it has often been said that time heals all wounds and that's pretty apt
actually because if we use that same idiom and apply it to the absolutely
insane landscape that our planet harbored in eons pass we'd very likely
be in the need for some first aid but what if we could somehow peel back the
layers of time and plant ourselves smack bang back in the good old days when our
planet was pretty much one giant continent full of fledgling giant
lizards and more bizarre predators than you could shake a sticker and literally
you have to find a stick to shake and then sharpen it into a spear because
everything would want to eat you so let's get prepared
hello Internet what's going on and once again welcome back to the most
inquisitive channel on YouTube life's biggest questions as per usual I'll be
your disembodied flowing voice Jack Finch as today we curiously ask the
question what if you were alive 200 million years ago
roll the clip for the cues that won't you that clip was from Jurassic Park 3
but it's important to note that things in this hypothetical scenario would be a
little less Jurassic Park and a little more Italian Park but hey there's yet to
be a feature blockbuster film about that specific geological period so we'll have
to use a little bit of our imagination on this one which is easy enough right
because thankfully for us we've got the mind-bending power of geology to help us
and it leads us to our initial opening point first and foremost if you were
alive 200 million years ago what would the planet even look like
well let me introduce you to a little place known as Pangaea and get
comfortable because this mysterious land is filled to the brim with life
threatening flora fauna and environmental weather systems you scared
yet you should be though theoretically if you're all alive 200 million years
ago you could feasibly walk from California to Paris although obviously
it would take you a while but to quote the great Steven Wright
Everywhere's walking distance if you've got the time Pangaea was a crazy place
and 200 million years ago after absorbing the previous supercontinent
gondwana and your America things were a little bit cozy to say the least and all
seven continents Europe North America South America Africa Antarctica Asia and
Australia were smashed up together with a
two bits in the middle for us trying to survive in this strange old land it
would partially mean that we wouldn't have to worry about traversing great
oceans to ensure our means of survival but we'd also quickly find that we need
not worry about walking through the center of this supercontinent scientists
have long theorized that the vast majority of Pangaea was a bleak dry and
ravenous desert contrasted to the coasts of the supercontinent which was thought
to be an endless sprawl of lush dense forests so for the most part our base
camp would be tucked neatly in the coastal regions you see your scientists
suspect that because the supercontinent of Pangea was so large the interior of
its landmass wouldn't have received the subsequent cooling effects and the ocean
that surrounded it and just as a side note that ocean was called Panthalassa
and it was the largest super ocean known to science which pretty much makes it
the great-great-grandfather of the pacific so if you thought that guy was
big think again because of his incredible size though which covered
over 70% of the Earth's surface undeterred by any form of breaking
landmass it would have caused super hurricanes and monsoons the likes of
which we couldn't even imagine as these weather systems swirled and convex the
cross Panthalassa they would easily build up enough momentum to periodically
devastate Pangaea so if you were alive back then you better hope you've packed
an umbrella or two because things are about to get a little bit drizzly but
potentially fatal weather aside that wouldn't be your only worry because we
fail to mention that depending on the accuracy of your time machine it's
incredibly likely that you'll be sharing your pangaean soil with Dinosaurs albeit
pretty tiny little fellas and also hopefully way way after the whole great
dying thing happened because then you're also kind of screwed and you'll be
choking to death on cataclysmic levels of methane but hopefully you'll manage
to calibrate the correct kind of timey wimey mechanics and you'll firmly end up
in the hot asian period this was a time when the planet was still recovering
from the devastation of the Permian event which was an incredibly trying
time for life on Earth but yet a moment of opportunity for lizard folk 200
million years ago our oceans were filled with ravenous plesiosaurs giant
crocodiles and other benign sea monsters that stalked the waves and a
fine-toothed frenzy but thankfully for us we'll be steering well clear
of Panthalassa on land however things may be a little bit easier but don't get
too comfortable because everything still probably wants to kill you now
terrestrial monsters are a pretty loose term in this respect because the early
Late Triassic early Jurassic stage was the beginning of the Golden Age for
herbivorous dinosaurs particularly sauropods and their subsequent offshoots
now I mean I'm not saying that if you were alive 200 million years ago that
you'd somehow find yourself with a pet dinosaur a scale feathered companion to
watch your back as you roam Pangaea but I'm also not not saying that because
come on we'll give it a go right you know how the old saying goes
get yourself a pet dinosaur or die trying' but here's the real kicker in
this hypothetical situation if you did somehow manage to travel back to 200
million years in Earth's history you'd be facing a paradoxical judgment call
the likes of which could potentially alter the course of evolution itself
because if you were alive 200 million years ago what would you eat even if you
somehow managed to survive the devastating weather systems the giant
flora and fauna and the potentially toxic air if you killed a single
creature back on Pangaea in all likelihood you'll be running the
risk of affecting the very course of evolution itself even killing one tiny
mammalian rodent to sate your hunger would potentially directly impact the
evolution of its species the butterfly effect hypothetically speaking it may
even lead to an entire genus of mammals that never existed today 200 million
years ago as species were running around as tiny little rodents so if you were
alive and trying to survive you may accidentally eat your own ancestor and
then poof what probably paradoxes are weird either way well there we have it
our long and short answer to the question what if you were alive 200
million years ago please don't touch anything because you'll probably
paradoxically unpick the fabric of existence and that's an oopsie that's
very hard to come back from well what did you guys think do you agree have
another perspective on the way that things would go down for you let us know
your thoughts down in the comment section below if you'd like to continue
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Jack Finch you've been watching life's biggest questions and until next time
you take it easy