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People Speculate Which Culturally Accepted Things Will Be Horrifying In 100 Years

People Speculate Which Culturally Accepted Things Will Be Horrifying In 100 Years
Koushik Pal on Unsplash

When we learn about how people lived generations before us, it can be shocking.

How did people live without the internet?
Go back even further.
How did people endure international travel by sea before the invention of airplanes?
Well, they got by, just like how we are getting by today without knowing how much more convenient our future would be just a few years from now.

Curious to hear about people's predictions from succeeding generations, Redditor lizaloa asked:
"What is culturally accepted today that will be horrifying in 100 years?"

Medical advances have been impressive as of late.

Imagine the possibilities in the future and how the present will be reflected back upon.

The Treatment Option

"I’m a physician and I have this weird feeling like chemotherapy is going to be looked at as completely barbaric in 100 years. No better option now but my God it’s horrific in principle and in person."

– liketosaysalsa

The Effects Of Chemo

"Immunotherapy seems to be one of the more promising options right now."

"The problem with chemo is that it relies on a simple premise: cancer cells die rather more easily than regular cells. So if we poison the patient, hopefully we can kill off the cancer cells before we kill off the patient. (Incredibly simplified layperson's understanding!)."

"That's why the side effects are so nasty - any chemical that can kill off cells indiscriminately is going to have side effects."

– jimicus

An Inquiry

"If you don't mind, as someone who grew up as chemo being like the #1 only cancer treatment, would you happen to know if there are viable replacements on the way? I was under the impression that they're not but it seems like I'm wrong, which would be great."

– elemonated

The Response

"Cancer is a lot of diseases."

"In one case, a drug that downregulates the product of a bad fusion gene (that's the cause of that particular kind of cancer) is almost 100% effective against that particular kind of cancer."

"In other kinds of cancers, there is more than one kind of problem. DNA gets damaged constantly, but we usually don't get cancer because there are DNA repair mechanisms that usually fix the problem. If your genetics has a less effective gene that participates in DNA repair, then random DNA damage can cause cancer."

"Most cancers manifest as disregulation of some mechanism that doesn't shut down when it is supposed to. Epidermal growth factor, for example, is important for wound healing and just in general replacing cells as they die. But when this is generated without stopping, in the wrong amounts, it participates in proliferation of tissue where it shouldn't - cancer."

"Why do we use radiation with cancer? Its because DNA repair doesn't work as well in cancerous tissue. Radiation kills tissue by causing DNA damage. As I mentioned, one of the causes of cancer is deficits in DNA repair. Cancerous tissue dies more easily than healthy tissue."

"Unfortunately, evolution also works for cancer cells. If the weakest cancer cells die, but a few hardy ones remain, the cancer comes back with more radiation resistant cells. And healthy cells can only take a certain lifetime dose."

– jbsinger

How Far We've Come

"Yeah, like how a few hundred years ago surgical procedures were done without anesthetics and patients were just strapped down so they couldn't thrash around so much. It's horrifying, but at the time the people didn't have another option."

– captaindeadpl

More Poison

"I mean if you told me a few years ago a doctor would tell me I was going to be intentionally given arsenic for several months, I'd have laughed."

– PingEVE

A Bountiful Harvest

"Organ transplant lists. Eventually we will grow the organs in a lab."

– AndHereWeAre_

Public works and services are due for major upgrades.

Commute Nightmares

"High levels of traffic injuries and fatalities."

– zipzap21

Future Convo

"You can just hear the conversation."

"So Grandpa, how did you get around before automated cars?"

"We just, drove them ourselves!"

"Oh, was that safe?"

"Oh, no, millions of people died."

– pueblogreenchile

Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle-

"Waste. So much waste of food, of water, of materials. If we are to make it to space, we’re going to have to get to a point where as much stuff as possible is reclaimed, and it’s gonna start looking real insane to throw out things that could be put through a reclamation service."

– kharmatika

Environment-Unfriendly

"Plastic everywhere."

– TheRealOgMark

"Especially the single use kind. Plastic products existing aren't necessarily a bad thing, but mass producing that will take lifetimes to biodegrade and is expected to be thrown away is one of the most environmentally selfish things we do to our planet."

– rumblemumble46

Annual Upgrade

"Replacing a phone every year.Electronics are not easy to recycle and they use lots of precious resources that we dont have a whole lot of."

– CaptainQuoth

If it's already not considered ghastly, the things we put in our bodies will be viewed as abominable, years from now.

Maybe.

So Sweet

"The high prevalence of sugar in our diets."

– zipzap21

The Savory

"And SALT, holy crap! After finding out I have a heart problem and needing to cut out as much sodium as possible I've found that it's nearly impossible to find low sodium versions of nearly everything I like to eat."

– CatLadyGrip

I sincerely hope breakthrough medical advances will come at a more rapid pace.

As several Redditors pointed out earlier in the thread, chemotherapy is one of few options that patients who are fighting cancer have.

And based on real-life testimonies, it sounds like a necessary, but absolutely horrific, last resort.

Cancer has overstayed its welcome. Hopefully, we won't have to wait 100 years until we can live in a world without it.

