RITSUKO (OFF):“Right. In the history textbooks, it's a catastrophe that was caused by the fall of a massive meteorite.”
Dr. Nick: ADV's old home video releases of Evangelion actually dealt with certain text-heavy shots such as this by using "overlays", a curious VHS-era method of on-screen text translation distinct from the more well-known "hard-subs" (for details, see svenge's explanation, kindly preserved for posterity by the EvaMonkey).
Perhaps owing to the less-than-stellar image quality of that era, some viewers didn't even realize it was an American edit and were left wondering why these Japanese kids were using English-language schoolbooks. I've seen this happen on the forums.
(For those who, for whatever reason, cannot load the picture, click the "Additional Commentary" tag below.)
Additional Commentary
Dr. Nick: Second Impact and the World Afterwards
1. Second Impact
In the final year of the 20th century on September 13. 2000 a massive meteorite fell on Mt. Markham in Antarctica. More than two billion people in he southern hemisphere were immediately killed by the tsunami and rising water levels caused by the melted ice. This was the worst disaster mankind had faced in recorded history.
2. Upheaval in the Northern Hemisphere
The Nations of the Northern Hemisphere also suffered severe damage from the flooding and chaos ensued. Two days after the fall of the meteorite on September 15. 2000, collisions between refugees sparked a war on the India-Pakistan border, and armed conflicts began all over the world. On September 20, an N-Bomb was dropped on Tokyo and 500 000 people were killed. Until the Valentine Cease Fire was signed on February 14. 2001, hostilities continued all over the world.
3. Transferring Second Tokyo
The Temporary Government of Japan gave up on restoring the Tokyo that had been destroyed by the N-Bomb, and the decision was made to transfer the capital to Matsumoto City in Nagano. Construction of Tokyo 2 began in 2001. Redevelopment proceeded rapidly and by early 2003, Tokyo was fulfilling its functions as the capital. In 2005 a second transfer was approved by Congress. Tokyo 3 is currently being built in Fuji-Hakone.
1. First Impact
This is also called the Giant Impact, a collision between a meteorite and Earth that resulted in the creation of the Moon. It is believed to of happened 4 billion years ago.
2. Fall of a Massive Meteorite
The object which fell on Antarctica was less than 4 inches in diameter, a very small meteorite. However with an enormous velocity of 95% of the speed of light, its effective mass was more than 4.02 times 20 squared to the 10th. Fifteen minutes before its impact, it was sighted by the Mexican astronomer Ceimoa Nan.
