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  1. WI: Burt Reynolds made better movie choices?

    He was #1 in the industry, pulling down over $10 mil...and went to #38 in almost nothing flat. He turned down "Terms of Endearment" to do "Cannonball Run II".:eek::eek::tiredface: He turned down "Magnolia". How might his career have gone differently if he had taken "Terms of Endearment"...

  2. WI: Giants don't trade Foster for Duffy?

    In 1971, "as part of one of the worst trades in San Francisco Giants history", they traded George Foster for Frank Duffy. Foster would go on to be a feared hitter with the Reds. WI Giants' management had shown more sense? How would the team's fortunes in the '70s have changed? How much would...

  3. WI: Comiskey dies before buying the Cornhuskers?

    What's on the tin.:) In 1894, Charles Comiskey bought the Sioux City Cornhuskers, which would move to St. Paul, MN, as St Paul Saints, and ultimately to Chicago as the White Sox. How much difference would it make if he'd died before he could make the purchase? Most obviously, there's never a...

  4. WI: John Browning builds a toggle-lock pistol?

    Browing in 1894-7 was working on a toggle-lock self-loading shotgun at Winchester, which ultimately led to him quitting Winchester. Browning's toggle-operation system used camming surfaces milled into the frame. This is (more or less) the same system used by Georg Luger on (ultimately) the...

  5. WI: Mauser C/96 was grip-fed?

    Pretty much on the tin... The Mauser C/96 selfloading pistol has an iconic shape, with a high bore line and 10-round magazine ahead of the trigger. The idea of the magazine in the grip was not unknown at the time; the C/93 Borchardt used one. So what would it take for the C/96 to use one...

  6. WI: Mauser & Löwe don't reach a deal?

    Peter Paul Mauser lost control of his company to Isidor Löwe. In 1895, Mauser patented the C/96 selfloading pistol in his name; Löwe negotiated a deal giving Mauser a share of the company, a share of the profit, and effectively total control over C/96 production. What if they didn't reach a...

  7. WI: Honda takes over Innocenti in 1975?

    What it says on the tin... If Honda set up European operations in Italy, instead of Britain, it wouldn't (for a start) have propped up Rover. Would this have prevented BLMC stupidly spending money they didn't have on taking over Italian and Spanish production of the Mini, and instead put it...

  8. What if King Edward VI had lived and married Catherine Jagiellon in 1556?

    Pretty much on the tin.:) And I'm barely aware who Edward VI is, so anybody expecting insights from me will be disappointed.:p

  9. Motorsport WI/AHQ: How would no U.S. entry into WW2 affect land speed racing?

    Yeah, it's a bit esoteric and niche...:p The obvious things are, no surplus V1710s in land speed record cars (though, TBH, I can't think of any that used them anyhow...). Did it impact the use of turbines in the '60s, or was that based on the availability of surplus engines alone? Does the...

  10. WI: Uranus renamed?

    Discovered by William Herschel in 1781, it was first named (by him) Georgium Sidus (George’s Star). It ended up named Uranus (Latin form of Ouranos). WI, like all the other planets, it was named for the Roman equivalent of Ouranos: Caelus? How might this arise? Would it, in the end, make...

  11. AHC: Wipe out the Mafia in the U.S. by 1940

    As it says on the tin...:) Can it be done? Fairly evidently, J. Edgar has to go... Would (could?) the U.S. pass *RICO in the '30s? Could it be done without *RICO? Could (would?) Prohibition (& the resultant Mafia violence over bootlegging) prod Congress into action? Or is it impossible...

  12. WI: No Godzilla

    In a TL where the Bomb isn't used, or where (somehow) Japan doesn't attack the U.S., Godzilla seems unlikely to arise. What effect does that have on pop culture? On Japanese filmmaking? On the popularity of Japanese film in (especially) the U.S.? It wouldn't wipe out the monster movie...

  13. AHQ: Alternate unit designations?

    I'm thinking, here, of pure AH units, less than renaming (frex) armored/panzer divisions. Frex: given an AH without helicopters (but heavier than air surface-skimmers & airships), what does an outfit deployed from the skimmers get called? Not Airmobile (just because I don't want to confuse...

  14. WI "Toy Story" had been darker?

    In development, the early idea was for an "edgier" film. When some of the test footage was viewed, it was considered way too dark and nasty for kids, and was dropped. What would have happened had the "edgy", dark "Toy Story" been completed? It seems likely to be much less kid-friendly, and to...

  15. AHC: Make "Halloween" the smash hit and "Friday the 13th" a failure

    Pretty much what's on the tin. ;) It surprises me "Halloween" did so poorly, when it had a better story and better acting. What would it take to make it the smash hit, & have "Friday the 13th" more/less sink without trace? How would that change the slasher/horror movie genre? How would it...

  16. AHQ: Canadian states and their names?

    Given: modern Canada controlled by the U.S. What northern territories could (would) become states? (AIUI, there's a minimum population for statehood, and much of Canada north of about 52 is sparsely-populated...) What might they be named? How might the territory west of Missouri in the U.S...

  17. WI: Philadelphia, DC

    Fairly simple: what would if take to keep tbe U.S. capital in Philly, and what does thaf do to the cityscape? Obviously, the likes of the National Mall are improbable. So, too, many memorials (maybe not...). Probably the national cemetery is elsewhere... Any other thoughts?

  18. Wi: pulsejet AAMs in WW1?

    The pulsejet is uncomplicated enough to be built, and fast enough to catch even fighters. Guidance is an issue. Acoustic? (Draw from, and/or feed into, ASW hydrophones?) It would seem to make Zep raids impossible. Can it influence WW1? Can (would) it lead to ATMs? Does it accelerate...

  19. Alternate Angels?

    Given "Charlie's Angels" was (AIUI) meant as a vehicle for Kate jackson (& clearly did not come out that way:eek: ), what would it take to make it one? What might the effect on her career be? On the careers of the other Angels? Would Farrah become big anyway? Others than Farrah and Jacklyn...

  20. AHQ: Could VW postwar have gotten even bigger?

    Really all on the tin. ;) VW never offered 4-door or wagon versions of the Typ 1 (commonly mis-identified as the Beetle). Would sales have been better with those options? (Assume the pan is slightly longer for 2- and 4-doors.) I imagine taxi and police models of the 4-door being important...
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