Ten years ago, you might have imagined that in the future, we’d have flying cars or hover boards — instead of selfie sticks and a panoply of other selfie-enabling devices. If this disparity between projected future and actual future continues to baffle you, take a look at this piece examining the fact that science is just very bad — generally — at predicting the future. On the bright side, this means that perhaps we can avoid any Ex Machina-type situations. Keep moving ahead into the future with this piece on how digital storytelling is reviving the ancient practice of gossip.
Of course, you might want to head in the opposite direction and return to a simpler time, when people worshipped tempestuous, violent deities instead of their iPhones. But you can never truly escape to the past, so, rather, check out this list of ancient, mythical objects found on Wikipedia.
And let’s remember that, without the internet, it’d be harder to see these beautiful woodcuts of Miyazaki films or these haunting double exposure portraits of animals. You also would never catch a glimpse of Frida Kahlo’s secret possessions (including her prosthetic leg).
Let’s end with a Star War’s fan’s worst nightmare: Jar Jar Binks. Imagine a movie made with only Jar Jar Binks. Imagine the horror, the stale dialogue, the eye-roll inducing slapstick gags. Then watch this fan-made trailer and never complain about a crossguard lightsaber again.