Image A World Without...

[Tawmis]

So it's another one of those forum games. Was bored and it came to mind. Essentially you would write "Imagine a world without __________" (and fill in that line of course), the next person would respond with how it would impact them, then give the next thing and so on and so on. Could be serious. Could be funny.

So to start off...

Imagine a world without any form of music.

[Rath Darkblade]

You had to give me a scary one, Tawm!

A world without any form of music would be bleak, harsh, and lifeless. (I'm not saying that just because I love performing music and listen to others performing, although that could have something to do with it).

Just imagine a world without music. No concerts. No stage shows. Films and TV shows would have no dramatic opening and closing music, no romantic music for the two leads, no tense chase music, no adventurous "Indiana Jones"-style music etc... just people saying things in a monotone way. *shudders*

I don't want to live in a world with no music.

And now my turn! So...

Imagine a world with no potatoes.

[dotkel50]

OMG, a world with no potatos? No french fries, no creamy mashed potatos with butter, no baked potatos with sour cream! I'd wither away to a shadow of my former self! Shoot me now. ........And, no Mr. Potato Head......cause the original toy had to be used with a real potato, it was just a collection of plastic face parts. And Don Rickles wouldn't have become famous all over again.

Imagine a world with no books.

[Tawmis]

A world with no books would be devastating for me - and utterly life changing for me.

JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit" was utterly the thing that changed my life forever. Made me want to be a writer. (Not that I have gotten there professionally - but I am enjoying my little events and things that I do that are non professionally related). Without that, there would be none of the stories I have written. No Neverending Nights.

I could scarcely imagine a world without books. How would school be taught? Mind blowing.

Imagine a world without the internet.

[BBP]

I'd have graduated!
There was a world without Internet, but I can't remember what it was like.

Imagine a world without that other window: television.

[dotkel50]

I can imagine a world without television. More people would actually read books for entertainment, or interact with other people, especially family. Kids would actually go outside to play with friends. They'd use their imaginations more. When my brother and I were little we went down to my uncle's cottage on Cape Cod. We had a tv but the reception was so bad we could only get one station. Thank god it showed the Red Sox games . Anyway, we went to the beach every day instead of hanging around the house. Ah, the good old days....when Cape Cod was quaint and undeveloped.


Imagine a world without love.

[Tawmis]

(Well keep in mind, you're thinking only television shows... no television would also mean no news through the television... no watching VHS/DVD/BluRay... none of that)!

As for a world without love... it'd be impossible to imagine. Although that'd probably take care of the world's over population issue, since most children would be born out of lust rather than love.

On second thought, probably wouldn't fix the world's over population problem... since most children do seem to be born of lust, more than love these days.

Imagine a world without the ability to see.

[BBP]

One of my best friends is blind. Usually when I'm chatting with her, I completely forget about her handicap: granted, she has a lot of issues you'd never thought about (she has a level meter that you put in the tea pot when you're adding hot water, and when the water reaches the meter, it peeps: when she pours a drink she normally uses her fingers, but with burning hot tea that's not the best idea), but she is a great music fan, plays piano and sings (see here and here) and loves reading and radio and TV.

I'd probably manage, but I'd miss art. And handsome fellas.

But a world without hearing, no thank you. Can you imagine a world without hearing?

[Rath Darkblade]

ACK! I'm getting all the scary ones. First no music, now no hearing? I just can't imagine a world without being able to hear, for reasons I've outlined above in the "no music" scenario.

As for no potatoes - that's basically what life in Europe, Asia and Africa was like until the "New World" was discovered in 1492 (but specifically, they had to wait until the 1530s). Even then, the Europeans thought that potatoes were poisonous and caused leprosy! It took someone of the stature of Frederick the Great of Prussia to realise how nutritious and delicious potatoes were. In just 100 years, It totally transformed Prussia: in the 1760s, it was a second-rate backwater German barony, but in the 1860s it was the dominant power on the European Continent. The humble potato, plus advances in agriculture, caused a population explosion; more people meant more farmers and more soldiers. The side benefits of the industrial revolution helped Prussia create weapons at an astonishing rate. Then Bismarck came along, saw Prussia as a militaristic and expansionistic state, said "I like what I see" and used the army first to unify Germany, then to invade Austria and France. This sowed the seeds for World War I and...

The potato also caused a tragedy on the other side of the Channel. In Ireland, an almost total dependence on potatoes caused the Great Irish Famine of 1848-51. Millions died; in fact, the Irish population has still not recovered to its pre-plague levels. Many, however, emigrated to Boston - which is why Boston today has such a pronounced Irish flavour, with Irish pubs and the Boston Celtics and so on. (D'you get the feeling by now that I'm a history nut?)

Anyway, all this talk of potatoes made me think of another thing that didn't exist before "the New World", and a REALLY tough one...

Imagine a world without chocolate.

[BBP]

I once lived for a month without chocolate in any form, from April 17th (day after Easter, I wanted to pause it earlier but with the bunny holiday that's not a clever option) up to and including May 15th, 2006. Reason was that on May 15th 2006, the first concert of Zappa Plays Zappa was in Amsterdam, and I had a VIP ticket so I could meet his sons. And I wanted to look my best for that special occasion.

I found the following:
-Except for food allergies, there is no relation between any food and acne. Chocolate does not give you pimples. I am not allergic to chocolate, but I am to sun and so I got white bumps in that month anyway.
-I got horrible nightmares in that one month, of conveyor belt malfunctions in the supermarket that would cause chocolate bars to fly into my mouth...

One of my 2011 New Year's Resolutions has been to not buy bars of chocolate anymore unless it's a gift to somebody else. And it works just fine, I seriously cut my chocolate consumption.

A world without chocolate? Would be like the world without potatoes: in the last case we'd probably still be eating parsnip around here, and without chocolate there is still honey, treacle, whipped cream, sugar, avocado, cake and anything else to give us pointless calories.

What about a world without coffee? What would Gabriel drink?

[Rath Darkblade]

Tea?

Seriously, I'm not really a coffee person. *At all*. I might have a cappuccino every now and then, but I'm much more of a tea person. It may take a couple of cups in the morning to really get me going (one an hour), but once I get there... watch out. No need for another for the rest of the day.

How about life without books? If suddenly books were completely eliminated, how would we cope?

(Ugh, that's scary - reminds me of the book-burning crazies of the Nazi era) *shivers*

[Tawmis]

How about life without books? If suddenly books were completely eliminated, how would we cope?

Something like this.

[dotkel50]

Someone didn't read ALL the posts.

[Tawmis]

Someone didn't read ALL the posts.

I guess someone can technically answer the question, with how they'd react, and then post a new question.

[Rath Darkblade]

How about life without books? If suddenly books were completely eliminated, how would we cope?

Something like this.

Oops. *blush* My bad.

All right then - imagine a world without football jocks!