February 15ᵗʰ
*tap*, *tap*, is this thing on?
Today is February 15ᵗʰ; the day the cargo cult on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu celebrates with a parade, and the hopes that John Frum will return, bringing cargo.
During world war II, there were American troops stationed in the vicinity. The people of Tanna saw that airstrips and ports allowed the arrival of planes and boats bearing cargo, and so after the war, they built their own airstrips, control towers, and ports; in the hopes that planes and boats bearing cargo would return again.
(Way more fascinating than cargo cult programming.)
Today is February 15ᵗʰ; the day the cargo cult on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu celebrates with a parade, and the hopes that John Frum will return, bringing cargo.
During world war II, there were American troops stationed in the vicinity. The people of Tanna saw that airstrips and ports allowed the arrival of planes and boats bearing cargo, and so after the war, they built their own airstrips, control towers, and ports; in the hopes that planes and boats bearing cargo would return again.
(Way more fascinating than cargo cult programming.)