30+ Fantastic 'What If' Scenarios You Never Thought About

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Transcript

00:00:00It all started with a minor change on our planet.

00:00:03At first, people noticed the moon had become brighter and a little bigger.

00:00:07But nobody paid attention to this.

00:00:10The moon affected tides all over the world.

00:00:13The water flooded the beaches.

00:00:15But it wasn't a tragedy.

00:00:17A lot of fish came close to the shores.

00:00:19People found giant squid, anglerfish, and other creatures next to the coast.

00:00:24Although they usually live in the dark depths.

00:00:27New, stranger things happen every day.

00:00:30Birds no longer fly to the south in winter.

00:00:33They gather in huge groups, flying around cities with no purpose.

00:00:37The moon used to help them navigate in nature.

00:00:40So they can't figure out which way to fly anymore.

00:00:43In the boundless waters of the world's oceans,

00:00:46ship captains notice that compasses are now unstable.

00:00:50The arrow is pointing in different directions,

00:00:52since the Earth's magnetic poles have changed.

00:00:56People realize the moon has started to approach Earth for an unknown reason.

00:01:01The moon's gravity affects the gravity of our planet.

00:01:04This entails changes in the climate,

00:01:06the behavior of all living beings, and the magnetic field.

00:01:10Now, it rains in the driest places and gets hot in the coldest lands.

00:01:16It's knocking down ecosystems all over the planet.

00:01:20People living near forests hear wolves howling all the time.

00:01:24The moon drives these animals mad.

00:01:27The Earth's natural satellite is growing in size and lights up the night much brighter.

00:01:32Nothing critical has happened yet.

00:01:34People don't panic because they don't want to believe the end is coming.

00:01:38But then, one day, the moon reaches a critical point.

00:01:43You're walking down the street, listening to music.

00:01:46And at that moment, someone pushes you.

00:01:49Okay, maybe that guy is late for work.

00:01:52You keep walking, and a girl coming by hits your shoulder.

00:01:55I'm sorry, she says and goes away.

00:01:58You've noticed the fear in her eyes.

00:02:01You look ahead and see people running towards you.

00:02:04You take off your headphones and hear screams and sirens.

00:02:08People leave their cars and run away.

00:02:10Hundreds of seagulls are flying in the sky.

00:02:13You hear a strange noise among all the sounds of chaos.

00:02:17It seems to be water.

00:02:20How is this possible?

00:02:21You're in the city center, a few miles from the shore.

00:02:24But there's no time to think.

00:02:26You notice a huge wave flooding the streets and heading straight to you.

00:02:31You run into a building and go up to the 10th floor.

00:02:35From here, you're watching the water filling the city.

00:02:38The strong stream blows all cars, one-story buildings, and trees off the road.

00:02:44You notice a shark and other fish in the water.

00:02:47People are hiding in houses and on the roofs.

00:02:50The whole city is quickly plunging into a catastrophe.

00:02:54The TV is working in the building where you're hiding.

00:02:57You learn that floods are occurring all over the world.

00:03:00Massive tsunamis cover coastal cities.

00:03:03In some places, waves reach the height of a 30-story building.

00:03:08Many towns have been washed off the face of the Earth.

00:03:11The moon is too close to Earth, and massive floods are just the beginning.

00:03:16The moon flies around Earth and helps to keep our home on its axis.

00:03:20The moon provides climate stability and helps living organisms develop.

00:03:25But now, this balance is broken.

00:03:28The moon is approaching and changing our planet's gravity.

00:03:31Earth can tilt slightly to the side and provoke massive floods around the world.

00:03:36Imagine that you're holding a round glass of water.

00:03:39Tilt it a little.

00:03:40See how the liquid moves from one side to another?

00:03:43The same thing is happening now with the oceans.

00:03:47But the moon is not just approaching us.

00:03:50It's flying around the planet and getting closer with each circle.

00:03:54It causes natural disasters in different locations on Earth all the time.

00:03:59Now the ocean floods one side, and a few hours later, another.

00:04:04So you see all the water going back from the streets to the shore.

00:04:08The oceans may return to the city again by the end of the day.

00:04:12Wait a minute.

00:04:13It seems the end of the day has already come.

00:04:16You notice that the sky has become dark.

00:04:18It's weird, because it's only 3 p.m.

00:04:22The moon changes Earth's rotation speed and makes the day go faster.

00:04:27The moon covers almost the entire sky and brightly illuminates our planet.

00:04:32You see huge lunar craters.

00:04:34It's so close that you can still see it even when the sun shines.

00:04:38In some places, the passing moon obscures the sun.

00:04:43The water is leaving the streets, and everyone goes outside.

00:04:46At this moment, an earthquake begins.

00:04:49The road is cracking, and the houses are collapsing.

00:04:53There are landslides on the street.

00:04:55Tectonic plates are shifting all over the planet.

00:04:58Imagine two magnetic balls that are approaching each other.

00:05:01So one ball is the moon, and the second one is Earth's core.

00:05:06What do you think will happen to what's above the core?

00:05:09That's hundreds of thousands of miles of the Earth's crust.

00:05:13And now it's all moving.

00:05:15Destructive cracks are emerging all over the world.

00:05:18The planet's highest mountains break down and turn into a pile of stones.

00:05:23The seabed cracks and releases magma from the underground depths.

00:05:28Volcanoes wake up and erupt magma.

00:05:31Clouds of volcanic ash cover the sky from the sun and the glowing moon.

00:05:36But the scariest thing is still ahead.

00:05:38A collision is inevitable.

00:05:41The moon flies around the planet like a ball in a round glass with a hole in the center.

00:05:46This force drives clouds all over the planet.

00:05:50Now there's a thunderstorm, but in five minutes, it will be snowing.

00:05:54Then the night comes, and it starts raining.

00:05:57Water droplets consist of mud and volcanic ash.

00:06:00It's difficult for people to breathe without gas masks.

00:06:04Atmospheric pressure is constantly changing.

00:06:07Some people experience severe migraines, and some have sore joints.

00:06:11But there's no time to think about your health.

00:06:13Humanity needs to figure out how to save itself from the collision.

00:06:17A new gravitational order will come when the moon crashes into Earth.

00:06:22Continents will change their shape.

00:06:24They will combine into one giant piece of land or split into a hundred smaller ones.

00:06:29The energy of the collision can burn all the oxygen in the atmosphere

00:06:34and make the planet unsuitable for life.

00:06:36Hiding underground also makes no sense because of deep earthquakes.

00:06:41People decide to spend their last hours with loved ones and their families.

00:06:45The moon is getting closer.

00:06:47It's now at the same distance as the International Space Station.

00:06:51The moon covers the sky.

00:06:53Many cities are in the shadows because of the waves.

00:06:56Tsunamis several miles in height crash down on the ground.

00:07:01Millions of tons of magma collide with the ocean.

00:07:05Billions of gallons of water just evaporate.

00:07:08Moisture rises into the air, mixes with ash, and floods the land in the form of giant cumulus clouds.

00:07:16You've accepted the complete destruction of the planet.

00:07:19But something strange happens to the moon at this moment.

00:07:22You notice giant cracks appear on it.

00:07:25The moon slowly begins to divide into two parts.

00:07:29Both halves crumble into hundreds of large pieces.

00:07:33It's just falling apart.

00:07:35The Earth doesn't have a natural satellite anymore.

00:07:38It's just a pile of giant space rocks.

00:07:41But why is this happening?

00:07:43There's a space around our planet called the Roche Limit.

00:07:47In this place, the gravity of Earth is stronger than that of the moon.

00:07:52This means that the forces holding the moon together are weaker than those that tear it apart.

00:07:58People are cheering.

00:07:59The Roche Limit has saved the planet.

00:08:02The moon won't hit us.

00:08:03It breaks up into millions of fragments and forms a circle around our globe.

00:08:08Now, Earth looks like Saturn.

00:08:10A belt of moonstones surrounds us.

00:08:13Huge chunks destroy everything in their path.

00:08:16All the space debris.

00:08:18The satellites are no longer working.

00:08:20Humanity loses its means of communication and navigation.

00:08:24People will have to use paper maps again.

00:08:26The moon held our planet's orbit at a certain angle before these events.

00:08:31Now the axis is tilted differently.

00:08:33One hemisphere becomes closer to the sun, and the other plunges into shadow.

00:08:38The North Pole and the Arctic may turn into hot deserts.

00:08:41And the equator of the planet may be covered with ice.

00:08:45Winter and summer can last for years.

00:08:47The moon's remnants fly around Earth, but some of them fall on our planet.

00:08:52Lunar meteor showers destroy cities and create giant craters.

00:08:57All these events lead to the massive destruction of life on Earth.

00:09:01It will take hundreds of thousands of years to adapt to the new world.

00:09:06Humans could live in a vacuum, with the only difference being, well, our entire selves.

00:09:12We're always talking about living on other planets and how we can adapt to them.

00:09:16But theoretically, we could live on a space station.

00:09:19However, in that case, life would evolve completely differently.

00:09:23All because we'd have to live without an atmosphere.

00:09:29What do we humans need to adapt to living in a vacuum?

00:09:34Dugald Dixon created this cool concept in his book.

00:09:37Creatures known as vacuum morphs, designed to survive in space.

00:09:42They're kinda like humans, but not really.

00:09:45First, in space, with no air at all, it's all about pressure.

00:09:50There's a thing called atmospheric pressure.

00:09:52In simple words, how much does the atmosphere press on our shoulders?

00:09:56How heavy it weighs.

00:09:59Humans are used to living at sea level where there's a lot of pressure from the air around us.

00:10:04But in space, there's none.

00:10:06This would be tough for our bodies.

00:10:08Astronauts have their suits to handle such dramatic change.

00:10:12Which means, most likely, we'd have to get a hard shell guarding our insides.

00:10:18Like robots, beetles, or certain marine animals that can handle different levels of depth.

00:10:23Having a shell of some kind also helps to control the movement of atoms,

00:10:28both coming in and leaving the body.

00:10:32These unique beings from Dixon's book, homokalastes, have crustacean-like features.

00:10:38You can see that they have this shield we discussed.

00:10:41They're built to withstand the challenges of orbit and the vacuum.

00:10:45They breathe with three lungs, have stubby limbs for grabbing onto spaceships,

00:10:49and sealed eyes to shield them from harsh conditions.

00:10:53These little guys also need unique organs to handle oxygen and waste.

00:10:58Unfortunately, they can't reproduce.

00:11:00Despite their incredible adaptability, vacuum morphs are sterile and have a limited lifespan.

00:11:06We know from movies that outer space is extremely scary.

00:11:10It's freezing cold, dangerous radiation, and no air at all.

00:11:13If you're out there, your blood boils or you simply freeze instantly.

00:11:18But despite all that, humans could survive in outer space for a while.

00:11:22Imagine you're suddenly thrown out of your spaceship.

00:11:26In movies, that would mean instant departure from the life station.

00:11:29But in real life, it's not as instant as Hollywood makes it seem.

00:11:33Scientists have done questionable experiments and had accidents with humans.

00:11:38There was an astronaut who had his spacesuit accidentally depressurized.

00:11:43He blacked out but was luckily okay after repressurization,

00:11:47although he did lose his sense of taste for a while.

00:11:50In any case, it turns out you could actually survive for a couple of minutes in the vacuum

00:11:55of space, but it's not a pleasant experience.

00:11:59When you're in outer space, you're not alone.

00:12:02When you're in space without a suit, the lack of pressure makes air in your lungs

00:12:07expand, which is really bad if you're holding your breath.

00:12:10Within a minute, you'll pass out from lack of oxygen.

00:12:14It takes just a few seconds for everything to go dark.

00:12:22However, there is a form of life that can hang out in outer space just fine.

00:12:27Scientists found some tiny creatures called extremophiles that can handle all of that.

00:12:33They're nature's most brave survivors.

00:12:35These microbes can handle crazy conditions like freezing cold, no air, and lots of radiation.

00:12:42Recently, we decided to find out how this special bacterium copes in space.

00:12:48Scientists sent it up to the International Space Station and left it outside for a whole year.

00:12:53When they checked on it later, they found something amazing.

00:12:57The bacterium hadn't changed much in appearance,

00:13:00and it even had produced tiny structures called outer membrane vesicles to protect itself.

00:13:06It turns out that this bacterium has a superpower.

00:13:09It can repair its DNA and fight off harmful molecules that could damage it.

00:13:14It also changes the way it uses energy to adapt to space life.

00:13:19This could help us learn more about how life can exist beyond our planet.

00:13:24It was called the Transpopo mission.

00:13:29Bacteria are incredibly adaptive.

00:13:32For example, we discovered that bacteria can float around in space for years.

00:13:38These tiny organisms can stick together in clumps like little protective communities.

00:13:42They can survive the harsh conditions of outer space by doing so.

00:13:47In a cool experiment,

00:13:48scientists put some really tough bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station.

00:13:54These bacteria were in little balls, each five sheets of paper thick.

00:13:59As a result, they stayed out there, unharmed, for three whole years.

00:14:04Their outer layers acted like shields, protecting the ones inside from all the space nasties.

00:14:10This discovery suggests that groups of bacteria could travel through space between planets.

00:14:15They call this idea panspermia, which basically means spreading life through the universe.

00:14:22In other words, space travel might accidentally bring life to other planets.

00:14:26So if we found microbial life on Mars, for example,

00:14:29that could even signify that it had arrived there from somewhere.

00:14:37All this means that some microbes could survive in outer space.

