Christmas Day Contest! ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT!! Following up on our Halloween contest, you can enter our next contest, which will be alternate histories for Christmas Day, December 25th, 2005. The same rules will apply, the top ten entries will be posted on that day, and by entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on December 25th, 2005, 2005, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. Enter early and often - entries must be received by December 20th, 2005! Email us up to 3 entries of your best alternate Christmas Days! We've only had one entry so far, so let's get cracking, people!
December 11th, 2005
in 1718, King Charles XII of Sweden was shot in the head by a Norwegian assassin. Although he survived, his mental capacity afterwards was that of a child, and his sister, Ulrika Eleanora, ruled in his place. In 1725, after hearing of the medical miracles that the Mlosh were capable of, she contacted the Mlosh colony ship in Germany and asked for a physician to come to her court. He cured Charles, and Ulrika turned the crown back over to him. The grateful king declared that any Mlosh who desired Swedish citizenship was welcome within his borders.
in 1777, while British troops are occupied with keeping American rebel George Washington from reaching Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Canadian nationalists attacked British positions across Quebec, causing Lord Cornwallis to pull some of his troops from the American theatre and devote them to containing the Canadians.
in 1882, physicist Max Born was born in Breslau, Germany. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist became enamored of the parallel universe cult of Richard Tolman in the 1930’s, and went to America to join it. Like so many other scientists who joined the cult, his mysterious disappearance in 1955 was never solved.
in 1936, Pope Edward VIII abdicates his position. He had fallen in love with a Protestant woman, a woman he was forbidden by Church law to marry. Rather than simply use her as a mistress, he showed his love by giving up the Holy British Empire for her.
in 1941, Hitler enrages his Japanese allies by refusing to declare war on the United States. He reasons, cannily, that if America can be kept out of the European theater, he would be free to take the continent and consolidate his power while the Americans were being kept busy in Asia by the Japanese. He reasoned correctly, as it turned out, and was soon impregnable in his Fortress Europe.
in 1956, the Hays Office is closed, and Hollywood is freed from moral restrictions as to movie content. Almost immediately, films appear which do such things as mention abortion, or prostitution, or even – shocking though it may seem today - show glimpses of nudity! When this glut of filth hit the market, Congress enacted the Decency Code of 1957, which has banned all controversial material from films shown in America. For some reason, the movie industry went into something of a decline after this.
in 1968, German scientist Wilhelm Schoemann and his colleague, Palestinian scientist Faisal Yassin, are surprised by the appearance of an apple in their laboratory.
in 1985, the reactionary anarchist known only as The Unabomber claims his first victim, a young comrade working in a computer store in Sacramento, California Soviet. Over the years he is able to avoid authorities, he becomes a sort of folk hero to the fledgling anarchy movement in the Pacific Northwest, who proudly disdain the advances of Communist life such as computers and cars.
in 1997, a federal judge orders the software company Microsoft not to bundle its internet browser Internet Explorer within Windows. The move towards greater protection of smaller software companies starts the long process of Microsoft’s decline; by 2001, Microsoft’s Windows software is only the 3rd-most popular PC operating system.
in 1998, the Mars Climate Observer was launched towards the red planet. Once safely in orbit around Mars, it began sending back data that excited all of the scientists at NASA, and indeed, astronomers around the world – Mars was warming up!
We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!
Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?
Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com
Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!
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