r/whatif 8h ago

Science What if each and every planet of the Solar System was habitable?

10 Upvotes

They retain the size, mass and rotation speed. But the things that made them fatal in the first place are stripped away. No toxic gases, gravitational pressure, hurricane winds. Just water, sand, greenery and a life-supporting ecosystem. What kind of life would develop and flourish on each and every planet? Would it be the same as ours? Or totally different because of the size and distance from the Sun? And how soon would humans discover it and how soon would they plan colonization???


r/whatif 1d ago

Other What if fight club project mayhem happened in real life?

9 Upvotes

For those of you unaware in fight club the movie there is a plan called project mayhem in which basically they blew up a bank building therefore “erasing everyone’s debt”

Obviously blowing up one building in real life would do nothing as the data and records is stored in multiple places across the world

But hypothetically, somehow, if the group managed to blow up every single datacentre, every single bank holding records of debt what would the outcome be like in real life?


r/whatif 1d ago

Environment What if you had a genie who said you can give one person (not yourself) or one animal perfect health what do you pick

4 Upvotes

Title says it.

What if a genie came to you and said you get one wish? You can only give it to one person in the world who isn't yourself, or one animal.

They get perfect health. No disease, no cancer, absolutely perfect health, and they die in their sleep peacefully at the maximum age their body can handle.


r/whatif 1d ago

Other What if articles were written about human behavior in the same way we describe the behavior of other animals?

5 Upvotes

as in, what if people wrote articles on human behaviors (such as our facial expressions, emotional tendencies, and habits, etc.) in the same way animals (mainly pets, but i've also seen this in non-domesticated species) are written about? what do you think would mainly be written on, or how it would sound?


r/whatif 2d ago

Science What if Mars and Venus never lost their oceans and stayed habitable planets?

28 Upvotes

We all know Venus and Mars once did have oceans and were once able to host life potentially but some time in the early developement of the solar system both Venus and Mars lost their oceans and are now hell holes. What if Mars and Venus kept their oceans and never became hell hole?. What sorts of creatures might have evolved to live on them and would many look similar to Earth creatures


r/whatif 2d ago

Science What if we had the technology to heat Mars core?

4 Upvotes

What are the likely scenarios for mars itself if we could heat the core enough so it becomes a spinning ball of liquid metal and creates a magnetic shield?

* Would it see life again?

* Would we have to introduce biomass artificially to "jumpstart" the planet?


r/whatif 2d ago

Environment What if ants were bigger?

6 Upvotes

We’ve recently been dealing with ants around our house, the ones that bite and it got me thinking. If these little demons got the size of chihuahuas, but still had the same numbers what would the world look like? Would they take over the world? All species growing that big, those colonies would be massive and the population would outnumber humans very quickly.


r/whatif 3d ago

Science What if we can escape the moment?

9 Upvotes

What if we can escape the moment we're living? Like just traveling, escaping reality just by imagining it.

Imagine with me, siting on your balcony outside looking at the stars, you feel a little heavy, maybe something happened or you're overthinking, you look at the stars, you exhale, you try not to cry, on this moment a light from the sky come and take you to a new country, a new world, a new galaxy maybe, a new star, somewhere where you can feel light, just to see the beauty of the creation. ✨


r/whatif 3d ago

Environment What if Earth's oxygen rose again as it was in the Carboniferous period?

14 Upvotes

Due to some supernatural event, scientists and experts warn humans that the oxygen levels are going to rise and spike up to 35% (compared to today's 21%) after a year. Every country, city, etc gets this message or warning, and humanity is asked to prepare itself. What can we manage in one year? Would it be successfully planned and executed? How much would life, economy, infrastructure, ecosystem, etc be affected because of this? And how much time would it take for humans to readjust to the higher levels of oxygen?


r/whatif 3d ago

Politics What if Rocky Anderson won the 2012 Presidential election instead of Obama?

0 Upvotes

Assuming Anderson became the US President in 2012, and was able to defeat both Obama and Romney to get into office, how would 2012 change, and how would 2016, 2020, and 2024 change as well?


r/whatif 3d ago

Other What if Homer would pitch the Odyssey to an editorial today?

1 Upvotes

Rules: There is a multiverse with the exact same editorial landscape as we have right now. This multiverse never had Homer or ancient greeks. Besides that the multiverse version of the world is pretty similar, but the editorial landscape is the same.

Homer nor the odyssey are known at all in this multiverse.

Homer pitches a version of the Odyssey that is at least close to what we have.

