Fun ways to time travel through everyday experiences

It’s easy to forget how much of our modern life has roots that stretch deep into history. Many activities we enjoy today would feel perfectly familiar to ancient civilizations. From food and games to the night sky, some experiences have stood the test of time with almost no change. Here are five of the most compelling ways to time travel through everyday life, and then five ways to feel like you're living in the future.

Believe it or not, you could pour certain modern wines for an ancient Roman, and they might not notice the difference. Varieties like Falanghina and Sangiovese have been preserved for millennia through grafting techniques. These grapes are virtually the same today as they were thousands of years ago, meaning the taste of a glass of wine in modern times could transport you directly to an ancient Roman banquet.

Sourdough baking is having a moment, but it’s far from a modern trend. The technique of using wild yeast to make bread rise dates back to ancient Egypt. When you bake a loaf using a sourdough starter, you’re engaging in a practice that’s been largely unchanged for thousands of years. That tangy, homemade loaf is your personal connection to one of the oldest culinary traditions in human history.

Many of today’s favorite games, like Chess or Go, have their origins in ancient times. Go, for example, has been played in China for over 2,500 years, and Chess has been around for more than a thousand years. The strategies, moves, and excitement felt during a game today are the same as those enjoyed by players in ancient palaces and marketplaces.

Look up at the night sky, and you’ll see the same stars that have fascinated humans for millennia. The constellations we recognize today were charted by ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Babylonians, who created myths and stories around them. Stargazing hasn’t changed at all since then—it's one of the oldest shared human experiences.

Gathering with friends to share food, wine, and conversation is a timeless human tradition. Whether you’re hosting a casual dinner party or attending a celebration, the dynamics of a modern feast would feel remarkably familiar to ancient Greeks or Romans. The love of good company, food, and laughter has been a constant thread throughout history.

While many aspects of our lives would be relatable to someone from the past, there are a few things we take for granted today that would completely baffle them. Obviously computers and airplanes and AI would confound our guests from the past, but some modern practices that seem ordinary to us would be utterly alien to someone from the past.

To an ancient person, the idea of a scheduled school day—complete with bells, specific subjects taught in blocks of time, and a structured curriculum—would seem completely bizarre. While education certainly existed in ancient times, it was often informal, based on mentorship or apprenticeships. The rigid structure of today’s schools didn’t emerge until the early 20th century, when compulsory education laws and industrial-era efficiency models shaped the modern school day. Ancient students, used to a more free-form learning process, would be mystified by the bells, class periods, and standardized lessons we take for granted today.

The concept of modern restaurants, where you dine out specifically to enjoy a meal from a menu, didn’t fully develop until the 18th century in France. While ancient people certainly enjoyed food at taverns or inns, these were primarily places for travelers or quick meals on the go. The idea of choosing from a variety of dishes and paying for a full dining experience, tailored to your taste, would have been an unfamiliar luxury to them. They might expect a communal feast or home-cooked meal but would be baffled by the idea of "eating out" for leisure.

Ancient civilizations primarily used bartering systems, metal coins, or other physical commodities as currency. The idea of paper money first emerged in China during the 11th century, but it would still have been a strange concept to most people in ancient times. Fast forward to the 1950s, and the introduction of credit cards—allowing people to buy goods on credit with a small piece of plastic—would be even more incomprehensible. To someone from the distant past, the notion that a small card could grant access to goods and services without physical exchange would seem like pure magic.

For most of human history, survival was the priority, and daily life revolved around work dictated by the seasons or the sun. The idea of personal time—specifically scheduled blocks of leisure time—emerged with industrialization in the 19th century, when the concept of the "weekend" and shorter work hours began to take shape. For an ancient person, the idea that we could dedicate time purely to hobbies or relaxation, separate from survival needs or societal duties, would be a strange luxury. They knew festivals and holy days of rest, but daily leisure time would feel utterly futuristic.

While private spaces certainly existed in ancient homes, the idea of privacy in the modern sense—where individuals have a right to personal space, private communication, and solitude—is a relatively new concept, especially in Western culture. This emphasis on individual privacy began to solidify in the 19th century with the rise of the middle class and private property. In many ancient cultures, life was communal, with extended families or entire communities living and working closely together. The expectation of having areas of your life completely shielded from others—whether through private rooms, letters, or even secure banking—would be a foreign concept.

It's fascinating to realize just how connected we are to the past through our everyday actions—yet at the same time, how far we’ve come in ways that seem ordinary to us now. Whether you're enjoying a glass of wine or pondering the strange wonders of privacy and leisure time, it’s amazing to think of how we live at the intersection of both ancient and future worlds.