@Genieljay 12 July 2021 more from that month

#PopFact HUMANS ALMOST WENT EXTINCT 70,000 YEARS AGO Genetic studies suggest that the total human population dropped below 10,000 approximately 70,000 years ago. The exact cause remains unknown, but there were some hypotheses, such as a massive volcanic eruption or a disease. According to the United Nations (UN), the total human population might breach 8 billion in 2023. The fast-growing human population, along with its associated problems, sometimes makes it difficult to think that the species almost went extinct. In about 300,000 years of its existence, the /Homo sapiens sapiens/ felt some instances when the population dwindled - known as "genetic bottlenecks." One of the great bottlenecks in modern human's story occurred approximately 70,000 years ago. Genetic studies suggest that the total human population at that time went down to only around 1,000 to 10,000. Without our ancestor's perseverance, together with several favoring factors, we could've been wiped out on the surface of the Earth. One theory points out Toba volcano as the main culprit. According to the 1998 study conducted by Stanley Ambrose and his team, the Toba supereruption in Indonesia could have induced a "volcanic winter" resulting in extreme climatic conditions. Of course, during that time, humans were not as equipped and prepared. However, this theory is still hotly contested, especially with the emergence of new research. Some also suggested that this bottleneck was caused by a catastrophic disease. What do you think the Earth would look like if we went extinct that time? Something to think of: What do you think would the Earth look like if humans went extinct that time? Today, July 11, Earth Shaker joins the world in observing World Population Day. This international day was established by the United Nations to focus on the urgency and importance of population issues, including their relations to the environment. #WorldPopulationDay2021 REFERENCE: [1] Inglis-Arkell, E. (2015). Close Calls: Three Times When Humanity Barely Escaped Extinction. Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/close-calls-three-times-when-the-human-race-barely-esc-1730998797 [2] Kane, S. (2016). The human race once came dangerously close to dying out — here's how it changed us. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/genetic-bottleneck-almost-killed-humans-2016-3 [3] Pomeroy, R. (2019). How Did Humans Survive Our Near Extinction?. https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2019/08/27/how_did_humans_survive_our_near_extinction.html [4] Whitehouse, D. (2003). When humans faced extinction. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2975862.stm