“The Forkmakers” by Mikewins

Imagine our civilization fell tomorrow. What would our descendants think of us? What would they know about the 21st century? They would know surprisingly little about our greatest material triumphs. Our civilization's favorite building materials aren’t made to last. Reinforced concrete only lasts a century; asphalt far less. Most of what we make out of steel will turn into a brownish oxidized dust in a few decades. Information is even worse. The ancient Mesopotamians did their writing on clay tablets. Our knowledge is stored on hard drives, which die in a few years, or acidic paper, which dies in decades. Which receipt do you think will last longer? We do create things that will last. Glass (especially its shatter-resistant varieties), ceramics, stainless steel. 1000 years after the fall of our civilization, we will be known for one thing above all others: cutlery. Our heirs call us the Forkmakers. What Survives a Thousand Years Our civilization is large and powerful. We will leave lots of relics for the post-apocalypse. Coins, tires, aluminum cans. Vast landfills of disposable diapers. But all of that is useless. The most durable thing we make that our successors actually want to use is our silverware. [...] --- Outline: (01:16) What Survives a Thousand Years (08:13) The Words of the Forkmakers The original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: August 24th, 2026 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NjLQf3QC4q4DD67kD/the-forkmakers --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.