In the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, an extraterrestrial named Klaatu and his robot companion Gort stop nearly all of the electronics on Earth simultaneously, using their advanced alien technology. Cars, factories, television sets and more all cease to work, and the planet settles into an eerie pause.
But what if the movie meant its title more literally? Imagine an alien with a still more powerful tool, one that could actually stop Earth in its tracks and halt our planet’s rotation.
