Real but you can’t believe it is

The world is such a complex place. Sometimes, things are not real and we wish that they were. Some other times, there are things that are real that we cannot just wrap our heads around how they function or why they are even real in the first place. On this week’s edition of WhatsApp Conversation, we look at the things that are real but don’t seem so.

David Alabi

Viruses. On the microscopic level, they are really creepy. They aren’t even technically living… They inject their own DNA into a cell, recoding it to make more viruses until the cell literally bursts open and dies because of all the viruses in it. Every single one of those viruses can attach to a different cell and insert DNA that does the same thing/ To think that one of these unliving things was the reason why the world was on lockdown for the better part of a year. It is not even thinkable!

Philip Azi

Lucid dreaming. Being able to control your dreams and living in a completely different world, so to speak, while you’re asleep; the thought of it gives me goosebumps. If something like this is real, it goes to show how complex our brains are and how much we don’t know about it still. If you have ever thought of directing a movie, this is a training ground for you – you get to choose how your dreams swing.

Cynthia Ekwere

It’s the blue whale

That thing is enormous it’s literally a goddamn sea monster, it just so happens to be a sea monster that eats tiny crabs. But still, their hearts are the size of a small car. It doesn’t seem to add up, sort of, if you ask me.

Lawal Rashid

A library. There’s a building in your town where you can get as many free books as you want, as long as you promise to play nicely and bring them back soon-ish so other people can enjoy them. And people actually do it. Libraries do not get nearly enough love. They are such great resources not only for books, music, and movies – yes you can rent movies and keep them for like 2 weeks! – but also for things like job hunting, computer classes, workshops, research.

Akanji Victor

Child beauty pageants. A bunch of grown adults make kids compete for the most attractive child. Seems so obviously toxic and perverse. Kids being their parents’ pawns in a game like the pageants is just stupid. I do wonder what some of those people are fantasizing about. I just don’t get it.

Kelvin Odulami

Slavery in this day and age. 10 million children 24.9 million people in forced labour 15.4 million people in forced marriage 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation and that statistic only checks out as at four years ago. Human trafficking. You have to be the most unempathetic asshole to force other people into slavery. Or just believe they’re less human than you. Saying you have to be evil or heartless to do stuff like that is too easy. History has taught us people can compartmentalize very easily. A man might be the sweetest, most loving husband and father, but still, be involved in dehumanizing and degrading others. If you think for example that all Nazis were pure evil and that if you had been around during WWII, you’d have had no part in it, then I think you’re probably kidding yourself.

Ifedayo Olusogo

Black holes, just because of their enormous gravity they’re able to suck up light. We understand so little about them. And that they’re so extremely heavy, just imagine; the earth Schwarzschild* radius (at what radius the earth becomes a black hole) is around ~8,87 mm, the biggest black hole ever found was TON 618 with a radius of 195 billion kilometres! Its weight clocks in at around 66 billion solar masses. And it’s a special black hole since it is a quasar which means that it has an accretion disc, which is made up of gasses and other space debris that swirl around the black hole at a speed of 7000 km/s, and because of this disc its energy output is enormous; it shines with a luminosity of 4,0×1040 watts. Which equals around 140 trillion suns.

It’s such an interesting thing that I just can’t believe that it actually exists. Space is wonderful!

Tianah

My dog. Sometimes when I’m cuddling her I truly cannot believe an animal is sitting in my house that trusts and loves me. She will be walking through the kitchen sometimes and I’m like, that’s an animal in my house.

Next week, the question is on drawing the line in our social and moral fabric -“Who is to be blamed for the rise in ritual killings that have become rampant within the country?” To be part of the next edition, send your response to 08133601345 on WhatsApp.