“History is written by the survivors,” they say. But what if the survivors had been dinosaurs instead of mammals? Imagine a world where the colossal asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago had missed its mark, leaving the dinosaurs to continue their reign. What if the asteroid never hit Earth? Would they have evolved into intelligent beings? Would mammals, including humans, have ever gotten their chance to thrive? Let’s dive into this fascinating “what-if” scenario.
The Day the Earth Almost Changed Forever
A 9-mile-wide asteroid wiped out 75% of Earth’s species, including the dinosaurs. But what would have happened if the asteroid never hit Earth? According to paleontologist Steve Brusatte, dinosaurs were thriving: “Dinosaurs were strong, successful, still diverse, and still at the top of their game when the asteroid hit.” Without the impact, they might have ruled for millions more years. One wonders, what if that asteroid impact never happened?
Dinosaurs in a Frozen World?
Could dinosaurs have survived ice ages? Some, like the feathered T. rex, might have adapted. “Many had feathers, so they could insulate themselves like mammals,” Brusatte said. Imagine a woolly T. rex stomping through the snow—prehistoric chic at its finest.
The Rise of the Dinosauroids?
In 1982, paleontologist Dale Russell imagined troodontid dinosaurs evolving into intelligent, humanoid “dinosauroids.” While scientists dismiss this as too sci-fi, modern birds descendants of dinosaurs are remarkably smart. “Birds have more neurons in their brains than mammals, on average,” Brusatte noted. Could they have achieved human-like smarts? “I don’t know,” he said, “but I wouldn’t bet against a crow running for president someday, especially if the asteroid had never hit Earth.”
Mammals: The Eternal Underdogs
If dinosaurs had survived, mammals might have stayed small and scrappy. “Mammals would have mostly stayed small for millions of years more,” Brusatte said. Paul Sereno, another paleontologist, added, “We evolved in a mammalian world impossible with large dinosaurs running around. We are not inevitable.” What if the asteroid had never hit Earth? Humans might never have existed.
A World Without Us
If the asteroid had missed, history would be unrecognisable. “Our exact ancestors surely would have never had their chance to evolve,” Brusatte said. Instead of humans, Earth might be ruled by intelligent birds or feathered reptiles. What if the asteroid never hit Earth and allowed these creatures to take over?
As Carl Sagan once said, “Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” In this alternate timeline, survival belonged to the dinosaurs, leaving humans as a cosmic “what-if.”
So, next time you look up at the stars, remember: we owe our existence to a cosmic fluke. And somewhere out there, a parallel universe might exist where dinosaurs host their own version of Saturday Night Live starring a velociraptor comedian. As Douglas Adams might say, “In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” But for dinosaurs, it might have been the best move of all.
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