Two years after the theory's publication in 1916, Austrian physicists Josef Lense and Hans Thirring concluded that, as a consequence of general relativity, massive bodies spinning in space would drag space and time around like funnel clouds whipping up debris. Einstein theorized that gravity affects the shape of space and the flow of time.
Time slows down as speed increases, a fact documented in countless experiments.
The wristwatch of a passenger in a jet plane, for example, ticks slightly more slowly than its earthbound counterpart. Since gravity accelerates all matter, Einstein hypothesized, this time distortion must be occurring constantly throughout the universe. Another image employed by teachers to illustrate space-time distortion is a big tub of molasses in which stars and planets are immersed. As the stars and planets spin, they will drag the syrup in a lopsided whirl around them. It's just mind-blowing to think that Einstein thought of it.