00:14:40With more complex creatures like animals, however, things get harder.

00:14:45The most important thing for sustaining life is energy.

00:14:49Everything else is a nice addition, but without energy, we wouldn't get anywhere.

00:14:54Life also needs a lot of chemicals mixed in a liquid for a long time and in a big space station

00:15:00to function. If there's not enough pressure, the liquid evaporates. Vacuum means there's

00:15:06hardly any pressure at all. Life evolving inside an asteroid or moon that lacks atmosphere might

00:15:13be possible. Life adapting to space is possible. Hypothetically, these space-living beings could

00:15:20be made of gas, sentient clouds floating around. They could also be made of pure energy, invisible

00:15:27but able to communicate through their energy levels. Or some giants with their own atmosphere,

00:15:33like Earth, with smaller creatures living on them. But all this is extremely unlikely,

00:15:38so the chances that life will evolve in outer space by itself are super low.

00:15:46Now, imagine if, instead of space, we were talking about a planet covered in a tough,

00:15:52non-breathable layer around it. Surprisingly, even if there's no air on the planet,

00:15:57there are still some chances that life could evolve, at least if there are some signs of water.

00:16:03Deep below the surface, there could be rivers warmed by special vents spewing out minerals.

00:16:09Life could start there, away from the surface where it's safe from drying up. Breathing is just

00:16:15one way we get energy, but there are other options. For example, sunlight. Think about the moon's

00:16:21surface. There's no air there, but we could still use solar power to survive. However, we're deep

00:16:28underground. With limited access to sunlight, these creatures would have to evolve ingenious

00:16:33ways to harness alternative energy sources. Some of them could possess photosynthetic capabilities,

00:16:39using specialized pigments to harness even the faintest traces of light filtering through the

00:16:44planet's crust. Others could form symbiotic relationships with certain bacteria that

00:16:49could help them receive energy from minerals and organic compounds in the rivers.

00:16:54Deep below the planet's surface, the rivers aren't just sources of water. They're rich in nutrients

00:16:59vital for a sustaining life. These rivers flow through vast underground networks, creating

00:17:05pockets of habitable environments where life thrives. These creatures could eat solid minerals

00:17:11and develop shells to keep their insides moist. They'd have to evolve unique biological features

00:17:18They'd have to evolve unique biological features to survive in their harsh surroundings.

00:17:23For example, some species might develop bioluminescence to navigate the dark

00:17:28underground tunnels. Others could adapt sensory organs capable of detecting subtle changes in

00:17:33the environment, helping them locate sources of nutrients and avoid danger, kind of like moles.

00:17:41These ecosystems would operate on a delicate balance of nutrient cycling.

00:17:46Microorganisms would break down organic matter and release essential nutrients into the rivers.

00:17:52This, in turn, could help plants evolve, and plants could become food for larger creatures, and so on.

00:18:01And then, who knows what could happen over millennia. As the planet's crust shifts and

00:18:06cracks over time, exposing these underground realms to new challenges, the creatures adapt

00:18:11and evolve in response. In any case, what we learned is that life is much more adapting than

00:18:17we previously thought. It could survive even in extremely harsh conditions. We might not know what

00:18:24types of life we'll discover on other planets, but we shouldn't be surprised if we find it in weird,

00:18:30unexpected places. You wake up gasping for air, struggling to peel yourself from your bed.

00:18:37When you do manage to get your feet on the ground, it feels like they're glued down tight.

00:18:42You're twice as heavy. It feels like you're carrying another you on your shoulders all day

00:18:46long. Well, congratulations. You've woken up on an Earth where uncontrolled experiments with dark

00:18:52matter have doubled the force of gravity. Mass panic happens when over 8,000 aircraft fall as

00:18:59soon as the gravity spikes, crashing into buildings, forests, and oceans. And that's

00:19:04because airplanes suddenly lost the balance between the pull of gravity and the lift

00:19:09force necessary to keep them cruising. Pilots did attempt to save their planes,

00:19:13but GPS failed as satellites swiftly moved.

00:19:21After a month, humans begin to look more and more like chimps. Bones are getting thicker,

00:19:26and the immense force constantly pulling people down is squashing their spines,

00:19:31making everybody bend over. People start figuring out that walking ape-style on all fours

00:19:37helps with better balance and stability. And that becomes a big deal, since even tripping over a

00:19:42tiny rock could lead to a nasty fracture. Falls not only get more intense due to the extra forces

00:19:48on bones and joints, but they also happen faster. Gravity's pull doubles the acceleration force,

00:19:55increasing it from 32 feet per second to 64 feet per second.

00:20:00Your house is not a safe place anymore. Old buildings and bridges all over the world are

00:20:06now collapsing. Inside those still standing, residents get the scary feeling that the whole

00:20:11place is shaking, and cracks start showing up everywhere. It's dangerous to stay inside houses,

00:20:17as roofs are now twice their usual weight, and any rain or snow also feels twice as heavy.

00:20:24Car alarms are constantly going off because tree branches keep falling all over the place.

00:20:29Most trees simply can't bear the weight of gravity,

00:20:32and only strong and small plants survive, like cactuses and succulents.

00:20:39Six months after the sudden change, supermarkets have a sinister vibe going on,

00:20:44with shelves nearly empty and people arguing over the last loaf of bread. You get frustrated to see

00:20:50that your favorite Japanese restaurant is now 5 times more expensive. And it's not just about

00:20:56salmon prices. It's rice that has become a rare luxury item since the gravity boost has messed

00:21:02up the photosynthesis process, and the seeds are taking too long to grow. On the flip side,

00:21:09carrots are now cheaper than ever. They're sprouting and growing at lightning speed.

00:21:13People start eating so many carrots that human skin now has an orange glow from all that extra

00:21:19beta-carotene. Farmers are getting creative, using artificial supports to keep plants like

00:21:25tomatoes and corn on their feet. But even with all their efforts, it's hard to get a good harvest.

00:21:33Summer has arrived, and even your air conditioner can't relieve the unbearable heat.

00:21:38A sudden change in gravity disrupted Earth's orbit around the Sun, pushing it into a new,

00:21:43tighter elliptical path. Earth now passes much closer to the Sun than it used to,

00:21:49making your sunscreen simply surrender. The Moon's orbit has also had some dramatic changes,

00:21:55leading to more dangerous and extreme tide patterns. High tides are now higher,

00:22:00and low tides are lower. This shift has also triggered widespread volcanic eruptions and

00:22:05earthquakes on an unprecedented scale. Earth's crust starts to rupture across vast areas,

00:22:12unleashing planet-wide lava flows so intense that living on Venus begins to sound like a

00:22:17pretty good idea. Five years later, people notice that puppies are begging for food twice as much,

00:22:24but they are taking more time to grow. Breeds like beagles look thinner, and their leg bones

00:22:29are getting heavier. Even insects such as locusts now have thicker hind legs to keep those jumps

00:22:35going. Sea creatures are being crushed by the much greater weight of the water around them.

00:22:41It's not a big deal for animals used to deep ocean pressures, like the anglerfish, but crabs

00:22:46and lobsters are really struggling since they live in shallow waters. Sloths and monkeys develop

00:22:52a stronger grip so they won't fall off trees. For carnivorous animals living in jungles or savannas,

00:22:58life is a real challenge because any animal the size of a wolf or bigger can't run without breaking

00:23:04a leg. Large predators like lionesses are starving because they can't move fast enough to catch their

00:23:11prey. Tall trees like palms and pines also go through evolutionary changes. They get beefier

00:23:18trunks and only grow about half as tall as usual. This way, water and nutrients can travel from the

00:23:24ground up to their leaves without struggling against gravity so badly. Ten years have passed

00:23:32since gravity increased. Airlines have finally made changes to prevent commercial flights from

00:23:37nosediving. The wings of airplanes are now longer, pilots have learned to fly at altitudes twice as

00:23:43high, and flight speed has increased by 41%. To avoid people getting extremely nauseated and dizzy

00:23:50during takeoffs and landings, seats are now fully horizontal, like first-class bed-like setups,

00:23:57specially designed to minimize the nasty effects of gravity times two. Flight attendants are trained

00:24:02to raise the seat at the passengers' feet after they pass out so that blood can return to their

00:24:08head. The thing is, when gravity gets a power boost, it yanks your blood down to your feet and

00:24:14hands even more than usual, making your heart work extra hard to pump that blood around, especially

00:24:20to your head. Fifty years have passed. Women in their 30s look like they are 60. Higher gravity

00:24:29decreases collagen synthesis, so even though they're still young, they're dealing with more

00:24:34wrinkles and fine lines, and their skin has already lost a big part of its elasticity.

00:24:40Wounds as small as a pimple pop or a paper cut also take much more time to heal. So,

00:24:46people are excited about the creation of a band-aid made from fish skin from cod or tilapia

00:24:51that promotes local blood circulation and speeds up the healing process.

00:24:56People have also got used to wear exoskeletons made of titanium, which support and enhance the

00:25:02wearer's strength. This technology features cool joints at the places that copy humans'

00:25:07natural movements, giving people more flexibility and letting them move around more easily.

00:25:13Prototypes of personal flying devices start popping up after 100 years. The gray flyer

00:25:19is like a jetpack made of carbon nanotubes, making the structure strong without adding much weight.

00:25:25Instead of using fuel for propulsion, the device has these super thin but high-tech solar panels.

00:25:32Investors are still not sure if humans could fly long distances with it,

00:25:36but the gray flyer definitely can help people tackle tasks that have become almost impossible,

00:25:42like climbing a mountain or grabbing something from the attic.

00:25:48Things at the gym are pretty different too. The anti-gravity treadmill is a favorite among

00:25:53fitness enthusiasts because it uses air pressure to lift users, reducing the discomfort of gravity

00:25:59while running. People can also lift weights in booths when the gravity settings are customized.

00:26:05When training with g-force set at 3 or 4 times the new normal, muscles get stronger,

00:26:10making double gravity seem more bearable. However, the maximum set is 4.6, otherwise,

00:26:17bones might crack. Over 500 years have passed. Thanks to these amazing technological creations,

00:26:24humans can now handle and establish colonies in other parts of the universe.

00:26:29A popular choice for family vacations is Kepler-452b, a planet about 60% larger than Earth,

00:26:36orbiting in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. Kids especially like that place,

00:26:42as oceans have been discovered and hotels have been built near rocky beaches.

00:26:47On the other hand, traveling to places in the universe with lighter gravity is like going to

00:26:52an oasis of tranquility. So Mars and the Moon have become known for amazing yoga retreats.

00:26:59With their gravitational forces much weaker, people can breathe more easily there and move

00:27:04around with more freedom. Keep in mind that these trips are expensive, so you might want to start

00:27:09saving up now.

00:27:10Day 1. A small but powerful tremor is shaking the city of Naples, Italy. The news networks

00:27:17are reporting on the event. The experts believe that Mount Vesuvius, the stratovolcano on the

00:27:23Gulf of Naples, will explode soon. But when? It's erupted many times in the past. In fact,

00:27:30that's how it got its shape. It's made of multiple layers of hardened lava, pumice,

00:27:35and ash. Vesuvius last erupted in 1944, but a major blast happened there nearly 2,000 years ago.

00:27:48It buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and decimated the surrounding

00:27:53areas. Today, 3 million people live less than 20 miles from the volcano, and 600,000 live in the

00:28:01danger zone. Large eruptions happen every few thousand years, usually after long periods of

00:28:06calm. And the trouble is, Vesuvius is long overdue for its next one. This time, though,

00:28:13the volcano is being watched by the Vesuvius Observatory. It has seismic stations, special

00:28:19GPS arrays, and satellite-based radar to help it measure ground movement. They also have special

00:28:24equipment to test the chemicals found in the gases coming from the volcano. All of this helps

00:28:30the experts work out whether it's about to go off. But will it? Right now, the magma is more

00:28:36than 6 miles from the surface. Things seemed safe yesterday, but now they're about to take a turn

00:28:42for the worse. Day 3. Another tremor comes in measuring 3 on the Richter scale. All the equipment

00:28:50that's installed near the volcano is now going off. The magma is pushing upwards. It's not at

00:28:56the surface yet, but Vesuvius is definitely restless. Two more tremors follow in the afternoon.

00:29:02They don't feel like regular earthquakes, and geologists can see the difference in their

00:29:07seismographs. Volcanic quakes register about 4-5 less on the Richter scale. Now, the experts are

00:29:14sure it's just a matter of days or weeks until the volcano erupts. Some volcanoes can be restless

00:29:20for months or even years before they go off. But that's not how it goes with Vesuvius.

00:29:27Day 4. The ground starts to crack open, as if a giant creature is trapped in the Earth's crust

00:29:34and is trying to desperately get out for some air. Steam escapes from the little cracks in the soil.

00:29:39Certain areas are hotter than others. If you went there, it would feel like you walked straight

00:29:44into an oven, and it would be hard to breathe. Some sheep got too close to the mountain and

00:29:49passed out. When the farmer found them, he almost collapsed too, not from the heat but from the

00:29:54gases. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are being released into the air. The entire area

00:30:01around the volcano smells like rotten eggs, and many of the forest animals are now staying clear.

00:30:07The nearby trees have been absorbing these gases from the soil for days on end now,

00:30:12and they're starting to turn brown. The carbon dioxide levels in the area are skyrocketing,

00:30:18and all the detectors are beeping constantly. Day 6. The tremors are getting more frequent.

