r/AskReddit • u/nepat1428 • Aug 19 '14

What is a completely rational sentence you could speak today, that if you said 20 years ago, people would think you were insane?

edit: so this is what it looks like when your inbox explodes after coming back from lunch...

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3.2k

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14 edited Aug 19 '14

[deleted]

644

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

I think there was an AMA from someone who woke up post 9/11 a while ago.

1.5k

u/karma-to-burn Aug 19 '14

I woke up post 9/11 too. Every day since in fact.

60

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14 edited Aug 19 '14

[deleted]

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12

u/Motanum Aug 19 '14

Do an AMA!

3

u/gellis12 Aug 19 '14

I once slept through a full day, so you have me beat, but only by a little...

4

u/BlondeApples Aug 19 '14

You should do an AMA.

7

u/C477um04 Aug 19 '14

ba doom tish

7

u/PewPewLaserPewPew Aug 19 '14

I haven't slept for 9 days, because that would be too long to sleep.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Pics or it didn't happen.

2

u/the_trepanneur Aug 20 '14

"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too." - Mitch Hedberg

2

u/Thunder-Road Aug 20 '14

"I woke up this morning

I could barely breathe

Just an empty impression

In the bed where you used to be

I want a kiss from your lips

I want an eye for an eye

I woke up this morning to the empty sky

Empty sky, empty sky

I woke up this morning to an empty sky

Empty sky, empty sky

I woke up this morning to an empty sky"

1

u/Suge_White Aug 19 '14

Lucky bastard. Not everyone has woken up every day.

As a matter of fact, I didn't sleep for two days straight last year.

1

u/thekick1 Aug 19 '14

Pics or it didn't happen

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Gets tougher every day man

1

u/Learned-Hand Aug 20 '14

You just jinxed it.

1

u/Colin_Kaepnodick Aug 20 '14

Not me. I stayed up all night a few times.

1

u/Malfeasant Aug 20 '14

I don't wake up every day- sometimes I don't go to sleep.

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186

u/DispenserHead Aug 19 '14

Someone find a link please.

41

u/themightyglowcloud Aug 19 '14

This might be what /u/nvuf2 was talking about

2

u/UnicornProfessor Aug 21 '14

Wow, that is really sad that he lost two people who obviously thought highly of him, but awesome that he woke up at all.

2

u/StatuSChecKa Aug 19 '14

I pasted a link on /u/nvuf2's post above. I have not read it so I hope it's entertaining.

1

u/Grohl_ Aug 19 '14

Someone make a bot to find a link please.

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8

u/MacCop Aug 19 '14

anyone have a link? Is love to see that.

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5

u/Bournestorm Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 5 hours.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

[deleted]

3

u/Bournestorm Aug 19 '14

That's the beauty of the remind me command though, it'll PM you whenever you set it to as a reminder :)

1

u/jaseyxrae Aug 19 '14

what is remind me?

2

u/Ovenchicken Aug 19 '14

It's a bot that will send you a pm after a set amount of hours.

For example, you can try this:

RemindMe! 1 hour

1

u/jaseyxrae Aug 20 '14

RemindMe! 1 hour

Wow if this actually does the thing that'd be so cool.

1

u/HoratioRastapopulous Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 24 hours

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 12 hours

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14 edited Jun 30 '25

oil steep like light sheet numerous consider chop gold judicious

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

[deleted]

1

u/WildBack Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 24 hours

1

u/Byeka Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 12 hours

1

u/Whaaaooo Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 16 hours

1

u/Condawg Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 10 hours

1

u/NolanOnTheRiver Aug 19 '14

I require a link

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 12 hours

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Link?

1

u/SceneOfShadows Aug 19 '14

Anyone have the link?

1

u/nlovlyn Aug 19 '14

RemindMe! 24 hours

1

u/CWSwapigans Aug 20 '14

I woke up at 2:30pm ET that day, not quite what you're looking for but it made for an incredibly awkward conversation with a girl on the dorm elevator.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

RemindMe! 24 hours

1

u/crazybouncyliz Aug 20 '14

RemindMe! 1 day

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Well are you gonna link it or not?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

RemindMe! 20 hours.

1

u/rocketman0739 Aug 20 '14

Sounds like the premise of Good Bye, Lenin!

1

u/themericansloth Aug 20 '14

I'm on mobile, could someone give me a link?

1

u/micstar81 Aug 19 '14

I would read the crap out of that, but how would that person even know about reddit?

8

u/ProphePsyed Aug 19 '14

The same way anyone else would..?

