If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know that I am a huge fan of historical trivia. I subscribe to — and periodically comment on — a column produced by the History Channel, called “This Day In History,” which provides me with a wealth of facts, both meaningful and silly, to add to my collection.

Yesterday, as I was looking through the day’s current news headlines, I found myself wondering what they would look like to people reading “This Day In History” 50 or 100 years from now. And I ended up with a very satisfying case of the giggles.

Because, aside from the usual range of bad news to worse news to unbearable news, there were a few items that didn’t really qualify as legitimate news, but that someone obviously considered interesting enough to print.

Allow me, please, to share with you a couple of tidbits from CNN’s “5 Things PM” column of January 30, 2025:

“As artificial intelligence has made fake photos and videos much easier to produce, a growing number of American teenagers say they are being misled by AI-generated content on the internet.”

Boy, you sure can’t fool those teenagers! I wonder how long it took them to figure out that not everything on the internet can be taken as gospel. I envision someone, say 50 years down the road, reacting to that item: “Well, duh!”

*. *. *

And . . .

“Those commercials during NFL games can be tempting, but you should be aware that the foods they’re advertising contain a sizable chunk of your daily recommended sodium intake, a new study found.”

Okay, so it’s not just the teenagers who have been asleep at the switch. It seems the older generations have also failed to notice that those nachos and chili dogs are . . . well . . . a little bit salty. I wonder whether the next couple of generations will still not give a damn.

*. *. *

And one more . . .

“Netflix is planning a reboot of ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ which was based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.”

So, what are they saying . . . that today’s tech-savvy, TikTok-crazy, Dungeons-and-Dragons-obsessed kids are going to be excited about a show that was already mawkishly sentimental and unrealistic 50 years ago? Of course, by 2075, they’ll be making fun of TikTok, D&D, and what passes for AI today, and calling us dinosaurs. So it’s all relative, I guess.

I don’t know about you, but I actually enjoyed that little tiptoe through the trivia — it was a welcome change from the daily diet of dismal drama. In fact, I think the world could use a lot more silliness.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/31/25