The genie is out of the bottle. Isn’t that what people say when you suggest that a new invention or discovery isn’t working out as well as expected? Kind of like when someone in Japan invented fruit sandwiches ... or agreed to host the 2020 Olympics.
We can’t put the major achievements of history back in the bottle, but that hasn’t stopped me wanting to tidy away some of the smaller annoyances that 2020 produced. As we have entered another state of emergency in Japan, and in the spirit of New Year’s renewal, we can at least try to make our continued pandemic experience slightly more enjoyable, by un-discovering a little bit of 2020. What follows are a few of my personal suggestions.
1. Urban birdsong on the TV and radio