Time Machine Yourself to 1940

With the available use of all the U. S. Census records on Ancestry.com from Aug. 29 – Sept. 3, 2012, this is a wonderful opportunity to have a little fun with a very special ‘time machine‘ that Ancestry.com has made available for anyone to use.

Just by following their simple directions, it can transform you back in time to what a typical day may have been for you or someone else in mid-1940. The online software program walks you through each step.

First have an photo image available on your computer or Facebook page to use in this time travel. It could be yourself, your mother, a grandfather, uncle or any other relative or friend. The site then has you place some basic information such as a name (use an ancestor who lived in 1940 or that of a present day relative or even yourself). Place the sex, and an email address (use one you don’t all the time). Click “Next” button.

Add where the person or you lived in 1940, their interests, whether they were married or single, and what type of occupation. Click “Next”.

The next section is fun. It has you add a photo. It can be a recent image, one from years ago or if you are doing ancestor who lived in 1940, see if you have an image of them from that time period. So download a simple jpeg image, it doesn’t need to be too big and just a head shot is good.

You can add next another name, especially a person who did live in the United States in 1940. However, you don’t need to do this step. Now click the next final step and the time machine will go to work.

A short video will be produced of a person’s (you maybe) life in June 1940. What you may have eaten, where you worked, your clothes, the salary, the entertainment available, etc. will be covered. You can make another one using different people and places.

Overall, a very fun and cute step back in time. Try this with anyone under age 30, it is an interesting experiment. This is what some people would refer to as ‘the good old days’. Enjoy!

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