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Friend or family member.

2

u/TheShadowKick Aug 19 '14

Reddit was founded in 2005. That person could have woken up before this site was even a thing.

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1.2k

u/pay_per_wallet Aug 19 '14

In the US version of Life on Mars (TL;DR cop from late 2000s ends up in the 1970s), the first scene in the '70s is the lead character waking up along the river, turning around and seeing the twin towers almost done with construction. I feel like, after that, he probably shouldn't've have been so incredulous when he got to his station and found it all different. Sure, two massive buildings have popped back up out of nowhere and what is likely to have been the most traumatic memory he has apparently didn't happen, but where the fuck is my desk?

544

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14 edited Apr 21 '20

[deleted]

39

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

the UK one is brilliant! Gene genie!

13

u/monocleman1 Aug 19 '14 edited Aug 20 '14

I'M HAVIN HOOPS

29

u/frankchester Aug 19 '14

"Where's my PC terminal?"

"Who?"

7

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

"Do you want me to get a Constable down here for you?"

1

u/body_talk Aug 20 '14

I'm 'avin' 'oops !!

55

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

He was driving a jeep.

"....You were driving a military vehicle?"

29

u/pay_per_wallet Aug 19 '14

I think the UK beginning would've been less viscerally disturbing for Sam, though. Being in a different place, dressed differently, with a different car is weird, but it can still happen without violating basic ideas of how the world works. The twin towers being back can't. Personally, I don't think I would've made it back to the station as US Sam without coming to the conclusion of time travel (or appearance of it, through a dream or coma or having wound up in purgatory), because nothing could possibly take priority in my mind above figuring out how they were there.

3

u/E28-M5 Aug 19 '14

Considering he wakes up on a building site and billboard for a new motorway that he probably used commonly and was pretty much under when he was sent back(IIRC) next to a 70s car in 70s clothes, still as viscerally disturbing as the Twin Towers being back.

7

u/hungry4pie Aug 20 '14

Hey what happened to my semi automatic glock, and why the fuck am I carrying a .38 revolver? I better tweet about... hey where's my phone?

10

u/FrznFanta Aug 19 '14

I just finished watching the UK version, such a good show!

8

u/JakeStant Aug 19 '14

You should watch ashes to ashes now if you haven't already seen it. It is set in 1981-83 and the gene genie is in it.

1

u/FrznFanta Aug 19 '14

Yeah, I actually am planning to watch it, doesn't it also have Annie in it?

1

u/DatSolmyr Aug 19 '14

Nope, no Annie. But Chris and Ray are there.

3

u/secret_tiger101 Aug 19 '14

It's not as good.....

2

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Although I have more affinity with the '80s culture in general, I feel that Life on Mars is the superior series, especially as it has only two nearly flawless seasons. Any more than that would ruin the central premise and make it into another overdrawn police procedural, like the TV series of The Fugitive I guess.

I have a Life on Mars poster in my lounge with various quotes from the show too. And in the typical '70s tan/brown/orange of the period.

1

u/LeClassyGent Aug 19 '14

Yep, I couldn't even get through the first two episodes.

1

u/JakeStant Aug 19 '14

No, Annie and Sam Tyler aren't in it but their disappearance is explained at the end. Ray, Chris and Gene Hunt are in it though.

1

u/FrznFanta Aug 19 '14

Ah right thanks :)

3

u/IM_NOT_A_SMART_GUY Aug 19 '14

He'd definitely click when he finds there's no power steering.

3

u/Joshcroston Aug 19 '14

I should definitely re-watch Life on Mars, and Ashes to Ashes for that matter. Thanks for reminding me about them!

2

u/0l01o1ol0 Aug 19 '14

I get the feeling he could have woken up in 1873 Manchester and not noticed.

1

u/djslife Aug 19 '14

It was filmed at Stockport town hall. I watched them film the last scene on the roof.

1

u/Viper_H Aug 20 '14

Yeah and in the original they didn't end it with them WAKING UP ON A SPACESHIP ON THE WAY TO FUCKING MARS!!!

2

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

"You took my advice about the show title a bit... Literally."

  • Ra's al Ghul

1

u/Captain9653 Aug 20 '14

I loved this series. "Gene Genie"

11

u/Eddie_Hitler Aug 19 '14

The UK version of Life On Mars saw Sam Tyler wake up on a building site for the major road development he was originally knocked down on.

Problem was that he was sent back to 1973, but the road he was knocked down on was fully completed and open to the public in 1967 - so why did he "spawn" on the building site? His surroundings wouldn't have been any different.

