What If... - BBC Future

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What If...

If all animals were the same size, it would create some surprising problems for life on our planet (Credit: BBC)

When insects were as big as birds

By William Park

If women had played more of a role in building the internet as it is today, would it have looked any different? (Credit: Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images)

How would women change the internet?

By Sandy Ong

Would modern athletes still be able to perform their incredible feats if they shed their clothing to compete naked like the Ancient Greeks (Credit: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

What if the Olympics were naked again?

By Rachel Nuwer

1918 flu virus (Credit: Science Photo Library)

Why the Earth needs viruses

By Rachel Nuwer

Birth control and abortions offer women more control over their pregnancies than ever before in history, but they are not available to everyone (Credit: Getty Images)

What if all pregnancies were planned?

By Rachel Nuwer

Trees help to cool the local climate by absorbing heat. Without them, temperatures would soon begin to rise (Credit: Getty Images)

Could we live in a world without trees?

By Rachel Nuwer

A world without oceans would very quickly dry out completely making life almost impossible but it could also change the way our solar system looks (Credit: Alamy)

What Earth would be like with no oceans

A Californian secession could cause a snowball effect (Credit: Getty)

What if California seceded from the US?

By Rachel Nuwer

Woman behind mask (Credit: Getty Images)

What if we knew when people were lying?

By Rachel Nuwer

Flu containment drill in Indonesia (Credit: Getty Images)

Spanish flu: 100 years on

What if Spanish flu struck in 2018?

By Rachel Nuwer

Some researchers believe that we hold onto certain beliefs to stave off our fear of death (Credit: Getty Images)

How thinking about death changes us

By Rachel Nuwer

(Credit: Getty Images)

What if all guns disappeared?

By Rachel Nuwer

What if women were stronger than men?

By Rachel Nuwer

A severe drought in Syria left many people – especially young men – unemployed, discontent and desperate, which may have been a factor that led to civil war (Credit Getty Images):

How Western civilisation could collapse

By Rachel Nuwer

(Credit: Getty Images)

What if the internet stopped for a day?

By Rachel Nuwer

If vegetarianism was adopted by 2050, it would stave off about 7 million deaths per year, while veganism would knock that estimate up to 8 million (Credit: iStock)

What if the world went vegetarian?

By Rachel Nuwer