What's happening?

It is 2023, and humans rule the Earth. There are 8.1 billion of us, and we live all around the world.

But things could have been very different. Today, some scientists think that we once almost became extinctA species that no longer has any living members..

Researchers found out that about 900,000 years ago, the number of humans on Earth fell very quickly. Only about 1,280 humans were left on Earth. The populationAll of the people that live in a place. remained tiny for the next 117,000 years before springing back up.

Our existence is the result of a very unlikely series of events.

First of all, 13.8 billion years ago, the universe was born. Then, 4.6 billion years ago, a dying star exploded and created the Sun. And four billion years ago, water arrived via icy comets.

If things were just a little different, there would be no Earth and none of the things needed for life.

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Sixty-five million years ago, the dinosaurs were wiped out. Our mammal ancestorsThe people related to us who lived a long time ago. managed to survive. They turned into what we are today.

It is a series of amazingly lucky moments. As the astronomerA scientist that studies the universe and space. Carl Sagan once pointed out: most animals over time go extinct. To survive is very rare.

Is our existence a miracle? 

Yes! We exist because of a series of chance happenings. It is a story so miraculous that it makes most science fictionStories based on major scientific or technological changes. look boring.

No! A miracle is something that cannot be explained. But we know how we came to be here. Humans are very lucky to exist, and very special. But we are not a miracle.