Quote:
In Europe at the time when the Greek astronomer Ptolemy's (ad 127-151) view of the cosmos as a universe of interlocking spheres became the orthodoxy, there was a widely accepted and very poetic explanation for 'falling stars' which was entirely consistent with other deeply held beliefs of the time.
It was thought that the gods, overwhelmed with curiosity, would sometimes look at the earth from between the spheres, and that in that instant a star or two might slip through the gap and become visible as a falling or shooting star. Since the gods were clearly peering down at that very moment, it was considered an excellent opportunity to voice one's wishes with the guarantee that the gods would hear them.
This is probably where the idea of wishing on a falling or shooting star comes from, although I note that, "similar superstitions are widespread even in cultures remote from Europe: in Chile, you must pick up a stone in the same moment, and in the Philippines tie a knot in a handkerchief" (1)
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Falling Star@Everything2.com
Throughout the centuries, long before Pinocchio came about from Dinsey, people have been always wishing on shooting/falling stars in order for something to come true in their lives, or to grant good fortune.
But I began to wonder about something which involves our evolution and this belief.
Picture this:
YouTube - Shooting Stars
So technically, ever since the dawn of space flight, we have been not only filling our orbit with tanks of space poop, but also billions of other parts and matter from many space travels since.
So I got to wondering, now that we are creating our own shooting/falling stars that we in turn wish upon to make our dreams come true, does this:
A) Make us our own Gods?
B) Creating an even faster evolution due to more wishes being made, due to more falling stars, therefore more success?
C) Deflating the power shooting stars have because of many more man made ones?
or
D) Make more chances of other aliens in the universe to come across a tank of our crap, rather then a probe with peaceful greetings, therefore causing our own destruction by our own poop?
Because I imagine if they opened the tank up and reintroduced it back into atmospheric conditions, oue poop could be quite fatal to them.