h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's been there since the dawn of time, containing the stars and clouds, airplanes and birds alike, and housing our very Earth. Unfortunately, not many people try to question what goes on up there, barely giving a thought unless the sky personally disturbs them. Here are some question which might inspire one to think about the world's shroud.

One of the most classic discussions (often brought up by inquisitive children) is "Why is the sky blue?" Why is it, indeed. I could give you a very scientific answer involving light refraction and RGB particles, but this portion of the Guide is dedicated to off-the-wall ponderings, and is therefore not allowed to be put and wouldn't be interesting enough to place here, anyway. There are some better sub-questions to throw in along with it.

These such questions are very diverse. Such as: What if the sky were green? Yellow? Burgundy? Black? Turquoise and pink with spots of orange? And would it ever cross our minds to ask "What if the sky were blue?" if the sky was this way? Of course, there are many times when the skin is actually many of these colors (save for the last and possibly the first one), but most people like to think the sky's "normal" color is a lighter shade of blue. Night, sun positioning, and weather often are not taken into consideration.

Other questions might follow, but not necessarily about color: Why are clouds there? They certainly don't seem to add anything than your imagination, when you and possibly some company are sprawled across a patch of grass and comparing certain clouds to certain shapes (for each person, there could be many answers). What if they were lead instead of whisps of cloud, slowly forming, then falling straight out of the sky? What if we constantly ducked out of the way until a new technological invention was made to prevent death or even discomfort, such as a steel umbrella? Being that the lead came from the sky and not the Earth, what could early caveman find useful with the new discovery?

And how about wind? What if it were visible? Obviously, we couldn't see anybody else but ourselves, but there's more. What color would wind be? Would it be useful that we could see wind before it arrived? What visual consistency would wind resemble? Would it look like water? How might affect the processes of the world? And finally, how jealous would the people of this world be if they found out that our world was devoid of visible wind? Such questions not so much as burn, but smolder in the minds of philosophers and children alike (often the same thing).

I leave you with that to contend with....another day, and some more things to ponder later.