I can’t put my finger on it. There has been a shift. The most nebulous feeling has been introduced to the world – an uneasiness, a faint sense of falling, a feeling that you are being whispered about. There is a pall, a dread that hangs thick in the air.

I feel it seeping into reality. There is a subtle distortion to mirrors and screens. The world is blurring, fuzzy at the edges. The impending doom is palpable.

Something is not right.

I’m yet to discover any record of a culture whose imagined apocalypse was a matter of centuries. I doubt anyone has ever stood out on a street corner wearing a sandwich board reading, “THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END IN A FEW HUNDRED YEARS.” Few phrases were as common throughout the 20th century as “the 21st century,” yet how often do we see “the 22nd century”? Effectively, never. It’s almost like we know it’s coming.

There is a sickening hum that can be heard in the lulls of conversation. Silence is becoming increasingly awkward. The birds hear it too, their behavior is drunken and strange. It’s the elephant in every room. The horror is unspeakable.

Something is not right.

Have you ever visited a really high building or looked over the edge of a cliff and suddenly felt compelled to step forward? Have you ever had the urge to jerk your steering wheel to the side and swerve into oncoming traffic? Just one small movement and you could leave this sorry world behind.

This phenomenon is known as the call of the void, l’appel du vide as the French would call it.

I’ve made a remarkable discovery. Google Ngrams shows that there is no mention of l’appel du vide in any writing before 1969.

There are only two possibilities. Either no one had named this phenomenon before 1969 or it simply did not exist.

The moon landing happened in 1969. Draw your own conclusions.