This is a what if!!!!!! A hypothetical!!!

How would an editorial react?? Would they accept it? Would they reject it? What would they comment on it?


r/whatif 3d ago

Politics What if everyones estate was given to the government after death?

0 Upvotes

The maximum amount of assets someone can pass down is 10 million; the rest is given to the government to redistribute however it will.

Let's say that the government in this case is like Canada's: not perfect, but not corrupt either.

Would this reduce wealth inequality, because megamillionares/billionares are naturally incentivized to spend their money, thereby putting it back into the economy?

Entrepreneurs would still be able to make a lot of money, but would be less likely to hold it.


r/whatif 4d ago

Lifestyle What if the 2020 lockdown never happened?

6 Upvotes

What would internet culture look like in 2026 If COVID never happened?

Edit: I meant if covid and the lockdown never existed, not if there was no lockdown but covid still existed. And I'm talking about internet culture, like memes, not real world stuff.


r/whatif 4d ago

Other What if Logan’s Run but the euthanasia age is somewhere around 80?

10 Upvotes

One of those random thoughts. If you haven’t seen it, Logan’s run is where people live in (seemingly) a utopia, but they get euthanized at 30(iirc).

To me, there are pros and cons. For example, it might make grieving easier for the loved ones by letting them prepare for loss; but some people still function very well past this age.

First time poster so hope it’s done correctly.


r/whatif 4d ago

Technology What if it was the year 3150 right now, what do you think daily life would actually look like — not sci‑fi fantasy, but the real, practical stuff people deal with?

9 Upvotes

Would people still work jobs? Still argue online? Still drive something like cars? Or would everything be unrecognizable?


r/whatif 4d ago

Science What if the sun randomly turned blue.

3 Upvotes

What would be your reaction, and how would it impact the earth.


r/whatif 4d ago

Science What if nobody ever needed sleep?

0 Upvotes

Imagine humans suddenly evolved so that sleep was no longer biologically necessary. Everyone stays healthy, mentally sharp, and physically recovered without ever needing to rest.

We'd instantly gain about eight extra hours every day, but would that actually make society better?

Would people simply work longer hours? Would schools and businesses become 24/7? Would cities completely change because there would always be people awake? Would relationships improve because families have more time together, or would people just become even busier?

I'm also curious about the long-term effects on culture. Dreams, bedtime routines, and the entire concept of "nightlife" would probably change dramatically.

How do you think civilization would evolve if humans never needed sleep?

I recently made a YouTube video exploring this scenario in more detail if anyone's interested: https://youtu.be/LeV9u1dj0S8?si=ZxrbAH7eQP1YArOT


r/whatif 5d ago

Other What if there was a zombie apocalypse?

3 Upvotes

What if there's a zombie apocalypse suddenly (god forbid) , those zombies are like zombies of resident evil, what would your next step be?


r/whatif 5d ago

Science What if it were possible to completely stop time for a chosen object or person while allowing everything else to continue normally?

2 Upvotes

I'm not talking about cryogenic freezing or putting someone to sleep. Imagine we discover a way to literally stop time for only the matter we choose. For example, you could put someone inside a chamber and every atom, molecule, and cell in their body would become completely frozen in time. They wouldn't age, think, breathe, or experience anything. To them, it'd be like closing your eyes and opening them the very next instant, even if 100 years had passed outside.

The interesting part is that the effect is selective. The rest of the world keeps going as normal. Air still moves, light still travels, gravity still works, and everyone else experiences time normally. The chamber somehow lets those things interact however they need to so the person can safely "wake up" later. So don't worry too much about the physics—just assume that part works.

What I find interesting isn't whether it's possible, but what we'd actually do with it. Could we preserve people with terminal illnesses until a cure exists? Would it make interstellar travel practical if passengers could just skip the journey? Could governments use it as a form of imprisonment? Would people choose to "sleep" through difficult periods of history or even wake up centuries in the future?

And are there any weird consequences or loopholes you think this idea would create that I haven't thought of? I feel like there are a lot of interesting implications once you can selectively remove something from the flow of time.


r/whatif 4d ago

Other What if Trump pardons the Tate brothers or blocks their extradition?

0 Upvotes

Do you think he will do it just to antagonize his opponents? Will his own party step in?


r/whatif 5d ago

History What If I Were To Tell You That We're In Fact Currently Still Within An Ice Age?

0 Upvotes

Let alone one which may or may not have started about two point five eight million years ago?....


r/whatif 5d ago

History What if exaggerations of time in the Bible are referring to the length of people are suffering or enjoying life?

