Stephen Colbert explains what to do when the Russians nuke your internet
You probably take the internet for granted a little bit, but U.S. intelligence is concerned about Russian ships and submarines lurking near the undersea cables that carry most of the world's internet, Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. After expressing his confusion about why the internet is underwater, Colbert noted the danger of Russia (or crabs) severing the world's internet connection. "Repairing the cables would be a slow process," he said, "because can you imagine how long it would take Time Warner to show up at the bottom of the ocean?"
If Russia — or anyone else — did cut the cord, though, Colbert wants you to be prepared. "So tonight, I'm going to show you how to pack an internet outage go bag," he said, stuffing everything in a duffel bag you might need when the web goes dark. It's actually an interesting idea — what would you miss most about the internet? — but Colbert's items are predictably silly. His "discovery" of the encyclopedia is pretty funny, though, and kudos to the prop department for his final item: "To replace YouTube, you of course are going to want to get a cat," he said, "preferably one dressed in a tuxedo." Watch below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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