From the endlessly curious editorial minds at HowStuffWorks.com comes a volume of easy-to-understand explanations of the top theories for how the world will end
HowStuffWorks.com is the source for credible, unbiased explanations of how the world actually works. Our premise is simple: Demystify the world in a way that anyone can understand. In response to our readers, who are particularly curious about doomsday scenarios, we present The End of the World. Drawing on our editors’ extensive research, this handy guide outlines the various theories of how the world as we know it could come to its end. There are more ways than ever to imagine our own doom, ranging from rogue black holes to solar superstorms to global pandemic. Our technological innovations in warfare alone mean that it would take very little—a push of a button—to destroy the planet in a nuclear cloud. Our world may seem robust and strong, but whether it’s hit with a mile-wide asteroid or a microscopic mutated virus, the end will come one day. Read on to see how it could happen, which possibilities have the slimmest chances, and decide for yourself which scenario you think is most worth worrying about.
