What makes an alternate world?

[dalekboy]

Thanks to a discussion in one of my previous posts, I find myself wondering - What large or small obvious things can there be to clue people into the fact they are in an alternate universe?

The most common is the good old airship in the modern day world. I'd like to hear about some others. So see this as a writing or thinking exercise, or just a bit of fun.

The setting is 2006. You land in a version of the world where things are just a little different. The cities/people are more or less the same but there are other changes. Let's not go for airships (unless it compliments you ideas), that's the classic, and no 'nazi's won the war', either. We're just after changes that make you do a double-take as you realise this isn't your Earth.

king_espresso came up with two great ones - Elvis Concert Tour posters and the Twin Towers intact. No need to try and match other people's ideas, just write what you want.

Here's one to start you off. The microchip revolution never happened. No mobile phones or computer shops. Lots of phone booths and the like. Televisions are still big as are cameras. VCR's are huge beasts.

So, what it's like in your parallel universe?

Comments

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Does everyone wear different solid colours, or is it uniform? i.e. everyone wears blue on monday.

This is cool.

[callistra.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's a personal choice thing. It's fashion. Scary. No strips or patterns or anything to break up the colour.

[tikiwanderer.livejournal.com]

-grin- I dress like that most of the time. I prefer it.

[callistra.livejournal.com]

This means you have something in common with David Icke.

Should we be scared???
:-)

I'd find it scary if it was more than one or two people in a crowd though, say it was the dominant paradigm. Like 60 - 70% of people were doing it.

[tikiwanderer.livejournal.com]

I was about to ask who David Icke was, then I googled. Oh. -goes and gets her mum's red, blue, and purple corduroy vest and pins it on-

It would be interesting if it were more common. Especially at the moment, because current fashion is so oriented towards bold/dominant pattern/texture/decoration.

[hespa.livejournal.com]

Heh, I first found out about David Icke when I received a random(?) spam email about his theory of lizards secretly ruling the world. I question the randomness of it because the subject line was: "This is what you are." Possibly they'd been reading my website..?