This is the most powerful object in the Universe. The biggest spinning magnet to ever exist. It’s the cosmic equivalent of a great white shark. But it...
The world you know no longer exists. Your family, friends, and neighbors are gone. Outside, horrific zombie-like creatures roam the streets. And if you breathe in their...
What if the brightest explosion in the Universe was heading straight toward Earth? Would humanity have time to prepare, or would the event happen so quickly that there...
Welcome to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the “Roof of the World.”It’s home to the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest. But also the longest, deepest canyon on the...
The Solar System seems calm, but that tranquility is more fragile than it appears. Now imagine one day looking up and noticing something unfamiliar in the sky. A tiny...
Flesh-eating bacteria? Uh oh … you may want to have a seat. This is going to be a doozy. It turns out that you’ve got a problem. You’ve become a walking buffet for an...
Few environments on Earth are as unforgiving as the desert. Humans are built to survive within a fairly narrow range of temperatures, and we depend on a steady supply of...
Welcome to your new landfill: a giant ball of burning gas that we call the Sun. With surface temperatures of 5500°C (9,940°F), it could obliterate any type of trash we...
There was an amusement park unlike any other. A place where visitors came looking for excitement and left with bruises, broken bones, or sometimes something far worse...
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...
A fear of heights, known as acrophobia, is one of the most common fears people experience. For some, standing on a tall building, looking down from a bridge, or even...
It’s almost as old as the Universe, and as massive as 34 billion Suns. It eats stars for breakfast. And now it’s about to consume our own. Behold, the great...
When most people think of sharks, they picture a powerful predator lurking beneath the waves. Movies, news stories, and popular culture have helped give sharks a...
Can you imagine what the world would look like if it were run by children? We all know that our youngest generations are the future of humanity, but what would happen if...
First off, we’re going to have to be a Type 1 civilization. Then collectively, we can use all the energy available on our planet. It also gets rid of the monotony of...
For 13 years, Timothy Treadwell believed he had achieved something impossible. He thought he had formed a unique connection with wild grizzly bears, living among them...
There are few situations more terrifying than the idea of being inside a spacecraft when something goes wrong. Space is already an unforgiving environment, but a rocket...
Throughout history, some criminals have committed crimes so shocking that their names became symbols of fear. From trusted doctors to seemingly friendly neighbors, these...
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...
Before we take the plunge, we could better take a look at what Lake Natron is made of. Much like the Dead Sea, this lake in Tanzania doesn’t run off into any...