00:30:25Experts at the Vesuvius Observatory monitoring the volcano say the quakes are coming from the

00:30:30magma that's being pushed upwards. A few hours later, the National Emergency Alert goes out.

00:30:36Thousands of local people have around 15 days before the volcano erupts, and they need to

00:30:41evacuate their homes. The 600,000 people in the danger zone start to pack their suitcases and

00:30:47leave in cars and trucks. There's chaos everywhere. But in all that disorder, some people are standing

00:30:54still. They look around, trying to understand what's really going on. A few of them are taking

00:30:59photos of their homes. Others are streaming all the confusion on social media. But the senior

00:31:05citizens are just standing outside, looking at their houses one last time. They hope this is

00:31:11all just a false alarm. It's happened before, but who really knows? Day 7. It was a sleepless night.

00:31:21Plenty of the locals have already left. Some good people from other towns drive to the area

00:31:26to help the residents evacuate faster. There's a massive traffic jam, but everyone expected it.

00:31:32This is why the evacuation started early. Ferries, trains, and buses have canceled their services to

00:31:38help the evacuees. They're all working on a tight schedule to make sure everyone gets out safe

00:31:44without any delays. Some people refuse to leave, but their neighbors eventually convince them to go.

00:31:50It will take 7 days to evacuate everyone, and these people will spread out to other areas of

00:31:55the country, not just to the nearby safe regions. Day 10. More than half of the residents have now

00:32:03left the Red Zone. After the chaos, there's now silence, and it's interrupted by the eerie sounds

00:32:09of the tremors. Animals are being evacuated too. Many people are now trying to save as many animals

00:32:15from the forest as they can find. Day 16. All 25 of the towns that were at risk have now been

00:32:23evacuated. The Red Zone is empty. But the tremors are getting stronger, as the volcano is a pressure

00:32:30cooker ready to explode. White smoke rises from the large opening on the mountaintop and the vents

00:32:37on the side. The molten rock moves toward the surface, and the pressurized gases form bubbles,

00:32:44just like the ones you see when you boil food. Suddenly, there are some loud booms, and then

00:32:49an explosion. It's loud enough to be heard thousands of miles away, and the shockwave

00:32:55is felt throughout Italy. Volcanic rock is thrown up into the air. A thick black mushroom cloud forms

00:33:02and expands into the sky. The birds abandon their nests and fly away in huge flocks. The red-hot

00:33:08lava is now spewing out of the volcano like a fountain. As it flows downward, it obliterates

00:33:14everything in its path. Then, there's a volcanic landslide. Part of the cone-shaped mountain falls

00:33:21off, and millions of tons of soil and rock break loose from the volcano's side and tumble down.

00:33:27The lava spreads on the slopes, and it slowly slides down into the forest and the farmlands.

00:33:33The plume of ash, pumice, and other kinds of rock has risen so high into the sky that people can see

00:33:39it from Rome. Then the tower of debris starts falling back to Earth. First comes the ash,

00:33:45then chunks of rock. The ash in the atmosphere is so dense that it's hard to breathe.

00:33:50The lava slowly spreads across the area and pulls down all the trees. All the nearby towns

00:33:56are shrouded in darkness and smoke. Buildings collapse, and all around there's a mixture of

00:34:02heated poisonous gas and rock moving faster than a car. Other rocks and more volcanic ash fall

00:34:08miles away from the volcano, hitting cars and destroying roofs. The sky is completely black

00:34:15as the lava keeps on coming. Slowly, all the nearby towns are submerged beneath the molten rock.

00:34:22Some of the lava even reaches the sea. Gigantic white steam covers the shore where it falls in,

00:34:28and the magma turns black. Now a weird neon blue fire appears on the slopes of Vesuvius.

00:34:35This is caused by burning sulfuric gases. They're escaping at high pressure from the

00:34:39cracks in the volcano's surface. When they come into contact with the air, they ignite.

00:34:44These blue flames can reach 16 feet into the air. Now, all nearby flights are cancelled,

00:34:51and many planes have to change course to reach their destination. Ever since the national alert,

00:34:56no planes have been allowed to fly over the volcano. The clouds of volcanic ash can damage

00:35:01jet engines and other plane components. The water supply is now contaminated by

00:35:06streams of volcanic ash, and it smells unbelievably bad. In just a short amount of

00:35:12time, all that magma has made entire towns vanish. Only the roofs of taller buildings can be seen.

00:35:19After the big and explosive eruption, there are some smaller and quieter ones.

00:35:24At this stage, nobody knows if the volcano has stopped erupting yet,

00:35:28and absolutely no one can go anywhere near the area.

00:35:3410 years later. Most parts of the Red Zone are now hidden under hardened but still warm lava,

00:35:41including the ancient site of Pompeii. Some people have started to forget about what happened,

00:35:46others have begun their new lives elsewhere, and some don't even want to think about what

00:35:51happened to their old homes. But several of them are counting the days until they can go back.

00:35:58100 years later. You're walking in what appears to be a wasteland of volcanic ash.

00:36:04You suddenly realize that you're standing on top of your great-grandparents' town.

00:36:10Everything is now submerged under a thick carpet of solidified lava.

00:36:15But below it all, just about everything is still intact, completely frozen in time.

00:36:22Ah, it's a lovely day for a boat ride in the swamp. If not for these mosquitoes,

00:36:27then today would be perfect. But for some reason, the mosquitoes keep getting bigger

00:36:32the further you go into the swamp. They started out as tiny, almost invisible insects,

00:36:37and can now be the size of your thumb. You can hear their buzzing as they whiz past you.

00:36:43You go deeper to investigate why they're so big. Eventually, you see a large cluster of

00:36:48mosquitoes the size of your hand buzzing around. They notice you and start flying towards you.

00:36:54You grab a branch and start swatting them away. You run back to your boat and try to escape,

00:37:00but they follow you, and some manage to land on you. You swat them away,

00:37:05but more mosquitoes pop out of nowhere the size of a basketball. You start your boat and speed

00:37:11your way back to the mainland. As you arrive, you see everyone running away in a frenzy,

00:37:16panicking because of the giant mosquitoes. Some of them are as big as a large dog. People are

00:37:23ducking under picnic tables, while some are running back to their cars and driving away.

00:37:28You get off the boat and run toward the closest grocery store, along with dozens of people.

00:37:33The employees lock up the gates, but the large glass panels show the mosquitoes multiplying.

00:37:38They're getting bigger and bigger until you can see one as big as a car zipping by.

00:37:43It's so strong that it landed on an empty car and crushed it. Everyone inside is ducking away

00:37:50out of fear. You try to calm everyone down and not make any noise. The mosquitoes are landing on the

00:37:55glass panel, blocking out the natural light. It's getting dark inside. Someone turns up the volume

00:38:01on the TV to the breaking news. Mosquitoes are flying rampant all across the continent,

00:38:08destroying natural resources and infiltrating cities. People are advised to stay indoors until

00:38:13further notice. The mosquitoes notice that there are people in the store, so they try to get in

00:38:19by force. A car-sized mosquito flies around in the sky, unaware of what's happening below. Everyone

00:38:26hears some noise coming from the back room. The employees realize they didn't lock the doors.

00:38:31A large mosquito enters and knocks down everything. Everyone runs around in a panic while

00:38:37throwing random stuff at it. Some people grab a fire extinguisher and spray it until it flies to

00:38:43the back room. Some employees lock the door and barricade it so that nothing can enter. Everyone

00:38:49waits nervously. The TV broadcasts some live coverage of how giant mosquitoes are flying

00:38:54everywhere. A helicopter is forced to land because the mosquitoes are flying around wildly in the

00:39:00skies. Everyone shudders when they hear the sound of more mosquitoes buzzing around near the back

00:39:06door. Hours pass, and more mosquitoes keep coming endlessly. There are no people outside, and much

00:39:13of the urban and landscape design in the park is destroyed or overrun by giant insects. Some people

00:39:20eat whatever is available, while some are sleeping. A piece of breaking news interrupts the live

00:39:25coverage and shows that there will be armored buses ready to pick up people near the picnic

00:39:30site. However, the buses won't drive to hot spots since it'll be too dangerous. The only way to get

00:39:36on them is by being on the highway in two hours. Everyone tries to call their loved ones, but the

00:39:42cell towers have been knocked down and no one can call anyone. The mosquito that broke in a while

00:39:48ago destroyed the only landline that was present. People are arguing about whether they should stay

00:39:53or go. More insects cover the only clear patches of the sky until the sun disappears. The people

00:40:00split into two parties, those who are leaving to catch the bus and those who want to stay. The

00:40:06employees know a back way that can quickly lead to the highway. The only problem is that it'll

00:40:11take around 20 minutes on foot, and there are no cars to use. The way is tricky. First, they would

00:40:17need to escape through the main entrance and head through the bushy forest behind the dumpsters.

00:40:22Over there, they can enter a building, possibly through the sewers, which will lead to the lake

00:40:27next to the highway. The first party decides to leave. They prepare supplies for the breakout.

00:40:34Every second, more mosquitoes arrive, covering the sky. They gear up with anything they can find to

00:40:40protect themselves. Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide that people breathe out,

00:40:45and they know that there's a source coming from the grocery store. Once everyone is ready,

00:40:50they get some makeshift torches and light them up. They add some barbecue fuel to keep the fire

00:40:55going. You're part of the party that is planning to escape. The doors open, and everyone makes a

00:41:01break for it behind the dumpster. Many mosquitoes try to attack you, but the smoke from the fire

00:41:06repels them. Every second, more mosquitoes are filling the sky and the environment. Many people

00:41:12end up running back into the store, since they couldn't make it past the dumpster to the other

00:41:16building. Eventually, the rest of the people, including yourself, run toward the building,

00:41:22but it's locked, and no one can break down the door. Plan B is to break the glass from a window

00:41:27and crawl inside. You grab a rock and smash the closest window. The only problem is that the

00:41:34mosquitoes can follow you inside, so without any options left, you pull through and run to the

00:41:39basement of the building to find the entrance to the sewer. Success! You've found it, and everyone

00:41:45descends to the bottom. No mosquitoes in sight, just rats. You're walking knee-high in sewer water,

00:41:52with it flowing past you, but it's only a few minutes until you reach the river. Another problem

00:41:58is that the sewer isn't going to the lake, but somewhere deep into the sewer channels. You follow

00:42:03it until you see what looks like an outlet. You make it out and are near a waterhole, where all

00:42:08the discarded sewage leads next to the swamp. The only problem is that you're not next to the highway

00:42:14anymore, and time is running out. More mosquitoes are swarming the air, but they don't bother buzzing

00:42:20next to you. You notice some cat-sized creatures floating on the water. These are baby mosquitoes,

00:42:27or the larvae, and they're coming your way! You and everyone else swim for your lives to the shore.

00:42:34The giant alpha mosquito soars into the air and swoops down to try and grab someone, but it misses.

00:42:41Everyone makes it to the thick, swampy area where no giant mosquitoes can enter. Everyone covers

00:42:46themselves with branches to protect themselves. Fifteen minutes until the armored bus arrives.

00:42:51Since the mosquitoes can't enter, this will be the best place to hide until then. Darkness falls,

00:42:57and still, no bus! It's been three hours, and nothing! The mosquitoes are still buzzing around,

00:43:03and everyone is getting uncomfortable under the thick bushes. After a while, everyone hears a

00:43:09roaring engine and sees lights flashing on the highway! Everyone gets up and runs to the bus,

00:43:15but you stop them to not draw the mosquitoes' attention. You volunteer to sneak out and stop

00:43:20the bus, and then everyone else can follow without drawing too much attention. You move a couple of

00:43:25branches, step over some tree bark, and crawl to the highway. You try to hold your breath so that

00:43:31you won't make any heavy breathing sounds. You reach the side of the road and wave your arms

00:43:36to stop the bus. It pulls over, and the door opens. You signal the rest of the people to follow,

00:43:42and they follow your lead. Everyone is inside and safe. Some mosquitoes notice and start pecking on

00:43:48the bus, but the armor is sturdy. The bus drives off, looking for other people along the road,

00:43:54and suddenly, a Goliath lands in front of you! The bus stops and sees a mosquito the size of a Boeing

00:44:01747! It looks straight at you. It gets ready to attack, but the bus speeds under its legs and

00:44:08drives off. The mosquito takes off and tries to catch the bus, but you enter a tunnel to the other

00:44:14side of the mountain. After a few minutes, you reach an open area with no trees or buildings.

00:44:20The bus is speeding while dodging obstacles along the way. Finally, you notice you are near the

00:44:25grocery store where you were held up. The bus opens the door for everyone inside to be taken

00:44:30to a safe zone. You hear from the aid workers that the whole world is being overrun by these

00:44:36giant creatures. As you drive along, you see a hybrid mosquito that has two heads and a scorpion's

00:44:43tail! It's as tall as a Statue of Liberty, and it's ready to attack! Whatever is causing these

00:44:49mosquitoes to grow abnormally is also making them into hybrids and mutants, and you thought it was

00:44:55going to be a good Monday! So, another crazy thing happened to me recently. It was a Sunday

00:45:01morning, and I fried eggs for breakfast. But something was definitely wrong. I wasn't sure

00:45:06if it was the eggs or me, though. Now, you've tried fried eggs, right? They normally taste like,

00:45:12you know, eggs. But that time, along with the eggs, I could also taste lemon, vanilla yogurt,

00:45:18and even some paper. And it's not as good as you might think. Yogurt tastes nice by itself,

00:45:23but together with eggs, it's gross. Whatever was the reason, I decided I'd be okay with just a tea

00:45:30for that day. But as soon as I tried it, I spat it out. What is that? Did I put a spoonful of

00:45:37black pepper there? I needed some water ASAP. I got a glass, and thankfully, it was just a regular

00:45:44glass of water. I tried to eat some strawberries, but along with the normal strawberry taste,

00:45:50they had a taste of hot chili. That's not a good combination, to be honest. It looked like

00:45:55something happened to all the food in the house. I also had an orange juice, so I drank a glass of

00:46:01it. Surprisingly, it tasted totally fine. Suddenly, I got a weird thought. Do I taste colors? It was

00:46:09so crazy and strange that I needed to check this theory immediately. I admit, I licked the white

00:46:15back of my cell phone, but it really did taste like vanilla yogurt, just like the egg. So,

00:46:21it was true, I could taste colors. That would mix with every food's original taste and mess it up.

