The year is 2126. Looking out your window, you watch Earth hanging silently above the lunar horizon. What was once a breathtaking image seen only by astronauts has...
Today on What If, we’re taking Jupiter’s deadly gases and unleashing them on Earth. Where could you be safe from these toxic winds? How would you breathe...
Throughout history, there have been many incredible civilizations that have shaped the way we live today. One was Ancient Rome, a once majestic and thriving city whose...
In the western Pacific, the Mariana Trench isn’t the most popular travel spot. It’s frigid and bone-crushingly deep, not something you pick for your vacation...
Some 5 billion years from now, the Sun will expand and become a red giant. And the Earth might be just in the way… If humans were still around then, would we leave...
Hornets large enough to decapitate honeybees with their jaws. Centipedes that climb walls and ceilings before dropping into your living space. Bugs that wait until you...
On average, over 8000 people die each year in the U.S. because they can’t get an organ transplant. What if we could actually rebuild our failing organs? That...
This pink, permanently smiling creature might look like something out of a cartoon, but it is very real. Known as the axolotl, this unusual animal has captured the...
It begins with a simple phone call. Someone reports a hostage situation, an active shooter, or a bomb threat at a specific address. Within minutes, police officers and...
Trees have been standing silently beside us for thousands of years. They have witnessed changing climates, the rise and fall of civilizations, and countless generations...
Black cats have carried a strange reputation throughout human history. In some cultures, they were seen as sacred animals, while in others they became symbols of...
As 2027 rapidly approaches, the global community stands on a razor-thin edge dividing existential hazards from era-defining scientific breakthroughs. From intensifying...
Behind you, a colossal hurricane, moments away from making landfall. In front of you, a towering tornado, fast-tracking its way toward the opposing storm. And you...
[dx_custom_adunit mobile_id=”RTK_v1lP”] Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse. Unlike in the movie, you don’t have to say it three times to make it...
Are you one of those people who hate these little crawling things? Or maybe these ones with stingers creep you out more?
Are all of your memories real? Did everything happen the way you remember it? What if somebody filled your brain with memories that aren’t yours? Would you be able...
Thirty centimeters. That is the width of the walkway in some places. Not a path. Not a ledge. A row of wooden boards bolted to the face of a vertical cliff, with nothing...
It might sound like a scene from a science fiction movie, but the threat of an asteroid hitting Earth is more realistic than you might expect. One asteroid in...
Plastic surrounds us in ways most of us don’t even notice. From the toothbrushes we use in the morning to the water bottles in our hands, plastic is everywhere. But have...
An invasion of the United States by China sounds like the plot of a blockbuster movie. The United States has not experienced a foreign invasion of its mainland in modern...
