The world changes all the time; sometimes this is for the better and sometimes it’s for the worse. Apart from the animals that are currently listed as critically endangered species, plenty of other things that could disappear from our lives soon. What animals and other things might become extinct in the near future? How would the world look without the following things?
Landline Phones
Do you remember the days when every home had a landline phone? Some of them were even hung up on walls. If you were outside and needed to make a call, you could look for a phone booth. The way in which cell phones have become so commonplace in the world means seeing landline phones is becoming a rare event. They will slowly get phased out even more over the coming years.
Redheads
You don’t tend to think of people as being on the list of things that might become extinct, do you? As a red haired person myself, I worry when I see reports of our imminent demise. Will a giant meteor kill us all off? Perhaps we will fall foul of a deadly disease that attacks our freckles? Part of the answer lies in the fact that recessive genes will make red hair disappear. That theory appears to have been debunked but now there is a new one. We have red hair to help us improve Vitamin D production without much sun exposure. It is now claimed that global warming will kill off the need for redheads all over the world. Why can’t mother nature just leave us alone?
The Cross River Gorilla
I’ve been trying to put off the critically endangered animals list for as long as I can. It really depresses me to think about these things. Look at the beautiful creature in the picture. He might not be a redhead, but he’s still cool. Sadly, it is believed that less than 300 Cross River Gorillas are still around. They live around the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. Hunters and land development mean that they probably won’t be around for too much longer.
Hand Written Postcards and Letters
Ok, onto cheerier stuff for a minute. When was the last time you sent a hand written postcard or letter? Unless I’m very much mistaken it was sometime around “never.” The rise of email, text messages, Skype, Facebook and other types of technology means that sitting down and writing “Dear Fred” or “wish you were here” is no longer popular. Is this a good thing? Personally, I would rather receive a long and interesting letter than a generic Facebook status update. But, I can’t be bothered to write anything these days so I won’t complain too much.
The Sumatran Tiger
Ok, back to the sad and depressing stuff now. The Sumatran Tiger is one of the most beautiful creatures you’ll probably never get to see. It is believed the global population is around 500. Maybe less.
TV Sets with Four Legs
Actually, my aunt still has one of these that I hope to inherit. The future isn’t that bad for them after all.
The Javan Rhinoceros
Hunters and land developers are again the main enemies of this chap. There are none of them alive in zoos across the planet. The population in the wild is believed to number no more than 40.