00:46:28I wanted to go to the doctor, but although this new superpower was weird, it was still a bit

00:46:34exciting. Also, I couldn't wait to figure out what other tastes are like. So, I went to a store and

00:46:40got myself a pack of markers. I got to the table, opened the yellow one, and licked it. It did taste

00:46:46like lemon. So, I licked each one and made a list. Pink tasted like strawberry, red was chili,

00:46:54orange was an orange. Blue was very bitter, light blue was salty, and violet was blueberry. Black

00:47:01was black pepper, beige nutmuss, gray paper, and green tasted like puke. Well, I had to conclude,

00:47:10I don't eat green food from now on. Not that I was really sad about it, though. Only one color

00:47:16was left – the brown one. I was very reluctant to try it, but I had to figure it out. To my relief,

00:47:24it had the taste of coffee. I don't like coffee, but it could be worse. I knew I had to go see my

00:47:31doctor, but I kinda wanted to live with this superpower for a while. It doesn't happen to you

00:47:36every day, you know. So, I decided I'll go to the doctor tomorrow. And today, I had to learn how

00:47:43to live with this ability. I had to avoid putting in my mouth anything black, gray, blue, and green.

00:47:49Not only food, but the dishes and cutlery as well. And I had to figure out what food I can actually

00:47:56eat. Because I didn't like strawberries that tasted like chili pepper. So, I went to the store

00:48:02to get some transparent dishes. While walking, I was thinking about my menu for today. Orange

00:48:08juice works, strawberry, vanilla, and lemon yogurt too. I could make a fruit salad with mango,

00:48:15raspberries, grapes, banana, and yogurt. But that was all I could come up with. As I was thinking,

00:48:21I was biting my lip and found out it tasted like strawberry. In the store, it was pretty easy to

00:48:28find a transparent bowl. But spoons and forks were a problem. I think I went to every store in

00:48:34my city until I could finally find them. As soon as I got back home, I cut all the

00:48:39fruits and made a fruit salad. I hadn't eaten much that morning, as you remember. Honestly,

00:48:44it was the best salad ever. I saved some money because I didn't have to buy berries, oranges,

00:48:50and lemons, but the taste was there. As I was enjoying my meal, the phone rang. It was my

00:48:55grandma and she invited me for dinner that evening. I tried to say I couldn't make it,

00:49:00but she wouldn't listen. Grandmas. You know it's just impossible to skip when they want to feed you.

00:49:07So, she said she didn't want to hear any excuses and that I had to be at her house by 6.

00:49:14This meant I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I had to go to the doctor right then and get rid of

00:49:18this superpower before my grandma made me eat puke and drink tea with black pepper.

00:49:24I checked the time. I had only 20 minutes before my doctor left, and the clinic was

00:49:29several blocks away. I finished my salad and ran out of the apartment. I got to the clinic just

00:49:345 minutes before it closed for the day and asked if my doctor could see me because I had an

00:49:40emergency. To my relief, he agreed. When I told him that I could taste colors, he looked at me

00:49:46puzzled and probably thought it was a stupid prank. Then I told him the whole story about

00:49:51the fried egg for breakfast and how I bought and tasted all the markers, that violet was blueberry

00:49:57and green was not an apple as he might've thought. That I spent hours trying to find a transparent

00:50:02spoon and fork. To be honest, in my head it sounded better and was making much more sense.

00:50:08The doctor was silent and kinda suspicious. He measured my temperature, my blood pressure,

00:50:14and looked at my mouth. So, you've been eating markers, he smiled. Oops, I guess my tongue was

00:50:20the color of a rainbow. Well, that really doesn't sound normal for a grown-up. The doctor obviously

00:50:26didn't believe me, so he just let me go, recommending a good night's sleep. So, I guess I was stuck with

00:50:33it, and I had to go to grandma's. Unfortunately, there was no way she'd feed me strawberry yogurt

00:50:39for dinner. I got home to get my new cutlery, so at least I didn't have to taste paper when eating

00:50:45with my grandma's gray metal fork. I had another couple of hours, so I did some googling but still

00:50:51couldn't find any solution or even research on my condition. I thought that maybe I could wash it

00:50:58off, so I drank a gallon of water. But it didn't help, so I went to grandma's place feeling doomed.

00:51:05Plus, I really needed to go. She was happy to see me and announced that she had my favorite

00:51:11broccoli pancakes for me. Yeah, maybe yesterday they had been my favorite, but definitely not

00:51:17anymore. I tried to say I'm not hungry and I could just drink some orange juice, but of course,

00:51:23she wouldn't listen. She gave me a plate with five pancakes and a cup of black tea.

00:51:28Suddenly, I got an idea of how I could get rid of at least the pepper taste. If I put a piece of

00:51:34lemon in the tea, I'll get brown. Therefore, I'll have a coffee tea instead of a pepper tea.

00:51:40I was lucky, my grandma did have the lemon, so the tea problem was solved. But the worst part

00:51:46was the pancakes, and my grandma was looking at me all excited and pleased. I had to eat. I was

00:51:53trying hard to control my facial expression and looked very happy as if I was eating the best

00:51:59food on the planet, even though it was the most terrible meal in my life. And yes, I was drinking

00:52:05a lot of my coffee tea. Well, 3 cups. But when I finished and thanked my grandma, she was so

00:52:12happy that I understood eating puke was worth it. Turned out my grandma actually had a vanilla

00:52:18yogurt, so I ate all she had to get rid of the taste I still had in my mouth after the pancakes.

00:52:24On my way home, biting my strawberry lip, I was thinking. I had to come up with a plan on

00:52:30how to get rid of this ability. But I couldn't think of anything. So, as soon as I got home,

00:52:36I just went to sleep, even though it was only 9 p.m. I slept for 11 hours. And the next morning,

00:52:43I made myself a fruit salad with yogurt. Again. I guess from then on, it was my dish for the rest

00:52:49of my life. I was eating it with my transparent fork and watching a TV show. When I suddenly

00:52:55realized I couldn't taste any lemon there. And no orange as well. I bit my lip, and it didn't

00:53:02have a taste anymore. With my hands shaking, I opened the fridge to get my strawberries.

00:53:08I ate one, and it tasted like a regular normal strawberry. No chili pepper. Everything was

00:53:14back to normal like it never happened. But I swear it did. Really!

00:53:19You've spent your entire life researching microorganisms. Last few years, you've been

00:53:25creating a device that can shrink you in size. And finally, it's ready. At first, you want to

00:53:31shrink yourself to the size of a thumb, so you can probably see some microbes with the unaided eye.

00:53:37And then, after more experimenting, you hope to shrink to the size of a bacterium yourself.

00:53:44To make the journey safe, you put on a special suit, similar to a spacesuit. It's equipped with

00:53:49a life-support system. You direct a beam from the device at yourself. The beam must change your mass

00:53:56and volume. To return to the previous state, you must stand on a round platform the size of a

00:54:01hockey puck. You put it near your feet so you can easily climb on it when you get smaller,

00:54:07easily climb on it when you get smaller, press the button, and activate the machine.

00:54:12Ooh, something's wrong. The device gives an error, and you shrink not to the size of a thumb,

00:54:18but a thousand times smaller, to the size of a bacterium. Oops. You become so small that the

00:54:25fleece of the carpet on which you were standing seems to be the size of huge trees. Now don't

00:54:31panic. You need to find the puck, stand on it, and you'll return to your normal size.

00:54:37It was right next to your feet, just an inch away. Wait, but what's one inch now, when a thousand

00:54:43people your size can fit on the tip of a human hair? You decide to climb the fleece to see where

00:54:49the puck is. You can't see the lab ceiling. The room is out of focus because of its huge size.

00:54:56You're surrounded by thousands of bacteria. They're so different in sizes and colors,

00:55:02but you can identify three main forms. Round bacteria that look like spheres are coccy.

00:55:08They can merge with each other and increase in size. Cylindrical, capsule-shaped bacteria,

00:55:14looking like sausages or bananas, these are bacilli. And spirobacteria are called spirilla.

00:55:22At the end of their body, they have a hair like psyllium. Bacteria are essential for our planet.

00:55:27They help to produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. They purify the water and air, digest

00:55:34the food inside our stomachs, and improve our immune system. They're crawling on the ground

00:55:39all over the carpet. You start climbing the fleece. On your way, you meet coccy that look

00:55:45like huge potatoes, spirilla similar to spaghetti. After a few hours, you finally reach the top of

00:55:52the carpet. For you, it was a long time, but in reality, just a couple of minutes have passed.

00:55:58The smaller you are, the slower the time's going. Do you remember how difficult it is to swat a fly?

00:56:05That's because it sees your movements in slow motion. So, looking around, you see an endless

00:56:10forest of fleece. In the distance, you can see the silhouette of a big mountain with a flat top.

00:56:17It seems bigger than Everest to you. Great, now you need to get there alive.

00:56:24Suddenly, a huge bacterium attacks you from below. It's several bacillus joined together.

00:56:30They look like a bunch of sausages. To escape, you jump down. You weigh so little that falling

00:56:36from any height is safe. You run through the dense forest. You notice that almost all bacteria

00:56:42are going at you. Most of them eat organic material, such as glucose or carbohydrates.

00:56:48And right now, hey, lucky you, you're the biggest source of carbs. Smaller microbes stick to your

00:56:54legs, arms, and face. You shake them off and fall. Several bacilli joined together are approaching,

00:57:01but then a round object with spikes the size of a football crashes into them. You see a lot

00:57:07of these balls and realize they're viruses. Microorganisms that can't live apart from

00:57:13bacteria. To reproduce, they must infect a living being. The viruses have entered the bacterium.

00:57:20Other bacteria that chase you are attacked too. You see a gigantic bacterium that looks like a

00:57:26passenger Boeing without wings. It's a type of kachi. Several big balls attached to each other

00:57:32and about to eat you. You see a small prickly football getting inside its body. The bacterium

00:57:38shivers and freezes. After a moment, a hole appears in it, and hundreds of thousands of

00:57:44viruses fly out. They're everywhere and looking for a new host. Prickly balls fly towards you at

00:57:51high speed. You grab a piece of lint and swing it like a baseball bat. You fight off the viruses

00:57:57one by one. Your bat breaks, and you run away. It seems that you're safe now. You're entering

00:58:04a huge field. There's nothing here but bacteria. You realize this is a small spot on the carpet

00:58:11that you accidentally burned a few months ago. There's a billion microbes here, and they're

00:58:16multiplying at a tremendous rate. One bacterium increases in size and splits into two. After a few

00:58:23minutes, these two bacteria also grow and divide. Now there are four of them. The colony of bacteria

00:58:30grows exponentially. With such rapid reproduction, a single bacterium can create offspring weighing

00:58:37about a ton in 24 hours. After 5 days, the bacteria will be able to fill all the seas and oceans.

00:58:44Fortunately, the speed with which they divide is equal to the speed of their destruction.

00:58:50Dryness, a ray of light, high temperature, humidity – all these phenomenon control the

00:58:55population of microbes. Under ideal conditions, the bacteria could take over the whole world.

00:59:02You make your way through a field of microorganisms. Large bacteria consume small ones.

00:59:08They multiply and are being destroyed. It's a boiling sea of life. You feel your foot is stuck.

00:59:15You stepped on something sticky. Right underneath, a large spherical bacterium crawls out of the

00:59:21ground. It's connected with other bacteria and hasn't gotten a certain form. It looks like

00:59:27formless pulsing biomass. The thing is clinging to your body, wrapping you. It feels like you're

00:59:33being absorbed by warm gelling. The bacterium compresses your chest. It's hard to breathe and

00:59:40move. At this moment, something that looks like a metal screw smashes into the bacterium. A large

00:59:46diamond bursts in next. After that, several thin smooth legs looking like curved needles get inside

00:59:52too. All these details unite and transform into a strange creature inside the microbe. A diamond is

01:00:00attached to one end of the screw, and the needle legs cling down. Several dozen of these break into

01:00:06the jelly's body. They connect together and form an army of robots. All these creatures break out

01:00:12from a small hole in the bacterium and tear the microbe to pieces. You escape and find yourself

01:00:18in chaos. The little robot with a diamond for a head is called a bacteriophage. Despite their

01:00:25appearance, they're created by nature, not artificially. The goal of bacteriophages is to

01:00:31attack and destroy bacteria from within. That's how they reproduce. These creatures are all around us

01:00:38everywhere and control the population of microorganisms. When bacteria multiply inside

01:00:44the human body, they leave waste products of decay. This waste is harmful to the body, so it has to

01:00:50fight. Sometimes doctors use bacteriophages so they help to get rid of bad microbes. They don't

01:00:57attack anything but bacteria. And now you see hundreds of billions of bacteriophages destroying

01:01:04billions of bacteria. The walking diamonds jump on the bacterium, plunging their heads into it,

01:01:10and release the genetic code, separate parts that assemble in new bacteriophages.