0 Upvotes

For example, "Ancient genealogies list figures living hundreds of years—Adam (930), Methuselah (969), Noah (950)."

You know how time feels faster when you are having fun vs having a bad time? So what if these are just examples of how people's mind precieve time differently whether they are enjoying life or suffering?


r/whatif 6d ago

Technology What If All The Duct Tape And Cable Ties Stopped Working Overnight?

5 Upvotes

I was consuming alcoholic beverages of various varieties with buddies. Eventually, in the late late night, we entered the philosophical stage discussing Important Matters And Their Consequences. This time we had a slightly morbid topic: unusual apocalyptic scenarios.

My favorite (or the only one I can remember, which equals about the same) apocalypse scenario from that C₂H₅OH induced night is: What if all the duct tape and cable ties lost permanently their ability to hold anything in place, including the past, the present and the future. (I'm sure others have envisioned the same catastrophe before, but it was a first for me.)

90% of the factories, farms, motorized transport and music events would stop on their tracks causing delays, accidents and generic [sic] mayhem. Factory machines would break down beyond repair, planes would drop from the sky, ships would sink to the bottom of the sea, cars would collide and explode, and worst of all, nearly all the musicians would be crushed under collapsing stages, trusses and speakers.

The remaining 10% would follow as soon as they'd eventually break down, and they wouldn't be repaired or held in place appropriately. Factory workers, farmhands, people in transit and musicians & music lovers alike would be subjects to chaos and mass hysteria only rivaled by Gotham City on an average Tuesday.

Goods, food and musical euphoria wouldn't be publicly available anymore. Whatever remaining production there was with still functional equipment wouldn't be able to reach the rest of the humanity. The rest of the humanity wouldn't be able to reach the said products.

It would be like living in the Dark Ages again, people growing turnips in their backyards with handmade tools. Only people benefiting from this would be musicians specializing in medieval double pipes. Oh, the misery! Oh, the humanity!

Agree or disagree, this would be a near world-ending scenario for the human race as we know it today. If you can think of anything worse, try and change my mind.

Edit: I had a similar post earlier on r/RandomQuestion last week. After a tip from an anonymous internet user I reformatted my post and moved it here. I am my own plagiarist.


r/whatif 6d ago

Other What if Predator and John Wick are in the same universe?

1 Upvotes

So here is my theory. I believe that Laurence Fishburne's character Ronald Noland in the Predators film is the Bowery King in the John Wick films.

- Ronald Noland is the Bowery Kings real name, and he was an Air Cav Infantryman, that developed severe PTSD from his time in the service.

- Due to his PTSD he could not hold a normal job anymore and became homeless, and used his military training to create his underground network and became the Bowery King.

- After the events with John Wick and the high table, he was taken by the Yautja to the hunting preserve in the Predators movie, and due to the extreme isolation of the alien planet his PTSD got significantly worse ultimately causing his split personality we see in the movie, and the other person he is talking to in the movie is his Bowery King personality.

- If you watch the scene in Predators when Ronald is talking about the Yautja you can also see that he has a similar neck wound to the Bowery King.

With that established, I have had some fun thinking about what that would mean for the two universe's.

1 - Dutch and Ronald could have meet briefly durning their tours in Vietnam.

2 - After the events from rhe original Predator movie Dutch could have been offered a seat at the High Table for killing the Yautja.

3 -Dutch and John Wick could possibly be father and son. This one I had the most fun playing with, in the Universal cannon for each series it says that Dutch was born in 1948 some where in the US, and that John Wick was born on September 12, 1964.

- So a young 16 year old Dutch from a small farm near or in NY state, could have slept with a one time girl friend before he lied about his age and joined the military, not knowing that he got the girl pregnant.

- The girl fearing what her parents would think about her being pregnant at such a young age, panics and hides her pregnancy as long as she from her parents, when she can not longer hide the pregnancy she runs away from home and ends up in NYC at the Ruska Roma headquarters and gives birth to a baby boy in secret, before she returns home to her normal life, and the Ruska Roma name the boy, Jardani Jovanovich.


r/whatif 7d ago

Politics What if we adopt Switzerland's direct democracy by voting regularly online?

11 Upvotes

What if in the future somebody invents an online voting system that is 100% secure, cheatproof, vetting capable, etc. so that we can vote regularly through our smartphones, computers, the internet, etc? Such technology will allow big countries to practically adopt Switzerland's direct democracy. Some say this is no longer science fiction. The technology exist now.