Figure of speech. That's all.
A dumb one. The word "literally" is already used to specify that the phrase following it is not a figure of speech. There are plenty of ambiguities in natural languages, and layering them will only make things unnecessarily complicated.
It was a valid use of the word. Language evolves.
"in effect; in substance; very nearly; virtually: I literally died when she walked out on stage in that costume."
I guess, in some sense, we all are all the time?
"Literally slipped through the cracks of time" is still my favorite though.