Questions tagged [united-states]
For questions about the United States of America (USA) of our Earth. The question should be used when a question takes place in the USA or asks about the effects of changes introduced to the USA.
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US citizen, with a clean record, needs license for armored car with 3 inch cannon [closed]
I’m writing a sci-fi story with the protagonist being a superhero/ flying brick. He’s the only super in the world and as a result, many governments, NGO’s, cartels (etc.), and powerful individuals ...
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How far back in time would the USA need to travel to be able to conquer the entire world? [closed]
I've been thinking of a scenario in which the US wants to control the entire world, via time travel, but I'm not sure what time to travel to.
The US is generally considered to have the most powerful ...
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If the USA disbanded, who would California rely on?
Background: The American Commonwealth
The USA is no longer a legal entity. A popular "statism" movement saw the election of a single-issue president, who legally and peacefully oversaw ...
user100347
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The "Exciting" Drilling company dug an underground canal connecting Death Valley to the Pacific. How much electricity can it generate on tidal forces?
Badwater Basin, part of Death Valley, is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level at its lowest point.
The "Exciting" drilling company, based in Nevada (they are exciting and not at all like their b**...
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The "Exciting" Drilling company dug an underground canal connecting Death Valley to the Pacific. How does it change the Mojave climate?
Badwater Basin, part of Death Valley, is 282 feet (86 m) below sea level at its lowest point.
The "Exciting" drilling company, based in Nevada (they are exciting and not at all like their b**...
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Which US Government Agency would handle the coverup of a new mineral found on a different planet?
In a planet within our solar system, the US Government with the help of a private space industry discovers a really special cool McGuffin mineral. It is super shiny. However, the US Government doesn't ...
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Could A Dictator Take Power In The USA Using Strictly Legal Means? [closed]
I'm world-building a future where the USA devolves into a dictatorial state ruled by a single man.
The following are true:
The dictator in question is a charismatic populist who is highly
intelligent,...
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What weeniest single future change can merge contiguous states of the USA? [closed]
I am asking about the future, not past. At least every year, someone proposes merger of these abutting US states. Common examples are
North + South Dakotas,
Virginia + West Virginia,
North + South ...
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How does the Law handle temporary curing of sociopathy?
I know that sociopathy isn't technically in the DSM any more, but what I mean by the term is an individual devoid of a conscience. They don't feel guilt no matter what they do and as such so long as ...
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Why would my central bank suddenly increase the interest rates to over 20%?
Question: My plotline is an alternate history of the US and requires the Federal Reserve bank to increase the prime interest rate to an unheard-of 20% for one full year.
The political environment is ...
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How can the Bank of the United States surviving into the 20th century prevent the Great Depression?
The Great Depression was a time of great suffering for many Americans during the 1930s. It began in 1929 during the great crash of the stock market. This followed a period of unprecedented wealth and ...
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The USA breaks up. Who gets the nukes?
When the USSR broke up into fifteen independent states, it's well known that Russia inherited the nuclear arsenal of the dissolving state. I don't know exactly how this was decided: if it was just &...
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Barring asteroid impacts, disease, natural disaster, war — Why would the S&P 500 crash to 700 before 2023, and remain under 700 until 2030?
Many famous wealthy investors are predicting a stock market crash.
On 25 March 2021, Ray Dalio: Current bubble 'halfway' to 2000 and 1929
"By our measures, the bubble is not what it was in 2000 ...
user91827
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What teeniest lone change would have actualized transcontinental High Speed Rail in the USA?
The high speed train (HST) must be one of the high-speed trains currently or no longer in service. The HST should run at its max operating speed as much as possible and practicable, to save time. HST ...
user91827
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How much damage to the US would a Yellowstone eruption cause?
I posted this question: How would the United States survive and adapt in the decades following a Yellowstone eruption? What things would need to change as the world recovers? and it was closed due to ...
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Life and Conscription in States After a Divided USA
I'm trying to devise a situation where the United States is Split into multiple smaller states. I'll cover other factors of my scenario in other posts, but I'll stick to life in states and military ...
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Why would a non-Christian religion suddenly gain a large following among Americans? [closed]
Eighty years into the future, an already existing non-Christian religion has gained a widespread following among Americans. Millions of people have converted to the religion in question.
From what I ...
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What is Santa's defense against an unlawful withholding of welfare charge?
Santa's1 been taken to court!
Kids in the United States have complained that they're getting too much coal and the class-action lawyers heard their cries for redress! Obedient to a summons from the ...
