Poop Shute

I had a funny thought in the car the other day.

I was coasting along with traffic behind a guy who had one of those Jesus fish things on the back of his car. My mind started to wander...

Centuries after man has inevitably killed himself off, the world will continue to move on without humans themselves but with a vast collection of artifacts of our former glory. What will the archaeologists of future species or alien explorers think of their findings?

I mean you've got this Jesus fish and other related iconography EVERYWHERE thanks to various different Christian denominations the world over having spread like a fungus leaving their cross-shaped toadstools on everything they touch. The fish symbol, WWJD, crucifixes, commemorative plates, jewelry, t-shirts, churches, etc, etc.

Also consider the overall glut of modern iconography that is also EVERYWHERE. Corporate America spreading its spores just as much as, if not more than, it's religious cousin; Christianity. Billboards, bumper stickers, jewelry, t-shirts, malls, etc, etc. Names like Nike and Starbucks and Microsoft Windows all over everything you see.

Now faced with such a massive group of different imagery there is a strong possibility that these alien researchers could lump the two groups together. They just might make one of two possible assumptions:

1 Jesus and/or WWJD is in fact a brand name. They made everything from cars to bracelets. Diversification was, afterall, key in the business world of the late 20th and early 21st century human. Strangely they seemed to stay away from the equally profitable markets of beer and porno.

OR

2 Names and places like Nike and Starbucks and Microsoft are in fact deities worshipped by the late 20th and early 21st century human. They would congregate in immense cathedrals, called "malls." They would gather here and make large sacrifices of small slips of green paper decorated with cryptic and sacred designs in hopes that the Gods would provide them with fulfillment.

Funny thing is either theory would be reasonable for an outsider to make, and neither theory is entirely off the mark.

Food for thought.