Watch: Scott Van Pelt's Puppy Taking a Dump on His Floor in the Middle of a Podcast is the Symbol of Our Times

I mean what I said in that headline. It's not snark; it's me being 100% sincere. It's something I've given a lot of thought to, even before Scott Van Pelt's adorable, pre-housebroken pupper decided to leave a turd in the middle of what looks like high quality laminate flooring. This is the sign of our times in so, so many ways. 

It takes a long time for history to write itself. So often the things we think are Earth-shaking and life-changing in the moment turn out to really have very little impact. I mean, it was dramatic as hell when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and returned safely home. But that was over 50 years ago, and what did it really change? Other than Velcro and the fact that Boomers like me mixed tap water with a sour, sugary orange powder called Tang because the astronauts supposedly did. 

On the other hand, when Steve Jobs introduced an upgraded cellphone in the 2000s, practically no one realized it would fundamentally change the way our brains operate. As Joaquin Andujar once said of baseball, there's one word to describe life. And that word is, "you never know."

Advertisement

So when the pandemic struck, plenty of experts were saying it would change the world forever, they just didn't agree on the way it would. As it turned out, it wasn't the advancements in medical science. It wasn't the cultural shifts or international travel. It wasn't the impact on the 2020 elections. It wasn't even about the deaths, because the mortality rate on humans has always been 100%. And among the ones that were overwhelmingly affected, the old and sick, the Grim Reaper is still slugging 4.000. 

It was this. How in short order, the human race got used to Zoom life. Practically overnight. We simply became accustomed to the casual, informal, relaxed way of interacting with each other. We got used to letting complete strangers into our houses, virtually. We stopped having to be professional in professional settings. We dropped the facade and accepted that life is chaotic in ways that weren't allowed before. 

To make the point, does anyone remember this guy?

This went viral. It was supposed to be mortifying. A staid, educated expert in something-or-other getting embarrassed by his daughter being adorable in the middle of an interview. It was unheard of! Who has this happen to them! Especially on the BBC, where everything is supposed to be all buttoned up! It's so funny because it really happened! Wakka-wakka!

But now it's so common we actually half expect things to go sideways. If you watch a CNN segment where four reporters are talking and don't hear that one of the old guys sat there and whipped up a batch on camera, you consider that a win. We're pleasantly surprised if things don't get messy. Literally, in a case like SVP's doggo. And everyone else, for that matter. If this BBC guy was on today and his daughter came busting in and dropped a deuce on the rug, I'm not sure it would even make the news. And she's probably 12 by now. I exaggerate, but not by much. 

And also, you see it reflected in the way Van Pelt handled it, as opposed to this formal, cultured, academic. These two interviews took place on either side of the DGAF dividing line that Zoom Life created. This is, and will continue to be, the major societal change that virus caused. No one could've seen it coming. Or where it's going. But my guess is things will never go back to the way they were.