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Method of premature change of president and vice president in alternate version of the USA [closed]
I'm working on a world (for a series of stories) not much different from our reality.
The laws are almost same to the letter - the timeline diverged ~2013 but with no important changes in the law.
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What would be the smallest change required for the United States to purchase Greenland (time frame: 1945-2000)? [closed]
I have heard there have been multiple instances of this happening prior to the current president's proposal. Could this have seriously happened some time in the 20th century?
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Is it possible to detect encrypted communications [duplicate]
I'm writing a detective novel, in which a series of terror attacks are carried out in the United States by a group of mercenaries using military grade, channel hopping radio to communicate.
I would ...
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I'm looking for an event that would have accelerated the American nuclear program
I've been brainstorming this idea of America conquering the world right after World War II, during the period when USA was the only nation with the atomic bomb.
I'm looking for something either ...
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How could the Empire of Japan and America be allies in WWII? [closed]
I am slowly building an alternate history story where America and the Empire of Japan are closely allied during the early 1940s instead of at war. They are so close, in fact, that Anchorage is seen as ...
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How to patrol a 2,000 mile-long border
The Second Civil War has begun. Ignoring how succession happens, the American west coast (including Baja California & the Mexican state of Sonora) becomes an independent republic. Their border ...
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Moving the US capital to the Midwest before 1900?
A few years ago, an old map started circulating around the internet from 1850 with a proposed Western District of Columbia located in western Kentucky, across from the real Illinois town, named in a ...
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Is there enough space in the US for every US teen go on a 2 week outdoors trip? [closed]
I am writing a piece of fiction that is a collection of short stories based around potential changes to the US Public School system and US policy on restricting access. (Book Title I think, ...
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Could a U.S. president change political parties? [closed]
This has intrigued me for a long time. Hypothetically, could a president-elect be able to switch political parties once they assume office? I'm aware of the ramifications and backlash they would get ...
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What would an American "king" or "queen" be called. Assume those titles are too offensive for American senses [closed]
This is purely hypothetical, of course, but here's my quick scenario:
Assume the people of the United States voted to install a royal family, one that had no power,...
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What if the North Won the Civil War (but much quicker)?: Attitudes Towards Slavery
Historical Context
In the early years of the Civil War, the North (United States/Union) struggled against the South (Confederate States). Battle after battle was lost to the South, despite the North'...
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If Michigan had never become the center of the auto industry, what would it be known for? [closed]
In the United States, each state exists as a general stereotype in most Americans' minds, at least. Wisconsin is full of dairy farmers who dedicate their lives to the production of cheese; Texas is ...
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Would the capability for Japan to drop a nuclear bomb on the USA have deterred the USA from dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan?
Would the USA have been deterred from dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan if Japan had the means of retaliating with a nuclear weapon in WW2?
Leading on from that, would Japan have used the nuclear ...
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Christianity never rises. Does the U.S. exist? [closed]
In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first ...
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Could anyone with access to a nation's nuclear launch codes unilaterally fire nukes as they please? [closed]
If someone were to have a country's (Take the U.S, for the sake of being specific) nuclear launch codes, could he unilaterally fires nukes as he pleases?
Assumptions:
1) He's among the military's ...
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Secret US government facility on East coast
I'm writing a story in the genre of Heroes, The 4400 etc in which a group of apparently random civilians, mostly US citizens, are subjected to some alien influence and gain strange powers, whereupon ...
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Jurisdiction over strange events in the continental US
I'm writing a story in the genre of Heroes, The 4400 etc in which a group of apparently random civilians, mostly US citizens, are subjected to some alien influence and gain strange powers, whereupon ...
- 4,888
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How far back in time can I go before people stop accepting my money from the future?
Lets say I go back in time with a wallet full of, say, 150 dollars worth of bills. How far can I be sent back before I reach a point where I'm unlikely to be able to use my money because it looks too ...
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What would happen to the economy if the United States suddenly emancipated all animals? [closed]
What would happen if today, right now, an American law was passed that emancipated all forms of animal life. The killing and "slavery" of animals was officially illegal. No more burgers, leather shoes,...
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I duplicate the U.S. President. What happens?
So the U.S. President (or some other country's leader) is strollin' along. I blast him with a duplication ray gun (secret service must have been snoozing). There are now two of him. How does the world ...
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What would North America look like if the States weren't United? [closed]
Following the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress is unable to agree on a satisfactory new Constitution and the United States, after a brief flash-in-the-pan existence, the union ...
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