Most people have never seen these tiny creatures before, but they may be the most vital organisms on Earth. Say hello to plankton. They can be smaller than the diameter...
You’re deep underground when you hear an explosion. Fire and debris rain down on you. You’re alive but trapped, hundreds of meters below the surface of the...
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...
You pop out of the ocean and hear the faint yells of the lifeguard. The whole beach panics. Your turn around. Something lurks in the water. Before you can say...
Imagine Earth with an even 50/50 split between continents and oceans. Our planet covered half by land half by water. How would this change the planet as you know it...
Elon Musk has just claimed Mars as his own personal planet. Building his own human colony on the Red Planet, independent of Earth and with it’s own set of laws...
Today, we’re going to explore the five deadliest weapons that are ready to be deployed right now. And, if you thought the deadliest belonged to the U.S. Army...
Mount Hua, China This hike leads to the South Peak of Huashan, one of the Five Great Mountains of China. Its summit stands at about 2,155 m (7,100 ft), and the infamous...
The emergency alert just appeared on your phone. The sky is turning dark and the wind is getting unbearable. A massive column of air is spinning its way toward you. You...
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...
Under extreme circumstances, humans can often pull together to overcome great odds. But when confined in a tight space with each other, well, we may not be at our finest...
Black holes are often imagined as cosmic vacuum cleaners, devouring everything in their path, but what would actually happen if you dared to venture into one even for...
It starts with a signal. Faint, strange, and unlike anything humanity has ever recorded. Within hours, it escalates into an event that changes the course of history as...
Black holes are dense and scary. They suck up everything in their way. Their gravity is so strong it bends light and warps time. But what if I told you we might have...
Imagine looking up at the night sky and seeing a bright blue planet where the Moon should be. At first, it would look like a beautiful cosmic event. But then astronomers...
For centuries, the Kraken has lived in the space between myth and fear. A massive sea monster, said to rise from the deepest oceans, capable of dragging entire ships...
Would you ever venture into the ocean if you knew this creature could be lurking beneath you? It’s twice the size of a T. rex, its jaws are big enough to crush...
What Earth do you live on? A round one? Flat one? Maybe your world is resting on the back of a huge cosmic turtle? What about a hollow Earth? Just a planet’s shell...
On your marks. Get set. Bear crawl. The movement of the future is here. And it looks a lot like the movement of the distant past. What benefits would you get from moving...
The last time the world witnessed a total solar eclipse was in 2017, and its presence delighted enthusiastic sky watchers. But what if, instead of a rare phenomena, a...
