Can anyone explain the special theory of relativity in layman terms?

Answer 1

Prior to Einstein's special theory of relativity, it was generally believed that there existed some true, objective frame of reference, in which you could measure the true, absolute speed of any moving item, including light. This frame of reference was often imagined to be connected to something called the luminiferous ether (or ether for short) which was thought to be some mysterious substance, which could not be detected by most means, but which permeates the universe and which acts as a medium for the transmission of light, in the same way that air is a medium for the transmission of sound. The ether, if such a thing existed, would be motionless and would define the truest or most objective reference frame. Einstein proposed that there is no ether, and that there is also no special frame of reference. The motion of any object can only be determined with respect to a given frame of reference; there is no such thing as absolute motion that is objectively true, and superior to other reference frames.*

* For further study: there are inertial and non-inertial reference frames.

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Answer #2:

No.

Easily understood examples of relativistic effects in familiar situations can

be presented, but the statement of the theory itself can't be expressed in

laymen's terms.