The Geologic Calendar is a scale in which the lifetime of the earth is mapped onto a calendrical year; that is to say, the day one of the earth took place on a geologic January 1 at precisely midnight, and today's date and time is December 31 at midnight.[1] On this calendar, the life on Earth arose on November 15, the first dinosaurs appeared on December 27th, the first flowers on December 30th and the first primates on December 31. The first humans did not arrive until around 11:56 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and all of human history has been recorded in the last 4 seconds.
[edit] The Geological Year
| Time period | Major evolutionary event | General conversion multiplier | Distance run in a 10-kilometer race | Distance on a football field (100 yards) | Distance on a soccer field (100 meters) | Age in an ave. human lifespan (76 yrs) | Day in a calendar year | No. of the 407 M&M’s in 1 lb bag | Time passed in a 3-hour exam | Time remaining in a 3-hour exam |
| 4500 Ma | Earth is formed; no free oxygen | 0,00 | 0 m | 0 yds | 0 m | 0 yrs | Jan. 1st | 0 eaten | 0 min | 180 min |
| 3800 Ma | Prokaryotes evolve; hydrosphere present | 1,08 | 1556 m | 15 yds 20 in | 15.56 m | 12 yrs old | Feb. 25th | 63 eaten | 28min | 152 min |
| 2500 Ma | Eukaryotes evolve; oxygen present in atmosphere | 3,09 | 4444 m | 44 yds 16 in | 44.44 m | 34 yrs old | June 13th | 181 eaten | 80 min | 100 min |
| 543 Ma | Cambrian Period; explosion of animal phyla | 6,11 | 8793 m | 87 yds 33 in | 87.93 m | 67 yrs old | Nov. 15th | 357 eaten | 158.3 min | 21.7 min |
| 500 Ma | Ordovician Period; evidence of complex plants on land | 6,17 | 8889 m | 88 yds 32 in | 88.89 m | 67.5 yrs old | Nov. 19th | 361 eaten | 160 min | 20 min |
| 440 Ma | Silurian Period; vascular plants and arthropods on land | 6,27 | 9022 m | 90 yds 8 in | 90.22 m | 68.5 yrs old | Nov. 24th | 367 eaten | 162.4 min | 17.6 min |
| 409 Ma | Devonian Period; mountain building in North America; fresh water increasing | 6,31 | 9091 m | 90 yds 33 in | 90.91 m | 69 yrs old | Nov. 27th | 370 eaten | 163.6 min | 16.4 min |
| 354 Ma | Carboniferous Period; major radiation of insects | 6,40 | 9213 m | 92 yds 5 in | 92.13 m | 70 yrs old | Dec. 1st | 374 eaten | 165.8 min | 14.2 min |
| 290 Ma | Permian Period; mammal-like reptiles predominate; huge land and sea extinction event at period’s end | 6,50 | 9356 m | 93 yds 20 in | 93.56 m | 71 yrs old | Dec. 6th | 380 eaten | 168.4 min | 11.6 min |
| 245 Ma | Triassic Period; ancestors of dinosaurs present and diversifying | 6,57 | 9456 m | 94 yds 20 in | 94.56 m | 72 yrs old | Dec. 9th | 384 eaten | 170.2 min | 9.8 min |
| 206 Ma | Jurassic Period; Pangaea begins breaking up; dinosaurs continue to diversify | 6,63 | 9542 m | 95 yds 15 in | 95.42 m | 72.5 yrs old | Dec. 13th | 388 eaten | 171.8 min | 8.2 min |
| 144 Ma | Cretaceous Period; angiosperms rapidly diversify | 0,67 | 9680 m | 96 yds 28 in | 96.80 m | 73.5 yrs old | Dec. 18th | 394 eaten | 174.2 min | 5.8 min |
| 65 Ma | Tertiary Period; terrestrial and marine reptiles and many marine invertebrates go extinct | 6,84 | 9856 m | 98 yds 20 in | 98.56 m | 75 yrs old | Dec. 24th | 401 eaten | 177.4 min | 2.6 min |
| 1.8 Ma | Quaternary Period; | 6,94 | 9996 m | 99 yds 35 in | 99.96 m | 76 yrs, 355 d | 8:30 p.m. | 406.8 eaten | 179.9 min | 0.1 min |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
