Okay, I officially wish I were writing for science and tech magazines in the ’30s. From Modern Mechanics and Inventions‘ December, 1930 issue:
A WORLD ruled by giant insects, with the last remnants of the human race as slaves is one of the favorite devices of one school of fiction writers.Fantastic? Not at all. Thoughtful scientists recognize that as one of the possible endings for our civilization. In fact, all past history indicates that when, and if, the present civilization comes to an end, it will die because of an unsolved food problem, and that insects will be a contributing factor, and hence may be the survivors.
Actually that lede isn’t all that far off from a lot of modern popular science and tech writing: Crazy concept? It may sound unlikely, but what if we all were dead?
Will Monster Insects Rule the World? (Dec, 1930) [ModernMechanix.com]
“I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!”
- Kent Brockman
If everyone would just order the radium pad from the last page of the article the human race would be healthy and flourish. We could then figure out ways to eradicate this potential threat thus saving millions in crop damage. If we don’t understand it, it should die. Long live the higher orders of life.