“Earth is 4.5 billion years old – which is approximately the same amount of time it took us to create this video,” the Kurzgesagt team jokes about their animated one hour movie, an epic video that chronicles the timeline of Earth’s evolution, from a fiery planet to something close to the pale blue dot we now call home.
This is 4.5 Billion Years in 1 Hour, in which each second of animation represents 1,500,000 years.
Travel through time, from the Theia collision to the hydrothermal vents where life on Earth may have begun, to the great oxidation event and multiple ice ages, to the first Eukaryotic cells, to the formation of Earth’s inner core, and the emergence of sex, predators, multicellular organisms, “ancestors of almost all of today’s major animal groups,” plants, soil, dinosaurs, and mammals.
Yet for most of the video, life is invisible to the naked eye.
“Hop on a musical train ride and experience how long a billion years really is. It’s the perfect background for your next party, a great way to take a break from studying, or a fascinating companion while you’re on the go… and our celebration of 10 years of kurzgesagt.”
Eras in the geologic time scale are labeled onscreen: Hadean, Eoarchean, Paleoarchean, Mesoarchean, Neoarchean, Siderian, Rhyacian, Orosirian, Statherian, Calymmian, Ectasian, Stenian, Tonian, Cryogenian, Ediacaran, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary.
Those more familiar prehistoric plants and animals show up toward the very end of the hour. And then: “Don’t blink or you might miss all of human history.”
Occasional narration provides information, all set to Epic Mountain’s All of History soundtrack.
Follow this video with Kurzgesagt’s When Time Became History: The Human Era.
Then enjoy these handpicked videos:
• What exactly happened on the day that dinosaurs died?
• How did life on Earth begin?
• The mysterious origins of life on Earth
• Earth’s History Plays Out On A Football Field
• Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Calendar
Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.