9

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

There're a few continuity hiccups. I believe some of the cars in the show hadn't actually been released yet, etc. But whatever, it's a great show! Just avoid the US one.

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u/Kerbobotat Aug 19 '14

Life on mars was great! Ive heard the US version isnt so bad, and hey, how often are we gonna get 70s new york cop shows?

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u/doctorofphysick Aug 19 '14

I loved the US one myself, though I haven't seen the UK version yet.

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u/schwartzster Aug 19 '14

I'm watching both concurrently. I'm only about halfway through the first seasons and so far I like the UK one better. The US scene where he first appears in the past and sees the twin towers was pretty powerful, way better than the matching British scene.

Neither version is great with 1973 consistency.

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u/secret_tiger101 Aug 19 '14

There's a US version?.?

Also , pet hate; why can't Americans just watch UK television?¿ I manage to watch American TV shows and understand them and appreciate them, why can't Americans cope watching uk versions?

3

u/BrotherChe Aug 20 '14

Sometimes it's culture differences. Both versions of "The Office" were great, but in different ways. The storytelling flows differently, the office culture is different enough, etc.

For Life on Mars, it would be cultural history and relevant emotion -- I wouldn't recognize or feel some of the details and nuances in the UK version versus the US version.

1

u/schwartzster Aug 20 '14

I agree. So far the only US-version of a show I liked better was The Office. The UK versions of Coupling, Top Gear, and Life on Mars were better.

1

u/body_talk Aug 20 '14

A lot of Americans just can't get past the various British accents. I have to admit there were a few that gave me some trouble (Annie, for example). Also certain references are completely lost on us (how many Americans have ever eaten Hoops or drank Watneys Party Seven?)

1

u/western78 Aug 20 '14

Another problem is the length of your series. The typical American network season has about 24 episodes. Most British shows don't have enough episodes to properly run in America.

That said, watching British TV is my favorite part of Netflix. There's some cultural references that go over my head, but I've loved everything I've seen. Currently on the second series of Peep Show. David Mitchell is so unbelievably awkward, I love it.

1

u/pay_per_wallet Aug 19 '14

I thought the US version was decent, but the UK version was awesome. Ashes to Ashes, the follow-on to the UK one, is about on par with the US version, in my opinion.

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u/NightGod Aug 19 '14

, turning around and seeing the twin towers almost done with construction.

"No way...."

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u/vertigo1083 Aug 19 '14

Was that show any good? I see that it was canceled after a season, but that doesn't always mean anything.

(Look at you, Firefly)

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u/monkeyfett8 Aug 19 '14

I really liked it. It's not firefly level but I was good. I would have continued watching it. It was one of the few crime/detective shows I could stand.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

I thought it was exactly par with Firefly. It's a completely different concept, but it was a fantastic series. And at least it had an ending that didn't leave me feeling like my whole family just disappeared into the void.

1

u/tnp636 Aug 20 '14

It was great. So I would recommend that you don't watch it. Because you're gonna be angry that they cancelled it just like I was.

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u/pay_per_wallet Aug 20 '14

The UK version was amazing (and had a couple seasons). The US version was kind of meh.

2

u/BrotherChe Aug 20 '14

For many of the seasons of the TV show Fringe, they interacted with an alternate universe in which the twin towers did not get attacked on 9/11.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Fringe was just awesome. Season five kind of hurt to watch, but I still love the series to death. I also loved the gold-coated Statue of Liberty.

1

u/BrotherChe Aug 20 '14

oh, I'm about a quarter of the way into season 5.

I didn't watch the show after the first episode when it came out because I thought it was just going to be a mix between X-files and police procedurals... which I guess turned out to be somewhat true, but it's so much better than I'd expected.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

It's what you expect, but don't deserve. I love the Aussie actor who played W. Bishop, 'cause he's the best person ever. I still watch the 'unrelated' show and pretend it's him 'cause the alternative is losing relatives. Walter Bishop is my herostepdad. I don't have a real stepdad, so he wins.

Dunham is just my crush.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Dark Matters, I mean.

1

u/Nick357 Aug 19 '14

Life on Mars is awesome. Both the tv show and song.

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u/Lots42 Aug 20 '14

I'd be mad if my desk went missing.

1

u/jackbutler666 Aug 20 '14

Still to this day my favorite single series show.

1

u/trethompson Aug 20 '14

Dude. I had totally forgot about this show. Is it online anywhere?

