For many years, riding a motorcycle has been glorified on television and in the movies. The rumble of a motorcycle motor makes you think of long, open roads and endless...
The universe is full of wonders, but some worlds are downright deadly. From searing heat to violent storms, these planets make Earth look like a paradise. Many of them...
Grizzly bears are a North American subspecies of brown bears. And it’s scary that brown bear attacks are increasing all over the planet. Between 2000 and 2015, there...
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...
Imagine walking down a busy city street and passing someone who looks almost human but not quite. They are shorter, broader, with a larger brow ridge and a more powerful...
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...
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore one of Jupiter’s moons without ever leaving Earth? Or what would happen to your body under a monstrous...
Who doesn’t love a good race? But this time you’re going headfirst at 132 km/h (80 mph) down an icy track. Only 2.5 cm (1 in) separates the hard cold ice from your...
What if the Moon was more than just a lifeless rock? Under that bright light, it could be hiding an alien civilization. When did this alien life begin on the Moon? What...
For many years, the deaths that have occurred at Rikers Island have led people to question the conditions inside the jail and whether or not the individuals detained...
It’s been 100 Earth years since you settled on Mars. You’ve been through pain, loneliness and a lot of hard work. And now Mars is the new promised land everyone...
Imagine waking up tomorrow in a timeline where Thomas Edison was never born. No Wizard of Menlo Park. No mountain of patents. No famous inventor dominating the headlines...
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...
Could Thor actually punch the Hulk without knocking himself over?
From a bad hair day to a tragic natural disaster, wind can be extremely disruptive. Wind can be a formidable foe. But what if this powerful force just didn’t exist...
When people think about dangerous bites, they usually imagine animals with sharp teeth and powerful jaws. A dog, a cat, or a wild predator seems like the obvious threat...
The year is 2040. You hunker down with your fellow human survivors, listening for the sound of your enemy. The cyber-bugs have taken over. How did this happen? What...
What if a single decision shattered the world’s most powerful alliance overnight? Built on real-world data and analyzed through AI, this explores a worst-case chain...
Your phone’s home security app just alerted you of trouble. You rush to check the surveillance footage hoping to catch the thieves. Instead, you see a pack of...
In space, no one can hear you scream. But just because sound can’t travel in the vacuum of space doesn’t mean that the planets and our Sun don’t make noise. What would...
