Technically speaking, this marine reptile wasn’t a dinosaur, although it sure swam the Earth alongside many of them. Styxosaurus lived 70 to 85 million years ago, in the...
Imagine waking up one morning to find our Sun replaced by a cosmic powerhouse far stranger than anything we have seen. From giants that could swallow planets whole to...
Picture a world where ice does not melt, even while the ground glows with temperatures hotter than molten metal. Far beyond our solar system, astronomers discovered a...
Our Universe was born billions of years ago. And since that time, it’s given birth to millions of galaxies, our Solar System, and who knows what else. Our Universe...
These slithering creatures can live in the smallest corners of your home and the darkest places you don’t dare visit. Well, not anymore, because today we’re...
When most people think of prenuptial agreements, they imagine thick legal documents drafted by modern lawyers. But long before today’s contracts existed, couples...
You’ve seen politics and national borders change all the time, but have you ever witnessed a continent literally breaking apart? Well, it’s possible, and...
It’s about to get Old Testament here. What if the creepiest, crawliest, most catastrophic member of the Plagues of Egypt made an unexpected housecall? And decided your...
What if climate change was taken to the absolute extreme and the entire planet’s ice melted?
You’re in the deepest part of our oceans. The Mariana Trench. Suddenly, your sub experiences an earthquake. And when you look outside, you see the terrifying...
Across the Solar System, there are worlds where volcanoes are far more extreme than anything found on Earth. On Jupiter’s moon Io, enormous volcanic eruptions send...
With a duck like bill, a beaver shaped tail, and a body that looks like it was designed by combining several different animals, the platypus is one of the strangest...
As our population grows, we’re going to need a lot more farms to feed the planet. Yet, in a lot of places, farming is almost impossible. And much of the land we...
A nearby volcano is showing signs of an imminent eruption. Seismic activity is increasing, magma is rising, and the pressure beneath the surface is building. In a...
The Big One. Those three words make locals along the West Coast of North America shudder with fear. This area is plagued by earthquakes. But hey, at least they are ready...
Robots have come a long way from simple machines that could only perform repetitive tasks. Today, engineers are creating advanced robots that can walk, climb, navigate...
Falling into a black hole may sound like something from a science fiction movie, but it is a very real phenomenon studied by physicists for decades. Black holes are...
For decades, the relationship between the United States and North Korea has been filled with threats, military tensions, and moments of uncertainty. But what would...
We visit a lot of planets here on WHAT IF, but K2-141b is the most extreme one yet. Are you ready to jump on board this one-way space shuttle? If you’d rather stay...
It’s the end of your shift. Like every night, you walk down a quiet street toward the bus station. But then you hear it. Footsteps behind you. You glance back and see...
