The Revised History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less
Quantum fluctuation. Inflation. Expansion. Strong nuclear interaction.
Particle-antiparticle annihilation. Deuterium and helium production.
Density perturbations. Recombination. Blackbody radiation. Local
contraction. Large scale structure formation. Reionization? Violent
relaxation. Virialization. Galaxy formation. Turbulent fragmentation.
Contraction. Ionization. Compression. Opaque hydrogen. Massive star
formation. Deuterium ignition. Hydrogen fusion. Hydrogen depletion. Core
contraction. Envelope expansion. Helium fusion. Carbon, oxygen, and
silicon fusion. Iron production. Implosion. Supernova explosion. Metals
injection. Star formation. Stellar remnant production. Supernova
explosions. Star formation. Condensation. Planetesimal accretion. Planetary
differentiation. Crust solidification. Volatile gas expulsion. Water
condensation. Carbon dioxide solution. Water photodissociation.
Escaping hydrogen. Ozone production. Ultraviolet absorption.
Polymerization. Coacervate formation. Molecular reproduction.
Fermentation. Photosynthetic unicellular organisms! Oxidation.
Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell
differentiation. Sexual reproduction. Multicellular organisms.
Evolutionary diversification. Fossilization. Trilobite domination.
Land exploration. Comet collision. Dinosaur extinction. Mammal
expansion. Glaciation. Homo sapiens manifestation. Animal domestication.
Fermentation. Religion. Food surplus production. Civilization! Innovation.
Exploration. Warring nations. Empire creation and destruction.
Colonization. Revolution. Constitution. Election. Expansion.
Industrialization. Rebellion. Emancipation. Invention. Mass production.
Urbanization. Immigration. World conflagration. League of Nations.
Suffrage extension. Depression. World conflagration. Fission explosions.
United Nations. Population explosion. Space exploration. Assassinations.
Lunar excursions. Resignation. Computerization. Terrorism. Internet
expansion. Reunification. Dissolution. Union. World-Wide Web creation.
Composition. Extrapolation?
Copyright 1996-1997 by Eric Schulman. Used with permission. This piece
was the inspiration for the book A Briefer History of
Time and led to the Annals of Improbable Research Universal
History Translation Project. Based on the original History of the
Universe in 200 Words or Less, published in AIR, Volume III, Number 1,
January/February 1997, page 27.