Why is our favorite toy always gravity?
Think of all the different things kids – and adults, for that matter – do that basically boil down to playing with gravity. Swings. Sledding. Roller coasters. Jumping off of stuff into piles of other stuff. Slides. It’s all just different ways of falling down in a fun way!
Adults go skydiving, even. Bungee jumping. We never give up on gravity just being fun to mess around with.
People say that mankind has always wanted to fly, that we were jealous of gods and birds alike and that’s why we invented planes and space shuttles. I don’t think that’s right. Flying is fine, but I don’t think that’s what we were after, in our heart of hearts.
We were always just looking for cooler ways to fall.
The Opportunity Machine 