A Brief History of Cosmic Missed Connections

Once upon a time, the universe whispered sweet nothings in the form of radio signals. Astronomers, ever-romantic, believed they were deciphering love letters from the cosmos, only to end up with cosmic junk mail. Here lies the irony: we searched for a voicemail from Nibiru, and ended up hearing the interstellar equivalent of an advertisement for moon sandpaper.

Take, for instance, the much-lamented "Great Silence." It's not a spell of cosmic boredom but rather, an interstellar disclaimer: "no signals received. Please check your antennas and try again later."