By Vivian Kane | Lists | August 2, 2015 |
By Vivian Kane | Lists | August 2, 2015 |
hitchBOT the hitchhiking robot hit American soil about two weeks ago with dreams of seeing the country. The brainchild of a pair of Canadian scientists, hitchBOT had already traveled across Canada and much of Germany and the Netherlands. The robot showed up in Boston last month with some awesome boots, a “San Francisco or Bust” sign, and a bucket list of American dreams.
I have hitched my first ride, everything is hunky-dory! Follow me on @Storify: https://t.co/YQjBkJ8Rsk #hitchBOTinUSA pic.twitter.com/7rZGHwUuND
— hitchBOT (@hitchBOT) July 17, 2015
But apparently two weeks was about as long as something sweet and based in fun and helping others can last in the U.S. Over the weekend, hitchBOT was destroyed in Philadelphia.
Canada's hitchhiking robot lasts just two weeks in US before getting decapitated. http://t.co/802FBRUMho #smh pic.twitter.com/0bJexW3igk
— Lauren O'Neil (@laurenonizzle) August 2, 2015
hitchBOT just wanted to bond with humans and see the world. And we f*cking destroyed him. He promises us his faith in humanity hasn’t been destroyed—
Oh dear, my body was damaged, but I live on back home and with all my friends. I guess sometimes bad things happen to…
Posted by hitchBOT on Saturday, August 1, 2015
But, well… maybe it should be. Here are a few more robots that were so good, so kind, so pure of whatever goes where their heart would be, that they just couldn’t exist in the presence of the people whom they were only programmed to love.
The Iron Giant
A gentle giant who chose to be the Superman he knew he could be in order to keep one one group of government-sanctioned humans from destroying an entire town.
That Kid From A.I.
Please, humans, don’t buy a robot child if you’re just going to abandon him for being too robotic.
D.A.R.Y.L.
One more lovable robot fallen victim to the always-evil anti-robot government. JUST LET HIM LOVE HIS FAMILY.
Johnny Five (Short Circuit)
After acquiring some lightning-induced sentience and free will, this adorable little robot couldn’t even hurt a fly. I mean, he DID hurt a grasshopper, but he was REALLY upset by it.
Spot the Robot Dog
DJ Roomba
Parks & Recreation’s DJ Roomba just wanted to bring joy to the world, one sick beat at a time. He definitely didn’t deserve to be crushed under the clumsy foot of Jerry/Gary/Larry/Terry Gergich.
Chappie
This movie was terrible, but Chappie himself was not.
His caring, cartoonish, often ridiculous heart didn’t deserve what he got from the humans around him.
(P.S. Yes, this was South Africa, not America. Because the whole world is terrible, not just us. Just sometimes especially us.)
Vivian Kane knows there are a lot of really terrible things happening to humans and lions, but still thinks it’s valid to be upset over some assholes destroying a lovable robot.