01:01:16You continue on your way and take a few diamonds with you just in case. The road is long, but after

01:01:22a few weeks, you finally manage to reach the puck. In the normal flow of time, it's been an hour.

01:01:29You're exhausted, and there's still a whipping to the top. The puck is so high that you can't

01:01:35see the top of it. You can't sleep because you might wake up inside some microbe. There are still

01:01:41a lot of bacteriophages around, but you don't want to take any chances. A deafening crash shakes the

01:01:48air. It's like an airplane turbine is running right next to your ear. You're looking up. A

01:01:54creature the size of a city lands on the carpet from the sky. It flaps its wings and makes this

01:02:00noise. The wings create a hurricane. You grab the fleece to keep yourself from being blown away.

01:02:07The creature smells bad. One of its legs resembles a large skyscraper. You realize it's a fly. Here's

01:02:15your chance to get to the puck. Big orange eyes divided into thousands of segments look like two

01:02:22planets. You climb on the tip of the fly's leg. The insect takes off, and you hold on tight.

01:02:28The carpet is moving further and further away. From up here, you can see the top of the puck.

01:02:34It's so wide that you can't see the round edge. You let go of the fly and fall. In the air, you

01:02:41run into millions of bacteria. Finally, you land on the solid puck surface. The device activates,

01:02:49and you return to your normal size. You are indeed one lucky bug.

01:02:57Ah, you're flying first class to Paris. Vacation, sightseeing, it's all good. Then the pilot comes

01:03:04on. Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. The ground below us is jello. We cannot

01:03:10land. Everyone on the plane panics. Is there no wiggle room? Down there, apparently, it's all wiggle

01:03:17room. The seatbelt sign turns on, but no one seems to care. People topple over each other. The flight

01:03:24attendants try to calm everyone down, but they get pushed around and ignored. There's food flying

01:03:29everywhere. People are frantically dumping out their carry-ons to find who knows. You look out

01:03:35the window and see buildings falling down like dominoes. The roads begin to look like spaghetti,

01:03:40and the sea is being washed inland. The mountains out in the distance are also caving in,

01:03:45causing massive amounts of landslides. It really does look like jello. Your phone starts going

01:03:51crazy with breaking news alerts. This phenomenon is happening all over the world, but it's not

01:03:56a giant earthquake or anything. The Earth's crust has lost its strength and has become soft,

01:04:02birthday cake soft. The Earth has many layers stacked on top of each other. The inner core,

01:04:09the outer core, the mantle, and the crust. That's the top layer that we all walk around on.

01:04:15When the mantle moves a little too much, the crust starts to shift. That's sort of what an

01:04:20earthquake is. The crust has about 7 massive pieces and a bunch of smaller ones. Now they've

01:04:27all split up into millions of pieces. It's like the whole world's one giant waterbed. The Eiffel

01:04:34Tower, the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, skyscrapers, bridges, you name it,

01:04:40they're all in trouble. Years later, you and the rest of humanity have adapted to the Earth's new

01:04:46wobbly surface. Your daily routine now consists of wearing special shoes to help you keep your

01:04:52balance wherever you go. Say goodbye to high heels and sneakers. These boots have a special gadget

01:04:59that glues you to the ground, kind of like a gecko scaling a wall. Sleeping in constant motion is the

01:05:06new normal, but it's not like sleeping on a waterbed. It's way worse. Imagine waking up in

01:05:12the middle of the night for a glass of milk, and the ground's moving around like crazy. You'd fall

01:05:18down 20 times before making it to the kitchen. Going downstairs would be more of a sliding

01:05:23situation. Houses built with concrete don't exist anymore. You have a sort of giant bubble as your

01:05:30house now. With the help of special technology, the ground inside the bubble can be stabilized

01:05:36so it won't shake all the time. The foundation underneath your house sways with the wiggly crust,

01:05:42so that it doesn't collapse. People rely heavily on drone technology to deliver food,

01:05:48supplies, or the latest cell phone. In fact, the whole sky is regularly filled with drones

01:05:54going from place to place. Sports gets totally revamped. Basketball players are now equipped

01:06:00with helmets and protective body gear so they don't hurt themselves when they fall, which is a

01:06:05lot. You try dribbling on a soft surface. It's borderline impossible. One sport that survives is

01:06:12ice hockey. Actually, all ice sports. Speed skating, figure skating. As long as the ice

01:06:18is thick enough, it doesn't matter what's going on underneath. Pretty much everyone relies on

01:06:24these bubbles to do anything or get anywhere. Think of it like a giant hamster ball floating

01:06:29on a shallow lake. Humans have adapted and don't get motion sickness anymore. The new economy is

01:06:36still built on trade and transportation, but now it's mainly done with ships. No more big trucks

01:06:42on the road. No more road. Helicopters are super popular, but landing them can be kind of hairy.

01:06:49All around the world, cities are floating and drifting around. That used to take millions of

01:06:54years. Now it just takes a few. Imagine living in Melbourne, Australia, but your city's only a few

01:07:01months from reaching South America. It's like a giant cruise ship. All over the planet, millions

01:07:07of animals used to migrate huge distances to find water during the dry season. That's all over.

01:07:14Marine life and our flying friends have been relatively unaffected. Since the ground's always

01:07:20moving, it's impossible for huge herds of animals to stick together when they make their way across

01:07:25land. They're trying to adapt, but it's tough. Mountain goats evolved to be in the mountains.

01:07:31Now the whole world's just one flat soft mess. After putting on your boots, you make your way

01:07:38to visit some friends down at the park. All inside a large bubble, of course. When the ground

01:07:44collapsed all those years ago, many factories went haywire and released a bunch of chemicals

01:07:49into the atmosphere. Yeah, I think I want to stay in my bubble. You get into your little hamster

01:07:56ball of a car and drive off. The ground is bumpy and gooey at the same time, but you make it

01:08:02eventually. Have you ever tried eating or drinking on a rocking ship? Sailors got used to it ages ago,

01:08:09but for most of us, it'd be a nightmare. But nowadays, everyone's a pro, handling hot soup

01:08:15without spilling a drop. After lunch, your friends decide to go out and explore the lands outside the

01:08:22giant bubble. At first, you refuse. But somehow, you find yourself strapped into your personal

01:08:28bubble car, heading for the exit. You sneak past security, find a place to hide the cars,

01:08:34and get out. You and your friends look ridiculous in those specialized boots and gas masks.

01:08:40Still, you wouldn't want to inhale all those toxic fumes. You make your way to where a large

01:08:46major city once stood. It looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Buildings piled on top of each

01:08:52other, with nature growing all around. The roads that once existed have split into their original

01:08:59ingredients. You're essentially walking on broken bricks, concrete, and asphalt. Statues are half

01:09:06buried in the ground. Way out in front of you is an old abandoned airport. You have to watch your

01:09:12every step. The ground ripples under your feet. No one's been here for years. As you make your way

01:09:18to the core of the city, huge blocks of concrete break off a falling building. You try your best

01:09:24to jump out of the way, but the ground's so shaky, you barely make it. You and your friends

01:09:30finally find your way to the downtown area. That's when you notice a lot of water around.

01:09:35When the buildings collapsed, it destroyed all the water and drainage systems. All the water for

01:09:41homes, businesses, factories, and hundreds of nearby farms all ended up here. You and your

01:09:47friends scale a building with your gecko boots and reach the top. It looks like the lost city

01:09:53of Atlantis. The buildings look like ancient ruins from a forgotten civilization. One of

01:09:59your friends is getting nervous. Maybe it's time to go back to the bubble city. But you think it's

01:10:04better to just keep moving forward. You find a piece of driftwood and make a sort of improvised

01:10:10boat. You all hop on board and paddle through the city. Under the surface is a whole new ecosystem

01:10:17of underwater plants and animals. And not too far ahead, you spot a shipwreck that's half submerged.

01:10:25One of your friends gets the idea of heading over there to explore it. The moment you step

01:10:30onto it, the water starts shaking. The ground under the ship is so fragile that any tiny change

01:10:36in pressure makes the ship sink deeper. You hop back on the boat and start to paddle back where

01:10:42you came. But the land under the water is extremely shaky, and the collapsed buildings

01:10:47begin to move around. It's like kayaking down a wild river, except it's also raining concrete.

01:10:55Once you make it back to the bubble cars, you and your friends decide it's time to head back

01:10:59to the giant bubble. But as you start to move, you notice that everything looks completely different.

01:11:06The ground's shifted so much you're lost. Everything around you looks the same,

01:11:12like you're stuck in a giant maze. You drive around for ages. Is the giant bubble anywhere

01:11:18close? Impossible to tell. Out of nowhere, you hear a loud rumbling noise above you. You look up

01:11:26and see a helicopter soaring through the air. It drops down a rope ladder, and everyone climbs on.

01:11:32You were lucky this time.

01:11:37Yep, there's ice all around, as far as the eye can see. A white desert covers the entrance to

01:11:45your cave, the one where you and a bunch of other settlers live. Everyone's gathered around a fire

01:11:50pit, trying to keep warm, telling each other stories about how much snow they saw the other

01:11:56day. Some are running around playing tag, throwing sticks, whatever people used to do for

01:12:02fun 300,000 years ago. You're one of the earliest Homo sapiens to ever walk the Earth.

01:12:10Others are sleeping or just resting their eyes. All around the cave, all you can hear are stomachs

01:12:17rumbling, sounds like a wild animal lurking around. You look out the mouth of the cave

01:12:23and see that the storm has cleared. Time to grab some tools and head out as a group.

01:12:29In the open wilderness, you find some berries covered in snow and plants that might be edible,

01:12:36but it's not enough to feed the whole tribe. It's the ice age, and there's not much vegetation

01:12:42growing anywhere. One of your friends spots some large footprints in the snow. The chase is on.

01:12:49You can't tell what it is, but it should be enough to feed everyone for a couple of days.

01:12:55As you go deeper into the snow-covered forest, you hear a growl behind you.

01:13:01You hope it's your stomach, but you look behind you and suddenly black out.

01:13:07An ice age is a period when large sheets of ice cover everything, changing the Earth permanently.

01:13:13It's partly responsible for the raising and lowering of sea levels, as well as the current

01:13:18layout of the continents. Picture monster-thick ice sheets spread across what's now Canada,

01:13:24Scandinavia, Russia, and even South America. That's all caused sea levels to change drastically,

01:13:32and temperatures around the world fell dramatically. And I'm not talking about just one ice age.

01:13:39There were a bunch of them. Scientists say there have been 5 major ice ages throughout history,

01:13:45lasting for millions of years. And we're in the middle of one right now. Relax, don't panic.

01:13:52It doesn't mean we're all going to be sleeping next to bonfires, trying to keep warm after being

01:13:57out all day looking for woolly mammoths. And no, there won't be a massive geological ice storm

01:14:03that freezes everything in its path. Ice ages have warmer periods in them that come and go,

01:14:10lasting for tens of thousands of years. In fact, billions of years ago, the Earth was

01:14:16one giant snowball with no life on it. And the Sun back then was also just a cute little fireball

01:14:23without enough heat to melt all that ice. But as the Sun got bigger and hotter,

01:14:29Earth's ice slowly melted away, leaving the green and blue ball we have today.

01:14:35We're living in the Quaternary Ice Age that's been going on for the past 2.6 million years,

01:14:41and counting. Some animals have thrived in this latest ice age, like whales and sharks.

01:14:48They've been at the top of the food chain for ages. Under them are seals, certain kinds of fish,

01:14:54otters, all the way down to tiny plankton. Up on the cold surface, mammals had to grow

01:15:01thick and shaggy fur just to stay warm. Ancient mammoths, rhinos, and bison were

01:15:07known to have thick rugs on them. They looked awesome. They were herbivores and ate small

01:15:13shrubs and whatever grass they could find. But several thousand years ago, temperatures began

01:15:19to rise, and most of these animals became extinct. The ones that remained evolved into the elephants,

01:15:26hippos, and rhinos we have today. You wake up from your blackout and find

01:15:32yourself face-to-face with a creature that kind of looks like a modern-day bobcat,

01:15:38except it's much bigger and furrier. It's a smilodon, an epic version of a saber-toothed cat

01:15:45with a mean look. It's around the same size as a male lion and has two front fangs that make me

01:15:52think twice before leaving the safety of my cave. They look scary, but scientists think their bite

01:15:58wasn't as powerful as today's tigers or lions. What made them tough were their giant forearms

01:16:04used to wrestle down anyone who got on their nerves. In packs, they were even able to take

01:16:10down mammoths. Either way, you don't want to be waking up next to this kitty. It's staring you

01:16:17down ready to pounce. But you and your friends keep calm and slowly back off. You get the genius

01:16:25idea to throw a rock to distract it, then run. Nowadays, it's near impossible for a human to

01:16:32out-sprint a lion or tiger, but humans back then were much fitter. Once the danger's over, everyone

01:16:39continues to look for food. It's getting dark, and you haven't found anything to bring back to the

01:16:44cave. Suddenly, you smell something burning. Way off in the distance, you see a thin column of smoke

01:16:52rising into the sky. Another settlement? You and your friends look at each other and approach the

01:16:58smoke cautiously. Homo sapiens first came into being about 200 or 300 years ago, but human history

01:17:07didn't just pop up out of nowhere. As far back as 7 million years ago, some of us decided to call it

01:17:14quits. We left our chimpanzee ancestors in the jungle and started doing our own thing. And that

01:17:21didn't just happen once. Over those next millions of years, there were over 20 different human

01:17:27species. Some were our ancestors, some were twigs from a completely different branch. Some were tiny,

01:17:34others better adapted for hot or cold weather. Before you know it, you see a group of Neanderthals

01:17:41cooking some meat, sharpening their tools. Neanderthals were the first to migrate to Europe.

