides, wadda ya want? This ain't a WWF forum heah! As the owner of a Mercedes-Benz, we are all held to a higher intellectual yardstick. So here goes.

PUHLEEZE------MoTheMerc:

In order for those things to count, we need a timeline, a record of the events in order to create a "history" of mankind. The "History of Mankind" is a "written" record, after all. We are sure that those two events occured, we just don't know exactly when. And were they really "inventions"? Fire exists as a natural phenomenon, and the wheel, is simply a crude variation on natural formations like, uh, logs...

Besides, how do those two singular events compare to the accomplishments of mankind during:
The Bronze Age, The Iron Age, The Age of The Etruscans, Egyptian Pharaohs, Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, Greeks, Babylonians, The Lost Continent of Atlantis, The Roman Empire, The Chinese Dynasties, The Renaissance, The Romanov Czars, The (Age of) Enlightenment, The Age of Discovery, The Commercial Revolution, The Industrial Revolution, And Finally, The 20th Century?

Every century that mankind has existed, we have developed greater accomplishments, and along with them, greater responsibilities and consequences for our actions. Stone Age Man simply did not have the ability to destroy the planet he lived on. During the 20th century we did, and still do. Many of us have lived through "The Cold War". I don't know about you, but I'm damned pleased and extremely proud that we have actually managed to keep from destroying the entire planet, and all life on it (so far).

And instead, we developed computers and the internet that allows us to communicate and exchange ideas across the globe, with considerably less effort, virtually instantaneously, and hopefully on a higher level than anyone ever has.

Besides, Mo, the 20th century brought us the Three Stooges, You Knucklehead, nyuk. nyuk. nyuk...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

OK longston, maybe I am a knucklehead but like you just listed, there were many other great centuries of stunning achievement for mankind - maybe the 20th just seems so much better from those others from the perspective of those that lived in it?
Impressive display of the use of emoticons BTW - there's progress for you! Wanna call a truce? ;-)

Mo, Bubula, The Three Stooges reference was only my Curly impression (soitenly!), and was intended to leave the posting on a upbeat comical note. I didn't mean that you actually were a Knucklehead, you might be a Panhead, or an Evolution (Harley Davidson Reference).

As far as "emoticons" or "smilies" are concerned, they are a fun toy to play with, can be overused, and may or may not be appropriate, but you can use them too. Just click on the "smilies" link at the top of the page on these forums when posting, or replying to a post. #8^p>

And, yes, we all know that there were countless periods in our collective history where there were staggering accomplishments.

In terms of architecture and building alone there were: The Egyptian and Mayan Pyramids, The Great Wall, Hadrian's Wall, Stonehenge, and countless other feats. But I am fairly sure that their designers and builders would be in awe of the tools we have developed and the things we have constructed. The Golden Gate Bridge, The Hoover, High Aswan, and Grand Coulee Dams, The Chunnel, Norad Headquarters inside of Cheyenne Mountain, The Panama and Suez Canals, and The Alaska Pipeline come to mind...

In terms of law, government and civilization the ancients would be amazed by such things as Nato, Norad, Global Diplomacy and the United Nations.

DaVinci, Michelangelo, Newton, Copernicus. The list of the visionaries and inventors of the past could be staggering. But I doubt that one of them would fail to be amazed and astounded by what they would see in the world of today.

"maybe the 20th just seems so much better from those others from the perspective of those that lived in it?"

Perhaps, but I doubt that the Jews who built The Pyramids as slaves of the Egyptians, the Africans who were sold into slavery by rival tribesmen, the victims of The Spanish Inquisition, the women who were tortured and killed during The Salem Witch Trials, the victims of The Black Plague, or even the Feudal Serfs would agree with your point.

You see, the sages and philosophers, visionaries and geniuses of the past definitely gave us the building blocks for the world we live in. But every century that mankind has existed, we have learned from the mistakes of the past and built upon the successes. That is my whole point. The 20th century logically has to be the greatest century of all time. To say anything else is to say that we didn't learn from the tragedy, horror and mistakes of the past, and that we haven't learned to refine the triumphs, discoveries and staggering accomplishments of those who came before us.

A truce, you say?

This thread started out as a heartfelt emotional and personal homage to the 20th century from someone who lived through the latter half of it. From someone who clearly sees the benefits as well as the drawbacks of where we have placed ourselves as a result of OUR contributions (good and bad) to the history of mankind during the time we have been here.

You were the only person who didn't "get it" or decided to "take issue" with it. And, just as the Catholic Priest who founded Boys Town felt that there was no such thing as a bad boy, I decided to try to make my point clear to you simply for purposes of cooperative understanding.

You drew "first blood" brother, but for the sanity of the membership, And as a gesture of civilized behavior, as Chief Joseph of the Nez Percés said so eloquently, "...From where the sun now stands I will fight no more...".




[Edited by longston on 01-02-2001 at 10:07 PM]

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Phew, why say one word when a thousand will do! :-[]

Are you a history teacher/graduate or summat?

Oh well, it was quite amusing as wind-ups go - my original "drawing of first blood" was only intended jokingly hence the wink ;-)

...no hard feelings eh? Happy New Year BTW.