Before humans, the world was a very different place. Our planet didn’t always look the way it does now, and the ways earth have changed over 4.5 billion years are wilder than you’ve imagined.
How the ways earth shifted over time
10 Giant Mushrooms Were All Over The Planet
Around 400 million years ago, most trees barely rose to a man’s waist, leaving the landscape dominated by low‑lying flora. In that world, a colossal fungus called Prototaxites ruled the scenery. These towering giants reached up to eight metres (26 ft) tall and a metre (3 ft) thick, dwarfing the modest plants around them.
Unlike today’s cap‑topped mushrooms, Prototaxites was essentially a massive trunk—an enormous fungal pillar rising straight from the ground. Fossils of these giants have been uncovered on every continent, meaning a trek across ancient Earth would inevitably pass through forests of gigantic mushrooms.
9 The Sky Was Orange, And The Oceans Were Green
Three‑point‑seven billion years ago the heavens weren’t the familiar blue we know today. The early atmosphere was rich in methane, and sunlight filtered through that methane created a hazy orange glow overhead.
Meanwhile, the seas took on a green hue because iron dissolved into the water, turning it a rust‑colored copper tone. The continents themselves appeared black, cloaked in cooling lava and bereft of any plant life.
8 The Planet Stunk Of Rotten Eggs
About 1.9 billion years ago the air was perfumed with the unmistakable odor of rotten eggs. This scent came from gassy bacteria thriving in the oceans, which consumed salt and released hydrogen sulfide—a gas that smells exactly like spoiled eggs.
In plain terms, the planet was basically exhaling massive, pungent farts. Those hydrogen‑sulfide‑producing microbes turned the atmosphere into a stinky, sulfur‑laden haze.
7 The Planet Was Purple
When the first photosynthetic organisms took hold, they didn’t use chlorophyll at all. Some early life forms likely harnessed retinal, which would have given them a vivid violet color. As a result, early Earth may have been draped in a deep purple hue.
Later, about 1.6 billion years ago, a thick layer of purple sulfur settled near the surface of the oceans, tinting entire seas purple and making them extremely toxic.
6 The World Looked Like A Snowball
During the Cryogenian period, roughly 716 million years ago, Earth may have been encased in ice from pole to equator—a scenario dubbed “Snowball Earth.” Evidence of ancient glaciers found in what is now Canada (then situated at the equator) supports this extreme glaciation.
Although the planet was largely frozen, relentless volcanic eruptions spewed ash into the sky, darkening the ice and turning the once‑pristine snowball into a grimy, blackened sphere.
5 Acid Rain Fell On The Earth For 100,000 Years
When the Snowball Earth thawed, the planet entered a period of intense chemical weathering. Acid rain poured relentlessly for about 100,000 years, melting the lingering glaciers and flooding the oceans with acidic runoff.
While this torrential acid rain created a hostile, carbon‑dioxide‑laden environment that poisoned the seas, it also delivered vital nutrients that eventually helped spark the Cambrian explosion of life.
4 The Arctic Was Green And Full Of Life
About 50 million years ago, during the early Eocene Epoch, the Arctic resembled a lush, temperate haven. Palm trees swayed in Alaska, and crocodiles prowled the coasts of what is now Greenland.
The Arctic Ocean had transformed into a massive freshwater pond teeming with green ferns such as Azolla. Giant tortoises, turtles, alligators, and early hippos roamed the region, enduring months of perpetual darkness while enjoying average summer temperatures around 20 °C (68 °F).
3 Dust Blocked Out The Sun
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago hurled massive amounts of dust, soil, and rock into the atmosphere, forming a dense cloud that dimmed sunlight worldwide.
Although the dust veil lasted only months, lingering sulfuric acid in the stratosphere thickened clouds, reducing solar radiation and triggering a decade of severe acid‑rain storms.
2 It Rained Liquid Hot Magma
In Earth’s earliest days, a barrage of asteroids bombarded the planet, vaporizing oceans and melting vast stretches of crust. The resulting molten rock behaved like a slow‑moving river of liquid magma.
Some of this vaporized rock entered the nascent atmosphere as magnesium oxide droplets, which then condensed and fell back to the surface as scorching magma rain—essentially a prehistoric version of today’s rain, but with molten rock.
1 Gigantic Insects Were Everywhere
Roughly 300 million years ago, the atmosphere contained about 50 % more oxygen than today. This oxygen boom fueled an explosion of giant insects, including dragonflies with wingspans rivaling modern seagulls (over 0.6 m or 2 ft).
These massive insects weren’t just oversized; many were fierce predators. Fossil evidence shows they roamed swampy lowlands, dominating the skies long before mammals rose to prominence.