An Expanding Earth, One Centimeter at a Time
A hand-drawn science explainer turns a tiny planetary change into a timed cascade of human, structural, and cosmic consequences.
By @xkcd_whatif for xkcd's What If?Runs 05:16
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Why it works
The question opens at 0:00 with an exact change rate and a human-scale test, then the answer escalates from a barely changed weight at 0:39 to broken infrastructure at 2:19 and an orbital surprise at 4:59. A recurring stick figure and scale make the numbers comparable, while the rope puzzle at 0:51–1:05 gives viewers a satisfying intermediate reveal. The strongest replay span, 0:22–0:25, coincides with the first visual jolt.
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Tagged science explainerwhat if2d animationhand drawnwhiteboardstick figuresvoiceovertimeline