01:17:47Scientists believe they were around somewhere between 40,000 to 400,000 years ago. They occupied

01:17:54all areas between Europe and Asia, while Homo sapiens, that's us, were still all the way down

01:18:00in Africa. You enter their camp and immediately see the differences between each other. They're

01:18:07stocky and look a bit different, but there are some similarities, like flat teeth for chewing and

01:18:12gnawing and big skulls for their big brains. They even have clothes on, like you. According to

01:18:19archaeologists, they lived in shelters and made tools out of stone, sticks, and bones. They welcome

01:18:25you inside and give you a tour like no other. You're officially meeting another human species.

01:18:32They take you inside their cave and show you some of their cave paintings.

01:18:37They were the first artists of their time. Many of their galleries are still around today,

01:18:42like the ones in caves in Spain. You know their style – minimalist paintings of deer,

01:18:48a large handprint. They also dabbled a bit in jewelry making. They made necklaces out of eagle

01:18:54talons and animal fangs. They were also probably the first ones to harness the power of fire.

01:19:01Did they discover it when a bolt of lightning hit a tree? Or when one of them dropped a rock

01:19:06on another rock, creating a spark? No one really knows. But they were able to recreate it and use

01:19:12it to keep warm, to cook food, to see in the darkness, and to protect themselves.

01:19:18After the nice tour, you hang around the campfire to keep warm. They even offer you some extra

01:19:24clothes for the journey home, mostly thick shaggy mammoth coats. If only you could talk to each

01:19:30other, that would be awesome. But it's getting dark, and you need to head back to the tribe.

01:19:36You say your goodbyes and thank them for teaching you how to draw a deer,

01:19:40and for that sack of food they gave you. The Ice Age was important for the development of

01:19:46the modern Homo sapiens. Because of the extreme cold and other harsh conditions,

01:19:51they had to adapt to survive, be extra clever and innovative. They developed advanced tools,

01:19:58and even used bone needles to sew warm clothing. They may have hosted the first-ever runway show.

01:20:07When the climate started to get warmer, they developed farming techniques to sustain themselves

01:20:13and mainly settled near large bodies of water like rivers or lakes, while others opted to be

01:20:18near seas and oceans. They, I mean we, were even the first to domesticate animals.

01:20:25Fast forward a few hundred thousand years, and here we are.

01:20:31Here we go again! You rush around your house, getting your bag ready for work while you gulp

01:20:36down the last of your coffee. Your annoying alarm didn't go off, so you've been in a rush

01:20:42all morning. Just as you're about to leave, you hear a shriek coming from outside.

01:20:48You sprint onto the street. Maybe someone needs help. You look around, but nothing seems wrong.

01:20:54All you can see is an upset-looking woman frantically tapping at her phone. She suddenly

01:20:59turns to you and says something about the battery, but she's so worked up that it was

01:21:04hard to understand. Maybe she missed an important call and she needs a charger.

01:21:09You offer to help and run back inside to get your charger. When you unplug your phone,

01:21:14you realize that it's out of charge too. Weird, it should've been on 100% after charging all night.

01:21:22You think back to your broken alarm clock and wonder whether there might be a local power

01:21:27outage or something. You get even more worried when you check your laptop. It won't turn on

01:21:33either. How are you going to give your big work presentation now? Oops, you realize that the woman

01:21:39outside is probably still waiting for the charger. You rush back out, but she's gone.

01:21:45The street now looks like some kind of weird disaster movie set. It's filled with angry and

01:21:51confused pedestrians. You manage to pick up on a few words about power and batteries,

01:21:57and it's clear that something has gone very wrong.

01:22:01A guy that lives across the street is on the floor holding his knee and rubbing his head,

01:22:06with his hoverboard lying a couple of feet away on the ground. Looks like he took a big fall.

01:22:12You wonder why everything is going so wrong for everybody. The man, who usually delivers your

01:22:17papers, cycles up next to you. He's panting so much that he can barely get a sentence out.

01:22:23The battery on my bike is broken. I guess I'll have to ride up all these hills the old school

01:22:28way now. A friend from work runs up to you, saying her car stopped. You try to help her,

01:22:35but nope, the battery isn't working at all. It looks like everyone else is having the same

01:22:41problem. The road is completely deserted too. You try your car too, but that's not working either.

01:22:48Just as you were deep in thought, thinking about how to go about your day without your car,

01:22:54a giant hunk of metal shoots down from the sky and explodes into a million pieces. A drone just

01:23:00fell out of the sky. The street is completely filled with fire, so you and your friend run

01:23:06into your house. At least it looks like you don't have to worry about going to work today anymore.

01:23:12Your friend says none of her electronics are working, so you run around your house checking

01:23:16your things. You go into your bathroom and try the trimmer. Nope. Electric toothbrush?

01:23:22Also nothing. What about that cool remote-controlled car you got for your 12th birthday?

01:23:28You look under the bed. Yep, the car's there. And lots of dust too. You take it out and try.

01:23:35Nothing. Although, that could be just because it's over a decade old. You pull out a bundle

01:23:41of outdoor lights. Hmm, what will the holidays look like if these don't work? You feel uneasy,

01:23:48knowing that the smoke detector won't work anymore. How will you know if any of your

01:23:52technology goes wrong and starts a fire? Well, at least most of it won't be working enough to

01:23:58cause a fire anyway now. Time to check the most important thing – the TV. You pick up the remote

01:24:06and, as expected, nothing. You wonder if there's even a way to turn it on without the remote.

01:24:12After searching for a button a little while, you switch it on. You can't figure out why only some

01:24:18things seem to be working. The news stations are all talking about one thing. Apparently,

01:24:23all the batteries in the entire world have stopped working. That explains why the TV is fine. All of

01:24:30the channels showing emergency news broadcasts with clips of chaotic traffic problems and people

01:24:36despairing over their broken devices. There's a banging at your door, and you realize that your

01:24:42wireless doorbell won't ring anymore. That's actually good. Now you don't even have to pretend

01:24:48you're not home when that annoying neighbor comes to visit. Speaking of neighbor, hopefully,

01:24:53his guitar amplifier won't work anymore. You might finally be able to sleep in on Saturday mornings.

01:25:00Oh no, your new wireless headphones will be useless now. You'll still be paying for those

01:25:06for a couple more months and can't even use them. Another one of your friends, Ryan, is at the door.

01:25:13Luckily, he's a bit of a genius, so he might be able to help figure out what's happened.

01:25:18It freaks you out a bit when he tells you how bad things are looking in the world.

01:25:23Batteries are very important for our society. Most of the technology we use needs batteries

01:25:29to function, but we rarely pay much attention to them. Or at least not until our TV remote

01:25:34stops working. Ryan begins to explain that the first battery was invented at the beginning of

01:25:39the 19th century. It stores chemical energy that gets converted into electricity that we use to

01:25:45power things. You cut him off. Why would you need to know about that? How can you get your phone

01:25:51working again? He shakes his head. Apparently, scientists all over the world are looking into

01:25:57the problem. But it seems like all batteries have just stopped working completely, and they have no

01:26:03idea why. The batteries we mostly use are lithium-ion ones, the type you find in smartphones

01:26:10and laptops. These can be easily recharged and offer a smooth and reliable power supply. But

01:26:17not anymore. They're just useless chunks of metal now. The disposable ones are broken too.

01:26:24And now all batteries have stopped working. There's no way to store power at all.

01:26:29Ryan looks scared and broken. It looks like the world is heading back to the 19th century again.

01:26:35You thought this would all get fixed, but it begins to dawn on you how much the world will

01:26:40change without any way to store power. You get why Ryan looks so desperate, and your face begins to

01:26:47pale. What will people do now? No digital watches, tablets, laptops, calculators? Will we have to

01:26:55memorize phone numbers or learn what's 14 x 6? How will we tell time? Who'll wake you up in the

01:27:02morning? At least it'll be a lot easier to get to sleep early without a smartphone. Will people have

01:27:08to get up every time they want to turn on their TVs now? Will they have to socialize without their

01:27:14phones when sitting in bars? No more carrying laptops around and working on the go. You won't

01:27:20be able to jot things down on a Word document anymore. You'll have to get used to writing

01:27:26instead of typing. Pen? Paper? You haven't seen those since high school. Oh no, you might have

01:27:33to start reading books again. There won't be much else to do. Your Kindle isn't an option anymore,

01:27:39so you'll need to look into buying some real books. Ooh, that could get expensive. People will

01:27:45have to savor every moment because they won't be able to take pictures of anything anymore.

01:27:50There will be no more electric scooters or bikes. Electric cars won't be of much use either. Well,

01:27:56it's not like you could afford one, but still, it was good to know that some rich people out

01:28:01there had the option to get one. What kind of cars are companies going to produce now?

01:28:07Even boats have some parts charged on batteries, so they may be useless now too.

01:28:13Maybe you'll get to see the return of giant wooden galleons like the pirates used to sail on.

01:28:20And what about planes? Don't they need batteries too? Looks like that overseas trip to Spain will

01:28:25have to remain on the bucket list. No more listening to music when you're on public

01:28:30transportation. Are you going to have to talk to people now? What about social media? You won't be

01:28:37able to waste time scrolling through your feed anymore. How will you ever get to work again?

01:28:43With no car, you'll have to run miles every day and get up early. You make a note to yourself to

01:28:49look into getting a horse and cart. And you'll have to remember in which order they go. Think

01:28:55about it. Yep, today was an assault on batteries. It's time to start some new habits now,

01:29:02or revive some of those old, long-forgotten ones. You spend an average of 8 minutes of your day in

01:29:08the shower. Hey, I'm out there holding a stopwatch, you know, it's just typical. Anyway,

01:29:14that adds up to around 6 months by the time you're 60. All this showering takes about 11

01:29:19bottles of shower gel, or 30 bars of soap per year. You also use enough water to sprinkle over

01:29:2698 football fields. Not wanting to let too much time and money go down the drain, you decide to

01:29:33reduce your showering to just water and stop using shampoo. You'll still wash your hands with

01:29:38basic soap to stay healthy. You do some research and find out that 80% of all those mean bacteria

01:29:45that make you stink can be washed off by plain water. You don't believe it, but you hide your

01:29:51soap, shower gel, and body wash and go to bed. On day 1 of the experiment, you wake up as usual,

01:29:58brush your teeth, splash yourself with nothing but water, and put on some organic deodorant.

01:30:04You just save 7 minutes and use that time to enjoy a cup of coffee.

01:30:08You arrive at the office and ask your friend Sam to sniff at you just to be sure. Well,

01:30:14he looks at you like you're crazy. Hey, what did you expect? Sam doesn't notice any difference at

01:30:19all. Triumphant, you get back home and repeat your water-only shower the next morning. Your hair is

01:30:26starting to get a bit greasy as you washed it 2 days ago. You decide to give it another day

01:30:32and gradually make those gaps between washing longer and longer. In the evening, you feel the

01:30:38temptation to reach for some shower gel. You really want to get a cold shower, but you realize you need

01:30:44higher water temperatures to combat those bacteria. Day by day, you get used to those sauna-like

01:30:50showers. You go to bed and see soap and body lotion in your dreams, stretching their arms

01:30:56towards you and begging you to get back to them. On day 3 of the experiment, you wash your hair

01:31:02with water only for the first time. Before you do it, you rub your scalp to spread the natural oils.

01:31:09Then you pinch it in sections to pull the oils from the roots down to the ends. You brush it

01:31:15well to get rid of tangles, and only then you wash it with lukewarm water. You let it dry,

01:31:20and it feels just as clean as after shampoo. The rest of your body doesn't feel as clean.

01:31:26By day 6, you feel like you're greasy and dry at the same time. Your abandoned soap triumphs.

01:31:34You reach for it, about to give up, when suddenly, your TV turns on by itself. It's a whole show on

01:31:40how to stay clean with no soap. It says that Romans in the 1st century used to take 2-hour-long soaks

01:31:48in baths of different temperatures. Scrape and apply oil to feel clean. For French aristocrats

01:31:54in the 17th century, changing a shirt every day and putting some water on their hands was enough.

01:32:00It's kind of a psychological thing. You have to get used to your new clean feeling.

01:32:05The smell of soap or body wash used to be your clean smell. Now you have your own natural smell,

01:32:12and it's okay that it's not vanilla ice cream. It also explains no soap doesn't mean no scrubbing.

01:32:20If you just stand under running water, you won't make the bacteria go away.

01:32:24You can use a washcloth, a loofah, a body brush, or whatever works for you.

01:32:30When you scrub yourself, you remove the top layer of those skin cells you no longer need.

01:32:35You tell yourself you're clean as ever, hop out of the shower, and after 15 minutes,

01:32:40you feel your skin is crisp and impeccable. You also notice your skin has that creamy soft glow

01:32:47like in a body lotion ad. The chemicals soap contains are super dehydrating. They remove

01:32:53the protective oils from your skin. It messes up the oil balance in its fragile ecosystem

01:32:59and turns it into a patchy dry desert. Water helps restore that balance. You get to work

01:33:05and ask Sam if he's noticing any changes in your smell. Again, he really doesn't get it,

01:33:11so you explain the experiment idea. He looks at you with approval and, surprisingly,

01:33:17shares some knowledge on the topic too. First, what you do for a living matters.

