For all the technology humanity has developed, our civilization is still remarkably primitive when viewed against the scale of the universe. The Kardashev Scale offers...
Unlike Earth, which is securely orbiting the Sun, there are billions of rogue planets drifting through the Milky Way with no star to call home. These worlds were likely...
Reports suggest that by the year 2030, 800 million jobs will be lost to automation. Will yours be one of them? We used to be afraid that robots would rise to power and...
Earth never stops moving. Right now, as you read this, the planet beneath your feet is spinning at incredible speed. At the equator, you are traveling through space at...
When it comes to energy, we have a long way to go before our utility bills become a thing of the past. On the Kardashev scale we’re still a Type 0 civilization...
Let’s say you’ve got two bottles of water in front of you. One is a plastic bottle, the other a reusable one. You already know that you should probably pick the reusable...
Get your bone flute and gather around the fire. Today on What If, we’re taking you back to the time of woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. That’s right...
On July 24, 2010, around 1.5 million people were expected to attend the Love Parade electronic music festival in Duisburg, Germany. What was supposed to be a huge...
Stepping into Earth as it existed 200 million years ago would feel less like time travel and more like arriving on an entirely different world. There are no cities, no...
For 33 years, the people living on Komodo Island had managed to coexist with one of the most dangerous predators on Earth without suffering a fatal attack. The giant...
Spiders are everywhere on Earth. Scientists have identified around 45,000 known species, but estimates suggest there could be many more still undiscovered. They exist in...
Imagine if all the Earth’s oxygen disappeared. Not forever, just for, say, an hour? Could you hold your breath that long? What would happen to the atmosphere? And...
Today on What If, we’re going to build the highest bridge on planet Earth. Welcome to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the “Roof of the World.”It’s home to the world’s...
The monkeys have revolted. And not just with brute strength or violence. Primates have finally outsmarted humankind once and for all. It’s their planet now. How...
Polyhedrons come in all shapes and sizes. Anything that has multiple faces joined at their edges can be a polyhedron. Picture Earth as a six-sided cube. Or as a...
In some of the wealthiest corners of the world, the very rich are putting their money towards building underground bunkers to survive the apocalypse. These subterranean...
Mosquitoes are often treated as nothing more than irritating insects that leave behind itchy bites. Their importance, however, is much greater than their size suggests...
You and your family wake up to an emergency broadcast: “The United States is now in a state of emergency. Riots erupt, statues are torn down, and the government...
Swimming alongside a giant whale can feel like entering another world. The water is calm, the enormous animal moves gracefully through the ocean, and for a few seconds...
Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? Not by a creepy stalker, but by aliens. Yup, it might be happening. Just like we watch animals at the zoo, aliens may...
