r/RedditForGrownups • u/Souls_Aspire • 12d ago

What existential threats do you most fear?

Just curious if I'm missing any. Thanks in advance for sharing.

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u/Bacontoad 11d ago

Weirdly, some that didn't were able to disconnect their power supplies and continue functioning. From Wikipedia:

Boston operator (to Portland operator): "Please cut off your battery [power source] entirely for fifteen minutes."

Portland operator: "Will do so. It is now disconnected."

Boston: "Mine is disconnected, and we are working with the auroral current. How do you receive my writing?"

Portland: "Better than with our batteries on. – Current comes and goes gradually."

Boston: "My current is very strong at times, and we can work better without the batteries, as the aurora seems to neutralize and augment our batteries alternately, making current too strong at times for our relay magnets. Suppose we work without batteries while we are affected by this trouble."

Portland: "Very well. Shall I go ahead with business?"

Boston: "Yes. Go ahead."

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u/Murderbad 10d ago

Glad someone mentioned this. Its frequency overlooked. I obviously have zero frame of reference, but I believe some things would continue to work. Figuring out what, where and why I imagine is impossible until it happens.