Devolution of the Human Body

Have you seen WALL-E? The cartoon shows a dystopian future where humans have grown in girth and laziness to such an extent that they've lost the ability to walk and fend for themselves, and instead travel in floating buggies and all physical exertion is automated. Well I've glimpsed this future at work today, as I will now explain.

1. With lifts out of action, people aren't familiar with stairs. A nearby buildings has both of its lifts broken, and this has led to a near breakdown in civilisation. Computers and other items weighing greater than 1 kg can no longer be transported to and fro the upper floors, because clearly carrying objects up and downstairs is so hazardous, it can't be attempted. With this attitude, I wonder how people in earlier centuries coped when they had to move pianos. Did they sit around and say "Sorry, we can't move this. Let's wait a few centuries until someone invents the electric lift." Or did they just get on with it?  Speaking of these stairs, I tried to use them last week, only to find myself locked in the stairwell - the doors were all secured and alarmed except for one on the basement. Stairs should be the standard option, and lifts for emergencies only.

2. Many people can't live without air/con any more. Driving my first car with air con, turning it on was for special occasions only, when the temperature inside approached 40 degrees. Our bodies adapted naturally to the changing weather over the year, and we could cope with cold times in winter, and heat in summer. Now that many people are cocooned in permanent air/con, they struggle to cope without it.

3. TV remote controls are no longer a luxury item. Can you imagine having to stand up and walk to the tv to change channels? How primitive is that idea? Well it wasn't that long ago that remotes were a novelty.