Imagine how different history would be if...

If one hundred years ago today, Gavrilo Princip had spanked the Archduke's aristocratic buttocks beet red rather than taking that terribly drastic measure of shooting him?

Who knows? There is even the possibility that Ferdinand would have enjoyed the experience.

Jugoslavia, Unkari, Tsekkoslovakia, Puola, Liettua, Latvia, Viro, Suomi... ALL HAIL liberator GAVRILO

As cruel it is, there would not be independet Finland, if Russian Empire wouldn't collapse during WW I

I doubt it. I think the first world war was an accident waiting to happen. There were a series of political crises before the war broke out and any of them could have touched off the war.

I think an interesting concept to resolve issues through spanking rather than war ! Must actually be a better idea. However, terrible as war is, it does bring advances in science and inventions. But I certainly would vote for spanking over war ! Winston Churchill once said 'Jaw, Jaw is better than War, War !' , perhaps that could be changed to be spanking or something ? Any ideas ?

If war brings technological advances, would solving crises with spanking involve similar advances in spanking technology?

Spanking the Kaiser didn't seem to help bring things to an end any earlier:

http://www.postcardman.net/120430.jpg

Kullervo
And without an independent Finland, we might not have wonderful bands like Nightwish!

Kia

Funny. One would only hope. ;)

As someone else says, WW I had been building for quite some time. Princip's actions were merely the match that lit the fuse on a powder keg. The world was changing and something was always going to happen.

I agree that Sarajevo was just one possible incident of many that could have triggered an already unstable situation - but the thought of armies advancing armed with canes, paddles and orders to give the enemy a good thrashing is intriguing to contemplate...