01:33:23If you work with dangerous chemicals, at a farm, as a gardener or construction worker,

01:33:28and contact dirt, pollens, and allergens, you have to shower daily and with soap.

01:33:33The same is with athletes, personal trainers, and fitness instructors. Unless you're one of them,

01:33:39you can go just fine with water, or even no showering at all for days. Plus, you save a

01:33:45lot of energy when you're driving and not running around. That's why people of the past needed to

01:33:50shower more often than you do. Second, your genetics also play a role. Your sweat glands

01:33:56could be more active than your neighbors, and you could be more likely to smell.

01:34:01Your colleague Jill overhears the talk and adds it's also about what you're wearing. Cotton lets

01:34:07your skin breathe better than polyester. It also lets enough moisture escape so that you don't

01:34:12smell bad. Jill also reveals her secret. She's been taking water-only showers for a month.

01:34:19She always wears a long-sleeve shirt and jeans to the office, and she's perfectly fine. Her skin

01:34:25doesn't really get that dirty. She also confesses she has smelly feet, soap or no soap. As long as

01:34:32she's wearing shoes like most people do in the office, no one ever notices that.

01:34:37It's been 7 days since you last washed your hair with lukewarm water. It feels a bit greasy,

01:34:43but you can tell it's getting stronger at the roots. Because you don't wash it with shampoo

01:34:48anymore, all the natural oils stay on your scalp. You are retraining it to produce just enough of

01:34:54them so that your hair doesn't get greasy quickly like it used to. You repeat the hair ritual with

01:35:00massaging, preening, brushing, and washing. You go on with the experiment, and by the beginning of

01:35:06week 3, you realize you can perfectly live without soap and shampoo in your bathroom.

01:35:12You go to work, meet up with your friends, and no one notices any difference. You learn to accept

01:35:18your natural smell isn't roses, but it's not dirty socks either. You also realize soap doesn't

01:35:24deodorize, but puts on a thin top layer of fragrance. It makes you smell fresh and clean

01:35:30short-term, but then it restarts the problem it just solved. Your hair feels good like never

01:35:37before. It's perfectly hydrated, soft, silky, and even bouncy. It smells fresh and looks clean,

01:35:44so no one could tell you aren't using shampoo anymore. It now starts to look oily 7-10 days

01:35:50after washing. It also dries faster and is easier to handle. You save some money that used to go on

01:35:57shampoo, soap, shower gels, and body wash. Most importantly, you now have more time in the morning

01:36:04and before bed. You can see your skin is healthier than ever, and you decide to give it a soap

01:36:10vacation every once in a while. If you stay in this mode forever, you might have trouble with

01:36:15the remaining 20% of bacteria that can't be removed by just water. Their game is especially

01:36:21strong in the warm and humid areas of your body. At those times you want to use more than water,

01:36:27you can try one of the soap alternatives. You can make your own natural scrub from the ingredients

01:36:33you have in your kitchen. Oatmeal, honey, and plain yogurt mix well, same as avocado oil,

01:36:39honey, and sugar. You just can't scrub your face with it because the skin is more delicate there.

01:36:44You can also try oil-based cleansers that trap dirt and old skin cells.

01:36:49They don't disrupt the oil balance when you put them on before taking a shower.

01:36:53Cinnamon and cloves are both famous for their antibacterial properties, so their oils are

01:36:59perfect for this. Honey is great for keeping your body healthy and preventing the growth of bacteria.

01:37:05You can use it as a one-ingredient natural cleanser.

01:37:09Apple cider vinegar makes a great natural toner to cleanse skin.

01:37:13If you want to use soap, choose the natural options. Check if it has glycerin in it. It's

01:37:19a plant-based cleanser that keeps all useful moisture in your skin's natural protective barrier.

01:37:24Shea butter and coconut butter are used in hypoallergenic soaps. Lemon, rose,

01:37:30lavender, and cedarwood oils are often added to healthy scented soaps. Coconut and almond oil

01:37:36are also great moisturizers. All of it's a great way to have some skin in the game.

01:37:43Is that Earth you can see at a distance? Right! Just look at it, floating in space,

01:37:49hanging out with its planet buddies. You spot orange-red Mars and Jupiter with its asteroid

01:37:55belt. Even tiny Pluto is there. All these planets keep their distance from each other,

01:38:02moving along in their own orbits. They're not very social, you see. But that's a good thing.

01:38:08It would cause nothing but trouble if they started to bump into each other.

01:38:12But even though there are others, Earth is the only planet we know that has life. And we've

01:38:19figured out why. It's because it was lucky enough to appear in the best spot in our solar system,

01:38:26in the Goldilocks zone. Scientists say the key ingredient for life is water. But, well,

01:38:34there's water on Mercury. This planet has deposits of water ice at its south and north poles.

01:38:40But only because those places never see the light. Everywhere else, water simply evaporates

01:38:47from the surface of the planet. Mercury is way too close to the Sun. Pluto has some water, too.

01:38:55Astronomers even think the dwarf planet might be up to 30% water, but it's frozen. Unlike Mercury,

01:39:03Pluto's too far away from the Sun, which is why all its water is in the form of ice.

01:39:10But Earth hovers in a perfect spot called the habitable zone. It has the right temperature

01:39:15for the water to remain liquid and for all forms of life to flourish. But what if Earth was the

01:39:22only planet in the solar system? No Mars, no Jupiter, no Mercury, no Venus. Things might

01:39:28have turned out a little different than what we're used to. Remember that massive asteroid

01:39:34that hit the Earth around 66 million years ago? Well, without Jupiter and its asteroid belt,

01:39:40our planet would be constantly hit by meteorites and asteroids.

01:39:44And some of them would be just as big as the one that caused all that sorrow to the dinosaurs.

01:39:51These rocky fellas would be roaming around in space with no one and nothing to stop them.

01:39:57And if Earth was the only planet out there, it would also be their only target.

01:40:03But that's not all. Look at all this huge space Earth would have all to itself.

01:40:09It means our planet would have an opportunity to travel a bit. It could even choose to leave

01:40:14the Goldilocks Zone. But then, would life on the planet still be the same?

01:40:20So let's say Earth started drifting away from the Sun. Then, it'd soon get too cold on the planet.

01:40:27Picture a place where the Sun doesn't shine anymore. Dark, cold, covered in ice and snow

01:40:34all year round. That would be our Earth if it traveled further from the Sun.

01:40:39If this happened, our cities would start to look very different.

01:40:44Right now, Earth is full of life. Come to any park, and you'll see green trees and grass

01:40:50everywhere. There will be people walking, sitting on the benches, enjoying the Sun.

01:40:55You'll definitely spot someone playing soccer or frisbee.

01:40:58On the park's lawns, there will be people resting on their blankets, soaking up the Sun.

01:41:04A few people will be reading their books, looking relaxed and happy.

01:41:08Back in space, you see Earth again. The planet is still in its favorite spot.

01:41:13That's why life is so beautiful down there. But wait, is it moving? Our planet is definitely

01:41:21further from the Sun now. Has it changed things for Earth? It actually looks a bit bluer now.

01:41:28Down there, famous Golden California is not so golden anymore. It's gloomy and dark,

01:41:35much like all other places on Earth. New York is covered in ice. Even in the hottest places,

01:41:41the temperatures are now below freezing, including tropical destinations like the Bahamas.

01:41:48After a while, liquid water turns into ice. The oceans now look like giant skating rinks,

01:41:55except there's no one to skate there since the planet has become way too cold to support life.

01:42:02Okay, then what if, instead of drifting further away from the Sun, Earth moved closer,

01:42:08with people still aboard? Whoa, the temperatures here are crazy, too hot to handle. The climate

01:42:16would be getting hotter and hotter. Natural disasters would start to occur more often.

01:42:21Hurricanes and floods would be a common thing on Earth now. And pretty soon, the planet would get

01:42:26too hot for people to handle. Particles from the Sun would become a serious threat. The atmosphere

01:42:33would be struggling to protect Earth from solar radiation. But this shield would be growing weaker.

01:42:39Liquid water would be nowhere to be found anymore, maybe only in underground deposits. Earth would

01:42:46look a bit like Mars, all rocky and barren. The Mississippi River would dry up and leave behind

01:42:52a huge canyon. All the oceans would be gone, too. At the moment, the Mariana Trench is the deepest

01:42:59known place on Earth. It's incredibly hard to reach its bottom because of the immense water

01:43:04pressure there. But without water, trips to the deepest spot on Earth would be possible. It would

01:43:10help people uncover some more of Earth's secrets. If people still lived on the dry and scorching hot

01:43:16planet, that is. In other words, if someone was to explore Earth after the planet had moved closer

01:43:22to the Sun, everything would be completely different. But what if Earth didn't move at all,

01:43:29and everything remained the same? The only difference? There would be no other planets

01:43:34around us. It would change the way people explore space. Sure, there would still be navigation,

01:43:39communication, and weather satellites. And maybe space telescopes. But there wouldn't be any other

01:43:46space objects close enough for people to send missions there. This would affect the future, too.

01:43:53If people had no desire or opportunity to go to space, they would invest in their home planet.

01:43:59They would build sky cities instead of looking for other planets to colonize.

01:44:04These days, if you get a state-of-the-art telescope, you'll see distant stars and other

01:44:09planets. The better the telescope, the more detail there is for you to see. But with no other planets

01:44:16out there, the picture of space wouldn't be so exciting. Stars would still be visible, and you

01:44:21might even spot a meteorite or two. And you'd definitely see the Moon. But that's about it.

01:44:28Space agencies would mostly be focused on keeping Earth secure. Mainly because asteroids would

01:44:34become frequent visitors. To protect the planet, scientists would have to figure out ways to get

01:44:40rid of them. Like a massive laser beam. When turned on, it could go all the way to the Moon and even

01:44:47further. Instead of building rockets to explore space, SpaceX and NASA would be in the asteroid

01:44:54clearing business. People wouldn't even think of trying to contact other civilizations if there

01:45:00were no planets similar to Earth. They would consider it a wasted effort. This means no radio

01:45:07signals being constantly sent out to space. A curious fact. In February of 2008, the Beatles

01:45:14song Across the Universe was beamed into deep space. It was done to celebrate both the song's

01:45:2140th anniversary and NASA's 50th anniversary. In the 70s, people also sent a radio signal out

01:45:29into space. It contained some basic information about humans and the solar system. But it was more

01:45:36a feat of strength for technology than an attempt to contact any alien buddies we might have.

01:45:43With no planets around, the world of sci-fi would change too. There would be no more movies about

01:45:49deep space exploration. No massive spaceships and rockets would appear on the big screen.

01:45:55And since there would be no expeditions to other planets, no rovers would be sent to space to look

01:46:00for signs of life and explore new worlds, like what the rovers on Mars are doing right now.

01:46:07People would concentrate more on their own planet. For example, they would begin to explore its

01:46:13insides. New technologies would allow us to dig much, much deeper, all the way through Earth's

01:46:19crust and further. And doesn't a trip to the planet's core sound exciting? Instead of astronauts,

01:46:26there would be explorers of the deep underground. New drilling technologies would be invented to

01:46:32make the digging process more effective. There would be new types of vehicles. They would be

01:46:37created to drill and protect explorers from the enormous underground pressure.

01:46:43While exploring the world under the planet's surface, people would likely find absolutely

01:46:48new life forms. Those would be mysterious creatures that evolved to survive in the dark,

01:46:54in extreme temperatures, and with barely any food. It certainly helped people understand more about

01:47:00their home planet. The ocean is turning red hot. You try to get closer for a better look, but you

01:47:07start feeling the air getting hotter and hotter, like reaching into an oven. And the sand is so

01:47:13hot that your rubber slippers start melting. The oceans somehow turned into steamy, hot, gooey lava.

01:47:20You start running inland and see a frenzy of people running wild. See, in reality, lava is made of

01:47:28molten rocks from below the Earth's surface. Deep inside our planet, like the distance between New

01:47:34York and Philadelphia deep, the underground heat from the core melts rocks the same way the sun

01:47:40melts ice cream. When these rocks melt, their temperatures can reach around 2200 degrees

01:47:46Fahrenheit. But don't worry, that only happens really deep under the ground, and only in some

01:47:52specific areas, mostly around the Atlantic Ocean. And it only pops out of the ground when there's so

01:47:58much pressure that it flows up to the surface as a gooey, orange, super hot liquid called lava

01:48:05that usually erupts through a volcano's neck. But somehow, the entire ocean is made of lava now.

01:48:12And although from a really far away distance, it looks pretty cool to look at, it's really dangerous.

01:48:20First of all, say goodbye to the beautiful blue waves and the ocean currents.

01:48:24Unlike water, lava is thicker, closer to creamy peanut butter in texture, so the wind can't move

01:48:31it around like it used to. But that also means that nothing can sink or swim in it. So even if

01:48:38some ocean creatures could withstand the super high temperatures of lava, they won't be able to

01:48:43live inside of it. They'll either be submerged or float on the surface instead, depending on

01:48:49their density. So all our marine friends and other creatures that used to call the ocean home

01:48:55will need to find another body of water to live in if they want to survive. Actually, the only

01:49:01animals on this planet that could possibly survive the heat of lava would be the tardigrades. These

01:49:07cute microscopic creatures can survive in any extreme environment on this planet, from frozen

01:49:13icy glaciers to hot and fiery volcanoes. They can even survive in outer space under the cosmic rays.

