Bob Collins at MPR’s NewsCut reminds us that Voyager 1 has left the solar system. This little unmanned spacecraft documented so much of what we know about a tiny corner of the universe we ourselves cannot travel in a lifetime, even if we got off our duffs and tried.
I knew that Voyager 1 had samples of Earth culture on board, in case it was found some day by some one. There are 27 songs, which you can listen to below all in a row.
I played this series one song after another eating my lunch today. Then I looked at the slide show of pictures at the end imagining myself an extraterrestrial experiencing a new culture for the first time. I learned much. And yet, I learned nothing. That, in summary, is Earth.
This explains why people look at me like I’m an alien when I tell them I have a record player.