When people talk about who they were in a past life, why is it always English, Roman or Egyptian royalty? Honestly, how many people do you think could be the reincarnation of Julius Cesar or Cleopatra? Don't you think at least a few people used to be plumbers or investment bankers or something boring like that? We all like to think we were somebody important, but you know, there are many different types of "important", and it's not like reincarnation is reserved solely for famous rulers from thousands of years ago. Here are five people wouldn't mind having been in a past life.

General Patton

Patton gets into the idea of reincarnation in his poem Through a Glass, Darkly, revolving around the concept of a soldier who is born again and again, and who dies again and again in the name of his country. Patton was something of a megalomaniac and pictured himself as the epitome of manhood and the fighting spirit... And yeah, he was right. He also showed the sort of clear headed, direct leadership that we could use in this day and age in any industry, not just the military.

Elvis

There is probably nobody else in history who has inspired so many impersonators. There's literally an entire industry built around the idea of dressing, sounding and acting like The King. There's nothing these guys would love more than to hear from an expert that they are, in fact, The King, and that's exactly why they do it so well.

Ben Franklin

The Founding Father Benjamin Franklin is most well known as the guy who invented lightning rods and bifocals, but we'll remember him as the most eccentric and bizarre of the founding fathers. Besides the well known story of the kite and the key, he also once electrocuted himself trying to roast a turkey with the power of electricity, and once tried to have his best friend drafted into the military so that he could steal the poor guy's girlfriend. If the founding fathers had been the cast of Seinfeld, Franklin was definitely the Kramer.

Actress Audrey Hepburn

With so many women wishing they were Cleopatra, you don't hear anyone saying that they were once Audrey Hepburn. She was definitely the icon of grace and beauty in her time, so why not? Maybe she wasn't royalty on the political stage, but she certainly was in world culture. We vote her the woman we most wish would hurry up and be reincarnated already. Not only was she graceful and beautiful, she was charming and funny, and she only grew more beautiful with each passing year as she got older.

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant was crazy, and a lot of fun to be around. He was known to steal horse carriages and go on madcap races across town, and when he drank, there was nobody who could match him. If you're a fun drunk, maybe you were once a giant pro wrestler. Andre was one of those guys where, even though every story would end in a fight with the police, a beer can tossed at somebody's head or someone in the hospital, all of his friends remember him fondly, nonetheless. A real wildcat and a great guy.