Try to imagine what the Martians would think of our society. How would we appear to them? What conclusions would their anthropologists draw from the early images sent back by their first Earth orbiter? Well, you don’t have to wait for a chatty Martian to stop by in order to find out. Just watch “What on Earth!” a 1966 animation by Les Drew and Kaj Pindal. It runs for about 10 minutes, and it’s well worth your time. Not only is this short film mighty amusing, but—if you’re as old as I am, at any rate—you’ll be struck by how little things have changed in the intervening 40-odd years. (NB The best bit comes at the very end, though there’s a wonderful Rube-Goldberg-like sequence earlier.)

 
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