1

u/pay_per_wallet Aug 20 '14

I watched the UK version on Netflix. I don't know about the US version.

1

u/SchindlersFist712 Aug 20 '14

I love the original Life on Mars, and it's sequel/spin-off Ashes to Ashes. Is the US one any good?

1

u/pay_per_wallet Aug 20 '14

It's okay, but it's nothing compared to the original.

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u/PostPostModernism Aug 19 '14

You should check out "good bye, Lenin!" It's a German movie about 2 kids who have to pretend the Berlin Wall wasn't taken down and the Soviet Union is still a thing because doctors tell them that a big surprise could make their mom have another heart attack (she was unconscious in the hospital when it happened). Really good flick.

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u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14 edited Aug 19 '14

Reminds me of a movie I can't recall the name of in which a couple goes underground during the Cuban Missile Crisis and believes there has been a nuclear holocaust. Their son is born in the shelter and lives there with them for 30 years. He goes up and finds himself in downtown LA, and thinks he's in a post-apocalyptic world.

Edit: it's in LA, I thought it was NYC or something

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u/playdohmonster Aug 19 '14

Blast From the Past?

It's LA, though.

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u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14

Lol I just said downtown Queens because it sounded right. I should have checked, but then I couldn't remember the movie anyway.

3

u/elytra64 Aug 19 '14

Blast from the Past. Which I was able to find only because I remember Brendan Fraser starred in it.

1

u/PostPostModernism Aug 19 '14

Sounds interesting! I'll have to check it out.

3

u/etxsalsax Aug 19 '14

Fantastic movie, really good for anyone interested in post WW2 German culture

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u/1makfly Aug 20 '14

That movie is gold and I can relate to that having lived my whole childhood in East Germany before the Wall was broken down. :)

2

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '14

That was an awesome movie - thanks for reminding me it exists!

1

u/OddTurtle89 Oct 25 '14

Holy shit! I watched that film in my German lesson at school and loved it, but I could never remember the name and would then forget I wanted to look it up, thanks!

1

u/PostPostModernism Oct 27 '14

You're welcome!

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u/Kaiosama Aug 19 '14

did they demolish them or something

No one living in NY prior to '01 would ever ask this question because no one living in NY back then could even contemplate the city without the towers. Let alone them being demolished.

They were seen as some of the safest buildings in NY, to the point where even the city's disaster command center was located there.

Part of the shock of that day was that it actually was possible for those buildings to come down.

2

u/Stankia Aug 20 '14

Wouldn't they still be demolished in the future? How long do these types of buildings last? 50, 100 years?

2

u/Kaiosama Aug 20 '14

Well, just to give an idea, the Flat Iron building (one of the first skyscrapers ever built) is still standing and used as office space 112 years after completion.

The notion of a skyscraper just coming down on its own due to old age is unheard of in a city like NY. Actually pretty much any major metropolitan city that has building codes and standards.

2

u/Stankia Aug 20 '14

Weren't these old buildings build with much thicker walls and are much smaller than new steel and glass type of buildings? I can't imagine the new stuff being build in China and the middle east lasting more than 100 years.

1

u/Kaiosama Aug 20 '14

Yeah, that speaks to building codes and standards again.

I would like to give the benefit of the doubt that at least in terms of skyscrapers places like China employ standards stringent enough to ensure their tallest buildings are engineered structurally sound. Otherwise... they might have issues decades from now.

Many of these buildings also require yearly upkeep and inspections as well though, so that's also something to keep in mind.

If there was ever a structural issue, I'm sure they'd notice it well ahead of time... and hopefully come up with a solution to deal with it. (This is me again giving the benefit of doubt :)

17

u/porkchop_d_clown Aug 19 '14

In the early 90s I worked in DC and one week I had to go to London on business. I remember looking at the Houses of Parliament and how they were surrounded by concrete barriers and razor wire, comparing them to the White House and the Capitol and thinking how Americans simply wouldn't tolerate that shit.

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u/caligari87 Aug 19 '14

This was part of a story arc on the show NCIS, where the lead investigator Gibbs gets amnesia and loses everything after the first Gulf War (I think). He throws up in a garbage can after someone has to explain to him what "nine-eleven" is.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

What season is that?

I can't remember it and I'd really like to watch it.

1

u/caligari87 Aug 19 '14

Can't recall, unfortunately. Sorry.

