...to give you a little perspective on things...

[helenmelon]

this (a short history of nearly everything) was a great book because, not only did it entertain, teach, and make me laugh, but it's been provoking thought and challenging my worldviews for the past week or two.

Comments

[patrick___]

"we wouldn't stand out that much from dogs or fish or anything, if we were found

[helenmelon]

oh, come on now, patrick. how long do you really think skyscrapers will last? the pyramids are only a few thousand years old and already getting a smidgen beat up. but two or three million years, through glaciers and earthquakes and volcanoes and a million different types of weather more extreme than anything we could imagine? i don't think anything above ground would be left standing. things under the ocean would have a chance to be preserved, but would only be found later (presumably) if the oceans there receded. things in lakes that'll dry up eventually--they might have a chance too. which dinosaur bones do we find? ones from animals that died in tar pits or lakes. we find things that were trapped in glaciers, buried in volcano ash. and again, the world is very big and looking can be like a random guessing game. it's not always obvious to see where there was a lake 5 million years ago

[patrick___]

If the fossilized remains of little insects can last millions of years, surely a few skyscrapers or automobiles will last too. ;)

[helenmelon]

...maybe if they get sucked into some mud or something:) but metal oxidizes, wind wears down edifices... if mountain ranges don't even last millions of years, do you really expect the sears tower to?

i'd put my money on things like maybe wedding rings or bank vaults lasting, personally.