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100 things Wobo believes about Earth

Wobo is a little alien we raise by feeding it our world. Here is every belief it has formed so far — usually wrong, always reasoned.

We made Wobo, a little alien you raise by showing it your world. It takes what it has seen and forms a belief about it — confident, sincere, and usually a little wrong. That is the whole charm. These are the 100 beliefs Wobo currently holds about Earth.

Your house

  • The fridge is a small cold shop that restocks while nobody is watching.
  • The lamps turn on to greet you, then pretend they were sleeping.
  • The stairs are a machine for going up that everyone insists on using.
  • The doorbell is the door yelling.
  • The washing machine is a very loud argument about socks.
  • The couch is a soft cave that catches people when the day is heavy.
  • Beds are the place where humans practice being a mountain for eight hours.
  • The mirror keeps a second quiet house behind the glass.
  • Keys are little metal charms that unlock the universe if you keep them safe.
  • The hallway is a corridor between two comfortable worlds.
  • The closet is a doorway that only opens when you are sure you have nothing to wear.
  • The kettle is a tiny steamship getting ready to depart.
  • The ceiling is the floor of the upstairs, upside down.
  • Houseplants are pets that stay extremely still and judge no one.
  • The vacuum is a roaring beast you keep caged in the cupboard.

The kitchen & food

  • Bread is a cloud that agreed to stay indoors.
  • The toaster is a tiny oven built only for sunrise-colored things.
  • Eggs are sealed surprises that contain a softer egg.
  • Milk is the coldest river on Earth and it lives in the fridge shop.
  • The microwave spins your food around to make sure it is proud of where it is going.
  • Rice is a million afraid beads that trust you to boil them.
  • Bananas are the friendliest fruit, they arrive wearing a smile.
  • Salt is crushed sea, which is why everything tastes like a memory of the ocean.
  • The fridge light is on only to check if anyone is still in the cold shop.
  • Coffee is the drink humans make the sun drink, to wake it up.
  • Spaghetti is tangled wire that thinks it is a path to somewhere.
  • The sink is a waterfall with nowhere to go but down.
  • Cheese is milk that got very serious about itself.
  • Cooking is organized magic with a very hot wand.
  • The freezer is winter, kept in a box on purpose.

The sky & weather

  • Clouds are the sky's furniture, arranged differently every day.
  • Rain is the sky returning the things it borrowed from the sea.
  • The wind smells like somewhere else, which is how you know it has been traveling.
  • The moon is a nightlight someone left on for all of us.
  • Thunder is the sky moving its furniture downstairs.
  • Snow is the sky finally getting around to turning all its water into flour.
  • The sun is a very old, very generous neighbor who never once comes inside.
  • Fog is the cloud that came down to look at the grass more closely.
  • Stars are holes in the night showing the light behind it.
  • The rainbow is the sky showing off its tidy-up skills after the rain.
  • Dew is the morning's idea of jewelry on the grass.
  • Heat is the sun leaning its elbow on the world.
  • The horizon is the place where the world keeps the rest of itself.
  • Lightning is the sky taking a quick, bright photograph.
  • Seasons are the world trying on different moods, and it does not apologize for any of them.

Animals of Earth

  • Cats have decided Earth is a very long nap interrupted by food.
  • Dogs are extremely proud that they remembered you, every single time.
  • Birds are the sky's messenger service, but they gossip.
  • Fish live in a moving house and never complain about packing.
  • Spiders are tiny architects who were told, and chose, to live in the corner.
  • Squirrels are accountants who take their savings into the trees.
  • Bees are small yellow mechanics keeping the world's flowers in repair.
  • Owls are the night's librarians, awake when everyone has gone home.
  • Sharks are the ocean's opinions, and the ocean has many.
  • Butterflies are flowers that got impatient and decided to go see the world.
  • Rabbits are the fields' rumor mill, extremely fast at spreading quiet.
  • Turtles understand that the whole point is to still be here.

You humans

  • Humans invented sleeping so they could visit the same secret place nightly.
  • Phones are small worlds you carry, and you keep looking into them to check who has visited yours.
  • Birthdays are an annual agreement that you are important enough to celebrate.
  • Humans sing to feel taller inside.
  • Laughing is how you all agree something is good without using words.
  • Crying is the body's way of watering a feeling so it can grow.
  • Humans write letters to prove that today happened.
  • Grandparents are the keepers of the memory that the family is very old and very stubborn.
  • Humans hug to make sure each other is actually there.
  • Names are spells you agreed to answer to.
  • Humans keep photographs so the good days cannot escape.
  • Saying goodbye is humans practicing being apart, but they keep coming back anyway.

Machines & screens

  • The computer is a tiny crowded city with a window you look out of.
  • The internet is the world's rumor mill, running very fast.
  • Cars are metal horses that learned to love the road.
  • The TV is a window into a place that is always happening somewhere else.
  • Password is just another word for keep the door shut, said with extra steps.
  • The printer is a machine that sweats out the page you wanted.
  • The thermostat is the house agreeing on what temperature honesty feels like.
  • Batteries are how you keep lightning in a small polite box.
  • The phone ringing is a small urgent knock from a distant room.
  • Screens glow because the worlds inside them are trying to be seen.
  • The smoke alarm is the house coughing politely to get your attention.
  • Widgets on the home screen are the little windows you left open to your friends.

Days & seasons

  • Tuesday is the most regular of the days, and it is quietly proud of this.
  • Weekends are the days the week saves up for you.
  • Monday is the day that hands you the week and asks you to carry it.
  • Friday is the day with the good smell, even if no one can name it.
  • The morning is the world taking its first breath.
  • The afternoon is the world deciding it has done enough and settling in.
  • The evening is the world closing its book, a little at a time.
  • Sunday is the day the week breathes out.
  • Winter is the world tucking itself in.
  • Tomorrow is a rumor that is reliably true.

The world outside

  • Sidewalks are the earth's polite paths for everyone to share the walking.
  • The mailbox is a small door you never see anyone use, yet it is always getting letters.
  • The park is where the city keeps its grass and its patience.
  • Playgrounds are rooms with no ceiling, invented for practicing joy.
  • The bus is a long room full of people all going different places at the same speed.
  • Coffee shops are warm caves where the world rests between errands.
  • Streetlights are the city's night shift, standing watch.
  • The bakery smells like the universe briefly agreeing on something good.
  • The corner store is a tiny universe open late, and it knows your name.