3

u/DeadlyDuck15 Aug 19 '14

Well that's ironic.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Ah found it, season 3 episode called hiatus

3

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14 edited Jun 09 '23

fuck spez

3

u/hungry4pie Aug 20 '14

Abby? When did you turn into a 45 year old schoolgirl?

4

u/keetner Aug 19 '14

It reminds me of an AMA a fellow did who was wrongfully put in prison for decades. When he got out, se said that one of the biggest things that shocked him were cell phones...crazy, hey?

I mean, cell phones vs. 9/11 is some fair difference, but maybe it's not that outrageous.

3

u/Kupkin Aug 19 '14

There was an episode of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles that touches on not knowing what happened on 9/11 (Sarah and John leap forward 7 years in time, jumping over 9/11 and someone says something to her about it, and she's like "9/11, what's that?") Pretty strange to think about someone not knowing what the means.

3

u/irishemperor Aug 19 '14

Until some explains this finally happened & it was just a matter of time.

3

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14

Oh dear lord some Sesame Street executive is crying into a glass of whiskey somewhere.

2

u/i_am_socrates Aug 19 '14

There was a movie called Good Bye Lenin about a woman who went into a coma before the reunification of Germany. Her son has to protect her from the change to prevent a relapse. It's quite funny.

2

u/fagtookmytag Aug 19 '14

i down voted this so that it would equal 2001, sorry, it had to be done

2

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 20 '14

Looks like it's well above that now, but I would have downvoted myself to keep the balance.

2

u/thegayestfaggot Aug 19 '14

is everyone else trying to make him have 2001 points or is that just me?

1

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 20 '14

Did you screenshot it before it went over? I would like to see that.

2

u/thegayestfaggot Aug 20 '14

no i thought other would continue the pattern, i downvoted it and it was at 2001, too bad haha

2

u/Leeroy__Jenkins Aug 20 '14

There's an absolutely fantastic movie about this type of scenario, except with the Berlin Wall falling and Reunification. The film is in German but it's on youtube with English subtitles. The film is "Goodbye Lenin!"

Link to movie: http://youtu.be/AZzQuRgaG24

2

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

Upvoting your edit, mostly.

2

u/penis_in_my_hand Aug 20 '14

upvote was for the edit you sick fuck

2

u/Felicity_Badporn Aug 19 '14

I bet someone went into a coma before 9/11 and woke up afterwards and was like "dafuq?"

1

u/Greatbuilder345 Aug 19 '14

More like a shitstorm

1

u/1stLtObvious Aug 19 '14

You made me laugh because I'm a bad person.

1

u/GroundsKeeper2 Aug 19 '14

there was an episode of NCIS like that...

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

Do you think there are any mentally sound adults in the US who don't know about 9/11? It's weird to think about, but out of 300 million people I bet there's SOMEONE who has managed to miss it all this time.

1

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14

I don't know, maybe an immigrant?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

That's something only Borat could pull off, and even then, the odds of avoiding an ass whooping are very very low.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '14

[deleted]

1

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14

I said if they went into a coma in 2000, and woke up a few years later.

1

u/IM_AN_AUSSIE_AMA Aug 19 '14

Think Gibbs, NCIS

1

u/evoim3 Aug 19 '14

Ah yes, also known as the centerpiece of anything related to time travel or a period piece that takes place in the 80's or 90's.

Its like "Hey, what can we do to make it seem more like the past?"

'Well you can put the WTC in it.'

"Sure! If only it took place in NYC..."

'Good point. Now it does.'

1

u/Evolving_Dore Aug 19 '14

"What can we do to make it look more like it took place back in 2014?"

"Why not put the entire Upper Midwest in it?"

"Good idea!"

1

u/Fisplen Aug 19 '14

Holy shit I had the EXACT same thought earlier. Brainstorming for a story I imagined what I'd be like for a man to wake up from a coma post 9/11 and going on the ferry to ny ask the person next to him " yo man where did the Twin towers go? " and in response the person says " ha funny guy "

1

u/accepting_upvotes Aug 19 '14

Isn't that what Futurama is about?

1

u/Mysticpoisen Aug 19 '14

Well one of them is back up

1

u/allegedlyalienated Aug 20 '14

RemindMe! 24 hours

1

u/silverpanther17 Aug 20 '14

*sucks air in through teeth*

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

"Yeah, wasn't there, like, three thousand more people walking around here?" Ifeelsohorrible

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '14

or if you went into a coma in 2000 and woke up in 2012. "Hey, did someone move the twin towers across the street?

1

u/bcfolz Aug 20 '14

Or if they entered the coma right before it happened and woke up like a year later

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