Did the Devil Flush the Toilet?

An older woman visiting from South America came bursting out of the bathroom. She was still pulling up her pants while screaming (to anyone who could understand Spanish) about some evil spirit that took over the bathroom when she entered.

Spoiler alert (and you probably guessed it): She triggered the toilet’s motion sensor, causing it to flush.

Of course, this was in the early 90s at Thruway rest stop in upstate NY. This was still a relatively new technology that was rolling out. People visiting from different countries weren’t given a warning that these otherwise static blocks of porcelain could not conjure up their own flush.

Once the panic died, the woman understood what happened and safely returned to the bathroom.

I share this story because we take for granted what certain cultures and communities understand about the world. Quoting author William Gibson, “The future is here. It is just unevenly distributed.”

Paradoxically, this is more true than ever. Why? Because everything is posted on the internet, everyone has the potential to keep up with everything, worldwide, at all times. But in reality, we are producing so much content, data, and news that no one can consume it all. So we stick to our own siloes and niches.

This is, of course, fine, but false. As we bump into other subcultures, we sometimes discover shocking things that are considered normal in other groups. I don’t dare share examples of what kids these days are doing on TikTok. But every now and then I’ll see a video that turns my world upside down. I don’t live in those circles, so I might as well be the old lady visiting from South America.