01:49:21You run away from the beach along with everyone else nearby. The atmosphere is getting thicker

01:49:27and it's not easy to see around you. You think to yourself,

01:49:30I should have stayed home. But home isn't exactly safe either. The heat radiating from all the lava

01:49:38alone would be intolerable for miles. So no more houses by the sea and beach resorts. You're gonna

01:49:45want to make sure you live as far away from the ocean as possible. Most of the coastal cities

01:49:51would become instantly uninhabitable, especially areas touching the ocean with more than one side.

01:49:58Places like Florida, California, and Central America would become mostly unbearable to live in.

01:50:04And that's not to mention island life. Most islands would be so hot that no animal or plant could

01:50:11survive. 97% of the planet was made up of ocean water and it now all turned to lava. No place on

01:50:20earth can hold snow anymore as the planet would look like a glowing orange lava ball. Temperatures

01:50:26would rise so much that the furthest place from the shores and even the highest peaks will still

01:50:31feel like the hottest day in a desert. As you keep running away from the ocean, you realize that maybe

01:50:37you're dreaming. But you look at your skin and see so much redness. Even if you run for miles, the heat

01:50:44will still catch up to you. All the offshore oil rigs and ships in the middle of the oceans will

01:50:50face plenty of problems too. Their metallic composition would simply glow red and melt

01:50:56instantly when in contact with hot lava. And even if it doesn't melt, you better hope nobody happens

01:51:02to be on it. But in any event like that, they would have evacuated everyone. Meanwhile, at the North

01:51:10and South Poles, where the planet is at its coldest, all the ice that was covering the ocean is instantly

01:51:17melting in contact with the lava. It would then cool down and solidify into rocky black land masses

01:51:24called igneous rocks that are often glassy in texture. The moment the hot lava cools down, huge

01:51:31clouds of acidic steam and gases get released into the air, covering the sky. Scientists call those

01:51:38lays, which is a combination of the words lava and haze. Kind of like when you exit the shower

01:51:45and all the heat comes in contact with the cold outside air, creating a haze. Except this one

01:51:51would cover the whole North and South Poles, and it would be super toxic. It sometimes even contains

01:51:57tiny glass particles that are extremely hazardous. And this lays can travel around the world with

01:52:04strong enough wind and cover almost the entire Northern Hemisphere. It could also cover the

01:52:10southern part of New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, and Australia. Flying an airplane through

01:52:16this gas wouldn't be the best idea. The heat alone emitted from the lava would be enough to cause

01:52:23major damage to the exterior and affect the airplane's hardware. It's a good thing you found

01:52:30your trusty oxygen container. The air is barely breathable at this point. You make your way to

01:52:35your car and drive away as fast as you can. But even your car's taken some damage. You drive out

01:52:42to the countryside, where the atmosphere hasn't been affected by the lava yet. But even all the

01:52:47way out here, the temperature is changing. The river you used to see on your weekly hikes is

01:52:53drying up. The plants around you are losing their green lush. The animals around have migrated to a

01:53:00different place. Rivers flowing into the ocean would simply create mounds of glassy igneous

01:53:06rocks upon contact, permanently creating natural dams. The rest of the water inland, like in ponds

01:53:14and lakes, would eventually evaporate over time. With the rise in temperatures and no rainfall,

01:53:20it would be the end of water on the planet as we know it. The huge mass of ocean water plays a

01:53:26major role in creating clouds and rainfall. Without water in the atmosphere, the sun's heat would add

01:53:33to the lavas. The world would be a huge barren wasteland. The nights would be hot, and the days

01:53:40even hotter. Hop on the Bright Side of life together with our brand new tees, hoodies,

01:53:47and more. Click the link to pick your choice. Still, lava cools down eventually in contact with

01:53:53the cool air. So soon enough, the surface would start forming a thin layer of black crust that

01:54:00would gradually thicken over the years. The thicker the lava, the longer it takes to completely cool

01:54:05down on the inside. It would still be super hot though, but at least if you touch it, you won't be

01:54:12directly touching the burning lava. That's actually how many islands were formed. Like the

01:54:18Hawaiian Islands, for example. They're fully formed by lava erupting from below the ocean that dried

01:54:24over hundreds of thousands of years. It accumulated layers over layers of solidified lava from below

01:54:31the ocean until it rose above the surface, forming islands and even mountains. As we speak, a new land

01:54:38mass in Hawaii is being formed by an active volcano. Scientists expect it to be a new fully

01:54:45formed island in about 10,000 years. So now, the view that used to be the blue ocean turned into

01:54:53steamy glowing orange slime that will in turn quickly transform into a solid black wasteland.

01:55:00But don't think you can easily walk over that ocean. It could take hundreds of years for it to

01:55:05fully cool down and turn into solid rock. Until then, walking on that dried lava crust would be

01:55:12similar to walking on a frozen lake, except that in this case, one misstep would cause you to fall

01:55:18into boiling hot lava instead of ice cold water. Some regions would even take thousands of years

01:55:25to fully solidify. The Mariana Trench, the deepest region of the ocean, is about a whopping 43,000

01:55:32feet deep. It would actually take at least 5,000 years for that much lava to completely cool down.

01:55:39There are many planets out there that are so-called lava planets. A recently discovered planet,

01:55:45K2-141b, has magma oceans, supersonic winds up to 3,000 miles per hour, and even rocky rains.

01:55:54That's right, the planet is so hot that it vaporizes rocks and rains them back down.

01:56:01Keep in mind that this planet is much closer to the sun than our planet is.

01:56:06Maybe their oceans once turned into lava overnight.

01:56:13Behold the distant future. Yep, humans have successfully colonized Mars and the Moon.

01:56:20Problems with overpopulation and hunger on Earth are solved. But soon, a new threat looms over our

01:56:27planets and the Moon. Anyway, scientists have figured out that in 150 years, the sun will

01:56:35explode and destroy our entire solar system. Bummer. There's enough time to build a fleet of

01:56:41huge spaceships and evacuate everyone. But it's not enough time to come up with some sort of sci-fi

01:56:47space jump. It's been a long time since people found a new potentially livable planet,

01:56:53and the nearest ones a several million years ride away. There's no other choice. Humankind

01:56:59is evacuated into gargantuan spaceships, and the infinitely long voyage begins.

01:57:06A few decades pass. We leave the solar system and watch our sun explode. A huge flash, and that's

01:57:13it. There's no more light. Just small, faraway stars and the infinite black depths of space.

01:57:20All ships are on a synced autopilot that won't go off course no matter what. Even if everyone

01:57:26on board were to disappear, the ship would still arrive at its destination. So, the upside,

01:57:32humans will survive for millions more years. The downside? Because of all of that time spent

01:57:38on space transports, we'll look different. Totally different. Ships arriving to the new planet will

01:57:44be populated with shapeless, pulsating biomasses sitting inside metal exoskeletons. Here's how it

01:57:52happens. Bones in space get weaker. So do muscles. There's no gravity, so your body's not under any

01:57:59sort of pressure to keep it running properly. Astronauts on the International Space Station do

01:58:04a lot of exercise to stop their muscles from withering away. Back to the story. There are

01:58:10gyms and special machines that recreate gravity on every space transport. But to save energy,

01:58:16they're only plugged in in a couple of hours per day. Unfortunately, no matter how hard people

01:58:22exercise, in space it just won't be enough. After the first hundred years, human bones have become

01:58:29so brittle that anything remotely physical can lead to injury. After another hundred years,

01:58:35people lose the ability to stand up on their two legs. But it's not only because of weak bones.

01:58:41After all those years in zero gravity, the human body's already changed a lot. A big problem is

01:58:48that people lose their sense of balance. If you try to stand up, you'll just fall. The ship's

01:58:54captains dismantled the gravity machines. They weren't working anyways. And all the sports

01:58:59equipment on board got taken apart ages ago and used as spare parts for the ships.

01:59:05The lack of gravity didn't just make people weaker, it also made them taller. The spine

01:59:11needs gravity to keep it stable, and now all those backbone discs have stretched themselves out.

01:59:18Humans are starting to look like blow-up toys. Everyone's given mechanical arms and legs.

01:59:24You just strap them on and get to work. Surfacing the engine, cleaning out the bedrooms,

01:59:30throwing trash out into space, lifting anything. Not happening without those mechanical arms and

01:59:36legs. Time passes, and people become more helpless. Luckily, the mechanical bodysuits keep getting

01:59:43better and better. Since the Sun collapsed in on itself, human eyes have been having a hard time.

01:59:50Inside the ships, the Sun is replaced by special artificial light that also gives off vitamin D.

01:59:56Since there's way less light overall, people's pupils become wider. Then, after a few more

02:00:02centuries, their vision really starts going downhill. But this problem is solved by technology.

02:00:08Artificial lenses magnify light and keep humans from going completely blind.

02:00:14The ships get disinfected every single day. That stops bacteria and microbes from multiplying.

02:00:20But it also means that the human immune system doesn't have to fight off any diseases.

02:00:26Pretty soon, humans can't defend themselves against anything. Even a mild cold could be

02:00:31seriously harmful. It's fine for now. There are no germs or anything on board. But what's

02:00:37going to happen later on down the road? On the ship, millions of plants grow in

02:00:42special greenhouses with water and ultraviolet light. The plants produce oxygen and spread it

02:00:47through the entire ship. Of course, it's not enough oxygen to satisfy millions,

02:00:53but it helps people remember the planet they left behind.

02:00:56After centuries of living on spaceships, humans have adapted to the new conditions

02:01:01and almost stopped breathing. Lungs have disappeared almost completely. And humans

02:01:06are starting to develop other ways of getting oxygen. From water, from liquid oxygen tanks,

02:01:12we're becoming a totally new species. But it's not all bad. Genetic engineering is developing

02:01:19every year. Full-fledged life support suits are created. They help with movement, strength,

02:01:25speed, vision, hearing, even speech. People's voices get so weak they can only speak in whispers.

02:01:32Luckily, the suits have built-in microphones and speakers.

02:01:36There's no food anymore, just specially created liquids. After all that time in space,

02:01:41the human stomach can't digest anything anyway. Fancy a handful of peanuts or a small cracker?

02:01:47Forget it! In the beginning, the special space food had loads of flavor. But over time,

02:01:54people sort of forgot what things were supposed to taste like. Eventually, they stopped adding

02:01:59in flavorings. And because of this new tasteless food, tongue receptors stopped working. Soon,

02:02:05people lost all sense of taste. For some people, this life seems unbearable,

02:02:10but they have a choice. They can just slide on into a cryogenic capsule for millions of years.

02:02:17Then it's just a matter of a quick defrost when the ships finally arrive. But it's seriously

02:02:23risky to be frozen for such a long time. There's no guarantee that the ships won't crash into a

02:02:29huge meteorite or worse. People start to take a different approach. They upload their consciousness

02:02:36to a central computer. It's safer and requires much less power. And when you wake up, you can

02:02:42just download your mind into a new modified human suit. Some people decide to stay awake and live a

02:02:50normal life. Thousands of years pass, then millions. Humans look really different now.

02:02:56All their limbs are now artificial, and the exoskeletons they wear are controlled by

02:03:01mind power. With each passing millennium, arms, neck, legs, and spines, they become smaller and

02:03:08smaller. Brittle bones soon dissolve into nothingness. Eyes, nose, and mouths disappear.

02:03:15The brain isn't protected by a skull anymore. It's just surrounded by soft skin. Only consciousness

02:03:21remains. Nowadays, a human is a powerful high-tech robot ruled over by a small pulsating bag filled

02:03:29with a brain. It's been a few million years since humans left Earth. All the ships' inhabitants have

02:03:36already forgotten that their species was born on a planet with gravity. The history of life

02:03:41on Earth has become a myth, an ancient legend. Most people believe that these ships are their

02:03:47true homes, always have been. That's why, when humans finally reach their destination, no one's

02:03:54that eager to get off and have a walk around. Life on a new, unknown planet seems like a huge pain

02:04:01in the spacesuit. Gravity, air, bacteria, germs. It takes several thousand years of evolution

02:04:08for humanity to get used to these new conditions. Luckily, humans have a secret weapon,

02:04:14technology. At this point, all humans are downloaded from the central computer into

02:04:19new robot suits. People face a choice. Get off the ship and make this planet their new home,

02:04:25or stay and live on the ships. Those that stay on the ships set off into the expanses of space

02:04:32to explore the galaxy and discover new worlds. Those who decide to stay on the new planet

02:04:38have to adapt to the new conditions. It's pretty different from Earth. There's a different air

02:04:43density, different weather patterns, and strange new chemical elements. It will take another million

02:04:49years before these robo-brain sacks take on a new shape. One day, these distant human descendants

02:04:56will want to research their origins. They'll invent a ship that can jump through space and time.

02:05:02The research will lead them to the distant past, to the small planet Earth, to now. This might

02:05:08sound crazy, but just imagine that tomorrow someone lands in your backyard and they're your

02:05:14descendants from the future. Those passengers who stayed on the ships will probably find new planets

02:05:21and maybe decide to stay on some of them. Their bodies will change and adapt too. So, in billions

02:05:27of years, the universe will be inhabited by different amazing creatures that all have

02:05:33something in common. They were all humans once. That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your

02:05:43curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends! Or, if you want more,

02:05:48just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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