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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

Two identical goats stare into the camera while standing in a field.
Photo by Jørgen Håland

When discussing love and relationships, the motto is usually less is more.

But what if there is more of one partner?

Being involved with identical twins can be quite the experience.

Can you really tell them apart?

Is everything identical?

If you're attracted to one, aren't you automatically attracted to the other?

So many questions.

Now we need some answers.

Redditor nicknamesofdaveryder wanted to hear about love and the twin experience, so they asked:

"Redditors who married someone with an identical twin sibling, why are you glad you're not with the other twin instead?"

I've never met a lot of twins, let alone gotten involved with a pair.

I have questions.

Hopefully I get some answers.

Saved

Comedy Central Wink GIF by Drunk HistoryGiphy

"My late husband's twin was a non-functioning alcoholic and my husband wasn’t. My husband says joining the navy was what saved him from going down that road."

iteachag5

Falling Asleep

"Story time! I am an identical twin (we still look so much alike!) and one night I spent the night at her house. She and I fell asleep in the same bed because we were up late talking, etc. Her husband slept on the couch. The next morning my twin went to take a shower and her husband laid down on the bed with me (thinking it was her of course). I jokingly said 'Hey sailor, looking for a little variety?' He shot off the bed and said 'If I was looking for variety, do you think I'd choose you??'"

tanyagal2

The Good Guy And The Other One

"I didn't marry him but I dated an identical twin. His twin's girlfriend and I used to joke around that she got the evil twin. He was just a selfish, messed-up person. One of the benefits of breaking up with my boyfriend was no longer having his twin in my life. Plus, his ex gf and I are still great friends! The good guy was just the lesser evil. She wanted to get as far away from that family as I did. The best thing to come out of those relationships was our friendship."

super-ro

Love Wins

"My dad's an identical twin. People have a hard time distinguishing them, but to my mom and me, they look like two completely different people because of the way they walk/talk/etc. Obviously, my mom only fell in love with this one person. When you love someone it's actually pretty easy to tell identical twins apart."

michaelsgavin

Issues

Threaten Ashley Olsen GIFGiphy

"The other twin has the same personality as I do. We argue readily and are super competitive with each other. We butt heads on a lot of issues."

why_not_send_a_nude

Personality clashes aren't just a twin thing.

It's a human thing.

We can't help ourselves.

Different People

Triplets GIF by RuPaul's Drag RaceGiphy

"I work with a guy who married an identical triplet, one of the triplets also works with us. I asked him one day if it was weird working with someone who looked just like his wife. He got a little pissed and basically said they are all very different people and he doesn't see much of his wife in her."

LeafMeAlone_99

He's Evil

"We’re not married but known each other since we were 12 and have been together 3 and a half years. His twin is a massive di**head who tried to break us up multiple times, was madly in love with me in his own words, and after 2 years of pursuing me declared I was a terrible person and put him through hell. Because I didn’t break up with his TWIN BROTHER to date him."

xMollyP

Life Choices

"My husband and his twin brother look very different to me, although they are identical and get mistaken for one another all the time. They couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. They have different values and life goals, hobbies, one is introverted and the other is extroverted. If they were two people who didn’t look alike, I would automatically not be attracted to my brother-in-law simply because we are not remotely compatible personality-wise."

"Also they have very different styles. I do not find the way my husband’s twin dresses/grooms his hair attractive. It’s so wild to me when people can’t tell them apart because they couldn’t be more different in my eyes."

lanieeeeeeee

Opposites

"Well, my wife and I have been together for 30 years. She has a 'mirror' twin. Even now, if you don’t know them well or interact frequently you will not be able to tell them apart. They are complete opposites. I married the extrovert, she has never met a stranger, will try anything at least once, and can find a positive aspect in almost everything she encounters, they are also best friends, my wife drags her sister along all the time."

"Once she’s out she enjoys our activities. I love my SIL, all three of them, but so glad I married the one like me. The mirror part even goes for looks, when I see my wife’s reflection I see my SIL, it’s weird sometimes. Also, attitude and personality are everything, I have never been 'attracted' to her twin."

redbonecouchhound

The Look

Sexy Damon Wayans Jr GIF by Global TVGiphy

"I used to date an identical twin. Although I found his brother objectively handsome, I wasn't attracted to him at all. It was cool to directly experience how attraction goes far beyond just the looks."

Liatessa

I've never been intrigued by twins, and now I never will be.

confused man in blue t-shirt

Sander Sammy on Unsplash

My Father was considered a genius.

At 16 he graduated high school as Valedictorian, joined the United States Navy as soon as he turned 17 then was promptly recruited by Admiral Hyman Rickover's team converting the Navy from diesel to nuclear power.

He served as a nuclear and electrical engineer on naval vessels after the conversion project ended, then as a reactor inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after retiring from the Navy.

He also needed a full time babysitter in order to survive. Things like paying bills, buying groceries, feeding himself all escaped him. He lacked any semblance of common sense.

Really smart people doing very unsmart things isn't uncommon.

And sometimes a person is labeled a genius who's really an idiot with good brand marketing.

Keep reading...Show less

Corporations don't get big overnight.

