"Which three books?"

First up: an admission. I've never actually read "The Time Machine." I should rectify that at some point. (I thought I had but now that I think of it, I think it's just that I know the general story.)

The 1960 movie version of it was on this afternoon. And I watched it. I remember having seen it in school - I think they showed it as a "reward" for some of the students who had gotten ahead in class, or who had done well on tests and didn't need to be re-tested, or something. (As I remember, there was only part of a class there, and it was students from the entire "team" I was in, which would have been three homerooms).

I didn't remember much of the movie, aside from the excellent stop-motion stuff (which seems dated now, but I'm sure when the movie came out it was fairly remarkable) to show the passage of time - and the mannequin having its clothes changed. (I think I remembered that because at the time I was interested in early 20th century fashions). And I remembered the very end. The tantalizing question: "What three books?" What books did George take with him. (Apparently the same question isn't in the book version? That's too bad, because that's a fascinating way to end the story)

I'm glad they don't tell us. That would have been too pat. I could imagine going a very practical route - books of engineering information and mathematical tables, to allow for rebuilding in the future. Or perhaps, deciding the new society needed a strong moral grounding, maybe the Bible, and perhaps the works of a philosopher of ethics, and maybe something like St. Augustine. Or maybe just the three books he felt personally that he could not live without - the selfish route.

(And what skills, if you had time - what skills you would want to take to a depauperate future, full of Eloi who literally know how to do nothing for themselves? I would argue that the topmost idea should be agriculture, being able to grow food, and probably hunting and fishing as well. And how to make fire. And building shelter. But beyond that - probably spinning and weaving and perhaps even knitting would be valuable skills.)

I also want to read the book version of The Time Machine now to see how they altered it for the movie. Surely Wells was not enough of a visionary to predict both world wars (the novel was written in 1895), all of that must have been added by the screenwriters.

I will say one of the slightly surprising things about the movie: seeing "Wilbur*" from Mr. Ed as the Time Traveller's Scots-accented best friend. (And later, "Wilbur" plays Filby's son, both in the 1917 sequence and in the pre-nuclear-war 1966 sequence).

That said, were time travel possible? It's just not something that would interest me. I'd rather have other people go and report back - just as if space travel were available to ordinary citizens, I wouldn't have an interest in going. (Too much risk, too many things that can go wrong - I'm uncomfortable stepping on even an ordinary plane, I think of all the things that could cause it to crash).

(*Yes, I know, Alan Young did other things - more prestigious things - than Mr. Ed. But that's how I will always know him. The local-Cleveland "independent" television channel (43; I guess it's a Fox affiliate now. I don't know that any "independent" channels exist that are not network-affiliated any more. But back when I was a kid, it was an indie channel) used to re-run the show and when I was a very small child it was my favorite television show. Looking up a bit more information on Mr. Young, I now see it's very likely that the Scots accent he "wore" in this movie was natural: he's actually a British-born (Northumberland) actor and lived in Edinborough for a time as a child. And he also did Uncle Scrooge McDuck's voice. So perhaps, like Hugh Laurie, the American accent that most Americans know him for is actually a put-on. Interesting, considering I mainly knew him as a man who talked to a horse.)