The History of the World Backwards tells the story of the world, but in a world where time flows forwards whilst history told backwards. In other words, if you were born in 2007, you would be 60-years-old in 1947. All the major historical events happen backwards, so for example, Nelson Mandela enters jail a Spice Girls fan, and comes out as a terrorist intent in overthrowing the state.[1] There are several recurring themes, such as the "Technology collapse", where scientific discoveries are lost, forgotten or made unworkable.