A lot of tough decisions, big wins, and sometimes even bigger losses, go into their growth.

But sometimes companies make mistakes that the public simply cannot let slide, and it can be hard to imagine how the company could stay afloat after the backlash.

Redditor Astro_Shogun asked:

"What decision by a company received the most amount of backlash from the public?"

Dang It, Photobucket

"When Photobucket decided to take the whole internet hostage by asking for 400 dollars a year for what was previously a free image storage solution. The move broke years of forum posting and erased a significant portion of the web collective knowledge."

- denpo

"Yup. And now they're holding almost all of my son's childhood photos (some of which I managed to save in other places) hostage."

- KnockMeYourLobes

"Browse any forum thread from the early 2000s and practically all the images are gone because everyone used Photobucket back then. It will be the same way with Reddit whenever Imgur goes under."

- NothingOld7527

So Salesy

"JCPenny doing away with sales and trying to present itself as a more upscale store. Sales immediately plummeted, and they reversed course quickly."

- flyingcircusdog

Cheap Jewelry

"Gerald Ratner said the reason his jewelry company could sell stuff so cheap was because the products were crap. It destroyed the company overnight."

- simplemtbman

Front Wheel Drive

"Ford, in the '80s, tried to replace the aging Fox body Mustang with a front-wheel drive, Mazda-based car. This was pre-internet, but car people got UPSET and deluged Ford with a letter expressing their anger."

"Ford backtracked, kept the Fox body around, and released the vehicle that was going to be the new Mustang as the Probe. It lasted two generations, but the Mustang soldiers on."

- StillN0tATony

Online Only

"Microsoft got roasted when they announced Kinect and always-online were required for the Xbox One. Took all the momentum they had from the 360 era and put them miles behind Sony."

- Jerry_Williams89

Childhood: Destroyed

"Sonic having human teeth."

- LightDash

"I just immediately pictured teeth in a Sonic milkshake and had a horrified reaction before my brain caught up to you meaning the character."

- Rolizas

Questionable Upgrades

"Very recently, T-Mobile. A company that 10 years ago called itself the Uncarrier by making a series of pro-consumer changes to its plans and the previous CEO built almost a sort of cult of fans of the company. Then T-Mobile acquired Sprint and got a new CEO."

"A couple of weeks ago, T-Mobile internal documentation revealed it was going to automatically upgrade customers on old grandfathered plans up to new plans, which were more expensive. Customers would have to call in to opt out of the change. 'They weren’t raising customers’ rates, they were moving them to better plans.'"

"Well, major tech news got ahold of that, and then even some local news stations, and T-Mobile quietly 'clarified' a week later via internal communications that only one percent of their customers would be affected."

- artimaticus8

Coming Together in Hate

"Anyone remember the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad when she solved police brutality?"

- vernon3

"Those moments are precious. There are a few things these days that bring everyone on the Internet together. That was one of those things. We all hated the Pepsi ad that solved police brutality."

"That ad had it all. Pandering, ignorance, arrogance, and talking down to their audience."

- notwoutmyprob

"And a Kardashian."

- Kitchen_action

With Every Purchase

"I couple of years back a local Detroit area car dealership decided the best way to celebrate MLK day was to give away free car alarms with every purchase."

"Nobody liked that."

- graveybrains

A Sale Gone Too Well

"Hoover UK offering two free flights to America if you spend £100 on their products. They anticipated that people would spend a lot more than the minimum required which would cover the approximately £600 value of the tickets."

"When the company was deluged with purchases around the £100 mark, they reneged on the offer, which prompted a very expensive lawsuit. The fallout was so bad that the UK division of the firm was sold to a rival company."

- Live-Dance-2641

New Drink, Who Dis?

"New Coke."

- PeggyWithPhatA**

"After the relations disaster, the public clamored for the decision to be reversed, and Coca-Cola released 'Coke Classic.'"

"Coke Classic soon had an even higher market share than Coke did before the public relations fiasco, and a new theory made the rounds: that Coca-Cola deliberately made these decisions, simply to gain publicity, and increase market share."

"The reaction from Coca-Cola’s executives was, 'We aren’t that smart, and we aren’t that stupid.'"

- Malthus1

A Tweet Turned Sexist

"Burger King stating that 'Women Belong in the Kitchen.' What they were TRYING to say was that they wanted more diversity. People didn't see it that way, and in the end, they had to issue an apology."

- zerbey

The Downfall of an Incredible Publication

"Here’s one there should be a public outcry about."

"Disney bought National Geographic and controls everything it does. This is the last year the iconic magazine will be available. I’m incensed."

- redheadMInerd2

(The writer of this article is equally incensed.)

Predicting the Future

"I feel like whatever YouTube is cooking up lately will be the next one."

- Just_Aioli_1233

"Tech companies sure know how to kill off highly popular and profitable apps, super quick. It’s interesting to watch it happen in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all losing tons of followers and destroying their own stock."

- Eleanor_of_Accutane

It's easy to see how all of these mistakes resulted in huge backlash, sometimes at the total expense and downfall of the business.

But some of these mistakes were made by companies that are still huge today, and to a certain extent, that's kind of surprising.