WASHINGTON—Assuring Americans there was "no real reason" behind the decision, a coalition of federal agencies announced Tuesday that it will begin reversing Earth's magnetic field sometime next spring, purely out of curiosity. "We've had north on top for, what, 780,000 years? Honestly, it's gotten stale," said Deputy Assistant Undersecretary for Planetary Orientation Gary Pruett, gesturing at a whiteboard on which someone had drawn a large horseshoe magnet and the word "FLIP??" "Worst case, everybody's compass is wrong for a while. Best case, we learn something." According to the 14-page plan, the reversal will be carried out by 40 contractors stationed at the North Pole holding what officials called "the biggest magnet we could find," which they will slowly rotate over six to eight business days. Pruett acknowledged several possible side effects, including the collapse of global navigation, the disorientation of every m...
“Crawling inside yourself and having tea”