Stemming from a work sustainability meeting, it’s odd how I can be dragged down a rabbit hole!
The conversation began with an anecdote about the storage of nuclear waste. It's a bit of a dry subject, I know, but bear with me.
The thought was about language and how language has changed over the years - in this example, English.
In fact, there is an interesting post on how it has changed back to the year 1000.
Now, instead of looking to the past at language, what about the future? In the example I was given, it was about the storage of nuclear waste - how would we warn people to keep away from it if the language (i.e. signage) has significantly changed?
There were interesting ideas, including creating a religion around it, complete with clergy1, to keep the oral history going.
That leads us to the cats.
The idea of Ray Cats was mooted as a way to warn people about impending radioactive materials. The premise was that cats are always around humans2 and could be genetically modified to change colour in the presence of radioactive material in the area. That way, when the cats start glowing, people would realise there was an area that would kill crops and make people ill.
The question remained: how could people be expected to remember what these glowing cats signified…
So, 99% Invisible commissioned an ‘earworm’ song that would work its way down generations to ensure that people remembered what would happen if the cats changed colour.
What an amazing song, and it is now on my rotation.
See where a simple comment can lead you!
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Something to think about with regard to all religions…
Debatable as cats are not as ‘homely’ as dogs, and sometimes I get the impression that they don’t care if you live or die!