A hypothetical scenario if America and its citizens were wiped out.

a reply to: CranialSponge

Don't be too smug, Canada (also known by the name "North Dakota") is next on the list.

Don't expect your fine beers and oddly-shaped bacon to save you!

a reply to: beezzer

Listen bub...

I'm not the one who eats his entire meal with a salad fork.



Don't hate us cause we're bootiful.

a reply to: CranialSponge

You have shamed me and bested me in the battle of wits.

I am now half of the wit I once was, as a result.

I humbly bow to the champion and will return to my tiny village called "America" and tell my peoples that they are to leave and never return.

We leave (as tribute)

4 cans of cheese-whiz
2 bottles of ranch dressing
A clean pair of tube socks
A Bell (but it has a crack in it)
A large box with those foam fingers that say, "We're #1"
A box of chocolates (I ate the cherry ones, sorry)
A box of guns, 'cause, you know, 'Merica
And finally, a legal pad with some rough notes concerning a recipe concerning cabbage and lemons.

a reply to: beezzer

A clean pair of tube socks

Wait a minute...

You guys invented tube socks ??!



That does it, anyone who wants to take out the inventors of the heavenly tube sock answers to this pussycat !!

I have a slingshot and I'm not afraid to use it !

Years from now historians will look back and wonder what saved America from total destruction.

Was it America's contributions to science, culture, the arts?

What it their innovation in space flight or aeronautics?

What it their history and social attitudes?


Or was it a single pair of tube socks and a scrappy Canadian broad with a slingshot?

The world may never know.

a reply to: beezzer



Who'd a thunk that when John Lennon said: "All you need is love."

What he really meant was: "All you need is love... of a tube sock."

originally posted by: croatianguy
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Fantastic detialed response, englightenedservant. Do you think the disappearance of just Wall Street would knock the whole world back a year?

Depends on who'd still be alive. Most Wall Street firms have operations all over the world. So I'd imagine they'd keep all of their accounts open, promote the leaders of those other branches, & then get their other host countries to compensate them for their losses (like a massive "hardship bailout"). So the only ones who would be knocked back a year would be the taxpayers in the EU & UK (and maybe Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Australia).

Then again, it would be the perfect time for the financial institutions in those countries to flush out their Wall Street subsidiaries. But since the US military is stationed globally, I don't think the host nations would try it.

originally posted by: croatianguy
Okay forget about the economic and political fallout. Lots of good answers there.
Lets talk culturally.
How would the cinema scene change - would Indian Bollywood movies become the new world force?

I don't think there would be one global standard. Instead, more countries would probably adopt "American style" movies & CGI-fests so they could profit from filling in the void.

And would rap and r'n'b survive without its big power US base.

Yes! (thankfully) There are people all over the world who love hip hop & r&b and that wouldn't change just because the US disappeared. If anything, it would probably spark more revival movements b/c of the "lost cultures" aspect. Think of how America's entertainment industry still hasn't let go of ancient Roman culture, even though those people have been gone for more than a millennium.

Plus there are: 1) hip hop industries all over the world that have nothing to do with America's industry; and 2) subsidiaries of US music industry operating around the world. For example, Jay-Z is in the middle of investing a lot of money into some of Africa's hip hop record labels. And MTV has a popular channel "Glo" in Nigeria. Clearly those & similar other projects wouldn't just vanish.

And how would the net change? Would it be the downfall of Google and Youtube or would they continue on somehow?

The internet would definitely get taken over by international companies, most likely by the EU or China. Right now, the majority of global internet traffic still makes its way through the US at one point or another. So there would be major disruptions from an infrastructure/hardware point of view. But this would force the other developed nations to fill in the void quickly.

Plus, many other countries already have alternatives to youtube, google, facebook, and other American companies. They could easily profit from the sudden loss of those major sites by offering their own citizens incentives to switch to their versions. They may not even need incentives since their citizens would suddenly find themselves searching for alternatives. (Though those American sites have foreign subsidiaries, too. But without the infrastructure advantage they have in the US, I think they'd quickly lose their market share.)

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Thanks enlightenedservant. Great replies once again. And do you think English would still hold on as the world communicator or would Spanish take over?

originally posted by: croatianguy
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Thanks enlightenedservant. Great replies once again. And do you think English would still hold on as the world communicator or would Spanish take over?

You're welcome. I think this is an interesting topic so I don't mind the questions.

Nah, I think English would stay the #1 language for the foreseeable future. But I'd be more worried about Mandarin becoming the norm than Spanish. Spanish will probably always be the major language in Latin America (except Brazil), but English is global. Even something like 22 countries in Africa have English as one of their official languages! And others like Ethiopia don't have it as an official language, but still use it exclusively for higher education. So as long as the world's current & next generation leaders are using English for international, it'll stay dominant.

But China has been forging such strong alliances that Mandarin can definitely become a #2 language in the next 25-50 years. And the complete disappearance of the US would speed up that process, though English would still be used for generations. China has had deep connections with Africa since the Cold War, and has powerful alliances with Latin America now. It already does much of its trade with neighbors in the Renminbi ("yuan") and local currencies, so I'd imagine their ties would get much closer without the US's presence.

The only catch is I don't think China wants Mandarin to become a world language yet. Kind of like Germany, they don't seem to care about exporting their pop culture to the world. And that's what I think it would take before the citizens of the world start readily ditching English language entertainment. Once you've captured the imaginations of the masses, they'll willingly learn more about you (and thus, learn Mandarin).

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Good answer. Plus being the easiest to learn I cant see it ever being less dominant.

So which other countries are world changers if they dissappeared? Would it be just China, Russia, Germany, UK and Japan?

Easy scenario (though pretty out there).

Within minutes, every nuke that isn't in US territory (space, subs, allies, etc.) will be on its way to the one responsible. Every carrier would be moving into position, and all external air power would be on its way to make a rather miserable day for the one responsible.

In addition, the Internet and all major communications in the target nation would go dark (or spotty at best).

If we go down, it won't be quietly. There are PLENTY of such reprisal strategies and assets from even the Cold War era.

In addition, our allies would be treaty bound to join the counterattack. (but even if they weasel out of it, not good for the attacker).

Indeed, it is this Mutually Assured Destruction capability that has kept us in peace since we first used atomic weapons.

A "perfect" nuclear weapon though, such as described, is not really feasible though. Instead, an attacker would have to launch a MASSIVE first strike, with so many missiles, that it would overwhelm our anti-ballistic missile defense system. Currently, no power or combination of powers, has this many nukes. Even if Russia and China both launched everything in a first strike, while devastating, the amount that would get through would NOT prevent a full retaliatory strike by the US, so nobody is in the business of suicide.

As for the effect in other nations...lets say the above plays out. The worlds largest consumer, food exporter, and one of the largest oil exporters, is now out of the game. (presumably, the attacker would be out as well, so yet another major player off the board). The whole world basically reverts to Third World status. Without the big boys keeping the rules, piracy is rampant. International shipping and transport is basically high risk. To provide food, entire economies will have to switch to agriculture, seemingly overnight.

Think of the world as a human body. The US is the head. China is the chest. Take out an arm or leg, and the world body still survives. Take out the head or the chest though, and the whole world body dies.

So which other countries are world changers if they dissappeared? Would it be just China, Russia, Germany, UK and Japan?

Just China.

As one of the worlds largest consumers (oil and food), and the largest manufacturer, this would be a drastic game-changer to the world economy.

Don't get me wrong, the others mentioned would certainly have an impact, but it wouldn't be near as drastic as China's absence.

China and the US need each other, even though neither of them like it.