"What was the first" is an incomplete question, but common answers involve the first life (stromatolites 3.48 billion years ago), the first Homo sapiens (around 300,000 years ago), the first word spoken (unknown, maybe "this" if biblical), the first recorded name (Kushim ~3200 BC), or even games like Google Arts & Culture's "What Came First" for cultural items. The answer depends entirely on what specific "first" you're asking about: life, humanity, language, or recorded history.
The earliest life forms we know of were microscopic organisms (microbes) that left signals of their presence in rocks about 3.7 billion years old.
The earliest direct known life on Earth are stromatolite fossils which have been found in 3.480-billion-year-old geyserite uncovered in the Dresser Formation of the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia.
It's impossible to know who the first person to be born was, but what we do know is that man (or the ancestor of man rather!) appeared around 7.2 million years ago. Our 'direct' ancestor however, the Homo Sapiens appeared only about 315.000years ago.
No, no one has ever lived to be 200 years old with verified records; the oldest verified person was Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122 years and 164 days, but some scientists believe the first person to reach 200 may have already been born, given advancements in longevity research. Claims of much older ages, like Li Ching-yun (claimed 250+ years) or Peng Zu (claimed 800+ years), lack modern scientific verification.
In 1 sextillion years (10²¹ years), the universe will be a vastly different, dark place: the era of star formation will have ended, all stars will have burned out into white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes, planets will be cold and lifeless, and even protons might begin to decay, leading towards the "Big Freeze" or heat death, with only black holes slowly evaporating via Hawking radiation over unimaginable timescales. All familiar structures, including galaxies, will have long dissolved as the universe expands, leaving behind a cold, dark, and nearly empty expanse.
The Bible does not directly address the age of the Earth or the universe. The number of 6000 years came from Archbishop Ussher in the 17th century.
When did life on Earth begin? Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Scientists think that by 4.3 billion years ago, Earth may have developed conditions suitable to support life. The oldest known fossils, however, are only 3.7 billion years old.
The 15 most unusual words you'll ever find in English
The Adamic language, according to Jewish tradition (as recorded in the midrashim) and some Christians, is the language spoken by Adam (and possibly Eve) in the Garden of Eden.
The word with 645 meanings is "run," according to the Oxford English Dictionary. This number refers specifically to the verb form, making it the most complex word in English, surpassing the former record-holder, "set". Its vast meanings range from physical movement to operating machines, managing businesses, and extending in a direction, a versatility that grew with societal changes like the Industrial Revolution.
As a result of these processes, multicellular life forms may be extinct in about 800 million years, and eukaryotes in 1.3 billion years, leaving only the prokaryotes.
As humbling as it sounds, normal matter almost certainly accounts for the smallest proportion of the Universe, somewhere between 1% and 10%.
After the emergence of the first true animals around 700 million years ago, evolution ran amok, creating countless bizarre groups before the dinosaurs finally arrived 450 million years later, says palaeontologist Will Newton. These pre-dinosaur animals evolved in a very different world to the one we know.
Scripture does not mention the existence of dinosaurs—at least not as we now understand them—neither before nor after the Genesis Flood.
The Jubilee of 2033
The year 2033 will be of exceptional significance for the Christian community and the entire world. This extraordinary year will mark the 2000th anniversary of the Redemption, an event that highlights the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the foundation of Christian faith.
Jesus speaks of forgiveness beyond what anyone had ever considered before: seventy times seven! Many commentaries understand this to mean that Jesus was telling Peter that he should forgive his brother a limitless number of times.
Actually, in roughly 7.6 billion years, the sun will burn through the last of its fuel and swell into a red giant. In this form, the sun's diameter will encompass the Earth's current orbit and vaporize the planet. Earth is 4.543 billion years old.
Space, or outer space, is a vast, near-perfect vacuum largely devoid of matter. This vacuum contains very few particles compared with Earth's atmosphere. However, it's not entirely empty. Space is dotted with scattered matter called the interstellar medium, which includes hydrogen and helium atoms.
Humans Could Live For 1,000 Years by 2050—Ushering in the Dawn of 'Practical Immortality,' Futurists Say. Some experts warn that this radical change may remain out of reach for many, due to societal and economic challenges. Technology futurists foresee advances that will enable humans to live up to 1,000 years.
An Iowa baby born premature at 21 weeks is now a world record holder. Nash Keen with his parents Mollie and Randall Keen at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital June 4, 2025. Nash was born in July 2024 and survived birth at 21 weeks, 0 days gestation.
Within 24 hours of ovulation: Sperm fertilizes an egg (conception occurs). About six days after fertilization: The fertilized egg implants into your uterine lining. Around day 21: If conception and implantation occurred during this menstrual cycle, you're pregnant.
This hospital bill from 1956 offers a glimpse into an era when American healthcare was simpler, more localized, and vastly more affordable. The entire cost for labor, delivery, room, and care totaled just $107.55, roughly equivalent to $1,800 in today's dollars.