THOR

What does Thor  have to do with outer space wormhole theories?  And did ancient cultures praise Thor as their almighty God? These questions lead to some interesting truths about the popular Marvel title character and current blockbuster film.

 In 1935, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen realized that general relativity allows the existence of “bridges,” originally called Einstein-Rosen bridges but now known as wormholes (mentioned in the film). Analogies have been made between wormholes and Bifrost, the rainbow-type bridge connecting Earth (or Midgard) to Asgard (the celestial home of the Gods).  A wormhole is a theoretical shortcut between two places in the universe via a tunnel.  Perhaps the Norse mythmakers got a jump on Einstein's theory centuries ago.

A Mjolnir pendant

Thor had a major cultural impact on medieval Scandanavian culture.
Many people inspired by his bravery in battle wore Mjolnir, special pendants shaped in a hammer or 'T'. 10th-century soapstone medallion molds of Thor's hammer were discovered in Denmark.  Another T-shaped artifact attributed to Thor's hammer can be found in an Iceland Museum.  In the South Tyrolian Alps (Unterinn), evidence points to an ancient custom of burning T's into front doors of homes as a protection against evil-- especially violent storms.
In addition, one Swedish municipality has a distinct hammer shape symbol on their coat of arms.

F2F particularly enjoys the sequence in the film when there's a heated discussion over science versus magic (Thor: "I come from a land where they are one and the same.")  At one point, one character quotes Arthur C. Clarke:  "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' leading to the conclusion that sometimes science fiction becomes science fact. Well said!  You can read more about the film's science and wormhole comparisons in a Discover Magazine article here.